Asocial transition may include coming out as transgender,[a] using a new name and pronouns, and changing one's public gender expression.[7] This is usually the first step in a gender transition. People socially transition at almost any age,[8][9] as a social transition does not involve medical procedures. It can, however, be a prerequisite to accessing transgender healthcare in many places.[10][11]
Intransgender youth,puberty blockers are sometimes offered at the onset of puberty to allow the exploration of their gender identity without the distress[12][13] ofirreversible pubertal changes. Upon reaching the age of consent, they become eligible to pursue a medical transition if it is still desired.
Assigned gender at birth (AGAB) is a term that refers to the sex or gender assigned to people when they are born. Assigned a gender at birth is based on physical characteristics, and does not account for internal gender identity.
Gender identity is the personal sense of their owngender. It may correlate with the gender assigned at birth, or differ from it. In most individuals, gender identity is congruent with their assigned gender. Those who do not identify with their birth gender may identify astransgender.
Transgender is an adjective that refers to people who identify with a gender that differs from the one assigned to them at birth. Transgender people may have any sexual orientation or gender expression.
Non-binary is a gender identity described as neither entirely male nor female (not one of the two binary sexes). Non-binary people may suffer from gender dysphoria, and may consider themselves transgender. Non-binary people may have any sexual orientation or gender expression.
Transitioning refers to the process ofaffirming andexpressing one'sinternal sense of gender, as opposed to the genderassigned 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 many will undergo some degree of medical transition.[citation needed]
Detransitioning (sometimes also known asre-transitioning) is the cessation of transgender identity and/or a transition to a different gender, often to the natal gender.[20]
It is important to note that most transgender individuals will receive few, if any, surgeries throughout their lifetimes and some may never receive HRT. Barriers to accessing medical transitioning can include: a lack of financing, a lack of desire, or a lack of accessibility. There is no one way to transition, and while a medical transition or surgery can absolutely be medically necessary for some individuals' personal wellbeing, no two transitions are the same.
Puberty blockers / hormone blockers are medications used to block natal sex hormones. For transgender youth, hormone blockers may be offered at the onset of puberty to allow the exploration of their gender identity without the distress[12][13] ofirreversible pubertal changes. Puberty blockers are considered reversible[21] and their use is deemed safe and effective[22] as treatment for gender dysphoria in gender-diverse children[23] andprecocious puberty incisgender children;[24] their use may be discontinued at any time if natal puberty-blocking is no longer desired.[21] For transgender adults, hormone blockers may be offered in a course with cross-sex hormone replacement therapy in order to treat gender dysphoria.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a medical treatment that replaces the primary sex hormones in the body, in order to develop the secondary sex characteristics of the opposite sex. Masculinizing HRT uses a male sex hormonetestosterone, while feminizing HRT uses a female sex hormoneestrogen.
Voice therapy (or 'voice training') isnon-surgical gender-affirming treatment for the masculinization or feminization of the voice.Transfeminine people will not experience any impact on voice pitch from feminizing hormone therapy (unless their natal puberty was sufficiently blocked), so voice training is very often undergone in order to learn how to speak in a higher and more feminine register.Transmasculine people, on the other hand, will experience a marked lowering in pitch from masculinizing HRT (testosterone) to an often cisgender male level, so vocal masculinization training is uncommon outside of those who have not undergone masculinizing HRT. Irrespectively, vocal masculinization training can help one learn to speak in a lower and more masculine register.
Voice surgery refers to asurgical treatment that allows for the masculinization or feminization of one's vocal pitch.Transfeminine people can undergo voice surgery to surgically increase their pitch range. Transmasculine people very uncommonly undergo voice surgery, as masculinizing HRT (testosterone) often lowers voices to a cisgender male pitch. Irrespectively, vocal masculinization surgery can be underwent to surgically decrease their pitch range.
Going 'full-time' refers to the act of living everyday life as one's identified gender.[25] People who go full-time may or may not pass, and may or may not keep their transgender identity a secret.
