ABSTRACT
Cross-gender behavior has been known since antiquity. However, it was not until the early nineteenth century that a case of cross-gender identity was first described by a German author, Friedreich (1830). Subsequently, German sexologists continued to describe examples of cross-gender identity behavior, using terms like "the contrary sexual feeling," and "metamorphosis sexualis paranoia." This German tradition culminated with the work of Magnus Hirschfeld and the publication of his classic monograph Die Transvestiten (1910). The equivalent English term, transvestism, was widely used to describe cases of what is now referred to as "gender dysphoria." Havelock Ellis (1936) coined the terms "sexoesthetic inversion" and "eonism" to describe this condition. D.O. Cauldwell first used the term "transsexualism" in 1949, and this term has been used ever since to describe the most extreme example of gender dysphoria. However, it was not until the famous Christine Jorgensen case received worldwide attention in the press that transsexualism became known to the public and the medical field. Harry Benjamin, an endocrinologist and sexologist from New York, popularized the term "transsexualism" in his writing, which culminated with the publication of his classic monograph The Transsexual Phenomenon (1966). Dr. Benjamin was recognized for his leadership and pioneering work in this field by having the International Gender Dysphoria Association named after him. In 1973, the term "gender dysphoria" was coined; this has become a generic term that includes all individuals who suffer from some form of gender discomfort (Laub, 1973; Laub & Fisk, 1974). Finally, the term "gender-identity disorders" (GID) has been used to describe individuals with gender dysphoria since 1980 with the publication of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 3rd edition. This generic term, GID, continues to be the primary designation for this group of disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).
