The Hidden Dangers of Gender Affirmation Therapy: Why It Might Not Be the Solution You Think
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As someone who deeply cares about people suffering from gender confusion and dysphoria, it's natural to hear the term "gender affirmation therapy" and think it sounds promising. I share your morals and desires, and initially, I thought the same. But before endorsing or participating in it, I needed to ensure it was something I genuinely supported. Unfortunately, it is not. Here’s why.
People questioning their gender, who feel they don't fit into the gender they were assigned at birth, are fairly common. However, those who require gender transition to alleviate these feelings are rare. Despite appearances, the prevalence of transgender individuals is much lower than the visibility of gender non-conforming people. These individuals often do not require medical intervention. Like gay individuals, they can lead healthy lives by simply living authentically.
The rise of gender affirmation therapy, however, has introduced the influence of the medical-industrial complex into our personal decisions in unprecedented ways. Gender affirmation therapy, a medical treatment, often nudges individuals toward gender transition if they express any uncertainty about their gender identity. This therapy doesn't challenge or explore the reasons behind these feelings but rather focuses on facilitating the transition.
Making gender affirmation therapy the primary approach for those questioning their gender resembles mad scientist-level experimentation. These individuals need more comprehensive help than just surgery and medication. Medicalizing one's gender and body should be avoided because it leads to an endless cycle. Gender affirmation therapy does not fully inform individuals of the potential harms and instead steers them towards medicalization.
These practitioners often do not have the individual's best interests at heart. Instead, they aim to modify and medicalize the body in ways that can be harmful and irreversible. The powerful figures driving this agenda are often more interested in profits than in the well-being of individuals. The rise of Medicaid and other programs has been exploited, turning gender affirmation therapy into a lucrative scam.
The existing system for gender reassignment surgery and therapy for gender dysphoria was adequate. Opportunists have capitalized on this moment of vulnerability and the general lack of education among the public. Gender affirmation therapy, as it stands, is a misguided approach that ultimately harms those it purports to help.
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Yikes. I’ve really enjoyed your products over the years, but it’s disappointing to see you parroting conservative talking points about “concerns” without doing any real research. Who is being pushed into irreversable gender affirming care? In what numbers? In what world is gender affirming care so easy to get that people are accidentally or maliciously falling into it? It just goes to show that, as another commenter said, you are not immune to propoganda.
I liked supporting this shop because I like supporting my community, but trans and GNC folks are part of my community. I know this isn’t an airport and I don’t have to announce my departure, but this lesbian won’t be placing any more orders 😔🙃
I would not be here today if it weren’t for Medicaid and these other programs providing support through my transition. I have enough issues with conservatives pickaxing my literal lifeline from under me, I don’t need supposed “allies” joining in with them. I am not being exploited, I am not being “experimented on by mad scientists”, I am literally just trying to live. I must stress, the alternative without these programs, is death. I physically cannot stress enough, without this “scam”, me and a multitude of other transfolk and gncfolk would DIE as our treatment would become completely unaffordable. So many people are so okay with functionally tossing me and others like me to their deaths because “it’s too easy to transition nowadays” when in reality it is anything but.
As for the rest of this quite frankly offensively incorrect article, I recommend maybe going to your local planned parenthood and check out how they do GAC there, I do recommend maybe like signing up for it just to see the information you’re given, it’ll clear up a lot of your confusion and apparent distress about it seeing the process of the “Fast and easy way”.
Also, Craig Pardee, respectfully, that viewpoint that you’re endorsing nearly ended my life years ago. I tried desperately to just grow out of it, spoilers, never happened and I spent my teenage and 20s a miserable husk of a human being. These “opportunists” save people. Yes GNC get caught in this mess, but spreading misinfo like this article and the other article posted here today is not the way to do it.
It does absolutely burn me that someone who calls himself an ally would believe such things but I’ve seen you learn from your actions before, I believe you can do so again. Empathy is a long time journey for everyone after all.
Sincerely, a (hopefully not an ex) long time TransNB fan of The Butters.
“The Butters: Black and gay af—”
You are not immune to propaganda.
“I have plenty of trans and GNC friends who’ve said—”
You and your friends are not immune to propaganda.
“I believe 100% in trans rights, but hasn’t it gone too far—”
You have fallen for the propaganda.
If you want to know who these beliefs are actually helping, look no further than Craig Paradee’s comment. You are not helping GNC people by spreading the lie that trans healthcare is being “pushed” on people. You are not dismantling the ableism, racism, fatphobia, sexism, homophobia, capitalism and myriad other problems plaguing the American healthcare system by stripping trans people of what wins we might have had. You are falling for the same fallacies that allow all these awful things to continue hurting not just trans people like me, but also yourself and everyone you care about.
