#youth gender care

[trendynewsnow]

The Complexities of Detransition: Navigating Gender Medicine

The Complexities of Detransition: A Growing Conversation in Medicine Kinnon MacKinnon, a prominent Canadian researcher, found himself only mildly surprised this past spring when he noticed that his anticipated talk at an upcoming medical conference was absent from the official program. He was set to address a particularly contentious issue in the medical community: the experiences of patients who…

[killjoygerardx]

Sick of cis people, and even some trans people, mocking and judging trans folk for not passing. For "not even trying" to pass.

Passing is not achievable for so many people. It's also not even a goal for many people.

Me telling you I'm a man should be enough to get me treated like one. Yes I have a high voice. Yes I have hips. Yes I wear makeup and have long hair.

But why does it matter? Why does it deem me not worthy of the respect to have my correct pronouns used?

I had top surgery to feel more comfortable in my own skin. So I could end the constant pain and discomfort of binding.

I want to go on T to be more comfortable in my own skin.

I don't live to serve or fulfill the unrealistic expectations of bigots.

[liberalsarecool]

Good news!

[otaku553]

Haha

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A Plains Cree physician who practices family medicine in Alberta says it’s shameful that Conservative Premier Danielle Smith is playing politics with transgender issues.

“It’s really important to know that people don’t do this [gender affirmation] lightly,” said Dr. James Makokis, who identifies as Two-Spirit and works directly with trans patients. “It is something that they’ve known their entire life.

“And clinicians do thorough assessments of ensuring that people when they say they’re trans, they’re trans and we just ensure that there’s not medical contra-indications to doing so and there is a thorough assessment process of that.”

On Wednesday, Smith announced a number of policy changes on social media that will restrict medical access to those seeking gender affirmation therapy – especially transgender youth.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[floral-ashes]

To trans folks in Alberta, and especially trans youth—these times are difficult, but remember that we have been preparing for them. We were made for these times. Let your light shine through. Use it as a beacon to find your people. Find love, friendship, community. We will win.

I know we will win, because I know we can love ourselves more than they can ever hate us. We will win, not out of faith but out of persistence.

It won’t be an easy road, and it may be a long one. But the light of humanity always pokes through the darkness, however dimly.

[thesleepysystem]

if you dont know, the supreme court just allowed Idaho to ban gender affirming care for trans youth !! please send love to any transgender youth you know, especially anyone in Idaho.

this is absolutely terrifying, as a trans youth myself living in a state absolutely filled with right wing individuals, i am scared for me and my fellow trans youth living in ANY state, but especially red states like mine.

i'll reblog this post with anything i can find on how to help stop this, and you should too. please boost this, this affects all trans people, but especially trans youth, who already lack so many rights just for being youth.

[gwydionmisha]

Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

[liberaljane]

Anti-Trans Legislation Kills

[Digital illustration of a Black trans women wearing a dress made of words describing anti-trans legislation. Bills included are, “gender-affirming care bans, insurance coverage bans, drag bans, misgendering, uneducated medical professionals, youth sports bans, book bans, dead naming, stigma, and workplace discrimination.’ Text reads, ‘anti-trans legislation kills.’]

[ex-foster]

I got blocked by another former foster kid tiktoker after expressing some gender critical beliefs.

It really makes me feel sad because it feels like a lot of people don't see from the perspective of women who aged out of foster care and our heightened vulnerabilities. Women from foster care are extremely overrepresented among sex trafficking victims and sexual abuse victims. And many women who have been sexually abused want access to female-only shelters and safe spaces. Some of us only want to be examined by female medical staff during rape kits. Some of us only want to report to a female police officer due to the sensitive nature of sexual trauma. Sex is a protected characteristic and it seems like trans activism is at odds with women's rights. There are aggressive efforts made by trans activists to undo what feminists have worked hard to establish (like the activists that worked to defund Canada's longest standing rape crisis center).

I really need liberal feminists to step outside of their echo chambers and actually examine what the criticisms of trans ideology are because what you will discover will surprise you. Trans activists paint an unflattering portrait of "terfs" as if we are hateful people who wish harm on people who are gender nonconforming. The accusations are hyperbolic to the point of absurdly - some of us are accused of "genocide" for simply criticizing illogical or misogynistic aspects of gender ideology.

[human-blob-nessie]

The french senate on medical transition for trans and gender diverse youth

There was a vote today (28th of May, 2024) at the french senate concerning the law around medical transition for trans youth.

Context here

To be clear : THIS LAW IS NOT GOING TO BE ENACTED YET. IT HAS TO PASS THROUGH THE ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE, WHICH HAS THE POWER TO MODIFY IT AND HAS THE FINAL WORD OVER WHETHER IS PASSES THROUGH OR NOT

Now, having said that, the debate at the Senate was very interesting. It was the first overview of the text by the political class, and was a good moment to observe the position of the varying groups involved, as well as what is important to each.

