Gender Development: Neuroscience, Transgender and Individual Differences

There is a growing body of research in neuroscience relevant to the development of gender differences and gender identity. In this workshop, you discuss current issues about transgender, queer and gender-nonconforming identities and expressions in the context of the usual (cisgender) development of gender. Gender studies and cultural controversies have raised questions about the utility of a long-standing binary construction of gender differences and have raised serious doubt about the value of using the dominant (binary) construction of gender. Studies showing problems with the binary gender model have raised new questions about a broad range of biological, psychological and social aspects of gender development.

In this workshop, you review scientific studies and cultural norms, and then explore a scientific developmental model that accounts for each individual. You review the evolution of scientific understanding of transgender as it is revealed in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of those with gender (identity and expression) differences. You also discuss some of the major changes in the DSM—from DSM II-R to the current DSM V and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) versions 8–11—and are introduced to the practice guidelines promulgated by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), American Psychological Association (APA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).