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Gender Dysphoria is a gender identity disorder which is estimated affects about 10% of the population across the globe. Although it affects both men and women, more men suffer from this condition that women do, to the ratio of 10 to 1. In general, a person who suffers from gender dysphoria feels more comfortable to be the opposite gender to his/her physical gender. Recent studies have shown that a person's gender identity is both influenced by nature and nurture, ie. there are genetic/hormonal factors that drives a person's perception of gender, and together with the correct nurturing by its parents and other environmental influence, help develop a person's gender. Unfortunately, for a small proportion of individuals, their gender identity conflicts with their physical gender, and this causes of a lot of stress for these individuals, their families and friends as they do not conform to the social norm.
It is important to note that the concept of gender identity is not the same as sexual orientation, though closely linked. Gender identity is formed from birth while an individual's sexual orientation occurs just prior to puberty. It is a misconception that all crossdressers are gay. Most crossdressers are heterosexual, and remain so all their lives.
In this group of people with gender dysphoria, there are four sub groups who have been classified as such by researchers for easy identification and study. There are crossdressers, transvestites, drag queens and transexuals.
- crossdressers in general, feel the need to change their gender on a part time basis. Most are heterosexual and are married with a family or in successful relationships with the opposite gender.
- transvestites derive sexual pleasure out of dressing up as the opposite gender. In the past, transvestites have had the bad reputation for soliciting the streets to fulfill their sexual fantasies.
- drag queens prefer to dress outrageously as the opposite gender for performance on stage. Most drag queens are gay.
- transexuals are individuals who believe that due to a quirk of nature, they have been born into the wrong body. As a result, they prefer to live as the opposite gender all of the time. Tranexuals who are seeking sex re-assignment surgery (SRS) are also known as pre-op (before SRS) and post-op(after SRS). A no-op transexual lives full time as the opposite gender without needing surgery to change their gender.
Until recently, the term 'transgendered people' have been used to represent this group of people.
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