Cis boys get gender-affirming surgeries more often than trans minors

Transgender kids rarely get gender-affirming surgeries — in fact, cisgender children are much more likely to get them, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The finding disproves Republican claims that such surgeries are being conducted on trans youth. The study also follows on the heels of the White House’s recent reiteration of support for the right of trans minors to access gender-affirming healthcare.

Related:

Biden administration opposes gender-affirming surgery for trans youth

The statement comes after years of Biden saying he supports trans youth.

“We found that gender-affirming surgeries are rarely performed for transgender minors, suggesting that U.S. surgeons are appropriately following international guidelines around assessment and care,” said the study’s co-author Elizabeth Boskey in a press release.

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The study was entitled “Prevalence of Gender-Affirming Surgical Procedures Among Minors and Adults in the US,” and was published by researchers with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The researchers found that, out of the nearly 22.8 million minors who were insured in the United States and sought care in 2019, only 85 received any gender-affirming surgery. Approximately 96.4% of that sample had received a chest-related surgery, and these surgeries were largely restricted to minors between 15 and 17. No surgeries were done on minors under age 12.

In a sample that combined transgender and cisgender minors, 150 breast reductions were done on youth. Of those, 146 (or 97%) of these surgeries were done on cisgender boys who had gynecomastia, the medical term for unwanted breast development in cisgender males.

Different studies have also found a rare occurrence of gender-affirming surgeries on minors, Assigned Media reported. These studies have found that, among patients who do get these surgeries, the procedures have had strong effects in alleviating dysphoria and negative mental health symptoms.

These surgeries are only done on children who have parents and doctors in agreement that medical interventions are necessary for the mental and physical well-being of the minor.

The recent study’s findings provide a stark contrast to narratives set out by Republican public officials that such surgeries are allegedly common and dangerous. Even President Joe Biden was recently caught up in expressing opposition to such surgeries for youth.

“Our findings suggest that legislation blocking gender-affirming care among TGD youth is not about protecting children, but is rooted in bias and stigma against TGD identities and seeks to address a perceived problem that does not actually exist,” said lead author Dannie Dai in a press release.

The study analyzed de-identified insurance claims for both youth and adults across the country. Researchers examined gender-affirming care among those identified with gender dysphoria, as well as those who do not have such a diagnosis. They excluded intersex people from the sample, and did a Microsoft SQL analysis that took seven months.

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