Preguntas frecuentes

¿Qué es la orientación sexual?

La orientación sexual es una atracción emocional, romántica, sexual o afectiva duradera hacia otros. Se distingue fácilmente de otros componentes de la sexualidad que incluyen sexo biológico y la identidad de género. En este sentido las personas trans, tiene su propia identidad de género, sin que esto represente o signifique un problema en relación a su identidad de género.

La orientación sexual existe a lo largo del continuo que va desde la heterosexualidad exclusiva hasta la homosexualidad exclusiva e incluye diversas formas de bisexualidad. Las personas bisexuales pueden experimentar una atracción sexual, emocional y afectiva hacia personas de su mismo sexo y del sexo opuesto. A las personas con una orientación homosexual se las denomina a veces gay (tanto hombres como mujeres) o lesbianas (sólo a las mujeres).

La orientación sexual es diferente de la conducta sexual porque se refiere a los sentimientos y al concepto de uno mismo. Las personas pueden o no expresar su orientación sexual en sus conductas.

Las personas trans, pueden tener una atracción sexual ya se a personas cisgéneros o transgéneros. No existe ninguna limitación con respecto a la orientación sexual; y por el contrario, es una evidencia mucho mas clara de la complejidad de la identidad de género

Fuente Original: OMS/OPS 

¿Qué dice la OMS y OPS sobre las Terapias de conversión?

Los supuestos servicios de “curación” de personas con una identidad de género no cisgénero o una orientación sexual no heterosexual, carecen de justificación médica y representan una grave amenaza para la salud y el bienestar de las personas afectadas, señala un posicionamiento técnico de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), lanzado el 17 de mayo 2012, que conmemora el Día Internacional contra la Homofobia.

El  documento hace un llamado a los gobiernos, a las instituciones académicas, a las asociaciones profesionales y a los medios de comunicación a que expongan estas prácticas y promuevan el respeto a la diversidad.

“Ya que la identidad de género o la orientación sexual, no son un trastorno o enfermedad, no requiere cura. En consecuencia, no existe indicación médica para dicho cambio, observó la Directora de la OPS, doctora Mirta Roses Periago. Añadió que las prácticas conocidas como “terapias reparativas” o “de conversión”, representan “una grave amenaza para la salud y el bienestar, inclusive la vida, de las personas afectadas”.

El documento técnico de la OPS señala que existe un consenso profesional en que la orientación sexual y la identidad de género son variaciones naturales de la sexualidad y no pueden considerarse como una  condición patológica. Sin embargo, varios órganos de las Naciones Unidas han constatado que aún existen supuestas “clínicas” o “terapeutas” que promueven tratamientos que pretenden cambiar la orientación sexual i la identidad de género de las personas.

En este posicionamiento técnico se observa que no existe ningún estudio científico riguroso que demuestre la eficacia de los esfuerzos de cambio de la identidad de género o la orientación sexual. Al mismo tiempo, constata que hay muchos testimonios sobre los daños graves a la salud mental y física que estos “servicios” pueden causar. La represión de la identidad de género o de la orientación sexual,  ha sido asociada con sentimientos de culpa y vergüenza, depresión, ansiedad, e inclusive suicidio.

Como factor agravante, se han recibido reportes de que los tratos degradantes, el acoso sexual, la violencia física y la tortura suelen ser o pueden ser elementos que componen las supuestas “terapias”. Resulta “más inquietante”, señala el documento, que los supuestos servicios de “reconversión sexual” muchas veces se presten de manera clandestina. También se ha recibido información de adolescentes que fueron sujetos a intervenciones de “reparación” de manera involuntaria, y en algunos casos hasta privados de su libertad e incomunicados por varios meses, indica este posicionamiento técnico.

“Estas prácticas son injustificables y deben ser denunciadas y sujetas a sanciones y penalidades dentro de la legislación nacional”, observó la doctora Roses. “Las supuestas ‘terapias de reconversión’ constituyen una violación a los principios éticos de la atención de salud e infringen los derechos humanos de las personas afectadas protegidos por regulaciones internacionales y regionales”, subrayó.

