Sexual Identity, Gender, and Human Fulfillment: Analyzing the “Middle Way” Between Liberal and Traditionalist Approaches

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Moschella
Keyword(s):  
Gender Dysphoria ◽  
Human Sexuality ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Psychological Issue ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
Gender Reassignment ◽  
Intersex Condition ◽  
Human Fulfillment ◽  
And Gender

Abstract In this essay, I outline fundamental anthropological and moral principles related to human sexuality and gender identity and then apply these principles to analyze and evaluate the views of several authors who attempt to carve out a “middle way” between liberal and traditionalist approaches to these issues. In doing so, I engage especially with the claim that gender dysphoria, rather than being a psychological issue, is a type of biological intersex condition in which one’s “brain sex” is out of line with one’s genital and chromosomal sex. I argue that understanding the human person as a unity of body and soul and recognizing human sexuality as ordered toward the human good of marriage understood as inseparably unitive and procreative reveals the flaws in this position and helps to show why hormonal or surgical gender reassignment therapy is not a medically or ethically appropriate response to gender dysphoria. I also offer an alternative characterization of gender dysphoria and suggestions for responding with true compassion to those who suffer from it.

The ethics of gender reassignment surgery

2021 ◽  
pp. 1573-1576
Author(s):  
Oliver Fenton
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
National Health ◽  
Gender Dysphoria ◽  
Gender Reassignment Surgery ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Gender Reassignment ◽  
And Gender

Transgender issues are very much in the news at present. There has been discussion about both gender dysphoria in general but, more specifically, the practical, psychological, and financial implications of carrying out gender reassignment surgery. In the United Kingdom, this extends to a debate on whether it is justifiable to carry out these procedures within an already hard-pressed National Health Service. This chapter discusses the nature, history, and background of both gender dysphoria and gender reassignment surgery and whether such procedures are justifiable in terms of outcomes and patient satisfaction; and also whether these are legitimate procedures to carry out within the National Health Service.

Utility of the Gd Scale for the Measurement of Gender-Dysphoria in Males

1988 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Ross ◽  
Don Burnard ◽  
Ian M. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Gender Dysphoria ◽  
Psychiatric Outpatients ◽  
Gender Reassignment Surgery ◽  
Psychiatric Outpatient ◽  
Gender Reassignment ◽  
And Gender

Responses on the 31-item Gender Dysphoria ( Gd) scale of the MMPI of 104 primary gender-dysphoric males who had undergone or were about to undergo gender-reassignment surgery, 25 secondary gender-dysphoric patients from the same clinics, and 563 male psychiatric outpatients were tabulated and specificities and sensitivities calculated. The scale had satisfactory specificity, correctly identifying 98.1% of subjects. Sensitivity was unsatisfactory (40%) in distinguishing secondary gender-dysphorics in the Gender Clinic samples but adequate (88.4%) in the combined psychiatric outpatient and Gender Clinic samples. Factor analysis yielded 8 dimensions, but only 2 of these were easily interpretable or had sufficient items to ensure reliability, suggesting that there was little possibility of utilizing subscales. It is concluded that the Gd scale is an appropriate instrument for excluding primary gender dysphoria when used in conjunction with conventional diagnostic assessments.

Morphological Freedom and Medicine: Constructing the Posthuman Body

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luna Dolezal
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Cosmetic Surgery ◽  
The Body ◽  
Popular Imagination ◽  
Gender Reassignment ◽  
Common Parlance ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Body Practices ◽  
Health Function ◽  
At Will

The notion that the body can be changed at will in order to meet the desires and designs of its ‘owner’ is one that has captured the popular imagination and underpins contemporary medical practices such as cosmetic surgery and gender reassignment. In fact, describing the body as ‘malleable’ or ‘plastic’ has entered common parlance and dictates common-sense ideas of how we understand the human body in late-capitalist consumer societies in the wake of commercial biotechnologies that work to modify the body aesthetically and otherwise. If we are not satisfied with some aspect of our physicality – in terms of health, function or aesthetics – we can engage with a whole variety of self-care body practices – fashion, diet, exercise, cosmetics, medicine, surgery, laser – in order to ‘correct’, reshape or restyle the body. In addition, as technology has advanced and elective cosmetic surgery has unapologetically entered the mainstream, the notion of the malleable body has become intrinsically linked to the practices and discourses of biomedicine and, furthermore, has become a significant means to assert and affirm identity.

