Some people have a gender
which is neither male nor female and may identify as both male and female at
one time, as different genders at different times, as no gender at all, or
dispute the very idea of only two genders.
The umbrella terms for such genders
are 'genderqueer' or 'non-binary' genders. Such gender identities outside of
the binary of female and male are increasingly being recognized in legal,
medical and psychological systems and diagnostic classifications in line with
the emerging presence and advocacy of these groups of people.
Population-based
studies show a small percentage - but a sizable proportion in terms of raw
numbers - of people who identify as non-binary. While such genders have been
extant historically and globally, they remain marginalized, and as such - while
not being disorders or
pathological in themselves - people with such genders remain at risk of
victimization and of minority or marginalization stress as a result of
discrimination.
This paper therefore reviews the limited literature on this
field and considers ways in which (mental) health professionals may assist the
people with genderqueer and non-binary gender identities and/or expressions
they may see in their practice. Treatment options and associated risks are
discussed.
Purchase full article at:
- 1 Nottingham Centre for Gender Dysphoria (http://www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/nottingham-centre-for-gender-dysphoria), Nottingham , UK ;
- 2 Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic , London , UK ;
- 3 Department of Psychology in Social Sciences (http://www.wlmht.nhs.uk/gi/gender-identity-clinic/), Open University , Milton Keynes , UK ;
- 4 Interdisciplinary Transgender Health Care Centre Hamburg, Department for Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry , University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) , Germany ;
- 5 Centre for Sexology and Gender, Department of Endocrinology , Ghent University , Belgium.
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