Gender Affirmation

America has a unique Constitution. When it was first introduced to the world it was actually laughed at by many foreign heads of state, kings, and autocrats. Many world leaders thought the idea that a civilian population was entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was a ridiculous foundation for a political system. A “right of happiness”? Indeed!. Hogwash.

Thus started the most progressive and insightful writings of the 16th century: Our Declaration of Independence (1776), The Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights (1787 - together, the Constitution). Unequaled in its purported respect for dignity, rights, and individual liberty, the Constitution was far from a conservative document. From the right to carry arms to personal freedoms and equal justice under the law, these documents were bleeding-edge progressive in their time. 

Many of the provisions of the Constitution, however, were not readily accepted by the States or their representatives in 1787. To many U.S. politicians of the time, they were simply words on parchment.  From the enslavement of African laborers and religious persecution to the lack of voting rights for women and the attempted extermination of the American Indian, it has taken nearly 250 years to realize many of the promises that document made. And we are still far from its intended goals.

The LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transvestite, and Queer/Questioning) movement has been testing the limits of the promise of a right to happiness for several decades. I, for one, believe in the personal right to love whom you wish and marry whoever you please. I am a live-and-let-live straight white guy that has had many LGBTQ friends, acquaintances, and employees in my life. I respect their rights and choices as if they were my own. 

The self-RIGHTeous movement embedded in the Republican Party these last few years has now taken aim at ‘Gender Affirmation’.  For those of you not familiar with what that is, it’s simply the NEED for a person to be seen as the opposite sex (gender) from which they were born. I stress the word NEED. It’s not simply a “choice” as many straights like me once thought. It is actually a hormonal, physical, and psychological need. Gender-Affirming care is the medical term for evaluating and treating this condition.

Restricting gender-affirming care is an affront to the Constitution itself. It is NOT something a government should be meddling in. The medical community, mental health professionals and, for pre-adults, parents, should be the sole source of medical care decisions. 

But, as with all ‘rights,’ there are limits to what should be considered fair and equitable. That brings me to my ‘limits’, so to speak: Transgender athletics and gender-affirming medical procedures in children and adolescents.

Just as PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs) are banned from competitive sports, I believe PEG (performance-enhancing gender) should be limited as well. Now I sincerely believe it is the right of every child or adult to engage in athletics – regardless of gender. But we have always recognized the fairness of gender alignment, especially in team sports and competition. From gymnastics to the WNBA and WNT, women have been given their own athletic scholarships, statistical records, and awards. Allowing PEG to share in these artifacts would be quite unfair to those who were not availed of the genetic or medical enhancements available through transgender care.

It is also a medical truth that the human brain in general, and the prefrontal cortex in particular, is not fully formed or fully functional until around 24 years of age. The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain responsible for performing reasoning, planning, judgment, and impulse control - all necessities for being an “adult”. While providing gender-affirming care is, I believe, very important for the healthy maturation of a young brain, surgical or other irreversible medical procedures to change gender artificially, should be limited and controlled, if allowed at all, for individuals under the age of 21.

Just My 2 cents.

Reference:

What is Gender Affirming care? Your questions answered. Association of American Medical Colleges. Retrieved from: https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/what-gender-affirming-care-your-questions-answered  - April, 2023

Gender Affirming Care and Young People. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Retrieved from: https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/gender-affirming-care-young-people-march-2022.pdf  - April 2023

Maturation of the Adolescent Brain. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/ - July 2023