Question 2 Help 1. Not all media is created equally, so critical thinking is needed to digest what is presented. 2. In general, media depictions are inaccurate. This may be due to many factors—including but not limited to the following: (a) the media in the U.S.A. falls within the entertainment industry—not education or a government regulated agency, (b) shock value/sensationalism, (c) exaggerating taboo qualities, (d) stereotypes and biases within individuals who work for media corporations, (e) public preferences, and/or (f) the limited time and information sometimes available to the person in charge of the media presentation. 3. Negative representations lead to negative attitudes toward people with behavioral pathology. 4. The media both shapes public opinion and caters to public preferences. If there were no consumers for the product, there would be no sponsors and no media portrayals as they now exist. The students in this class are a part of the public and you make choices as consumers—like do other members of the public—which can encourage or discourage current practices in the media. 5. The type of media venue can greatly impact the degree and direction of the distortions or misinformation (e.g., news, dramas, comedies, biographical movies, social media, internet stories, magazines, documentaries, educational programming such as PBS). 6. Those who are educated would prefer that the focus of the media be redirected away from negative effects of psychopathology. Ideally, the media would use their resources to explore human consequences for psychopathology. Question 3 Help In favor of gender dysphoria being in the DSM-5. Differing thoughts on whether insurance should cover sex reassignment surgery (SRS) and hormone replacement—and whether insurance should cover reversals in the case of regret. We were reminded that the key feature of inclusion in the DSM-5 as a psychiatric diagnosis was the presence of impairment in psychosocial functioning. Thus, looking at this criteria, if a person identified as being Transgender but is not experiencing any clinically significant distress or impairment in social, school, or other important areas of functioning, this individual would not be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria according to the DSM-5. That being the case, the question then becomes is Gender Dysphoria the best diagnosis for such individuals or can they receive the treatment needed if this diagnosis is removed and what other diagnosis(es) in the DSM-5 would be appropriate for Transgender individuals who do show clinically significant distress or impairment in social, school, or other important areas of functioning if Gender Dysphoria is removed from the DSM? The controversy extended to the ICD-10, and the instructor introduced another DSM-5 diagnosis for the class’ consideration that could apply to Transgender individuals who are experiencing distress that warrants intervention—not due to being Transgendered but due to homophobic discrimin ...