Research Roundup 1
Hello everyone
This week, I want to do a little research roundup. I come across a lot of articles that I think might be of interest. As always, if you are reading an article and would like a copy of it, please feel free to ask. Through my library, I have access to a lot of academic articles and I am always happy to share.
A study in JAMA by Bruce et al.’s study “Long-Term Regret and Satisfaction With Decision Following Gender-Affirming Mastectomy” looks at the satisfaction of transgender individuals who receive gender-affirming surgeries. In this study, they find that most people who get gender-affirming top surgery are happy with the results. The question with gender-affirming care is will people be satisfied with this decision further down the road, and most of the research says yes, they are. Note that this is only looking at adults; surgeries as gender-affirming care care is rarely done on youth (you can read about youth gender-affirming care here). As states attack gender affirming care not only for youth but also for adults, these kinds of studies are important for policy makers to understand how successful these surgeries are for transgender individuals and fighting back against false narratives.
In The Conversation, Campbell et al have a great article “Trans youth are significantly more likely to attempt suicide when gender dysphoria is met with conversion therapy than with hormone treatment” about some of their recent research. This is based on some of their research articles, finding that hormone therapy reduces the risk of sucidiality in trans youth and conversion therapy increases suicide risk in trans youth. Conversion therapy is a discredited attempt to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, sometimes through violent means. Instead of helping people love who they are, it makes people ashamed of who they are. Conversion therapy has been identified as torture and degrading, especially for children who are often sent to conversion therapy without their consent. As always, the best way to support trans youth is to talk about what their needs are and how they want to proceed with their gender identity and expression.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed their support for transgender youth. As care for transgender youth are under attack constantly, it is important for the AAP to make these statements to remind people, especially lawmakers, the importance of gender affirming care for youth. Unfortunately, transgender people, especially transgender youth, have become a political football and mythologized instead of being treated as real people who have real needs as a vulnerable population. These statements are also important for transgender people. In a time when the community is under attack, it is good to see a major medical organization saying “We support you.”
Lastly, some important news about updates regarding laws:
In Missouri, a judge has refused to block a law preventing gender-affirming care for trans youth. This means that as of this past Monday, transgender youth can no longer get gender-affirming care that they deserve.
A judge in Texas ruled against the state in their quest for a ban on gender-affirming care for youth. The state filed a case with the Texas Supreme Court to block the injunction so, as of now, the law will still go into place on 1 September until the Texas Supreme Court hears the case.
A federal judge in Georgia blocked key parts of a bill banning gender-affirming care in the state.
The 11th US Circuit Court is allowing an anti-trans law on gender-affirming care for youth to go into affect. This court, along with the 6th US Circuit Court, have been ruling against trans people’s rights, which creates a scary environment in these Southern states.
While there have been many legal wins for trans care, there have also been losses meaning that, in those states, trans children are loosing access to important care. Furthermore, even just passing these laws sends a message to trans people.
I hope you enjoyed this quick update on research and news. Some of you have started sending in questions, which I have been answering and hope to talk about in future. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! You can also leave a comment below and I will be happy to respond.