The use of metaphors in understanding atypical gender identity development and its psychosocial impact

Summary — English:
Di Ceglie explores how metaphors can help clinicians think about complex and sometimes rigid dynamics surrounding atypical gender identity development.
He argues that metaphors create symbolic space, allowing therapists to hold multiple perspectives and tolerate uncertainty rather than reducing the child’s experience to a fixed explanation.
Metaphors such as “a stranger in my own body,” “working at the edge,” and “navigating between Scylla and Charybdis” are used to illuminate different clinical experiences and dilemmas.
The paper connects metaphorical thinking with symbolisation, therapeutic stance, institutional pressures, and the risks involved in clinical decision-making.
Di Ceglie ultimately emphasizes flexibility, individual differences, and the complexity of gender identity development, including the possible association between gender dysphoria and autistic-spectrum features.