Gender Analysis

Lisa Littman’s “rapid onset gender dysphoria” makes use of a very peculiar argument to advance the notion that gender dysphoria appearing for the first time in adolescence is a novel and unstudied condition that requires the further explanation offered by her hypothesis:

The majority of adolescents who present for care for gender dysphoria are individuals who experienced early-onset gender dysphoria that persisted or worsened with puberty although an atypical presentation has been described where adolescents who did not experience childhood symptoms present with new symptoms in adolescence.

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While the experience of living with depersonalization disorder symptoms can be difficult to describe, the peculiar and specific nature of these symptoms often makes it clear that these are distinct and real phenomena, and many sufferers identify closely with descriptions of feelings such as having “no self”, looking at the world through a veil or glass, or feeling like a robot or automaton. Even more interestingly, the many varied symptoms of depersonalization cluster together into roughly four sub-areas – and those who experience a symptom from one cluster are more likely to have other symptoms in that cluster as well.

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When I’ve previously spoken about my experiences with depersonalization disorder, a condition common in pre-transition trans people characterized by a sense of unreality of oneself or the world, I’ve sometimes received feedback from those who believe that the symptoms I’m describing are instead simply a part of depression or anxiety. As a sufferer of both depression and anxiety, the distinction between these conditions and chronic depersonalization is hard to miss – and published studies have confirmed that depersonalization disorder is a distinct syndrome, not merely a “negligible variant” of depressive or anxious conditions.

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Research into possible genetic differences present in trans people has long been a mixed bag. Initial results finding an association between variants in genes relating to androgen and estrogen receptors have at times failed to replicate, and various other studies offer tantalizing hints but no clearly defined role for certain genes in the development of gender identity and gender dysphoria. Now, a new study of trans women appears to offer further evidence of variation in genes affecting the processing of sex hormones, with implications for the feminization or masculinization of our brains during fetal development.

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