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Extensive evidence-based research demonstrates the positive impact of gender-affirming care on health outcomes for gender minority youth, as invoked repeatedly in statements of support and advocacy by professional medical associations in the United States and beyond. Yet, in recent years, gender-affirming healthcare for gender minority youth in the US has been made the target of disinformation campaigns, inflammatory political rhetoric, and conservative legislative restrictions, judicial precedents, and/or executive actions by state, district, and local governments. The potential harm posed by these political attacks is significant in scope. Of approximately 1.6 million transgender Americans, more than 300,000 are under 17 years old. Gender-affirming healthcare is resoundingly supported as the highest standard of evidence-based practice in treating transgender, gender diverse, non-binary, and intersex youth (collectively referred to here as “gender minority youth”) by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), the American Public Health Association (APHA), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the Endocrine Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), among others. Holistic approaches to gender-affirming care center on mental and physical wellness for gender minority youth as they navigate their adolescence in the context of a transphobic society. Social affirmation (support for the use of names, pronouns, markers of physical appearance, and safe access to social groupings, activities, and facilities congruent with one’s gender identity) is considered the most fundamental form of gender-affirming care for patients at any developmental stage or age.
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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (2023) Mapping attacks on LGBTQ rights in U.S. state legislatures. Available from: https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights?impact=health.
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Boerner, H. (2022) What the science on gender-affirming care for transgender kids really shows: laws that ban gender-affirming treatment ignore the wealth of research demonstrating its benefits for trans people’s health. Scientific American. Available from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-the-science-on-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-kids-really-shows/
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Funakoshi, M. and Raychaudchuri, D. (2023) The rise of anti-trans bills in the U.S. Reuters. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-HEALTHCARE/TRANS-BILLS/zgvorreyapd/
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MacDonald, V., Verster, A., Mello, M. B., Blondeel, K., Amin, A., Luhmann, N et al (2022) The World Health Organization’s work and recommendations for improving the health of trans and gender diverse people. Journal of International AIDS Society, 25(S5): e26004.
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McNamara, M., Abdul-Latif, H., Boulware, S. D., Kamody, R., Kuper, L. E., Olezeski, C. L., et al (2023) Combating scientific disinformation on gender affirming care. Pediatrics: e2022060943.
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Nadeem, S., LaVoi, N., Cooky, C., Buzivis, E., and Staurowsky E. J. (2017) Title IX at XLV. Contexts: Sociology for the Public 16(3): 10–19.
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Rafferty, J., Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Committee on Adolescence, Section on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health and Wellness, Yogman, M., Baum, R. et al (2018) Ensuring comprehensive care and support for transgender and gender non-conforming children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 142(4): e20182162.
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Redfield, E., Conron, K. J., Tentido, W., and Browning, E. (2023) Prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for youth. The Williams Institute, UCLA: Los Angeles, CA. Available from: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Trans-Youth-Health-Bans-Mar-2023.pdf
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Shuster, S. M. and Westbrook, L. (2022) Reducing the joy deficit in sociology: a study of transgender joy. Social Problems: spac034. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spac034
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Tordoff, D. M., Wanta, J. W., Collin, A. (2022) Mental health outcomes in transgender and nonbinary youths receiving gender-affirming care. JAMA Network Open 5(2): e220978.
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