Adjustment Case Study
Assignment 2
Nicole Byrd
Dr. Marina Stakic
May 30, 2015

Adjustment disorder is a stress-related, short-term, nonpsychotic disruption that occurs when an individual is unable to cope or adjust to particular stressors. However, these disorders are normally short lived as individuals come up with a way to cope with a presented problem. For the purpose of this paper I have chosen two articles from NPR’s StoryCorps that revolve around adjustment disorders. “Dad Aches for Son Killed by Policeman 20 years ago” and “Longtime Couple Found That Clothes Didn't Make The Man”. Larry Goodwin aka Sissy is a 68 year-old Vietnam veteran and professor that dresses in women’s clothing, wears bows in his hair, short skirts and wants his tool box pink. Sissy is straight and married. He acquired his name while walking down the street and a lady called him “sissy” in a derogatory way, he kept it. Larry has been in many fights during his lifetime and tempted suicide a few years ago. Vicky Goodwin is his wife for 46 years and she stood by him the whole way. She wanted to protect him because she loved him with girl clothes, hair bows and all. Sissy is thankful to have a wife that has loved him unconditionally and taught him how to love also. Professor Goodwin’s students honored him by wearing all pink one day to class to show acceptance of his cross dressing preference.
Cross dressing is considered one of society’s abnormal ideas because of stereotypical gender roles. Stereotypical gender roles are stated as, biological females are feminine and biological males are masculine. Cross dressing does not represent the gender specific roles; in which men and women are to follow. The idea of men and women acting and dressing like their opposite sex is unacceptable. Society is not understanding of what is considered different from the normal. The stereotype that men are masculine and women are feminine is not the reality of gender versus sex. This represents the misconception that men are masculine and women are feminine. In reality gender is established by cultural influence, and sex is genetic. Cross dressing is defined as men who dress feminine and women who dress masculine, although society reacts more to men dressing as women as opposed to women dressing as men. Women dressing as men can be considered a “tomboy” which is common in society, whereas men dressing as women would be considered “homosexual or transsexual.” Why is it that women can wear men’s clothing, but men cannot wear women’s clothing? Society sees dresses as a representation of femininity and men are supposed to be masculine, and therefore men cannot wear dresses. Although pants are originally worn only by men, but because of changes in time; pants are considered unisexual. Cross dressing for Sissy did not define who he was just his preference. Sissy’s biggest adjustment was gender and identity. His gender as a male does not coincide with his identity as a woman by the clothing he chose to wear. All the negative comments and treatment he received evidently caused him to have low self-esteem causing thoughts of suicide. He had to identify causes of low self-esteem, face problem by coping and seek some support. Nicholas Hayward Sr. experienced the pain of losing an amazing child shot by a police officer 20 yrs before Ferguson. In 1994, Nicholas Hayward Jr was killed in a stair case playing with a toy gun by a New York officer. Nicholas asked his father could he play with his friends like any normal kid boy. Ironically, the guns were orange and red not the normal black or silver metal police eyes are trained to detect. The officer was called due to shots fired and kid jumps out and the officer shots him. Lack of training and fear may have caused this officer to shoot first or was it racial-who knows. The officer gets no form of punishment and on his regular beat in the same projects. Hayward Sr. spots him and all