The Co-Occurrence of Autism and Gender Diversity

2020 ◽  
pp. 197-211
Author(s):  
Jill C. Fodstad ◽  
Rebecca Elias ◽  
Shivali Sarawgi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Dysphoria ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Gender Nonconforming ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Gender Diverse ◽  
Nonbinary Gender ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
The Common ◽  
And Gender

Gender diversity refers to gender expressions and/or gender identity experiences that vary from the common experiences of gender. Gender-diverse people may be gender nonconforming, gender nonbinary, gender fluid, gender exploring, transgender, and so forth. Some gender-diverse individuals experience gender dysphoria and/or gender incongruence and may require gender-affirming supports, including gender-affirming medical interventions. The co-occurrence of autism and gender diversity has been highlighted in a series of studies internationally as well as through rich community expressions. Studies in gender-referred individuals reveal high rates of autism traits as well as high rates of existing autism diagnoses. Studies in autistic populations reveal greater gender diversity characteristics. The long-term course of gender diversity in autistic individuals is poorly understood. Clinical guidelines have been developed for adolescents with the co-occurrence, but much work remains: No gender-related measures have been developed and tested for use in neurodiverse populations, no programs exist to support gender-diverse neurodiverse adults, and little is known about co-occurring mental health profiles, risks, or protective factors for people with the co-occurrence. The inclusion of this chapter on co-occurring autism and gender diversity within a book on “co-occurring psychiatric conditions” is problematic, because gender diversity is not a “psychiatric condition,” but instead a form of human diversity. The diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria is useful only insomuch as it allows individuals to obtain necessary gender-related supports. The authors’ choice to include this chapter in this book reflects a compromise, motivated by the need for educating both autism and gender specialists in this common co-occurrence.

Thomas Aquinas on Sexual Difference: The Metaphysical Biology and Moral Significance of Human Sexuality

Pro Ecclesia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-215
Author(s):  
Paul Gondreau
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Difference ◽  
Human Sexuality ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Moral Significance ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Biological Design ◽  
Moral Excellence ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Gender

Thomas Aquinas offers for his time a novel take on human sexual difference, in that he grounds human sexuality in what we might term a metaphysical biology and accords it a privileged role in the moral life. Though his biology is drawn from Aristotle, which leads Aquinas to make problematic statements on sexual difference, he nonetheless offers a perspective that remains deeply relevant and significant for today. His method or approach of tethering sexual difference first and foremost to our animal-like biological design remains perennial, particularly at a time when many seek to dismiss biology as irrelevant to sexual identity and gender difference. The latest findings of the emerging field of neurobiology, which have uncovered structural differences between the male and female brains, offer key support to Aquinas’s approach. Even more important, he holds, in an unprecedented move, that sexual design and inclination provide a veritable source of moral excellence. He goes so far as to locate the mean of virtue in our sexual design and appetites.

Urethral Reconstruction Using the Radial Forearm Free Flap: Experience in Oncologic Cases and Gender Reassignment

2007 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 547-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Dabernig ◽  
Odhran P. Shelley ◽  
Guiseppe Cuccia ◽  
Jürgen Schaff
Keyword(s):  
Free Flap ◽  
Urethral Reconstruction ◽  
Radial Forearm Free Flap ◽  
Gender Reassignment ◽  
Radial Forearm ◽  
And Gender

Transsexualism and Gender Reassignment

1994 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Snaith ◽  
A. D. Hohberger
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Differences ◽  
Gender Reassignment ◽  
The World ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Accepted Practice ◽  
The One

SummaryGender reassignment for carefully assessed transsexual patients is now an established and accepted practice in many parts of the world. In other areas customary attitudes to those with sexual differences prevents consideration. A large number of autobiographies by reassigned patients have been published and all throw light on the experience of the writers. The one which may be recommended is that by Morris (1974). For the interested layperson enquiring about the nature of transsexualism the brief book by Hodgkinson (1987) may be recommended.

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