First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
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"The reality is that transition is an act most trans women and girls see as lifesaving, and one for which they can be punished severely: with violence, with community and familial rejection, with poverty, with mental illness, with sexual abuse, with domestic violence and, yes, with murder."
"Family rejection and estrangement have devastating long-term health implications. They also have a material impact. For some kids, the only option is leaving home. Others have no option at all: their parents kick them out. As a result, trans teenagers and young adults in Britain are much more likely to experience homelessness than their cisgender peers. [...] A minority within a minority, trans young people are disproportionately over-represented in the homeless population: one in four trans people have experienced homelessness."
"Given the British mediaâs recent pained wrangling with the very idea of gender affirmation as a potential âslippery slopeâ, the fact that more straightforward access to medical transition and legal gender recognition was available during the Second World War than is often the case today is astonishing. The mainstream mediaâs presumption that strict âcontrolsâ on transition are and have always been necessary relies on the suppression, and ignorance, of trans medical and legal history."
"The majority of trans people are working class, and the oppression of trans people is specifically rooted in capitalism. In short, capitalism across the world still relies heavily on the idea of different categories of menâs work and womenâs work, in which âwomenâs workâ (such as housework, child-rearing and emotional labour) is either poorly paid or not paid at all. In order for this categorization to function, it needs to rest on a clear idea of how to divide men and women. Capitalism also requires a certain level of unemployment to function. [...] and revulsion at the existence of trans people usefully provides another class of people more likely to be left in the ranks of the unemployed (even more so if they are trans and poor, black or disabled â which is why unemployment is highest among these trans people)."
"In general, trans people are more likely to have lower incomes and to experience poverty than the wider population. [...] Prejudice persists. It is not just a personal affront, but an economic reality that shapes and limits trans lives."
", then, is part of a wider political struggle for bodily autonomy that women, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people and ethnic minorities have all been fighting â a struggle that intensified during the decade of austerity that was the 2010s. This political struggle has primarily focused on trans adults, growing societal awareness of whom has allowed for more robust advocacy and rebuttal of the myths about medical transition. Even transphobes and reactionaries in the media and in politics, uneasy and disapproving though they remain, have come to begrudgingly tolerate adult medical transition as a matter of personal autonomy. After all, as trans people have successfully argued, adults are entitled to do whatever they want with their own bodies."
"Some examples of elevated sexual risk emerged among transgender students. More transgender than cisgender students reported first sexual intercourse before age 13 years and having had four or more sex partners, and more transgender students than cisgender female students reported ever having had sexual intercourse and use of alcohol or drugs before last sexual intercourse. Transgender students were more likely than were cisgender students to forego pregnancy prevention at last sexual intercourse and were less likely than were cisgender males to use a condom at last sexual intercourse; however, without further information about the sex and gender identities of these youths and their partners, the risk implications of these results are uncertain and should be interpreted with caution. Transgender students were more likely to have ever received an HIV test, an important protective behavior, given the known higher HIV risk experienced by this population."
"Above all, anti-prostitution feminism argues, menâs demand for the right to purchase sex should be condemned and criminalized. Given the extreme violence to which trans people, particularly trans women, who do sex work are subject worldwide, it seems tempting for trans politics to join with this condemnation of male violence and, consequently, with the condemnation of men who purchase sex. It is true that many sectors of the sex industry, from pornography to street sex work to managed brothels, rely on the exploitation of trans sex workersâ financial and social vulnerability by cisgender men for profit. Yet the converse argument â for pro-sex-worker trans politics â isnât intended as a moral absolution of the client or unethical industry practices; it isnât concerned with morality at all. Rather, it recognizes that trans sex workers exist in a society in which money is necessary for survival, and that sex work is one of a limited number of options available to the marginalized in this society â and so, regardless of any condemnation or criminalization of clients, trans sex workers will still need to sell sex. Accepting this reality turns the focus from âending demandâ for sexual services, to harm-reduction for the worker. It is on this basis that full in all its forms must be a central tenet of the movement for trans rights."
