sex-reassignment therapy

Examples of sex-reassignment therapy in the following topics:

• Gender Dysphoria

  • Gender dysphoria is a controversial diagnosis characterized by a person's discontent with the sex and gender they were assigned at birth.
  • Symptoms related to this may include the expressed desire for others to treat or perceive them as another gender; discomfort with their genitals or sex characteristics; wishing these genitals or sex characteristics were different or aligned with another gender; and/or a strong sense of being another gender despite how others perceive them.
  • However, because gender dysphoria is classified as a disorder in the DSM-5, many insurance companies are willing to cover some of the expenses related to sex-reassignment therapy.
  • Without the classification of gender dysphoria as a medical disorder, sex-reassignment therapy may be viewed as cosmetic treatment—rather than medically necessary treatment for many transgender individuals—and thus may not be covered.
  • While the diagnosis of gender dysphoria may perpetuate stigma against transgender individuals, it may also be a necessary tool for accessing transition-related therapy.

• Gender Identity in Everyday Life

  • Individuals whose gender identity aligns with their sex organs are said to be cisgender.
  • Transgender individuals are those whose gender identity does not align with their sex organs.
  • This includes hormone therapy and sexual reassignment operations.
  • Recently, there has been a growing gender/queer movement consisting of individuals who do not feel that their sex organs are mismatched to their gender identity, but who still wish to trouble the notion of a gender binary, considering it overly simplistic and misrepresentative.
  • In the Principles "gender identity" refers to each person's deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the biological sex assigned at birth, including the person's sense of the body and other expressions of gender.

• Sex and Physiology

  • "Sex" refers to physiological differences between male, female, and intersex bodies.
  • A person's sex includes both primary sex characteristics (those that are related to the reproductive system) and secondary sex characteristics (those unrelated to the reproductive system, such as breasts and facial hair).
  • In humans, biological sex is determined at birth, typically by doctors, through the observance of five factors:
  • In humans, sex is typically divided into male, female, or intersex.
  • Some individuals may be raised as a certain gender (boy or girl) based on the sex (male or female) that was chosen for them at birth, but then identify with another gender later in life; some may even opt for sexual reassignment surgery later in life to align more truly with who they are.

• Marriage Equality and the Courts

  • During Barack Obama’s second term in office, courts began to counter efforts by conservatives to outlaw same-sex marriage.
  • These decisions seem to allow legal challenges in all the states that persist in trying to block same-sex unions.
  • Obergefell requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions; this legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States and its possessions and territories.
  • Department of Education ruled that schools receiving federal funds may not discriminate against transgender students, and a board within the Department of Health and Human Services decided that Medicare should cover sexual reassignment surgery.
  • The White House was illuminated in rainbow colors on the evening of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling.

• Sexual Orientation

  • Sexual orientation refers to enduring emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither.
  • Sexual orientation describes an enduring pattern of attraction—emotional, romantic, sexual, or some combination of these—to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither.
  • Some of these institutions offer sexual reorientation therapies in which individuals who are attracted to members of the opposite sex but do not want to have those attractions can try to become solely attracted to members of the opposite biological sex.
  • Venn diagram depicting the relationships between assigned sex and sexual orientation.
  • Androphilia and gynephilia are preferred terms for some populations, because homosexual and heterosexual assign a sex to the person being described.

• Gender as a Spectrum and Transgender Identities

  • This social dichotomy enforces conformance to the ideals of masculinity and femininity in all aspects of gender and sex—gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex.
  • In other societies, membership of any of the gender categories is open to people regardless of their sex.
  • The term "transsexual," though used less often these days, refers to transgender people who alter their bodies through medical interventions, such as surgery and hormonal therapy, so that their physical being is better aligned with gender identity.
  • Not all transgender individuals choose to alter their bodies or physically transition from one sex to another.
  • Those that identify with a gender that is different from the biological sex they were assigned at birth are called transgender.

• Case Studies

  • For instance, a client in a mental health hospital could be studied as he progresses through a course of treatment involving individual counseling, group therapy and medication.
  • John Money and the John/Joan case: An examination of the impacts of sexual reassignment surgery on David Reimer.

• Development of Gender Identity

  • Some transgender individuals, if they have access to resources and medical care, choose to alter their bodies through medical interventions such as surgery and hormonal therapy so that their physical being is better aligned with their gender identity.
  • It describes how sex-linked characteristics are maintained and transmitted to other members of a culture.
  • These differences are manifested via the degree to which individuals are sex-typed.
  • Sex-typed individuals process and integrate information that is in line with their assigned gender.
  • Finally, undifferentiated individuals do not show efficient processing of sex-typed information.

• Genital Warts

  • It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner.
  • Throat, mouth, and eye genital warts can also be transmitted through oral, genital, or anal sex.
  • Oral Isotretinoin is a therapy that has proven effective in experimental use, but is rarely used due to potentially severe side effects.
  • In a small-scale study, low dose oral isotretinoin showed considerable efficacy and may represent an alternative systemic form of therapy for Genital Warts.
  • In most countries this therapy is currently unapproved and only used as an alternative therapy if other therapies failed.

• Seasonal Affective Disorder and Jet Lag

  • Other symptoms include a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating on or completing tasks, and withdrawal from friends, family, and social activities and decreased sex drive.
  • People who experience spring and summer depression show symptoms of classic depression including insomnia, anxiety, irritability, decreased appetite, weight loss, social withdrawal, decreased sex drive, and suicide.
  • An argument for this view is the effectiveness of bright-light therapy.
  • Bright light therapy is a treatment for SAD and circadian rhythm disorders.