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This page discusses medical procedures, with use of medical terminology for genitalia and secondary sex characteristics.

Transition is the process a transgender individual may undergo to align their gender expression with their gender identity. Transition can be medical, social, or both. While many transgender people choose to transition to some degree, it is highly individual and not accessible or desirable for everyone;[1] medical transition is often harder to access,[2] while social transition may be unsafe or unwanted.[3][4] There is no defined state where one's transition is "complete" — it varies based on the individual's needs.

Etymology

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The word "transition" means "a change from one state or condition to another". This refers to a transgender individual's change from one gender expression or identity to another.

Transitioning

Medical Transition

Medical transition includes both gender affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), though many individuals choose to only pursue one or the other, or forego medical transition entirely.

For a transmasculine or transneutral individual (assigned female at birth), HRT involves taking testosterone. Changes associated with going on testosterone include thickening of the vocal cords and deepening of the voice, increased facial and body hair, increased lean mass and strength, decreased fat mass, increased sexual desire, loss of menstration, and clitoral enlargement. Less desirable changes that may occur as a result of testosterone HRT include hair loss or alopecia, acne, reduced HDL cholesterol, increased triglycerides, and a potential increase in systolic blood pressure.[5]Testosterone may be administered via intramuscular or subcutaneous injections, subcutaneous pellets, oral ingestion, or topical application using gels, creams, and patches.[6]

Surgical procedures for transmasculine people include:

  • Facial masculinzation surgery, wherein the facial structure is altered to create a more masculine appearance.[7]
  • Hysterectomy, wherein the individual's uterus is partially or fully removed.[8]
  • Mastectomy (commonly known as "top surgery"), where breast tissue is removed and the chest is reconstructed to appear more masculine.[9]
  • Metoidplasty, wherein a small penis is constructed out of existing genital tissue (generally an enlarged clitoris, as a result of testosterone).[10]
  • Oophorectomy, wherein the individual's ovaries are removed.[8]
  • Phalloplasty, wherein a full-sized penis is constructed from tissue grafts and existing genital tissue.[11]
  • Salpingectomy, wherein the individual's fallopian tubes are removed.[12]

For a transfeminine or transneutral individual (assigned male at birth), HRT includes taking estrogen and antiandrogens.[13] Changes associated with going on estrogen include breast development, body fat redistribution, less growth of body and facial hair, and decreased muscle mass.[14]

Surgical procedures for transfeminine people include:

  • Breast augmentation (also known as transfeminine top surgery) where silicone breast implants or fat grafts from other parts of the body are used to increase the size of the breasts.[9]
  • Facial feminization surgery, wherein the facial structure is altered to create a more feminine appearance.[10]
  • Orchiectomy, wherein the testicles are removed.[15]
  • Vulvoplasty, wherein the outer parts of a vagina are constructed from the tissue and nerves of a penis, but no vaginal canal is constructed.[10]
  • Vaginoplasty, wherein the inside and outside of a vagina is constructed from the tissue and nerves of a penis.[10]

Social Transition

Socially transitioning includes steps that transgender people take that are not medical to further their transition. This may involve coming out, changing ones pronouns or name, use of different bathrooms or changing rooms, legal steps to change gender markers, and changing aspects of gender expression such as clothes, hair, makeup, or body language.[16]

History

Document the community's most important history, including facts such as key events, breakthroughs in improving the community's wellbeing and rights, or historical figures known to belong to the community.

Controversy

Optional section: If this topic has been the subject of any controversies, detail them in this section. For example, it could explain outdated or disputed terms, disagreements about how this identity is defined, identity-phobic discourse around popular flags, or other conflicts.

Youth Transition Controversy

Perceptions and discrimination

This section focuses more on the specific kinds of discrimination and oppression that these people may face. Examples would be mentioning systematic transphobia and non-binary erasure on the page for agender, mentioning rates of mental health issues in this group, etc.

Media

This section should be used to elaborate on the portrayal and representation of this identity in various forms of media, which can include a listing or links to various artists or movies, series, etc. Subheadings like Film, Television, Literature, and Music should be used where appropriate.

Resources

Here you can place useful resources relevant for the described topic.

References

  1. "What do I need to know about transitioning?" on plannedparenthood.org. Published 2022 by Planned Parenthood
  2. "Myth #5: All trans people medically transition" by Lopez, German on vox.com. Published November 14, 2018 by Vox
  3. "“Not Transitioning Doesn’t Make Me Any Less Trans”: An Interview with Grace Wilding" by Wilding, Grace on mygwork.com. Published November 18, 2021 by My G Work
  4. A Workplace Divided by Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Published 2018 (web archive)
  5. "Testosterone therapy for transgender men" by Irwig, Michael on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Published April 17, 2017 by Elsevier
  6. "Testorsterone for Transgender Men and Transmasculine People" by Boskey, Elizabeth on verywellhealth.com. Published October 5, 2021 by verywellhealth
  7. "Facial Masculinization Surgery (FMS)" on ftmsurgery.net. Published October 14, 2021 by FTMsurgery.net
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Hudson's Guide: FTM Hysterectomy and Oophorectomy" on ftmguide.org. Published July 19, 2010 by FTMguide.org
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Top Surgery: What It Means" on webmd.com. Published by WebMD
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Gender Affirmation Surgery, Salt Lake City" on healthcare.uthah.edu. Published 2022 by The University of Utah
  11. "Phalloplasty: techniques and outcomes" by Heston, Aaron, Esmonde, Nick, Dugi III, Daniel, Urs Berli, Jen on ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Published June, 2019 by Translational Andrology and Urology
  12. "Transgender salpingectomy" by James, Andrea on transgendermap.com. Published by Transgender Map
  13. "Testosterone Blocker Options for Transgender Women" by Boskey, Elizabeth on verywellhealth.com. Published September 17, 2021 by verywellhealth</
  14. "Oestrogen and anti-androgen therapy for transgender women" by Tangpricha, Vin, & den Heijer, Martin on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Published December 2, 2016 by Elsevier
  15. "Orchiectomy" on my.clevelandclinic.org. Published February 11, 2021 by Cleveland Clinic
  16. "TransWhat? - Social transition" on transwhat.org. Published by TransWhat?
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