Diagnosing Difference is a feature-length length documentary featuring interviews
with 13 diverse scholars, activists, and artists who identify on the trans spectrum
(transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-binary) about the impact and
implications of the Gender Identity Disorder (GID) on their lives and communities.
Information contributed by the artist to the TMP
How does it feel to have your gender identity included in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? Historically, doctors and psychiatrists have positioned
themselves as the "experts" on transgender experiences, creating diagnoses that inform
legal policies, health care and even everyday social aspects of life. Diagnosing Difference
features interviews with diverse scholars, activists and artists who identify on the
trans spectrum (transgender, transsexual, genderqueer and gender variant) about the
impact of Gender Identity Disorder on their lives and communities.
Susan Stryker, Dean Spade, Ryka Aoki, Shawna Virago and nine others offer their personal
voices to the debate around the diagnosis. This documentary is groundbreaking and
incredibly timely, as the 5th edition of the DSM is scheduled for publication by the
American Psychiatric Association in 2013. Whether this revision will include Gender
Identity Disorder as a diagnosis currently remains a dilemma both among health care
professionals and trans communities.
“22nd Vancouver Queer Film Festival,” 2010.
