Gender and sexual identity are immensely complicated topics. An expert on human sexuality, Mark Yarhouse offers a Christian perspective of transgender identity that eschews simplistic answers, engages the latest research and listens to people's stories. This accessible guide challenges Christians to rise above the politics and come alongside individuals navigating these issues.
In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of children and young people who diagnose themselves as gender dysphoric, or trans. In the UK, and worldwide, there is a growing tendency to refer them on to 'specialist' gender services almost as soon as they express any confusion or distress about their biological sex or gender identity. Due to the rapidly rising numbers and various pressures on the system, patients are increasingly likely to be offered life-altering medication and/or surgical treatments, often with little exploration of their emotional world. As so little is yet known or understood regarding this increase in gender incongruent patients, it seems precipitous to proceed onto physical treatments before any assessment work is undertaken. Many who present as gender dysphoric have complex needs with comorbid problems such as autism, histories of abuse or trauma, social phobias, depression, eating disorders, and other mental health symptoms. Therefore, all aspects of the individual's life deserve thorough assessment and therapeutic work. This book is aimed primarily at clinicians working in the field to provide a model for understanding, assessing, and treating gender dysphoria. The model uses a psychoanalytic framework to help explain disturbed states of mind and how psychic defences can be enlisted unconsciously to avoid overwhelming psychic pain. This offers professionals a way of trying to think with, and offer understanding to, their trans-identifying clients. Clinical examples are given to illustrate these processes and promote the understanding of transgender children, adolescents, and young people and their internal worlds, their thinking, and their interpersonal relationships. As well as clinical exploration and understanding, the book includes an overview of the current political, social, and clinical environments which have all impacted on the clinical care of trans-identifying individuals. As well as professional and trainee clinicians, this book might also prove useful to parents, other professionals, and possibly the gender dysphoric person too.
"This inviting text provides a useful framework for Christians to use in approaching what can be difficult conversations around gender identity."--Publishers Weekly This book offers a measured Christian response to the diverse gender identities that are being embraced by an increasing number of adolescents. Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky offer an honest, scientifically informed, compassionate, and nuanced treatment for all readers who care about or work with gender-diverse youth: pastors, church leaders, parents, family members, youth workers, and counselors. Yarhouse and Sadusky help readers distinguish between current mental health concerns, such as gender dysphoria, and the emerging gender identities that some young people turn to for a sense of identity and community. Based on the authors' significant clinical and ministry experience, this book casts a vision for practically engaging and ministering to teens navigating diverse gender-identity concerns. It also equips readers to critically engage gender theory based on a Christian view of sex and gender.
One of the most pressing issues facing the evangelical church today involves dramatic shifts in our culture's perceptions regarding human sexuality. While homosexuality and same-sex marriage have been at the forefront, there is a new cultural awareness of sexual diversity and gender dysphoria. The transgender phenomenon has become a high-profile battleground issue in the culture wars. This book offers a full-scale dialogue on transgender identities from across the Christian theological spectrum. It brings together contributors with expertise and platforms in the study of transgender identities to articulate and defend differing perspectives on this contested topic. After an introductory chapter surveys key historical moments and current issues, four views are presented by Owen Strachan, Mark A. Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky, Megan K. DeFranza, and Justin Sabia-Tanis. The authors respond to one another's views in a respectful manner, modeling thoughtful dialogue around a controversial theological issue. The book helps readers understand the spectrum of views among Christians and enables Christian communities to establish a context where conversations can safely be held.
Helps Christians engage lovingly, thoughtfully, and biblically with discussions on gender identity. Originally released in 2017, this version has been updated and expanded. In the West, more and more Christians are coming across the topic of gender identity in their everyday lives. Legislative changes are impacting more and more areas of life, including education, employment, and state funding, with consequences for religious liberty, free speech, and freedom of conscience that affect everyone. So it’s a crucial moment to consider how to engage lovingly, thoughtfully, and biblically with one of the most explosive cultural discussions of our day. This warm, faithful, and compassionate book that helps Christians understand what the Bible says about gender identity has been updated and expanded throughout, and now includes a section on pronoun usage and a new chapter challenging some of the claims of the transgender activist movement. Andrew T. Walker also answers questions such as: What is transgender and gender fluidity? How should churches respond? What does God's word actually say about these issues?
