Gender Affirming Medical Interventions and Gender Dysphoria: Qualitative Exploration of Messages and Experiences

In response to negative media attention regarding gender affirming medical interventions (GAMI), the current manuscript explores the content of messages trans and nonbinary (TNB) individuals receive regarding the impacts of GAMI on gender dysphoria. Further, TNB individuals’ experiences of the effects of GAMI on gender dysphoria are described. A sample of responses from 105 TNB participants were analyzed utilizing qualitative content analysis. These qualitative results revealed that the messages participants received were split between trans negative and trans affirming aspects. Relatedly, participants’ experiences also reflected a dichotomy between current limitations and positive impacts of GAMI on gender dysphoria. The discussion focuses on how participants’ positive experiences with GAMI, which resulted in decreased gender dysphoria and psychological distress, challenge the current political discourse that attempts to ban GAMI. Clinical implications focus on how to translate the current findings regarding the limitations of GAMI into more fully informed consent processes.