Image Source: Willie B. Thomas
Based on one of the few reports concerning transgender demographics, individuals who identify as transgender make up about 0.6% of the U.S. population in 2016 – about 1 in 189 people or 1.4 million people. Transgender is an umbrella term for individuals who identify with a gender different from their assigned sex at birth. For example, transgender men were assigned female at birth, but self-identify as male. Similarly, transgender women were assigned male at birth, but self-identify as female. As these individuals grow up, an internal discrepancy may arise over their biological sex appearance and their gender identity. If this feeling of conflict worsens, it could cause high levels of distress and discomfort for transgender individuals, a condition known as gender dysphoria. Unfortunately, this distress is not uncommon among the transgender community as levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms are consistently elevated in sample groups of transgender individuals from multiple research studies. However, these individuals may desire one available solution that aligns biological sex characteristics with gender identity: gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT).
“Transgender is an umbrella term for individuals who identify with a gender different from their assigned sex at birth.”
GAHT is a form of medical intervention that reduces levels of a patient’s pre-existing sex hormones (reflecting their biological sex) and replaces levels with sex hormones characteristic of their identified gender. For transgender men, testosterone therapy is available as injections, suppressing female sex characteristics and masculinizing the patient. The resulting bodily changes include suppression of menstruation, development of male physical contours, increased facial and body hair, and changes in body composition such as increased muscle mass. For transgender women, estrogen therapies are available as oral tablets with an additional oral medication that lowers existing testosterone levels. Similarly, these therapies suppress male sex characteristics and feminize the patient. The more notable bodily changes are the development of breast tissue, an increased percentage of body fat, and reduction of testosterone levels.
Image Source: Guido Mieth
In addressing the gender dysmorphia, multiple studies show several improvements in behavioral health of transgender individuals. For example, those who chose GAHT self-reported reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as perceived stress. Most importantly, they also self-reported improved quality of life. GAHT provides a unique opportunity for transgender individuals to re-align their assigned biological sex with their gender identity, allowing them to feel comfortable in their own skin.
“[t]he science community must also be held responsible and accountable for its impacts on the LGBTQIA+ community…”
Therefore, it is important for allies to understand the necessity for the accessibility and availability of GAHT to those who choose to take it. Especially in a tenuous, political environment in which the rights of LGBTQIA+ workers are current topics of controversy that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court, it is important for the general public to empathize and address the needs of these marginalized individuals. In a similar light, the science community must also be held responsible and accountable for its impacts on the LGBTQIA+ community through inclusive and engaging dialogue between the two groups.
Image Source: Saul Loeb
Feature Image Source: geralt.