Passing refers to the perception and recognition of trans people as their desired gender identity by outsiders who may not know they are transgender. For many trans people, passing is a very important aspect of their transition often seen as an 'end goal'. Passing can greatly alleviate gender dysphoria. Failure to pass can cause serious repercussions for trans people's psychological well-being and safety, including but not limited to:poor mental health,discrimination, increased barriers to medical care[citation needed], harassment, fetishization, ostracization, increased risk of homelessness, andtargeted violence due to increased visibility of one's transgender status.[26]
Going 'stealth' refers to the act of living as one's identified gender without revealing oneself to be transgender.[27] In some countries, being stealth may be a safety necessity, due to health, safety, and wellbeing risks of being openly transgender.
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.[28]
"Social transitioning" redirects here. For social changes on a societal level, seeSocial change.
The social process of transitioning begins with 'coming out', where others are told that one does not identify with theirbirth 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.[29][30] Socially transitioning does not involve medical intervention or gender affirming surgery, but it may be a prerequisite to access transgender healthcare in some regions.[10][11]
People may socially transition at any age, with documented cases of children asyoung as 5,[8][31][32] or adults asold as 75.[9] While many of those who socially transition will pursue a medical transition, not everyone can access gender affirming care, and not all may wish to pursue it.
A person's ideas about gender in general may change as part of their transition, which may affect theirreligious, 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.
Transgender people in many parts of the world can legallychange their name to something consistent with their gender identity.[30] Some regions also allow one's legal sex marker changed on documents such asdriver licenses,birth certificates, andpassports. The exact requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; some requiresex 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.[33] 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.[33] 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 somenon-binary people.[34]
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 menbinding their breasts and transgender women shaving. Other physical aspects of transitioning require medical intervention, such astransgender hormone therapy or surgeries.
Over the course of a gender transition, people who are close to the transitioning individual may experience a sense of loss and work through agrieving process.[35] This type of loss is anambiguous 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.[36] 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.[35]
^Dhejne, Cecilia; Van Vlerken, Roy; Heylens, Gunter; Arcelus, Jon (2016). "Mental health and gender dysphoria: A review of the literature".International Review of Psychiatry.28 (1):44–57.doi:10.3109/09540261.2015.1115753.ISSN1369-1627.PMID26835611.
^Brown, M. L. & Rounsley, C. A. (1996)True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism – For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals Jossey-Bass: San FranciscoISBN0-7879-6702-5
^Johnson, Austin H. (2019). "Rejecting, reframing, and reintroducing: trans people's strategic engagement with the medicalisation of gender dysphoria".Sociology of Health & Illness.41 (3):517–532.doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12829.ISSN0141-9889.PMID30484870.
^Schulz, Sarah L. (2017-12-13). "The Informed Consent Model of Transgender Care: An Alternative to the Diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria".Journal of Humanistic Psychology.58 (1). SAGE Publications:72–92.doi:10.1177/0022167817745217.ISSN0022-1678.
^Edelman, Elijah Adiv (6 November 2019), Bosia, Michael J.; McEvoy, Sandra M.; Rahman, Momin (eds.), "Gender Identity and Transgender Rights in Global Perspective",The Oxford Handbook of Global LGBT and Sexual Diversity Politics, Oxford University Press, pp. 61–74,doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190673741.013.24,ISBN978-0-19-067374-1
^Morrow DF, Messinger L, eds. (2006).Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression in Social Work Practice: working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. New York:Columbia University Press. p. 8.ISBN978-0-231-50186-6.Gender identity refers to an individual's personal sense of identity as masculine or feminine, or some combination thereof.
^abJerry J. Bigner, Joseph L. Wetchler,Handbook of LGBT-affirmative Couple and Family Therapy (2012,ISBN0415883598), page 207: "gender transition can be achieved through the use of clothing, hairstyle, preferred name and pronouns,..."
