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Rachel Cook
Trans activists have expressed concern over
appointments to a task force which will oversee revisions of the American
Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual for Diagnosis of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
The manual lists different categories of mental
disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them. It is used worldwide
by clinicians and researchers, as well as insurance companies, pharmaceutical
companies and policy makers.
There is particular concern is over the
appointment of Dr Kenneth Zucker to the task force.
Zucker, who has been selected to chair the
Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders working group, is an advocate of
reparative ‘ex-gay’ therapy to ‘cure’ gender-variant children.
TransActive Education & Advocacy, a US group which
supports transgender and gender variant youth, has released a media statement
opposing Zucker’s selection.
“[Our] position is based upon his approach
to clinical treatment of transgender and gender non-conforming identity in
children and youth,” the release states.
The group also cites a statement made by
Zucker on US National Public Radio, in which he said, “It is legitimate for parents
to establish limits for their children on cross-gender behaviours. If not, the
behaviour is, in effect, being reinforced.”
A spokesperson from TransGender Victoria told MCV that Zucker believes gender variant
children should be classed as homosexual and therefore could ‘benefit’ from
reparative ‘ex-gay’ therapy.
“His aim is that they display what he
believes is hetero-normative gender conforming behaviour. His appointment is essentially
negative for trans people based on the queer phobic views he has exhibited.”
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