It's important to note that the Senate is heavily right-leaning, the most right-wing political assembly in the country, in fact. That's mostly because they're representative of the groups in charge of the communes, regardless of population, and our rural areas are heavily right-leaning, which makes for a lot of communes for a relatively low population.

With this context established : The text passed with a relatively wide majority (180 in favour, 136 against), which if translated to the Assemblée Nationale, would be way more disputed. (Center and left-wing being larger there). In this case, right-wing was in favour, left-wing against, and the center was very divided.

What does this text do

It contains 4 articles :

1 : The first bans HRT for minors, as well as any form of gender affirming surgery. It also calls for the creation of regional, specialized clinics, which do not exist here yet. The catch ? The list of said clinics has to be determined by the minister of Health. (To my surprise, nobody even discussed this part, which is, in my opinion, horrendous, as it could open the way to a future minister removing these clinics at any time.) It also includes a mandatory delay of 2 years between the first appointment and the prescription of puberty blockers, and its conditions include the nebulous "evaluation of the minor's capacity for discernment"

2 : It punishes any doctor ignoring these rules to 2 years of imprisonment and a 30 000€ fine

3 : The third article calls (in a very unclear manner) to the elaboration of a national strategy in child psychiatry, to try and give children the best means for their mental health. It has been heavily debated, as transitioning in France is not considered a psychiatric affection since 2010 (for context, this is before the DSM-5), although this has had very little effect in practice.

4 : This law has to be examined again in the 5 years after its (eventual) adoption.

The discussion

This is a very heavy blow to trans youth. The ban has direct measurable effects, and the creation of specialized clinics cannot be a redeeming quality as long as their existence directly depends on the Health Minister's will. It also opens the way for more bans, including for trans adults. (There are talks about the 25 y/o mark, just as in the Cass Review) Only 294 trans minors (according to the numbers cited today) in France are on puberty blockers, but the amount of minors on HRT has not been cited and is probably way higher. The text does include a line saying that people currently on it would be allowed to continue, but it would effectively stop anyone under 18 from benefitting from it in the future.

The question of surgery has been discussed, with cited cases of mastectomies on people younger than 18 (but never younger than 17), with at least one for which the doctors judged it to be taking priority due to the risk of self-harm is nothing was done. To that, the draftsman, who directed the revision of the text before it was brought the the Senate, responded (translated) "17 or 18, in my opinion there's no big difference" (clearly ignoring an example where doctors clearly thought it could have been a life or death difference)

The common factor among the defenders of this law was "protect the children" (of course), with arguments directly taken from the Cass Review, and debunked stats about detransition rates or the idea that "most kids grow out of their gender diversity". They also showed a huge distrust of trans youth in general, highlighting several times how they think children cannot know themselves in such a significant way better than parents would. They intensely rejected the idea of self-determination in general. Even the ones who said they accepted trans people defended a view that reeks of transmedicalism (i.e. "if you don't need medical transition, and most of you don't, you're not trans and you're falling to a trend")

The absence of trans youth themselves in the 300 page report behind the law project pushed some (left-wing) people to read or mention testimonies from trans people themselves, in an effort to actually bring us to a conversation that's about us but entirely decided by cisgender people. This was opposed with the argument that testimonies from detransitioners are just as moving, implying that this is just not an argument (totally ignoring the ratio of trans people to detransitioners, which makes one of them way more relevant when it comes to deciding for everyone)

A very important part of the discussion was whether or not the government should even try to pass laws on the subject. Most of the people against the project argued that these decisions should come from the HAS (High Authority of Health)'s recommendations, and not from politicians. The answer to that was to argue that this was "prudence until the HAS decides on the topic" (which implies that if they have recommendations, these would probably be in a restrictive direction). I want to highlight that someone on the left did bring up the fact that most interrogated experts do no feel like there is a need to change the law for this particular topic. (However, there is also a push to make legal sex change easier, which also has to be discussed by the Senate, but let's face it, will probably be rejected).

The pushback in several countries (Denmark, Finland and Norway were mentioned without any form of precision ; The Cass Review in England was precisely cited several times though) has been used as an argument to push this decision, arguing that "some of the most progressive countries are rolling back on this topic" and we should listen to what their experiences tell us. Interestingly, I heard no mention of the USA either way, except a weird mention of the US Declaration of Independence, which I can't make sense of in this context.

What next ?

Now we wait for the Assemblée Nationale to decide. This can be an extremely complex process, which can call for revisions, examinating whether or not it conforms to the constitution, and various ways to contest a decision.

The schedule for that is not set as I write this, as the Senate's decision was just made.

There are still strong chances for this to go either way, so now is the time to actually talk about it publicly. For that, I believe the timing might be decisive, as Pride Month is just around the corner and people will talk about this issue in this context. Whether that will turn opinions in favour or against that law, I cannot predict, but public opinion definitely can affect the final decision.

