lobbyist Scott Newgent has not spoken about a family or his childhood. His life truly started after he made got his medical procedures.
He had a marriage-mad mother, Melody, who didn’t stick to her decisions and used wrong pronouns, refusing to call her Kellie. Despite the fact that they had an adoration disdain relationship, he really loved her like family.
What Is Transgender?
People who are transgender have a different gender identity from the one they were assigned at birth by a healthcare professional. This can include a male-to-female transition, a woman-to-man transition, a gender-queer identity, or a fluid or changing gender identity.
People can be transgender at any age, from their earliest memories through adolescence and into adulthood. They may feel a desire to be something other than the gender they were assigned at birth, have vague feelings of dissatisfaction with their assigned sex or physical characteristics, or feel strongly about their gender identity.
They can also have experiences of gender dysphoria, a consistent and intense feeling that their gender isn’t matching their sex at birth. This can be a challenging part of their identity journey and can impact many parts of their life.
Some transgender people may choose to pursue a medical transition to varying degrees, depending on their desires, access to care, and affordability. This process involves a combination of hormone therapy, surgeries and other procedures to align with their true gender identity.
Why Is Transgender So Dangerous?
One of the key arguments that Walsh makes is that the transgender movement endangers young girls and enables predators. He presents two incidents – one at Wi Spa, where a trans woman with prior convictions was charged with indecent exposure; and another in Ukraine, where a refugee named Faamelu was subject to violence and discrimination because of her gender identity – as evidence.
This is not a new argument. It’s one that recurs in the anti-trans movement, which has long been dominated by a small group of self-described “gender critical” activists.
Gender critical activists fear that a medical transition of a girl or boy who does not conform to traditional gender norms is a form of gay conversion therapy. This fear stems from the fact that many parents of cisgender boys and girls are afraid that their children will grow up to be gay.
These activists also fear that a ban on transitioning would be disastrous for people who simply do not have mental illness and are not able to make the decision to change their gender. This is especially the case for children and teens who may have been misdiagnosed as transgender.
Is Transgender Health Safe?
Many transgender people experience discrimination and poor quality of care when accessing health care. This can lead to a variety of health risks, including sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection, depression, and substance abuse.
In the largest national survey to date, nearly one-third of transgender people reported being denied or harassed by medical professionals because of their gender identity (5). They also had higher rates of smoking, alcohol use, and attempted suicide compared to the general population (7).
These statistics are why health care providers must be trained to support TGNB patients. They need to know how to ask questions about transition history and sexual anatomy, as well as understand and approach patients with cultural humility.
They must also be alert to gender-based medication and surgical procedures that are not recorded in their EHRs or coding systems, a problem that can cause serious outcomes for many transgender individuals. And they must include adolescent patients in mental health consultations to help them understand the risks, benefits, and permanent effects of hormone therapy for a safe transition.
Is Transgender Health Experimental?
Many health care professionals and policymakers are recognizing that transgender health is a medically necessary part of gender transition. Hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery are endorsed by a number of medical professional organizations as both effective and often life saving.
However, there is some debate over whether gender-affirming (GA) health care is experimental and whether it is appropriate to use the term “experimental” in this context. Some people feel that the word “experimental” is a derogatory term that has been used to disparage and dismiss GA care by suggesting it should only be recommended when clinical trials prove its safety and efficacy, which is rarely the case.
To better understand this topic, we conducted a systematic review and a global expert survey. The results showed that both centralized and decentralized transgender health care delivery structures were present in most countries. In addition, both delivery settings were perceived to have certain advantages and disadvantages against each other. This could have implications for the quality of transgender health care.
