Editing Gender transition (section)

{{Short description|Changing gender presentation to accord with gender identity}}
{{Redirect|Gender change|sex change|Sex change (disambiguation){{!}}Sex change}}
{{Transgender sidebar}}
'''Gender transition''' is the process of [[Gender affirmation|affirming]] and [[Gender expression|expressing]] one's [[Gender identity|internal sense of gender]], rather than the sex [[Sex assignment|assigned to them at birth]]. It is a recommended course of treatment for individuals experiencing [[gender dysphoria]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=World Medical Association |date=October 2015 |title=WMA Statement on Transgender People |url=https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-statement-on-transgender-people/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-03-22 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2024 |title=APA adopts groundbreaking policy supporting transgender, gender diverse, nonbinary individuals |url=https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2024/02/policy-supporting-transgender-nonbinary |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=American Psychological Association}}</ref> providing improved mental health outcomes in the majority of people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Kellan E |last2=Wilson |first2=Lisa M |last3=Sharma |first3=Ritu |last4=Dukhanin |first4=Vadim |last5=McArthur |first5=Kristen |last6=Robinson |first6=Karen A |date=April 2021 |title=Hormone Therapy, Mental Health, and Quality of Life Among Transgender People: A Systematic Review |journal=Journal of the Endocrine Society |publication-date=2 February 2021 |volume=5 |issue=4|pages=bvab011 |doi=10.1210/jendso/bvab011 |doi-access=free |pmid=33644622 |pmc=7894249 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shelemy |first=Lucas |last2=Cotton |first2=Sue |last3=Crane |first3=Catherine |last4=Knight |first4=Matthew |date=2024 |title=Systematic review of prospective adult mental health outcomes following affirmative interventions for gender dysphoria |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2024.2333525 |journal=International Journal of Transgender Health |volume=0 |issue=0 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1080/26895269.2024.2333525 |issn=2689-5269|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dhejne |first=Cecilia |last2=Van Vlerken |first2=Roy |last3=Heylens |first3=Gunter |last4=Arcelus |first4=Jon |date=2016 |title=Mental health and gender dysphoria: A review of the literature |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26835611 |journal=International Review of Psychiatry |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=44–57 |doi=10.3109/09540261.2015.1115753 |issn=1369-1627 |pmid=26835611}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cornell University |date=2018 |title=What does the scholarly research say about the effect of gender transition on transgender well-being? |url=https://whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-the-well-being-of-transgender-people/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=What We Know Project |language=en-US}}</ref>

A '''social transition''' may include coming out as transgender,{{Efn|While the label Transgender is used here, people of diverse gender identities may socially or medically transition.|name=a|group=lower-alpha}} using a new name and pronouns, and changing one's public gender expression.<ref name="Brown&Rounsley">Brown, M. L. & Rounsley, C. A. (1996) ''True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism – For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals'' Jossey-Bass: San Francisco {{ISBN|0-7879-6702-5}}</ref> This is usually the first step in a gender transition. People socially transition at almost any age,<ref name=":3"/><ref name=":4"/> as a social transition does not involve medical procedures. It can, however, be a prerequisite to accessing transgender healthcare in many places.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> 

In [[transgender youth]], [[puberty blockers]] are sometimes offered at the onset of puberty to allow the exploration of their gender identity without the distress<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> of [[Puberty|irreversible pubertal changes]]. Upon reaching the age of consent, they become eligible to pursue a medical transition if it is still desired.

A '''medical transition''' may include [[Cross-sex hormone therapy|hormone replacement therapy]] (HRT), [[transgender voice therapy]], and [[gender affirming surgery|gender affirming surgeries]]. The ability to start a medical transition is typically offered after a diagnosis of [[gender dysphoria]],<ref name="j624">{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Austin H. |date=2019 |title=Rejecting, reframing, and reintroducing: trans people's strategic engagement with the medicalisation of gender dysphoria |journal=Sociology of Health & Illness |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=517–532 |doi=10.1111/1467-9566.12829 |pmid=30484870 |issn=0141-9889}}</ref> a form of [[medicalization]]. In recent years, there has been a push for an [[Informed consent|informed consent model]] of transgender healthcare which allows adults to access HRT without a formal diagnosis.<ref name="c152">{{cite journal |last=Schulz |first=Sarah L. |date=2017-12-13 |title=The Informed Consent Model of Transgender Care: An Alternative to the Diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria |journal=Journal of Humanistic Psychology |publisher=SAGE Publications |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=72–92 |doi=10.1177/0022167817745217 |issn=0022-1678}}</ref>

Transitioning is a process that can take anywhere from several months to several years.