I will continue updating on this post as this develops.

France is currently in a decent place when it comes to the right to transition. It's relatively easy to see a specialist, though it highly depends on where you live, and the process can be relatively quick ; plus a lot of it is free, or at least partially covered by social security. It could be better, for sure, but this is actively making it worse, following the trend coming mostly from the UK.

Please reblog this.

(tagging my mutuals in hope it helps it be seen : @lenaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa @dog-with-anxiety @confused-ladybug @atomicdinosaur6969 @moonys-roof @hyalgor @elsulasnotdonewithyou @dirt-juice )

[angelic-transsexual]

if you claim to be pro-trans but you draw the line at transgender kids receiving gender affirming care, then you are not pro-trans. this applies to both cis and trans people. this is also a reminder that trans people can be transphobic.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A researcher says New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is sharing "misinterpretations" of the gender-affirming care data she's been collecting and analyzing for years. In a year-end interview with Radio-Canada, Higgs shared his concerns about how easy it is for children to get gender-affirming care.  "In Canada it's about over 60 per cent, after one visit, can be put on the puberty blockers," Higgs said. He was also quoted by The Canadian Press saying 60 per cent of kids "are given automatic affirmation and put on some sort of hormone therapy" at a first appointment. Researcher and medical doctor Greta Bauer said her study, published in 2021, specifies that 60 per cent of young patients were prescribed medication at their first hormone-specialist appointment.

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[genderqueerpositivity]

Families of transgender youth in South Carolina are grappling with the passage of H.4624, a broad intrusion into medically necessary healthcare for transgender South Carolinians. A core component would ban medically necessary healthcare for transgender youth under the age of 18 in South Carolina, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery. 

In response, advocates have come together to launch resources to support families navigating this challenging period. Families of transgender youth in South Carolina are now eligible to apply for support from the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project (STYEP), a regional project of the Campaign for Southern Equality, led in partnership in SC with We Are Family, Uplift Outreach Center, and the Harriet Hancock Center. The project helps transgender youth whose access to gender-affirming care has been disrupted by government policies. Through STYEP, families can receive accurate information about H.4624; patient navigation to identify out-of-state gender-affirming care providers; and emergency grants of $500 for immediate needs, including travel, medication, and other logistics. Families can request support at www.southernequality.org/SCResources.

H.4624 has other impacts on transgender South Carolinians, too. It prohibits public funds and Medicaid from being used to cover the cost of transition-related healthcare for transgender people of any age – which could result in providers of gender-affirming care who receive public funds to restrict care, and would impact transgender people insured through the state employee healthcare plan. It also encourages school professionals to “out” students to their parents if they ask to go by a different name or pronouns, potentially before they are ready to share.

Partner organizations in South Carolina are youth-serving organizations based all across South Carolina  – We Are Family, a statewide organization with roots and headquarters in the Lowcountry; Harriet Hancock Center, based in Columbia in  the Midlands, and Uplift Outreach Center in the Upstate. 

[peaceandjoy532]

remember that gender affirming care bans are not only a trans rights issue but a youth liberation issue. the people hit first and hardest by these bans are kids, and we have very little power over our lives to fight back. if you are an adult, please remember us and fight for us.

[sage-thee-herbmaster]

What’s so “sinister” about a child knowing their rights? Being freaked out by doctor-patient confidentiality is not showing concern, you just want to control your kid because you view children as not deserving of privacy and autonomy. There are plenty of reasons why a 12-13 year would want to speak to their doctor without their caregivers present:

They could have questions about their growing body that they’re too embarrassed/scared to ask their parents because FUN FACT! Not all parents are safe to people to talk to!

Someone in their life could be abusing in some way them and either their parents don’t believe them or they’re too scared/ashamed to talk to anyone else about it and the doctor-patient confidentiality could make them feel safe enough to speak up!

Their parents are sex negative/strict Christians and the child wants to expriment sexually but don’t want to get pregnant, get someone else pregnant or get STI/Ds, their doctor can provide ways to avoid just that, like contraceptives, because GUESS WHAT?? Teenagers are going to have sex with each other whether you approve of it or not!

Their parents could be an anti vaxxers and the child doesn’t want to get polio or some other illness that can be prevented!

Their parents could be controlling T3RF/GC cunts (just like the user who wrote the tweet above!) and wants to transition because FUCKING NEWS FLASH: Your children aren’t property and they’re autonomous beings, who deserve to make medical choices for themselves!

If your teenage child is desperate enough, they will try and go behind your back to transition or at the very least prevent going through a puberty that will make their dysphoria worse until they’re old enough to go on HRT.

If you think allowing a 13+ year old to have a say on who gets to be in the doctor’s office with them is “sinister” then maybe you need to ask yourself why you’re willing to deny your 13+ year old child privacy and bodily autonomy so you can ensure that only YOU get to decide what YOU want to happen to your teenager’s body!