Transphobia: a Price Worth Paying for Gender Identity Disorder?
2010-03-01 00:00:00
Transgenderism is regarded by Western psychiatry as a mental disorder. Transphobia, on the other hand, is not. Expressed in daily acts of prejudice and discrimination, it impairs the quality of life and health of transpeople worldwide. Results are now available from a recent international study of transphobia. Led by the author and conducted in seven countries worldwide (Malaysia and the USA (both identified in this study as comparatively transphobic societies), UK and Philippines (both comparatively transaccepting) and China, Singapore and Thailand (all intermediate)), the findings suggest five important components of transphobia.
One of these components is the belief that transgenderism is a mental disorder. This belief is associated with other components of transphobia. This association, observed across a range of societies and cultures examined in this study, suggests that the pathologisation of gender variance may serve to exacerbate the prejudice and discrimination with which transpeople are faced. These findings strengthen the case made in recent years for the removal of transgenderism from the medical and psychiatric manuals. It is argued that, while a few transpeople in the developed world may be able to avail themselves of free or subsidized health services on the bases of such diagnoses (‘Transsexualism’ in ICD-10 and ‘Gender Identity Disorder’ in DSM-IV), the majority of transpeople worldwide pay a heavy price.