Hanoi An 18-year-old girl was brought by her family to the Center for Gender Medicine, Andrology and Infertility Hospital, because she wanted to change her gender from female to male.
On September 4, the family said that the patient's health was normal, and that she had shown signs of femininity in her behavior since birth. Through examination and medical history, Dr. Nguyen Anh Tu, Director of the Center, said that the girl had psychological problems arising from her family. The father often abused alcohol, was violent, and beat his wife and children. The patient said that she was the eldest sister and wanted to protect her mother and siblings, so she tended to be more masculine, such as changing her hairstyle, dressing, and behavior.
The doctor diagnosed the patient with gender identity disorder and developed a psychotherapy plan for the whole family, with the aim of helping the parents understand their child better and improving the father’s behavior, including quitting alcohol and stopping violence. In addition, therapy can help the girl change and have a correct perception of her gender.
Similarly, a 15-year-old male student in Dong Da has normal genitals, and his psychology, behavior, and conduct are developing according to his gender. A few months ago, he told his parents that he did not want to be a boy and wanted to change his gender to female. When he came to the Dr Mp Clinical Applied Psychology Center for examination, the male student shared with Dr. Nguyen Hong Bach that his father was often drunk, often yelled at and beat his mother, and did not care about his children.
After conducting the assessments, the doctor determined that the patient had a gender identity disorder, caused by the psychological impact of witnessing parental conflicts. Initial symptoms may be anxiety and anger, but witnessing repeated acts of violence causes serious, uncomfortable and prolonged gender identity disorder. From then on, the male student wanted to become a girl by taking medicine or having surgery, thinking "what are men doing when they only know how to drink and beat their wives?"
Doctor Tu examines a patient. Photo: Provided by the hospital
According to New Portacademy , Gender Identity Disorder is a psychological problem in which the sufferer does not accept their body structure, or can be understood as they do not accept their biological sex. They want to change their appearance from male to female and vice versa, as well as have behaviors and gestures of people of the gender they identify with, also known as gender identity.
Dr. Tu said that there are 4 factors to determine gender, including biological sex at birth, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. In which, sex at birth is the genetic sex determined on each person's chromosome set (for women it is 46, XX and for men it is 46, XY). This genetic characteristic will determine the biological sex of the genitals as male (penis, testicles, vas deferens) or female (ovaries, uterus, vagina) and secondary sexual characteristics. Sex at birth is recorded on the birth certificate as male or female.
However, under the influence of the environment, education, and self-awareness, children will develop gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. "These are called family and social factors," said Dr. Tu, adding that factors such as abnormal chromosomes, testosterone-induced gender disorders, and hormonal imbalances during pregnancy or adolescence are biological causes.
Gender identities can be identical to or different from biological sex assigned at birth. Thus, there are concepts such as heterosexual (gender identity, gender expression is consistent with sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation is opposite sex), homosexual (gender identity, gender expression is consistent with sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation is same sex), and transgender (gender assigned at birth is different from gender identity and gender expression).
A person who identifies and expresses a gender that is different from their biological sex may experience transgender thoughts, which can begin as gender dysphoria. This is a distressing, distressing, distressing, and uncomfortable feeling when gender identity (a person's sense of belonging) does not match their biological sex (as determined by genitalia).
Vietnam currently has no statistics on the rate of gender identity disorder, but world studies suggest that the number of people diagnosed with this condition is increasing. In 2019, about 8,000 people in the UK sought services for gender dysphoria, according to the NHS . A statistic posted on the NICB, estimated that about 0.005-0.014% of men and 0.002-0.003% of women experience gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoric adolescents are more likely to experience mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. They are also at higher risk of substance abuse and suicide. If left untreated, the condition can become more difficult to treat and can affect the physical and mental health of the individual and their family.
Doctor Tu recommends that when children have problems with gender identity disorders, it is necessary to pay attention to psychological factors to eliminate causes from family, friends, relatives or other external influences. On the other hand, children need to be assessed physiologically as well as eliminate biological and pathological factors such as gynecomastia in men, androgen resistance syndrome in women...
Experts say that parents need to create a healthy living environment and avoid conflicts in front of their children. When they see their children sharing needs and desires that are different from their biological sex, parents should stay calm, take their children to see a specialist for consultation, then accompany and respect their children.
Thuy Quynh
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