"The results of this study validate findings from smaller clinical and web-based studies that, at a population level, transgender students are at disproportionately higher risk than are cisgender students for violence victimization, substance use, and suicide risk. The prevalence of reported substance use (e.g., 27.1%, 26.1%, 24.9%, and 35.9% reporting lifetime use of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and prescription opioid misuse, respectively) and suicide risk (e.g., 34.6% attempting suicide in the last 12 months) are concerning. Given that violence victimization is a documented risk factor for substance use and suicide risk, implementation of interventions focused on reducing the victimization of transgender adolescents might be a key strategy for improving overall health."
"Use of puberty-blocking medications and cross-sex hormone treatments for children and adolescents who experience gender dysphoria is a complex modern medical controversy. Over the past decade, clinics have seen an explosion in the number of young people seeking such treatment. At the same time, there has been a complex debate over whether these medical interventions are safe, appropriate, and effective."
"Despite the extreme ways in which their bodies are mythologized, fetishized and denigrated by our culture, trans sex workers, compared to other kinds of trans worker, enjoy the least solidarity and have the least political attention paid to the reality of their lives. This disparity only increases when the trans sex worker is also a migrant and a person of colour."
"The murders of trans women sex workers are not rare. This is a recurring phenomenon and we regularly try to alert public opinion and the authorities to this violence. Unfortunately, as always, we find ourselves alone."
"Analysis of procedure-specific trends by age revealed a number of important findings. First, GAS procedures were most common in patients aged 19 to 30 years. This is in line with prior work that demonstrated that most patients first experience gender dysphoria at a young age, with approximately three-quarters of patients reporting gender dysphoria by age 7 years. These patients subsequently lived for a mean of 23 years for transgender men and 27 years for transgender women before beginning gender transition treatments. Our findings were also notable that GAS procedures were relatively uncommon in patients aged 18 years or younger. In our cohort, fewer than 1200 patients in this age group underwent GAS, even in the highest volume years. GAS in adolescents has been the focus of intense debate and led to legislative initiatives to limit access to these procedures in adolescents in several states."
"Addendum/Update: In 2023, researchers published a study of 37 transwomen and orgasm functioning. 76% were able to achieve orgasm post affirmative surgery. There were no differences between those individuals who underwent puberty suppression or not. While these data do suggest there is a significant risk - 1 in 4 were unable to orgasm - the risk certainly doesn't appear to be as universal as has been suggested."
"Abigail Shrier is a journalist and author of a controversial 2020 book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. She recently interviewed two doctors (both trans themselves) who provide treatment to trans youth. One, Marci Bowers, is the surgeon who treated reality TV star Jazz Jennings, whose life and transition are chronicled in the show I Am Jazz. Describing her treatment of Jennings, Bowers states,âIf youâve never had an orgasm pre-surgery, and then your puberty's blocked, it's very difficult to achieve that afterwards. I consider that a big problem, actually. It's kind of an overlooked problem that in our âinformed consentâ of children undergoing puberty blockers, weâve in some respects overlooked that a little bit .... if theyâre not able to be responsive as a lover ... how does that affect their long-term happiness?â In her show, Jennings described that she had never had an orgasm. For a sexual clinician, the concept of orgasmic naivetĂŠ and the experience of sexual pleasure and health raise fascinating questions. Unfortunately, it turns out there is relatively little data or research to explore these issues in trans youth."
"Research shows transgender individuals are younger on average than the U.S. population. We find that youth ages 13 to 17 are significantly more likely to identify as transgender (1.4%) than adults ages 65 or older (0.3%)."
"35% are bullied at school"
"At the state level, our estimates range from 3.0% of youth ages 13 to 17 identifying as transgender in New York to 0.6% in Wyoming."
"Most participants who started gender-affirming hormones in adolescence continued this treatment into adulthood. The continuation of treatment is reassuring considering the worries that people who started treatment in adolescence might discontinue gender-affirming treatment."
