All across the United States, politicians are proposing bills that seek to limit or ban gender-affirming care for trans minors. In some cases, such as Florida’s recently passed SB 254, it also bans insurance providers from covering gender-affirming care for adults. Trans rights are also under attack as governments attempt to legislate which bathrooms trans people can use, whether they can play sports and whether students can even learn about gender identity.

These legal attempts to block trans people from receiving the affirming care they need are discriminatory and lead to harm. Study after study shows gender-affirming care is the best way for transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people to address their gender dysphoria and live open, fulfilling lives.

What is Transitioning?

Transitioning is the process a person goes through to align their gender identity with the body they live in. For trans and nonbinary people, their gender identity doesn’t always match their physical characteristics, such as body hair, breasts, genitals, or facial structure. While some trans and gender-diverse people do seek surgery as part of their gender-affirming process, transitioning looks different for everyone. Generally, we consider transitioning to have three aspects:

• Legal transitioning: Such as changing your name and sex/gender on identification and other documents.
• Social transitioning: Wherein you are out to friends, family, and society, and people use your preferred pronouns.
• Medical transitioning: This can involve hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and surgeries.

All three of these transitions fall under the label of gender-affirming care. So while we might assume that gender-affirming care just means medically transitioning, it can also include using someone’s correct pronouns, allowing people to use their preferred bathrooms and anything else that affirms someone’s gender identity.

Mental Health Struggles Within the Gender-Diverse Population

LGBTQ and gender-diverse people have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other issues such as suicidal ideation and substance abuse. This disparity is due to a variety of factors, such as family acceptance, societal discrimination, and internalized queerphobia.

Gender-affirming care is one way to address these mental health issues, allowing someone to align their body more closely with their gender identity. This reduces gender dysphoria, which is the distress someone experiences when their body and gender identity are mismatched.

A significant body of research shows that access to this type of care significantly lessens anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and low self-esteem among gender-diverse people.

Gender-Affirming Care Increases Societal Acceptance

When gender-affirming care is more accessible, and as more people socially and medically transition, we create a more open society. Transphobia and these legal attacks against the trans community are less acceptable when we see gender-diverse people all around us.

More people struggling in the closet feel free to come out when they know they’ll receive affirmation. This creates a safer and more welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of gender identity. We can start by normalizing using people’s preferred names and pronouns, accepting their bodily autonomy, and allowing people to express their gender however they see fit.

Are You Looking for Gender-Affirming Care?

If you’re transgender, nonbinary, or gender diverse, you may be struggling to find gender-affirming care in your area. A good place to start is with a mental health professional.

Look for a therapist who specializes in queer issues and is well-equipped to take on clients who may be struggling with gender dysphoria, coming out to family and friends, and learning self-acceptance. A therapist may also help you get started with finding medical treatments, such as seeing a doctor who can provide hormone replacements or gender-affirming surgeries.

To find out more about how therapy is an important step in your gender-affirming care, please reach out to us.