Psychology and Gender Dysphoria

<p>Psychiatry and psychology have a long and highly debated history in relation to gender. In particular they have attracted criticism for policing the boundaries of ‘normal’ gender expression through gender identity diagnoses such as transvestism transsexualism gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria.</p><p>Drawing on discursive psychology this book traces the historical development of psychiatric constructions of ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ gender expression. It contextualizes the recent reconstruction of gender in the 5th edition of the <i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders </i>(DSM-5) and its criteria for gender dysphoria. This latest diagnosis illustrates the continued disagreement and debate within the profession surrounding gender identity as ‘disordered’. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the conflicted history between feminist and transgender communities in the changing context of a more trans-positive feminism and the implications of these diagnoses for these distinct but linked communities.</p><p><em>Psychology and Gender Dysphoria</em> examines debates and controversies surrounding psychiatric diagnoses and theories related to gender and gender nonconformity by exploring recent research examples of collaborative perspectives and existing feminist and trans texts. As such the book is relevant for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers of gender feminism and critical psychology as well as historical issues within psychiatry.</p>