Where Christ did not go: Men, women and frusculicchi; Gender Identity Disorder (GID): Epistemological and ethical issues relating to the psychiatric diagnosis

Abstract

Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is classified as a mental illness and included in the DSM-IV and ICD-10. It will also be included in the DSM-V. The psychiatric diagnosis, in spite of some apparent advantages, has significant psychological and social adverse implications. This paper discusses some of the main epistemological reasons to consider gender variance as a mental disorder. It will also evaluate whether reasons of other kinds (pragmatic, rather than epistemological) may justify the inclusion of gender variance amongst mental illnesses.