Ask yourself why this “concern” appeals to you so much. Is it because it’s wrapped up in suspicion of an institution? Did someone suggest gender-affirming care to you, making you uncomfortable? Do you have trouble understanding why someone might go on HRT or alter their body because you’d never do so?
Does any of that justify taking away someone’s bodily autonomy? Do you believe you’re different because your actions are “coming from a good place”? Do you believe that the “progress has gone too far” and “think of the children” arguments are magically true just this time? Is doing the opposite of whatever an institution says a viable solution to the problems it has?
It’s not too late. Nobody is immune from propaganda, but we can learn to recognize the symptoms and treat the causes. Don’t allow the failures of our healthcare system to leave you open to anti-LGBT+ bullshit. Take a closer look at what you’re being told, what evidence—if any—is being offered, and dig a little deeper to see if these “concerns” have roots in eugenics, hate groups, or grifters. (Spoilers: They do.)
So you’ve got your suspicions of the medical industrial complex. But have you done any critical thinking about the fear-based discourse surrounding gender affirming care that has become commonplace in the past few years? Politically-motivated forces have warped the way we talk about this topic in recent years, intentionally igniting people’s fears around gender-affirming care. It has worked— we’re experiencing all the hallmarks of a moral panic. I frequently see well-meaning people who “care deeply” parroting faulty arguments, which they really shouldn’t take at face value… because the vast majority of arguments against gender-affirming care are not being made in good faith.
Most people writing opinion pieces like this one have never bothered to read any professional standards of care documents for the treatment of trans and gender diverse patients, nor have they studied the history and evolution of this kind of healthcare over the past several decades. If they did take the time, they’d see that it is currently widely acknowledged in the field that gender diversity is a normal and healthy aspect of human diversity, and that diverse gender expressions in children cannot always be assumed to reflect a transgender identity or even gender incongruence. (Language taken from the WPATH Standards of Care, version 8.)
In other words, professionals with domain expertise in this area know that transition-related care isn’t always the appropriate solution or recommendation for kids (or adults, for that matter) who show up with gender-related concerns— though sometimes it absolutely is, and folks should be able to access that care!
Standards of care recommendations exist to offer an evidence-based structure that can be used to help differentiate the best path for each individual patient— just like they do in other areas of healthcare. Sometimes, care for a person might look like gender exploration and mental health support with no gender-based medical or social interventions, sometimes it looks like gender-affirming care with no medical intervention, and sometimes it looks like gender-affirming care accompanied by transition-related medical care— or any combinations of care that are appropriate to the complex human seeking care. Gender-related care isn’t a conveyor belt where all people are treated the same. Ask any trans person who has tried to access transition-related care— it tends to be a slow process that isn’t taken lightly by providers. And getting care has gotten even more challenging due to all the current attacks on gender-affirming care from people who “care deeply.”
Meaningful, caring discussions about gender-affirming care or transition-related care would be lovely, but hot takes like this are not helping that cause. For heaven’s sake, recognize the socio-cultural moment we are in. The fears that are being fanned about gender-affirming care are not neutral in their origin, and those doing the fear-mongering do not have trans or gender diverse people’s interests at heart. Not by a long shot.
Have been a long time supporter and customer but no longer. Gender affirmation therapy is the only reason I’m alive and the hope of one day having access to gender affirming care is the only thing keeping my friends and peers alive. I’m sorry you’re having icky feelings but over the last couple of years the access to trans healthcare in my state has only been shrinking. The providers still offer the care but more and more insurance companies are dropping them from their networks, forcing patients to pay out of pocket for medically necessary care.
I am seeing way more attacks on both trans folks and cis GNC folks for possibly looking too trans. They’re on the same team, dont try and pin em against eachother.
“The existing system … was adequate” the existing system pre 2016 was much more open and it was much easier to access trans healthcare before it became a political issue. Only since, have pcp’s been shying away from giving hrt to trans adults due to fear of legal retribution. I have spoken to multiple providers that will give hrt to clients when they are cis but if they have any gender dysphoria diagnosis the treatment cannot be given.
I’m a professional in the healthcare field and this post shows how little you understand about these systems in place and how policy affects clients direct access to care. It’s quite evident you’re not pulling from any real life occurrences.
Please do not pretend to be protecting the “real” trans people when you make these posts – it’s incredibly condescending.
You will never get another order from me. I hope your employees can find better businesses to work with.