The American Psychiatric Association on 18 May 2013 released a new, fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which intended to officially end a long term discussion over a controversial term “gender identity disorder”. The term “gender identity disorder” was eliminated because of its stigmatizing and pathologizing meaning, and a new term “gender dysphoria” was introduced, which is supposed to focus attention only on those individuals who feel distressed by their biological gender.

Moreover, the diagnostic criteria slightly changed, putting more emphasis on feeling of incongruence between one’s felt gender identity and one’s primary and secondary sex characteristics.

However, some critics say, that it is questionable, whether The American Psychiatric Association should give up altogether the clinical category regarding transgendered people. After all, the term referring to individuals experiencing gender incongruence, is still there, just looks more descriptive.

Or maybe it is still just a step towards next change, say in DSM-5-TR (text revision)? Time will tell…