Jenner News Brings Focus on Transgender Issues

Bruce Jenner’s mother has confirmed that the former Olympic athlete is transitioning from a man to a woman; this is shedding light on the issue of being transgender.

Richard Pleak, MD, a psychiatrist at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, explains that someone realizing that their gender identity doesn’t match their body could happen either in childhood or later in life.

“Children generally develop a sense of their gender identity (their feelings of being male or female) around age 3, which solidifies over the next several years,” Dr. Pleak says. “For some children, their gender identity is different than the sex they were born and raised as, and this may be reflected in the child’s play, dress, playmates, and behaviors. This gender variance or gender non-conformity may or may not continue into adolescence – if it persists, this is in conflict with the adolescent’s pubertal development with the body becoming more male or female. These individuals may identify as being transgender and may choose to transition socially and physically to the sex of their gender identity. Some transgender people begin transitioning in their teen years, some later.”

But other people may not realize that they are a different gender until their adolescence or adulthood.

“These individuals may identify as transgender and may begin transitioning to the other sex at any point,” Dr. Pleak says. “Many times, family, education, career, insurance and finances influence the timing of transitioning, even delaying it for many years. Working with a therapist knowledgeable about transgender care and access to appropriate resources can greatly help a person understand their gender identity and make choices about transitioning.”

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