Para enfrentar este reto, el documento de la OPS presenta una serie de recomendaciones para varios sectores, como los gobiernos, las instituciones académicas, las asociaciones profesionales, los medios de comunicación y la sociedad civil. Entre las recomendaciones figuran:

• Que las terapias de “reconversión” o “reparativas” y las clínicas que las ofrezcan sean denunciadas y se apliquen las sanciones correspondientes.
• Que las instituciones públicas responsables de la formación de profesionales de la salud incluyan en sus esquemas curriculares cursos de sexualidad humana y salud sexual con enfoques de respeto a la diversidad y de eliminación de actitudes de patologización, rechazo y odio hacia personas no cisgeneros y heterosexuales.
• Que las agrupaciones profesionales diseminen entre sus miembros documentos y resoluciones de instituciones y agencias nacionales e internacionales en las que se hace un llamamiento a despsicopatologizar la diversidad sexual y a prevenir el uso de intervenciones dirigidas a cambiar la orientación sexual.
• A nivel de los medios de comunicación, la transfobia/homofobia, en cualquier de sus manifestaciones y expresada por cualquier persona debe ser expuesta como un problema de salud pública, de atentado a la dignidad y a los derechos humanos
• A nivel de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, pueden desarrollar mecanismos de vigilancia ciudadana para reconocer violaciones de derechos humanos de personas no heterosexuales/no cisgéneros  y denunciarlas a las autoridades correspondientes.

A partir de ello, para el Centro Psico Trans, administrado por la Asociación Silueta X, se convierte no solo en una alternativa para aquellas personas que desean someter a sus hijos o familiares a estas terapias de tortura. En el Centro Psico Trans, se muestra una alternativa científica, acorde a los estándares internacionales fomentando la no vulneración a la identidad de género, sobre todo. Así mismo, es una oportunidad para poder denunciar públicamente cuando se conoce sobre uno de estos centros clandestinos.

Enlaces:

• Documento de Posicionamiento Técnico- “Curas” para una enfermedad que no existe
• OPS/Promoción de la salud sexual
• http://www.paho.org/paho110/ 

¿Cómo se desarrolla la identidad de género en los niños?

La identidad de género suele desarrollarse en etapas:

• Alrededor de los dos años: Los niños toman conciencia de las diferencias físicas entre varones y mujeres.
• Antes de su tercer cumpleaños: La mayoría de los niños se pueden identificar como varones o mujeres con facilidad.
• A los cuatro años: La mayoría de los niños tienen un sentido estable de su identidad de género.

Durante esta misma época de la vida, los niños aprenden conductas del rol de género, es decir, «cosas que hacen los varones» o «cosas que hacen las mujeres». Sin embargo, las preferencias entre géneros cruzados y el juego son parte normal de la exploración y el desarrollo del género independientemente de su futura identidad de género.

El punto es que todos los niños tienden a desarrollar una visión más clara de sí mismos y de su género con el transcurso del tiempo. De cualquier manera, la investigación sugiere que los niños que confirman una identidad de género diversa conocen su género de manera tan clara y sistemática como sus pares en la misma etapa del desarrollo y que se benefician del mismo nivel de apoyo, amor y aceptación social.

¿Qué es lo que pueden hacer los padres?

