What is gender-affirming surgery? Can minors have “the” surgery?
Gender-affirming hormones are life-saving for transgender youth and adults. A recent study from the Trevor Project shows that transgender youth with access to gender-affirming hormones have lower rates of depression and are at a lower risk for suicide. A study by Stanford University School of Medicine found that positive mental health outcomes were higher for transgender people who accessed gender-affirming hormones as teenagers versus those who accessed it as adults. A third study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that, two years after initiating gender-affirming hormones, transgender youth reported higher levels of life satisfaction and positive affect, and lower levels of gender dysphoria, depression and anxiety.
There is no single gender-affirming surgery – nor does a person have to have any surgery, or a specific surgery, to be transgender. Gender-affirming surgery includes a wide range of procedures such as plastic surgery to change features in the face to be more typically masculine or feminine, “top surgery” to make changes to the chest or torso or “bottom surgery” to make changes to genitals. Ler mais