That's an extremely tough question.
There is no doubt in my mind that these people completely associate themselves with the opposite gender. There is also no doubt in my mind that they can not be "fixed" to make their identity association match that of their physical body. To me, the psychological issue is what exactly is male and female? With the exception of hormones and our physical bodies, there is little that separates male from female. The concept of man and woman is somewhat more of a human invention rather than a biological state (please note the difference in terms of male/female vs man/woman). The gender differences in personalities we note in children, and then later in adults can almost solely be attributed to the way they were raised. From the moment we are born, the effects of our gender are already influencing the way people treat us. To the colours they dress us in, to the way they hold us, to the words they use around us, to the length of time we are left to cry alone in a crib are all dependent on whether people think we are male or female. Women are not biologically interested in fashion, cooking utensils, redecorating etc just as men are not biologically interested in cars, sports and demolishing things. These are all factors that were encouraged from our very first breath. If people were raised truly unbiased by gender, I imagine gender identity problems would be obsolete. What a strange and interesting world we live in.
That's an extremely tough question.
There is no doubt in my mind that these people completely associate themselves with the opposite gender. There is also no doubt in my mind that they can not be "fixed" to make their identity association match that of their physical body. To me, the psychological issue is what exactly is male and female? With the exception of hormones and our physical bodies, there is little that separates male from female. The concept of man and woman is somewhat more of a human invention rather than a biological state (please note the difference in terms of male/female vs man/woman). The gender differences in personalities we note in children, and then later in adults can almost solely be attributed to the way they were raised. From the moment we are born, the effects of our gender are already influencing the way people treat us. To the colours they dress us in, to the way they hold us, to the words they use around us, to the length of time we are left to cry alone in a crib are all dependent on whether people think we are male or female. Women are not biologically interested in fashion, cooking utensils, redecorating etc just as men are not biologically interested in cars, sports and demolishing things. These are all factors that were encouraged from our very first breath. If people were raised truly unbiased by gender, I imagine gender identity problems would be obsolete. What a strange and interesting world we live in.