Gender-affirming care is a term that encompasses a range of health care services and other interventions aimed at supporting and affirming an individual’s gender identity if it does not match the gender they were assigned based on their apparent sex at birth. This can include social, behavioral, medical and psychological options.

Social Affirmation

One type of gender affirming care is social affirmation. This can be achieved anytime an individual adopts a gender-affirmed name, pronouns, hairstyle, clothing, toilets and/or other facilities.

Gender-affirming hormone therapy

Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) involves testosterone hormones for individuals who wish to develop what are traditionally considered “male” characteristics and estrogen hormones for those who wish to develop “female” characteristics.

GAHT promotes the development of secondary sex characteristics in the body. In people taking testosterone, this includes the development of a deeper voice, redistribution of body fat away from the hips and thighs, increased body and facial hair, increased muscle mass, and changes (or possible cessation) of menstruation. On the other hand, in people taking estrogen and testosterone blockers, this includes redistribution of body fat to the hips and thighs, breast growth, loss of muscle mass, and slowing of body and facial hair growth.

Gender-affirming surgery

Gender Affirmation Surgery (GAS) refers to surgical procedures that aim to help people transform their anatomy to match their gender identity. la pela pill There are several types of GAS including thoracic or “upper” surgery, genital or “lower” surgery, and facial reconstructive surgery.

Chest GAS involves removing breast tissue for a more masculine appearance or breast augmentation for a more feminine appearance.

Genital/Reproductive System GAS can refer to a number of different operations. For transfeminine individuals, options include bilateral orchiectomy (removal of both testicles) and vaginoplasty (surgical creation of the vulva with or without a vaginal cavity). Options for transmasculine individuals include hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix), salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries), metoidioplasty (creating a penis by enlarging the clitoris and using surrounding tissue), and phalloplasty (creating a penis using tissue from other parts of the body).

Facial reconstructive surgery can include any surgery to change aspects of the head and neck to create more feminine or masculine features.

Psychological counseling or therapy

Psychological counseling with a professional experienced in working with transgender and gender nonconforming patients can be a helpful way to cope with problems that may arise during transition or in everyday life. Some issues may include discrimination, the financial burden of gender care, difficulty finding quality gender affirming care and insurance coverage, unsupportive family members or friends, and so on. Here are some resources for finding psychological support: