Wikipedia

Gender transition

(Redirected from Social transitioning)
"Gender change" redirects here. For sex change, see Sex change.

Gender transition is the process of affirming and expressing one's internal sense of gender, as opposed to the gender assigned to them at birth. There are two major facets of gender transitioning: a social transition, and a medical transition; almost all transgender people will socially transition, and most will undergo some degree of medical transition.

Street art that reads: "A Gender Transition is Divine — Protect Black Trans Life"
Street art that reads: "A gender transition is divine — Protect black trans life".

A social transition may entail coming out as transgender[a], using a new name and pronouns, and changing one's public gender expression.[1] This is usually the first step in a gender transition, and may occur at any age.[2][3] Socially transitioning does not involve medical intervention or gender affirming surgery, but it may be a prerequisite to access transgender healthcare in some regions.[4][5]

A medical transition, on the other hand, may entail pursing cross-sex hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (which chemically develops cross-sex secondary sex characteristics), transgender voice therapy, (training to masculinize or feminize one's voice) and gender affirming surgery (which surgically alters physical attributes). In most cases, medical transition is offered after a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.[citation needed]

The distinction between gender expression and identity is important to note, as while people who undergo gender transition often change their gender expression, people with non-normative gender expression (i.e tomboys, cross-dressers, drag queens) do not, necessarily, wish to transition.

Transitioning is a process that can take anywhere from several months to several years. As such a personal journey, there will never be a one-size-fits-all approach to transition, and it is important not to generalize.

Terminology

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Gender transition is sometimes conflated with gender-affirming surgery (GAS), but that is only one possible element of transition. Many people who transition choose not to have GAS, or do not have the means to do so. Whereas GAS is a surgical procedure, transitioning is more holistic and usually includes physical, psychological, social, and emotional changes. Some transgender and non-binary people have little or no desire to undergo surgery to change their body but will transition in other ways.[6]

Passing refers to being perceived and accepted by other people in a manner consistent with one's own gender identity. This can be one aspect of transitioning, though some transgender people may choose to purposely not pass. Not passing, in this case, can bring about a variety of negative consequences, including misgendering, violence, abuse, and refusal from medical professionals to deliver appropriate services.[7]

Going full-time refers to a person living one's everyday life as the gender one identifies with. One's passing can be limited by safety, legal or bodily restraints. For instance, someone who has worked at a job as female may feel they cannot safely present as male and may switch jobs instead. A social transition is the aspects of transition involving social, cosmetic, and legal changes, without regard to medical interventions. People who socially transition may ask others to refer to them by their preferred name and pronouns, and some may legally change their name.[8] Mental health professionals who go by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care do not normally require a full-time social transition lasting a year before considering surgery, often known as the "real-life experience" (RLE) or "real-life test" (RLT). However, mental health professionals who do not follow these guidelines often require this full-time transition before surgery is recommended.[9]

Going stealth means to live as a gender without other people realizing a person is transgender.[10] Trans people often go stealth in public but not with family, partners, or intimate friends. There have been many cases of people who have lived and worked as a gender identity different from their gender assigned at birth.

Detransitioning is the process of changing one's gender presentation and/or sex characteristics back to accord with one's assigned sex.[11] Detransitioning has also been called retransitioning, though retransitioning can also mean transitioning again after detransitioning.[12]

Various aspects

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Transitioning is a complicated process that involves any or all of the gendered aspects of a person's life, which include aesthetics, social roles, legal status, and biological aspects of the body. People may choose elements based on their own gender identity, body image, personality, finances, and sometimes the attitudes of others. A degree of experimentation is used to know what changes best fit them. Transitioning also varies greatly between cultures and subcultures according to differences in the societies' views of gender.[13]

Social aspects

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"Social transitioning" redirects here. For social changes on a societal level, see Social change.

The social process of transitioning begins with 'coming out', where others are told that one does not identify with their birth sex. The newly out trans person may adopt a new name, ask to be referred to with a new set of pronouns, and change their presentation to better reflect their identity.[14][15] Socially transitioning does not involve medical intervention or gender affirming surgery, but it may be a prerequisite to access transgender healthcare in some regions.[4][5]

People may socially transition at any age, with documented cases of children as young as 5[2][16][17], or adults as old as 75[3]. While the majority of those who socially transition will pursue a medical transition[citation needed], not everyone can access gender affirming care, and not all may wish to pursue it.

Medical aspects

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For transgender youth, hormone blockers may be offered at the onset of puberty to allow the exploration of their gender identity without the distress[18][19] of irreversible pubertal changes. Puberty blockers are considered reversible[20] and their use is deemed safe and effective[21] as treatment for gender dysphoria in gender-diverse children[22] and precocious puberty in cisgender children[23]; their use may be discontinued at any time if natal puberty-blocking is no longer desired.[20]

Psychological aspects

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A person's ideas about gender in general may change as part of their transition, which may affect their religious, philosophical and/or political beliefs. In addition, personal relationships can take on different dynamics after coming out. For instance, what was originally a lesbian couple may become a heterosexual one as a partner comes out as a trans man - or parents of a boy may become parents of a girl after their child comes out as a trans woman.

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Main articles: Transgender rights and Legal recognition of non-binary gender

Transgender people in many parts of the world can legally change their name to something consistent with their gender identity.[15] Some regions also allow one's legal sex marker changed on documents such as driver licenses, birth certificates, and passports. The exact requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; some require sex reassignment surgery, while many do not. In addition, some states that require sex reassignment surgery will only accept "bottom surgery", or a genital reconstruction surgery, as a valid form of sex reassignment surgery, while other states allow other forms of gender confirmation surgery to qualify individuals for changing information on their birth certificates.[24] In some U.S. states, it is also possible for transgender individuals to legally change their gender on their drivers license without having had any form of qualifying gender confirmation surgery.[24] Also, some U.S. states are beginning to add the option of legally changing one's gender marker to X on legal documents, an option used by some non-binary people.[25]

Physical aspects

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Main article: Sex reassignment therapy

Physical aspects of gender transition can go along with social aspects; as well as wearing gender affirming clothing, transgender people often hide features from their natal puberty, with many transgender men binding their breasts and transgender women shaving. Other physical aspects of transitioning require medical intervention, such as transgender hormone therapy or surgeries.

