Emulsifying Water and Oil

Disabling the Confrontation of Gender Identity Disorder and Transgender

Abstract

 The aim of this paper is to elucidate the relationship between the concept of being “transgender” and having “Gender Identity Disorder (GID)” by analyzing interviews with a “transgender” person (Ms. Mitsuhashi) and a “GID” person (Ms. A).
 Ms. Mitsuhashi argues that “GID” is a highly medicalized category connected to the gender essentialism possessed by doctors and that the “transgender” category is bound to social movements that liberate one from a gender role. Conversely, Ms. A shows the understanding that the “GID” category is a kind of “disability” category, and not confrontational with the “transgender”category.
 Although there may be conflicts between the ways they use the categories of “transgender” and “GID”, both can be understood as relevant tools for handling problems with which the interviewees are often faced. We should understand their identity categories within the conceptual networks in which they are embedded, and the social relationships in which Ms. Mitsuhashi and Ms. A live.