The Southeast Asian interpretation of gender dysphoria: an illustrative case report.

In the West gender dysphoria is commonly attributed to a biological abnormality, parental influences favoring assumption of a gender opposite to the subject's anatomical sex, or a combination of these factors. In Southeast Asia (among Hindus and Buddhists), numerous cases of gender dysphoria occur. They generally receive less attention than they do in the West and evoke relatively little concern on the part of the persons affected and the members of their families. The condition is attribwted to residues of a previous life as a member of the opposite sex. Some persons with gender identity confusion claim to remember details of previous lives. A case illustrating such claims (without verifiable details) is presented.