Grieving gender identity

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Over the course of a gender transition, people who are close to the transitioning individual may experience a sense of loss, and work through a grieving process.[26] This type of loss is an ambiguous loss, characterized by feelings of grief where the item of loss is obscure. Family members may grieve for the gendered expectations that their loved one will no longer follow, whereas the transgender person themself may feel rejected by their relatives' need to grieve.[27] Feelings that arise are described as a way of seeing the person who is transitioning as the same, but different, or both present and absent.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Brown, M. L. & Rounsley, C. A. (1996) True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism – For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals Jossey-Bass: San Francisco ISBN 0-7879-6702-5
  2. ^ a b Kennedy, Natacha; Hellen, Mark (2010). "Transgender Children: more than a theoretical challenge" (PDF). Graduate Journal of Social Science.
  3. ^ a b Fabbre, Vanessa D. (2015). Gender Transitions in Later Life: The Significance of Time in Queer Aging. doi:10.4324/9781315731803-5/gender-transitions-later-life-significance-time-queer-aging-vanessa-fabbre (inactive 2024-07-22). ISBN 9781315731803.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2024 (link)
  4. ^ a b Evans, Shelley; Crawley, Jamie; Kane, Debbie; Edmunds, Kathryn (December 2021). "The process of transitioning for the transgender individual and the nursing imperative: A narrative review". Journal of Advanced Nursing. 77 (12): 4646–4660. doi:10.1111/jan.14943. ISSN 0309-2402. PMID 34252206.
  5. ^ a b Rachlin, Katherine. "Medical Transition without Social Transition: Expanding Options for Privately Gendered Bodies". read.dukeupress.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  6. ^ K. Auer, Matthias (October 2014). "Transgender Transitioning and Change of Self-Reported Sexual Orientation". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): e110016. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9k0016A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110016. PMC 4192544. PMID 25299675.
  7. ^ "Transgender-Specific Issues: Passing | Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault". www.ovc.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  8. ^ "TransWhat? • Social transition". transwhat.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  9. ^ World Professional Association for Transgender Health (2012). "Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People, Seventh Version". Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  10. ^ Urquhart, Evan (June 29, 2018). "For Many Trans Men in the South, Going "Stealth" Makes the Most Sense". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Detransitioning: Going From Male To Female To Male Again". Vocativ. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Transitioning Back To One's Assigned Sex At Birth". The TransAdvocate. 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  13. ^ Elliot, Patricia (1 October 2008). "Book Review: Sally Hines, Transforming Gender: Transgender Practices of Identity, Intimacy and Care. Bristol: The Policy Press,2007.227 pp.ISBN 978-1-86134-9170 £24.99 (pbk).ISBN 978-1-86134-9163 £60.00 (hbk)". Sexualities. 11 (5): 646–648. doi:10.1177/13634607080110050603. S2CID 145654831.
  14. ^ Olson, PhD, Kristina R.; Durwood, PhD, Lily; Horton, BS, Rachel; Gallagher, PhD, Natalie M.; Devor, PhD, Aaron (13 July 2022). "Gender Identity 5 Years After Social Transition". publications.aap.org. Retrieved 2024-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ a b Jerry J. Bigner, Joseph L. Wetchler, Handbook of LGBT-affirmative Couple and Family Therapy (2012, ISBN 0415883598), page 207: "gender transition can be achieved through the use of clothing, hairstyle, preferred name and pronouns,..."
  16. ^ Olson, Kristina R.; Gülgöz, Selin (June 2018). "Early Findings From the TransYouth Project: Gender Development in Transgender Children". Child Development Perspectives. 12 (2): 93–97. doi:10.1111/cdep.12268. ISSN 1750-8592.
  17. ^ Olson, Kristina R.; Key, Aidan C.; Eaton, Nicholas R. (April 2015). "Gender Cognition in Transgender Children". Psychological Science. 26 (4): 467–474. doi:10.1177/0956797614568156. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 25749700.
  18. ^ Turban, MD, MHS, Jack L.; King, ALM, Dana; Carswell, MD, Jeremi M.; Keuroghlian, MD, MPH, Alex S. (1 February 2020). "Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation". publications.aap.org. PMID 31974216. Retrieved 2024-07-21.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Lambrese, Jason (2010-08-01). "Suppression of Puberty in Transgender Children". AMA Journal of Ethics. 12 (8): 645–649. doi:10.1001/virtualmentor.2010.12.8.jdsc1-1008. ISSN 2376-6980. PMID 23186849.
  20. ^ a b Rölver, Angela; Föcker, Manuel; Romer, Georg (2022). "Desisting from gender dysphoria after 1,5 years of puberty suppression: A case report". Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. University Hospital Münster. 1 (2). doi:10.1016/j.psycr.2022.100049.
  21. ^ Rew, Lynn; Young, Cara C.; Monge, Maria; Bogucka, Roxanne (February 2021). "Review: Puberty blockers for transgender and gender diverse youth—a critical review of the literature". Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 26 (1): 3–14. doi:10.1111/camh.12437. ISSN 1475-357X. PMID 33320999.
  22. ^ Giordano, Simona; Holm, Søren (2020-04-02). "Is puberty delaying treatment 'experimental treatment'?". International Journal of Transgender Health. 21 (2): 113–121. doi:10.1080/26895269.2020.1747768. ISSN 2689-5269. PMC 7430465. PMID 33015663.
  23. ^ Eugster, Erica A (May 2019). "Treatment of Central Precocious Puberty". Journal of the Endocrine Society. 3 (5): 965–972. doi:10.1210/js.2019-00036. PMC 6486823. PMID 31041427.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  24. ^ a b "Movement Advancement Project | Snapshot: LGBT Equality by State". www.lgbtmap.org. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  25. ^ "Gender Neutral Choice in Legal Documents - Love is a Rainbow Article". Love is a Rainbow. 2018-04-14. Retrieved 2019-10-07.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ a b Norwood, Kristen (March 2013). "Grieving Gender: Trans-identities, Transition, and Ambiguous Loss". Communication Monographs. 80 (1): 24–45. doi:10.1080/03637751.2012.739705. ISSN 0363-7751. S2CID 35092546.
  27. ^ McGuire, Jenifer K.; Catalpa, Jory M.; Lacey, Vanessa; Kuvalanka, Katherine A. (September 2016). "Ambiguous Loss as a Framework for Interpreting Gender Transitions in Families: Ambiguous Loss in Gender Transition". Journal of Family Theory & Review. 8 (3): 373–385. doi:10.1111/jftr.12159. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  1. ^ While the label Transgender is used here, people of diverse gender identities may socially or medically transition.

Further reading

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