"Since 2013, HRC and other advocates have tracked over 200 cases of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people across 30 states and 113 cities nationwide. Beyond fatal violence, the transgender and non-binary community faces higher rates of harassment and physical assault â including transgender young people, with 43% of transgender youth reporting being bullied in school. Laws targeting transgender people â and the political rhetoric surrounding anti-transgender bills â send a message that transgender people are not worthy of equal treatment, contributing to dangerous stigma that drives this epidemic of violence. Bottom line: when transgender people arenât valued â including by their own lawmakers â their lives are viewed by some as disposable, putting them at risk."
"The reported prevalence of all experiences assessing violence victimization was higher among transgender students than among both cisgender males and cisgender females, including 23.8% reporting ever being forced to have sexual intercourse and 26.4% having experienced physical dating violence. A higher percentage of transgender students also reported lifetime use of all substances except marijuana than did cisgender male and cisgender female students; marijuana use was more prevalent among transgender students than among cisgender male students only. A higher proportion of transgender students reported all suicide risk outcomes than did cisgender students. Transgender students were more likely than cisgender students to report first sexual intercourse before age 13 years, sexual intercourse with four or more persons than were cisgender students, and no method to prevent pregnancy at last sexual intercourse. Transgender students were more likely than were cisgender females to have ever had sex (43.1% versus 33.2%) and to have drunk alcohol or used drugs before their last sexual intercourse (30.0% versus 17.9%). Transgender students were more likely than were cisgender males to report no condom use during their last sexual intercourse (63.8% versus 37.6%). Transgender students were less likely than cisgender males and cisgender females to have not ever been tested for HIV (70.0% versus 87.4% and 86.9%, respectively)."
"Taking steps to create safe learning environments and provide access to culturally competent physical and mental health care might be important first steps to improving the health of transgender youths. Continued research into the health of transgender youths and development of effective intervention strategies are warranted."
"We noted a higher hormone continuation rate among TGD individuals who were younger than 18 years old at the time of first use of gender-affirming hormones compared with those who were aged 18 years and older when starting hormones. This has not been documented in previous studies. Parental support plays an important role in the mental health of TGD youth. A prior study of adults found that lack of family support for a TGD individualâs gender was associated with a history of discontinuing social or medical gender affirmation. Higher parental support may explain the higher continuation rate among patients who start gender-affirming hormones as minors compared with people who start as adults."
"Introduction: Concerns about future regret and treatment discontinuation have led to restricted access to gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) minors in some jurisdictions. However, these concerns are merely speculative because few studies have examined gender-affirming hormone continuation rates among TGD individuals."
"In the Netherlands, treatment with puberty suppression is available to transgender adolescents younger than age 18 years. When gender dysphoria persists testosterone or oestradiol can be added as gender-affirming hormones in young people who go on to transition. We investigated the proportion of people who continued gender-affirming hormone treatment at follow-up after having started puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormone treatment in adolescence."
"It seems quite possible that the reduced physical genital development that results from puberty suppression could inhibit the phenomenological experience and behaviors associated with sexual climax. In other words, while youth who undergo trans-affirmative treatment may have less genital tissue with which to experience sexual stimulation, their bodies and brains are likely capable of sexual climax though they may feel the experience less intensely due to reduced genital tissue. It is possible that individuals assigned as male and female at birth may experience these effects differently, as seems evident in research with people who experience transition as adults. Finally, it seems likely that learning plays a role in this process, though contrary to Bowers, it seems unlikely that it is the only factor involved. However, it seems quite important that future research examine the sexual health experiences of individuals who initiate trans affirmative treatment prior to adulthood."
"In a society that is both patriarchal and capitalist, menâs misogyny towards women sits comfortably alongside their desire to extract womenâs sexual labour. This does not change because the woman is trans. In fact, given the political invisibility of most trans women, it may be intensified. To put it plainly, many of the men who purchase the services of trans sex workers will be the same men who argue for the oppression of all trans people and all sex workers. They will be the same men who preach hate and incite violence against them and the same men who, in some cases, personally use physical violence against them. It is no coincidence that trans sex workers are often at the forefront of LGBTQ+ community organizing and activism across the globe, particularly in countries where LGBTQ+ rights are opposed by the state. At times, the two collide."
