Four recent studies confirm benefits of medical transition for trans adolescents

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesPuberty-blocking medications are used in gender-dysphoric adolescents as a means of temporarily and reversibly inhibiting an undesired natal puberty. In the event that their dysphoria desists, the medication can be discontinued, and their natal puberty will resume; if their dysphoria persists, this treatment allows them to avoid the unwanted masculinization or feminization associated with natal puberty, instead undergoing an induced puberty with cross-sex hormone therapy. Since the advent of this protocol in the early 1990s, the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy in trans adolescents has repeatedly been shown to provide substantial benefits to these youth: Continue reading →

Posted in Endocrinology, Gender dysphoria, Outcomes of transition, Trans youth | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The American Enterprise Institute’s statistical fumbles: Misusing linear regression for short-term COVID-19 trends

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Zinnia Jones

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, an expert in statistics or epidemiology, or a former FDA commissioner.

Zinnia JonesSince the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, certain conservative-leaning organizations and institutions – including federal and state governments – seem to have gotten into a bit of a tussle with the fields of statistics and data analytics generally. These entities will typically express agreement that the spread of the pandemic must be brought under control as a precondition to restoring former levels of economic activity, employment, school attendance, and every other aspect of our lives that has been upended. But whether out of a differing arrangement of priorities and values in encouraging economic recovery versus protecting human lives, an especially strong desire to return to pre-pandemic normalcy, or simply the need to appear to be doing something about all this, certain groups and individuals are indeed content to settle for the mere appearance of improvement. Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Ethics, Health care, Replies, Statistics and demographics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Why do trans women and transfeminine people choose orchiectomy as a standalone surgery?

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesFor trans women and transfeminine people, vaginoplasty – the surgical construction of a vulva and vagina from the penis and scrotum, along with grafts of other tissue as needed – is certainly the most well-known genital surgery undertaken as part of transitioning. Vaginoplasty has been found to reduce gender dysphoria, improve body image, boost mental health and well-being, and improve sexual functioning and satisfaction. But it’s also not the only game in town, and some trans women may instead opt for an alternative surgery: orchiectomy, the removal of the testes while leaving the penis and scrotum intact. Continue reading →

Posted in Endocrinology, Nonbinary, Surgery | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The classic Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale gets a nonbinary-inclusive update

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia Jones“Am I transgender?” This is a question that all trans people have faced at some point, or at many points, becoming the focus of self-reflection and personal exploration however brief or protracted. Among the community, this line of inquiry has inspired a number of mental exercises such as considering how you might feel if you were told you were indeed transgender (or not), whether you would press a button to become another sex instantly, and other scenarios meant to illuminate feelings and desires about one’s gender. Such informal and open-ended processes can be useful to varying degrees for different individuals; for instance, when I created the single-page website AmITransgender.com which always displayed the word “yes”, some trans and gender-questioning people found this affirmation to be valuable in thinking about their gender, while others saw it as a flippant and unhelpful response to a serious question. Continue reading →

Posted in Gender dysphoria, Nonbinary | Tagged | Leave a comment

Update on ovarian stimulation after testosterone use: Successful fertility preservation with less than a month’s interruption of HRT

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesContrary to widespread misconceptions, medical transitioning does not necessarily produce sterility in trans people. Provided that a trans person hasn’t undergone gender-affirming surgeries that involve the removal of the ovaries or testes, even the use of cross-sex hormone therapy that can impact fertility to varying degrees may not produce a permanent or complete impairment, and the effects of HRT on the viability of reproductive material can differ widely between individuals. For these reasons, HRT is not at all a reliable method of contraception for trans people (Amato, 2016), and trans people using hormone therapy can experience unintended pregnancies (Obedin-Maliver & Makadon, 2016). Continue reading →

Posted in Fertility and reproduction, Transmasculine | Tagged , | Leave a comment