Gender Dysphoria: Understanding the Symptoms and Treating Gender Dysphoria Researcher and author, Michelle Serena tackles the controversial subject of transgenderism and gender dysphoria in her new eBook, Gender Dysphoria. With all the recent information in the news on transgender people this book comes at the right time. I Am Cait, the new show about the life of Caitlyn Jenner as she transitions into her new world separate from "Bruce Jenner" is a startling reminder that this dysphoria is not only real, but that individuals who are going through this condition have options and have a bright life in front of them when they find self-acceptance and a community of supportive friends. Gender Dysphoria is not a comprehensive book, nor a substitution for medical advice. It is a guide for family and friends who are curious about the subject and need to get a handle on what is going on with someone they love who is transgender. It is also a helpful book for school-aged people who may have to report on transgender studies or even to better understand their fellow students. The book helps the reader determine what is transgenderism, the possible biological reasons for it, treatments that are possible, and the various attributes of the condition. Readers will find useful information on the topic, and hopefully receive the type of understanding that will enable the transgender peoples in their life to have a point of departure for positive discussion. The eBook discusses male-to-female transgenders, female-to-male, and the hormonal and surgical options that many of them will undertake to find some relief from their condition. It also goes into the risks associated with the various treatment options, and for this reason is also a good resource for family members who have been asked to provide emotional support to the transgender person who is considering hormone therapy and possible Sexual Reasssignment Surgery (SRS). Keywords: gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria definition, gender dysphoria symptoms, define gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, dysphoria dsm, gender dysphoria disorder, what is gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria treatment, what causes gender dysphoria, coping with gender dysphoria, treatment for gender dysphoria, signs of gender dysphoria, dealing with gender dysphoria, how to deal with gender dysphoria, cause of gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria diagnosis, gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria meaning, gender dysphoria therapy, gender dysphoria clinic, how to cope with gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria cure, how common is gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria help, gender dysphoria children, indirect gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria syndrome, gender dysphoria in adults, gender identity, gender identity disorder, what is gender identity, child gender identity, gender identity help, gender identity crisis definition, psychology of gender identity, gender identity disorder in adults, gender, gender reassignment, psychology of gender, gender questionnaire, mermaids gender, mental disorder, mental disorders, disorder mental, disorders mental, transgender, sex change, male to female, mental disease, psych disorders, mental diagnosis, gender dysphoria, psych disorder, disorders of psychology, transsexual, transsexuals, crossdresser, crossdressing, female to male, mtf, ftm
This unique and timely volume provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent clinical work and research on the topic. Following an overview of the disorder, the first section of the book deals with young children, providing a detailed analysis of gender identity disorder in both boys and girls. The second section, which focuses on adolescents, covers gender identity disorder, transvestic fetishism - also based on the largest sample of individuals ever studied - and homosexuality. Detailed clinical case material, which brings the issues to life, is included throughout.
NAMED A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2021 BY THE TIMES AND THE SUNDAY TIMES "Irreversible Damage . . . has caused a storm. Abigail Shrier, a Wall Street Journal writer, does something simple yet devastating: she rigorously lays out the facts." —Janice Turner, The Times of London Until just a few years ago, gender dysphoria—severe discomfort in one’s biological sex—was vanishingly rare. It was typically found in less than .01 percent of the population, emerged in early childhood, and afflicted males almost exclusively. But today whole groups of female friends in colleges, high schools, and even middle schools across the country are coming out as “transgender.” These are girls who had never experienced any discomfort in their biological sex until they heard a coming-out story from a speaker at a school assembly or discovered the internet community of trans “influencers.” Unsuspecting parents are awakening to find their daughters in thrall to hip trans YouTube stars and “gender-affirming” educators and therapists who push life-changing interventions on young girls—including medically unnecessary double mastectomies and puberty blockers that can cause permanent infertility. Abigail Shrier, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, has dug deep into the trans epidemic, talking to the girls, their agonized parents, and the counselors and doctors who enable gender transitions, as well as to “detransitioners”—young women who bitterly regret what they have done to themselves. Coming out as transgender immediately boosts these girls’ social status, Shrier finds, but once they take the first steps of transition, it is not easy to walk back. She offers urgently needed advice about how parents can protect their daughters. A generation of girls is at risk. Abigail Shrier’s essential book will help you understand what the trans craze is and how you can inoculate your child against it—or how to retrieve her from this dangerous path.
Today’s youth struggle with difficult questions of sexual identity. How can a youth worker offer wise care and counsel on such a controversial and confusing subject? Mark Yarhouse, Director of the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity, writes to equip youth ministers so they can faithfully navigate the topic of sexual identity in a way that is honest, compassionate, and accessible. Reframing the focus away from the culture wars, Yarhouse introduces readers to the conversation beginning with the developmental considerations in the formation of sexual identity—all of which occurs in the teen years. He offers practical and helpful ways to think about people who experience same-sex attraction. Sections of the book are also dedicated to helping parents respond to their children and teens who struggle with questions of sexual idenity, as well as how youth ministry can become more relevant in the lives of youth who are navigating these issues.