"Globally, trans sex workers make up 62 per cent of all trans murder victims, where the victimâs profession is known. [...] Trans sex workers around the world are often at most risk from the very same men to whom they sell their services. This is not some puzzling âhypocrisyâ, but a horrifying and sometimes deadly reality. It should also be an urgent wake-up call for society and workersâ movements to better protect and support trans sex workers. Trans peopleâs increased likelihood of experiencing family rejection and homelessness, combined with substantial healthcare costs and a struggle to secure other forms of employment, means that many engage in the stigmatized work of selling sex. And, as we have already seen, trans sex workers experience unique and severe forms of vulnerability and violence. Therefore, the issue of sex-worker rights and safety must be at the heart of the trans liberation movement."
"We also found that individuals who start gender-affirming hormones before reaching the age of legal majority are less likely to subsequently discontinue use when compared with individuals who start hormones after becoming a legal adult. If replicated in future studies, the improved continuation rate among patients who are not legal adults at the time of treatment should provide some reassurance to those concerned about the ability of minors to provide informed assent to use of gender-affirming hormones. A higher continuation rate among minors could also be used to inform the actions of legislators and judges who wish to prohibit gender-affirming treatment for minors to protect them from the consequences of health care decisions they make with the assistance of their parents and health care providers."
"What is already known about this topic? Convenience samples indicate that transgender youths appear to be at higher risk for violence victimization, substance use, suicide risk, and sexual risk behaviors than are cisgender youth. What is added by this report? Population-based survey data from 10 state and nine urban school districts found that an average of 1.8% of high school students identify as transgender. Transgender students were more likely than were cisgender students to report violence victimization, substance use, and suicide risk, and, although generally more likely to report sexual risk behaviors, were also more likely to report having been tested for human immunodeficiency virus."
"The majority of respondents who were out or perceived as transgender while in school (Kâ12) experienced some form of mistreatment, including being verbally harassed (54%), physically attacked (24%), and sexually assaulted (13%) because they were transgender. Further, 17% experienced such severe mistreatment that they left a school as a result."
"Gender-affirming surgery often involves going through a number of hoops: waiting periods, hormone therapy and learning about the potential risks and benefits of the procedures. Although most surgeries are reserved for adults, the leading guidelines recommend that patients be at least 15 years old. This thorough process that trans people go through before receiving surgery may also explain the lower levels of regret."
"While the media seems all too happy to focus on trans childrenâs right to participate in activities alongside their peers (or, indeed, on trans childrenâs very existence), there is little coverage of one of the most pressing problems: the fact that they are significantly more likely to experience discrimination, harassment and violence at home or at school. Sometimes, horrific stories hit local news headlines, such as the trans teenage boy whose face was slashed by a gang of teenagers in Witham, Essex, or the eleven-year-old trans girl in Manchester who, after months of bullying, was shot with a BB gun at school. To date, though, the national media has more or less completely failed to explore the ways in which such egregious incidents form part of a wider pattern of abuse of trans children."
"Almost 2% of High School students identify as transgender"
"27% feel unsafe at or going to or from school"
"35% attempt suicide"
"Nearly one in five people who identify as transgender are ages 13-17."
"Gender-affirming treatment remains a topic of controversy, with many calling for greater access to gender affirming treatments to foster psychological well-being for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals. There is accumulating literature that suggests transgender individuals suffer worse mental health outcomes than their cisgender peers; of particular concern is increased suicidality. The literature to date reveals concerning trends regarding suicidality in transgender individuals. A high prevalence of suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide occur in transgender youth compared to their cisgender peers. Transgender US military veterans have more than 20 times higher rates of suicide-related events than cisgender veterans. The prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts varies by sample, with the prevalence of suicidal ideation sometimes as high as 50-75%. Rates of attempted suicide can reach peaks of 30% and above. One longitudinal study of over 6,000 transgender individuals in the US indicates that the highest risk of suicide is among those under 18 years of age."
