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How Dresses Can Make You Mentally Ill: Examining Gender Identity Disorder in Children

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Abstract

This paper examines the diagnostic category of Gender Identity Disorder in Children (GIDC) and its evolution. It also critiques the continued use of GIDC on conceptual, psychometric, and ethical grounds. Gender atypicality is a social construction that varies over time according to culture and social class and therefore should not be pathologized.

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Langer, S.J., Martin, J.I. How Dresses Can Make You Mentally Ill: Examining Gender Identity Disorder in Children. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 21, 5–23 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CASW.0000012346.80025.f7

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