Todos los niños necesitan la oportunidad de explorar distintos roles de género y distintos estilos de juego. Los padres pueden cerciorarse de que el entorno del niño refleje diversidad en los roles de género y fomente oportunidades para todos. Algunas ideas incluyen ofrecer:

• Libros infantiles o rompecabezas que muestren a hombres y mujeres en roles de género no estereotipados y diversos (papás que se quedan en casa, mamás que trabajan, enfermeros varones y policías mujeres, por ejemplo).
• Una amplia variedad de juguetes entre los cuales elegir, que incluyan muñecos bebés, vehículos de juguete, muñecos de acción, bloques de construcción, etc.
• A los seis años de edad, la mayoría de los niños pasan la mayor parte de su tiempo de juego con niños de su mismo sexo y es posible que se inclinen hacia los deportes y otras actividades asociadas con su género. Es importante permitir que los niños elijan sus grupos de amigos, los deportes que desean practicar y las demás actividades en las que participen. También es buena idea hablar con su hijo para conocer sus preferencias y asegurarse de que se sienta incluido y que no sufra burlas ni acoso.

¿Cómo suelen expresar su identidad de género los niños?

Además de los juguetes, juegos y deportes que eligen, los niños suelen expresar su identidad de género de las siguientes maneras:

• Vestimenta o peinado (Vea el cuento para niños «Benedicto se siente niña«)
• Nombre o apodo preferidos
• Conducta social que refleje grados variados de agresividad, dominio, dependencia y delicadeza.
• Los modales, el estilo de conducta, los gestos físicos y otras acciones no verbales identificadas como masculinas o femeninas.
• Relaciones sociales, incluyendo el género de sus amigos y personas a las que decide imitar.

Si bien la conducta específica de género de un niño (es decir, la expresión de género) puede parecer, en algún momento, estar influenciada por la exposición a estereotipos y a su identificación con las personas de su vida, no es posible cambiar el sentimiento interno de ser una niña, un niño, algo entre en el medio u otra cosa (es decir, la identidad de género).

Si requiere de una mayor orientación por favor programe una cita con nosotros.

English version.

Scientific concepts related to Gender Identity

What is the difference between sex and gender?

It can be quite easy to confuse biological sex (sometimes called «sex assigned at birth») with gender and gender identity. They relate to each other but are different.

Sex is a label usually given first by a doctor based on the genes, hormones and body parts (such as genitals) with which you are born. It is included in your birth certificate and describes your body as female or male. The sex of some people does not fit women or men. This is called intersex.

Gender refers to how society reasons that we have to see ourselves, think and act like girls and women and boys and men. Each culture has its informal beliefs and rules about how people should act based on their gender. For example, many cultures expect and encourage men to be more aggressive than women. Gender is understood as feminine and masculine.

What is gender identity?

Gender identity is how you feel inside and how you express your gender through your dress, behavior and personal appearance. It is a feeling that regularly begins early in life.

The gender identity – of the English gender identity – refers to the subjective perception that an individual has about himself as to his own gender, which may or may not coincide with his sexual characteristics; This, can be considered as psychological or psychic sex and constitutes one of the three elements of sexual identity along with sexual orientation and gender role, relating «to the ideoaffective scheme of belonging to a sex», so That would be the individual expression of gender.

What do the terms transgender and cisgender mean?

Most people who are assigned «feminine» at birth feel like girls or women, just as most of those who are assigned «male» feel like boys or boys. These people are called cisgender (or cis).

Some people have a gender identity that does not match the sex assigned at birth – for example, they were born with a vulva, vagina or a uterus, but they feel and identify as male. These people are transgender (or trans). Transgender is the «T» in the LGBT movement, as a reference.

Trans may also include people who do not identify with strict male and female gender roles. Other people who do not feel feminine and masculine call themselves “genderqueer” (queer gender). There are other gender identity terms and labels, but do not use terms such as transgender, transvestite, «tranny» or he-she – they are outdated and can hurt. It is always better to respect the words used by people to describe themselves.

What does intersexo mean?

Some people are born with a mixture of male and female biological markers, which makes it difficult for doctors to assign a female or male sex. These people are intersex. Being intersex is not the same as being transgender.

This is often caused by one of many genetic or hormonal conditions, and is not a medical problem. It is also much more common than people think. Some people know that your child is intersex at birth. But many people don’t know that they are intersex until they reach puberty or even later.