"704 (98%) people who had started gender-affirming medical treatment in adolescence continued to use gender-affirming hormones at follow-up. Age at first visit, year of first visit, age and puberty stage at start of GnRHa treatment, age at start of gender-affirming hormone treatment, year of start of gender-affirming hormone treatment, and gonadectomy were not associated with discontinuing gender-affirming hormones."
"Being transgender is not a trend and transgender people have a history that spans centuries. Over the past few years, transgender visibility has increased dramatically, a sign that our society is becoming increasingly accepting of diverse gender identities. This is a positive sign, as more and more transgender people feel that they can live openly and receive support. Like the LGBTQ community has seen time and time again, increased visibility often leads to increased attacks by those who wish to shove us back in the closet. Lesbian, gay and bi+ young people should be free to declare their sexuality without others doubting them. The same should be true for young people who have a diverse gender identity."
"When a young child expresses that they are a gender other than their sex assigned at birth, their parents may support them in finding their own, unique identity. This can involve changing the childâs name, clothing or pronouns. Once a transgender youth reaches puberty, a doctor may prescribe them with reversible puberty blockers to safely delay the effects of puberty. Puberty blockers are not âexperimentalâ treatments, but FDA-approved medications that have been used to treat precocious puberty in non-transgender children for several decades. Scientific studies demonstrate that access to puberty blockers reduces suicidal ideation and that parentsâ affirmation of their childâs gender identity reduces rates of depression, anxiety and suicide to levels consistent with their cisgender peers. When kids are allowed the freedom to safely express themselves, they are happier, healthier and grow into thriving adults."
"We are disappointed with this latest executive order. Policies that restrict or bana ccess to necessary medical care for transgender youth are harmful to patients and their families. Transgender youth need comprehensive, individualized, family-based care from multidisciplinary teams. Healthcare decisions should be made by patients, families, and their healthcare professionals, guided by evidence-based practices, clinical guidelines, and individual needs rather than government mandates."
"Transgender youths (those whose gender identity* does not align with their sexâ ) experience disparities in violence victimization, substance use, suicide risk, and sexual risk compared with their cisgender peers (those whose gender identity does align with their sex). Yet few large-scale assessments of these disparities among high school students exist."
"There can be no trans liberation under capitalism. This is a fact. Yet itâs not a popular view among liberal and centrist LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, who â as weâve seen in the course of this book â talk about âtrans rightsâ in isolation as a range of personal freedoms and protections; and who cling to corporations and brands as potential âalliesâ in the fight for social acceptance."
"Buoyed by the success of the gay and lesbian liberation movement, freed from enforced isolation by changes in the medical and psychiatric establishment, and brought together by the Internet, the transgender community has emerged in the last five years as a new voice in social activism. This voice suggests that, although gender is an identity we are born with, an identity that no amount of social influence can sway, it is too great and varied a force to shoehorn into those ubiquitous boxes marked F and M. While human desires--for love, passion, work, respect, friends, family--remain constant, the way those desires are felt and expressed cannot always be categorized at the moment of birth. Anatomy, as feminists have long argued, is not destiny."
"Girls deserve equal opportunity to compete and achieve in sports. The Biden administrationâs reinterpretation of Title IX is a slap in the face to young women and girls, telling them their hard work, on-field achievements, and athletic futures do not matter. Title IX was designed to stop discrimination and ensure equal athletic opportunities for women. By allowing biological males to compete in girlsâ sports the Biden administration will be reversing 50 years of progress for women. H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 strengthens the lawâs existing protections for women, ensures a level playing field for female athletes, and protects the law from the Biden administrationâs radical regulatory scheme."
"I believe in fairness. I also believe in inclusiveness. I do not believe however that transgender women have the right to compete against me or any other gender-born women regardless of their age."
"The experience of being trans is shaped by social class. While there are trans people, the vast majority are working class â just as the vast majority of the total population is working class. Trans workers are often employed in lower paid and more precarious jobs, with a high risk of discrimination and bullying in the workplace. As a result, trans political struggle is part of a wider class struggle. Despite this, trans politics is commonly misrepresented as coddled, bourgeois and anti-working class."