User:Sbrassil/sandbox

A person facing difficulty with gender identity, experiences great discomfort regarding his or her actual anatomic gender. They also may act and present themselves as members of the opposite sex and may express a desire to alter their bodies. Gender identity affects an individual's self-image, and can impact the person's mannerisms, behavior, and dress. Individuals who are committed to altering their physical appearance through cosmetics, hormones and, in some cases, surgery are known as transsexuals.

Around age 2 and 3 is when children show awareness of their own gender, prefer gender-stereotyped toys, and tend to mimic stereotyped gender behaviors.

People with Gender Identity Disorder desire to live as members of the opposite sex and often dress and use mannerisms associated with the other gender. For instance, a person whose biological sex is male may feel and act like a female. GID is distinct from homosexuality because homosexuals usually identify with their apparent sex or gender and people with GID do not.

GID can have numerous side effects on people. It can lead to people becoming socially isolated, either by choice or by exclusion. If social isolation occurs from exclusion, it can lead to low self-esteem and problems in school that may lead to one dropping out. For males with Gender Identity Disorder, teasing and shunning are common consequences. Males with the disorder often show marked feminine behaviors and speech patterns.

These five criteria include (a) repeated insistence or desire to be of the other sex, (b) preference for cross-dressing, (c) strong and continuous affinity for cross-sex roles during play or in fantasy, (d) strong wish to engage in stereotypical play of the other sex, and (e) powerful tendency to play with children of the other sex.

Symptoms of Gender Identity Disorder in children:

•	Expressed desire to be the opposite sex (including passing oneself off as the opposite sex and calling oneself by an opposite sex name). •	Disgust with their own genitals (Boys may pretend not to have a penis. Girls may fear growing breasts and menstruating and may refuse to sit when urinating. They also may bind their breasts to make them less noticeable.) •	Belief that they will grow up to become the opposite sex. •	Rejection by their peer groups. •	Dressing and behaving in a manner typical of the opposite sex (for example, a female wearing boy's underwear). •	Withdrawal from social interaction and activity. •	Feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety.

Adults with gender identity disorder often display the following symptoms: •	Desire to live as a person of the opposite sex. •	Desire to be rid of their own genitals. •	Dressing and behaving in a manner typical of the opposite sex. •	Withdrawal from social interaction and activity. •	Feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety.

A transsexual or transgender person is someone who strongly identifies with the opposite gender and who chooses to live as a member of the opposite gender or to become one by surgery. An intersexed individual is anyone who has anatomic characteristics of both sexes or whose external genitalia are ambiguous or inappropriate for either the normal male or female.

Research shows that 2 percent to 7 percent of boys under age 12 regularly display “cross-gender” behaviors, though very few wish to actually be a girl.

Difficulties with Gender Identity Disorder Children with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) often times have a high correlation with separation anxiety, depression, and emotion or behavioral difficulties. Learning difficulties can also be related with GID. It is not as common but child sexual abuse has been associated with GID. In adolescence, suicide attempts occur frequently. Relationship difficulties are likely to occur with Gender Identity Disorder. The most common relationship difficulty is with parents followed by peers. These relationships issues can lead to isolation. Other difficulties that individuals with GID face are depression, family mental health problems, family physical health problems, being the victim of harassment, and social sensitivity.

Recent studies have also demonstrated a high rate of substance abuse among trans people.