As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I am a huge advocate for trans rights, especially in healthcare. For trans people who suffer from gender dysphoria, they often decide to start HRT, or hormone replacement therapy (Unger, 2016). For example, trans women (assigned male at birth) will take estrogen and progesterone (Unger, 2016). On the other hand, trans men (assigned female at birth) will typically start testosterone (Unger, 2016).
Some people might also choose to get gender affirming surgery as well (Beckwith et al., 2017). Some examples of these surgeries could be a double mastectomy for trans men, or a vaginoplasty for trans women. All these interventions are way to help trans people feel safe and comfortable in their own skin (Beckwith et al., 2017). Gender affirming healthcare is lifesaving care- because without it, many trans people will take their own life.
While HRT and gender affirming surgery are treatments commonly thought of to be exclusive to trans people, this is far from the case! These interventions are used by people of all genders. Here are a few examples: Sometimes, when cis gender men age, they take testosterone to help treat things like erectile dysfunction and low bone mineral density (Bhasin, 2021). Some cis gender women might choose to get breast implants or a breast reduction.
All these interventions, just like with transgender affirming healthcare, are used to help people feel more comfortable and affirmed in their gender. In conclusion, I think it is important for us, as future healthcare providers, to educate ourselves in communities that we aren’t familiar with. We will have patients from all walks of life, and they deserve to get the care they need, no matter what their background is. To me, this falls under the ethical principle: Justice. Ensure that all patients are treated fairly, no matter who they are, is to uphold justice.
Resources:
Bhasin, S. (2021). Testosterone replacement in aging men: An evidence-based patient-centric perspective. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 131(4). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci146607
Beckwith, N., Reisner, S. L., Zaslow, S., Mayer, K. H., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2017). Factors associated with gender-affirming surgery and age of hormone therapy initiation among transgender adults. Transgender Health, 2(1), 156–164. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2017.0028
Unger, C. A. (2016a). Hormone therapy for transgender patients. Translational Andrology and Urology, 5(6), 877–884. https://doi.org/10.21037/tau.2016.09.04
Thank you for such an interesting post Izzy! I am a strong proponent myself for physician and provider education regarding gender affirming care. Particularly understand that gender affirming care is not exclusive to the LGBTQ+ and trans community. Cisgender patients often offer justifications of care grounded in authenticity and gender affirmation that is very similar to rationales that support gender affirming care for transgender individuals (Schall & Moses, 2023). This exposes the disparities in modern health care for cis and trans patients that is unjustified and grounded in bias. As future providers, we ought to begin dispelling this bias and encourage education of ourselves and our peers to demand excellent care for our patients.
ReplyDeleteSchall, T. E., & Moses, J. D. (2023). Gender-Affirming Care for Cisgender People. Hastings Center Report, 53(3), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/HAST.1486