If you are intersex, or think you can be, it is important that you talk to a doctor who inspires confidence. Not all doctors are up to date with the most current information about the particularities of being intersex. You can learn more about the intersex issue with the Intersex Protocol of the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador, working together with NGOs such as the Silueta X Association, which administers our Trans Psycho Center.

Original source: Some concepts are from Planned Parenthood

Trans ancestrality in Ecuador (Enchaquirados)

It is important to make it clear that the trans, has existed a long time ago, and is not a contemporary invention as conservatives have claimed. In India, trans ancestrality is recognized as hijra and if we go closer on the continent in Mexico, its own trans ancestry is known as Muxes. Even, both ancestralities move away from the contemporary terms of the trans and are recognized as a separate identity, which responds to their historical claim process according to their context.

From the investigation of Benavides, the enchaquirados were far from being an aberration, constituting a normative social element, ritually prescribed, of the Manteño – Huancavilca society and possibly of other pre-Hispanic populations.

It is also evident that strict sexual norms were part of the American indigenous communities of the past, but unlike today, gender identity was far from the “crime”, “rejection” or “sin”, as it has been reified in contemporary terms . Enchaquirados includes the issue of sexual representation and problematizes the historical interpretation of the indigenous heritage of Guayaquil. For now, the rescue of laos enchaquirados has been led by people from the coastal profile of Ecuador.

Related to Sexual Orientation of Trans Persons

What is sexual orientation?

Sexual orientation is a lasting emotional, romantic, sexual or emotional attraction to others. It is easily distinguished from other components of sexuality that include biological sex and gender identity. In this sense, trans people have their own gender identity, without this representing or signifying a problem in relation to their gender identity.

Sexual orientation exists along the continuum that ranges from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality and includes various forms of bisexuality. Bisexual people may experience a sexual, emotional and emotional attraction to people of the same sex and the opposite sex. People with a homosexual orientation are sometimes referred to as gay (both men and women) or lesbians (women only).

Sexual orientation is different from sexual behavior because it refers to feelings and the concept of oneself. People may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviors.

Trans people can have a sexual attraction, whether they are cisgender or transgender people. There is no limitation regarding sexual orientation; and on the contrary, it is much clearer evidence of the complexity of gender identity

Original Source: WHO / PAHO

What does WHO and PAHO say about Conversion Therapies?

The alleged “healing” services of people with a non-cisgender gender identity or a non-heterosexual sexual orientation, lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of the people affected, indicates a technical positioning of the Organization Pan American Health (PAHO), launched on May 17, 2012, commemorating the International Day against Homophobia.

The document calls on governments, academic institutions, professional associations and the media to expose these practices and promote respect for diversity.

“Since gender identity or sexual orientation is not a disorder or disease, it does not require a cure. Consequently, there is no medical indication for this change, observed the Director of PAHO, Dr. Mirta Roses Periago. He added that the practices known as «reparative therapies» or «conversion» represent «a serious threat to the health and well-being, including life, of the people affected.»

The PAHO technical document notes that there is a professional consensus that sexual orientation and gender identity are natural variations of sexuality and cannot be considered as a pathological condition. However, several United Nations bodies have found that there are still supposed «clinics» or «therapists» that promote treatments that aim to change the sexual orientation and gender identity of people.

In this technical positioning it is observed that there is no rigorous scientific study that demonstrates the effectiveness of efforts to change gender identity or sexual orientation. At the same time, he notes that there are many testimonies about the serious damage to mental and physical health that these “services” can cause. Repression of gender identity or sexual orientation has been associated with feelings of guilt and shame, depression, anxiety, and even suicide.

As an aggravating factor, reports have been received that degrading treatment, sexual harassment, physical violence and torture are often or may be elements that make up the alleged «therapies.» It is «more disturbing,» says the document, that the alleged «sexual reconversion» services are often provided clandestinely. Information has also been received from adolescents who were subjected to “repair” interventions involuntarily, and in some cases even deprived of their liberty and incommunicado for several months, this technical positioning indicates.

