TRANSGENDERISM IS NOT A SEXUAL ADDICTION

Automatically considering sex addiction as an explanation why a person behaves opposite their at-birth gender or has a strong desire to behave opposite their at-birth gender is a mistake.

Gender identity issues, such as transgenderism, are not sexual addiction. Diagnostically, sexual addiction considers the degree of disintegration to one’s personal functioning; understanding the consequences resulting from compulsive behavior; and determining how over time the escalated use of the behavior is an escape from distress. Whereas gender identity issues are part of our natural developmental exploration to understand one’s identity and/or sexuality (even if that exploration is somehow distorted), sex addiction issues are fundamentally about escaping existential pain. To the extent that a person’s exploration to understand their sexuality and identity is harmful, then sexual addiction may be a consideration, and in such a case, that person’s exploration must be compulsive with unintended negative consequences where both have increased over time (for at least six months). Any sexual addiction diagnosis is always best done by a trained and certified sexual addiction therapist.

Bottom line, sexual addiction is escape behavior and exploring gender identity is explorative behavior. To be helpful in either process, the presence of any potential harm to the person’s functioning must be evaluated and followed up with a commensurately appropriate response.

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