ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book suggests that an abnormality of genetic or neuroanatomical constitution or of endocrine function is compatible with a diagnosis of transsexualism. It addresses a system of clinical practice at a particular time. It should be apparent that a gender identity clinic is likely to see a very wide range of people and problems. This is somewhat at odds with public and, to some extent, psychiatric perception. Gender identity disorders were once viewed as always being serious mental illnesses. Over the years the pendulum has swung the other way, and it is now sometimes asserted that gender identity disorders have no such association. Local psychiatric services often co-operate in a definition, sometimes sincerely and sometimes because it serves as a convenient label when referring the patient to a gender identity clinic.