“These practices are unjustifiable and must be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties within national legislation,” observed Dr. Roses. «The alleged» conversion therapies «constitute a violation of the ethical principles of health care and violate the human rights of affected persons protected by international and regional regulations,» he said.

To meet this challenge, the PAHO document presents a series of recommendations for various sectors, such as governments, academic institutions, professional associations, the media and civil society. Recommendations include:

That the “reconversion” or “reparative” therapies and the clinics that offer them be denounced and the corresponding sanctions applied.
That the public institutions responsible for the training of health professionals include in their curricular schemes courses on human sexuality and sexual health with approaches to respect for diversity and eliminating attitudes of pathologization, rejection and hatred towards non-cisgeneral and heterosexual people.
That professional groups disseminate among their members documents and resolutions of national and international institutions and agencies in which a call is made to de-psychopathologize sexual diversity and to prevent the use of interventions aimed at changing sexual orientation.

At the level of the media, transphobia / homophobia, in any of its manifestations and expressed by any person should be exposed as a public health problem, an attack on dignity and human rights.

At the level of civil society organizations, they can develop citizen oversight mechanisms to recognize human rights violations of non-heterosexual / non-cisgender people and report them to the appropriate authorities.

From this, for the Trans Psycho Center, administered by the Silueta X Association, it becomes not only an alternative for those who wish to subject their children or relatives to these torture therapies. In the Psico Trans Center, a scientific alternative is shown, according to international standards, promoting non-violation of gender identity, especially. Likewise, it is an opportunity to publicly denounce when one knows about one of these clandestine centers.

Links:

Technical Positioning Document – «Cures» for a disease that does not exist
PAHO / Sexual Health Promotion
http://www.paho.org/paho110/

How does gender identity develop in children?

Gender identity usually develops in stages:

Around two years: Children become aware of the physical differences between men and women.
Before their third birthday: Most children can be easily identified as male or female.
At age four: Most children have a stable sense of their gender identity.
During this same time in life, children learn gender role behaviors, that is, «things that men do» or «things that women do.» However, cross-gender preferences and play are a normal part of gender exploration and development regardless of their future gender identity.

The point is that all children tend to develop a clearer view of themselves and their gender over time. However, research suggests that children who confirm a diverse gender identity know their gender as clearly and systematically as their peers at the same stage of development and that they benefit from the same level of support, love and social acceptance.

What can parents do?

All children need the opportunity to explore different gender roles and different styles of play. Parents can make sure that the child’s environment reflects diversity in gender roles and fosters opportunities for everyone. Some ideas include offering:

Children’s books or puzzles that show men and women in non-stereotyped and diverse gender roles (parents who stay at home, working moms, male nurses and female police, for example).
A wide variety of toys to choose from, including baby dolls, toy vehicles, action dolls, building blocks, etc.
At six years of age, most children spend most of their playing time with children of the same sex and may be inclined towards sports and other activities associated with their gender. It is important to allow children to choose their groups of friends, the sports they want to practice and the other activities in which they participate. It is also a good idea to talk with your child to know their preferences and make sure they feel included and do not suffer teasing or harassment.

How do children usually express their gender identity?

In addition to the toys, games and sports they choose, children often express their gender identity in the following ways:

Dress or hairstyle (See children’s story «Benedict feels like a girl» in spanish)
Preferred Name or Nickname
Social behavior that reflects varying degrees of aggressiveness, dominance, dependence and delicacy.
Manners, behavior style, physical gestures and other nonverbal actions identified as male or female.
Social relationships, including the gender of your friends and people you decide to imitate.
While a child’s gender-specific behavior (that is, gender expression) may seem, at some point, to be influenced by exposure to stereotypes and their identification with the people in their life, it is not possible to change the internal feeling from being a girl, a boy, something enters the middle or something else (that is, gender identity).

If you require further guidance, please schedule an appointment with us.