{"id":108764,"date":"2024-03-19T17:43:59","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T17:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/?p=108764"},"modified":"2025-11-30T23:31:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T23:31:48","slug":"the-battle-for-gender-affirming-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/the-battle-for-gender-affirming-care\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle for Gender-Affirming Care"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-108765 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Idaho_welcome_sign-Copy-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"A welcome to Idaho road sign.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Idaho_welcome_sign-Copy-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Idaho_welcome_sign-Copy-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Idaho_welcome_sign-Copy-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Idaho_welcome_sign-Copy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Across the country, at least <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrc.org\/resources\/attacks-on-gender-affirming-care-by-state-map\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">22 states have passed legislation<\/a> banning gender-affirming care for certain segments of their population. While in most instances the target of the bans has been youth (13-17 year-olds), Idaho legislators are trying to stop the use of public funds to pay for gender-affirming care for adults who are either state employees or Medicaid recipients. What is gender-affirming care and why does this legislation matter? Let\u2019s use sociology to help us better understand this issue.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/standards\/classifications\/frequently-asked-questions\/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>, gender-affirming care refers to a \u201csingle or combination of a number of social, psychological, behavioral or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual\u2019s gender identity.\u201d <strong>Gender identity<\/strong> is defined as <em>an individual\u2019s inner sense of identification of being masculine or feminine<\/em>. People develop their own gender identity based on interactions and their social environment. All societies have <strong>gender norms<\/strong>, <em>behaviors, or traits that society attributes to a particular sex<\/em>, but not everyone\u2019s inner sense of who they are matches perfectly with the assumed gender norms in their society. For example, in Western society, traditional <strong>femininity<\/strong>, <em>behaviors, and traits associated with women<\/em>, has expected women to be timid, sensitive, accepting, and passive. On the other hand, traditional <strong>masculinity<\/strong>, <em>behaviors, and traits associated with men<\/em>, has expected men to be tough, aggressive, and stoic. Yet, we know that not all women are timid, and not all men are aggressive. Gender-affirming care is designed to help those who experience an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/standards\/classifications\/frequently-asked-questions\/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">incongruence<\/a> between how they see themselves and how they are perceived by society.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-108766 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/pride-flag-Copy-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"A pride flag.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/pride-flag-Copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/pride-flag-Copy-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/pride-flag-Copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/pride-flag-Copy.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The segment of society most impacted by gender-affirming care legislation includes members of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community. Focusing specifically on people who are <strong>transgender<\/strong>, <em>a person who identifies with a gender different from their biological sex<\/em>, 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Trans-Pop-Update-Jun-2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> indicated that 0.5 percent of adults in the U.S. are transgender. That comes out to about 1.3 million people out of a total population of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/quickfacts\/fact\/table\/US\/PST045223\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">334 million<\/a>. The number of youth is even smaller, with 300,000 identifying as transgender. Regardless of the numbers, many people who are transgender seek gender-affirming care to help align themselves physically and emotionally with how they perceive themselves.<\/p>\n<p>States are choosing to ban gender-affirming care for a variety of reasons. When it comes to young adults, proponents of bans contend that they have concerns about the long-term consequences of gender-affirming treatments, such as hormone therapy, on minors. Other people oppose gender-affirming care for religious reasons, while others voice concerns about whether changes done to a young person\u2019s body, even at the request of that person, qualify as child abuse.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-108768 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/surgery-1807541_1280-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"Doctors scrubbed into a surgery.\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/surgery-1807541_1280-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/surgery-1807541_1280-1024x676.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/surgery-1807541_1280-768x507.jpg 768w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/surgery-1807541_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to adults, as in the case of Idaho, legislation is being designed to prevent public funds from being used to pay for the care of state employees and Medicaid recipients. To put this into perspective <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/health\/how-much-does-gender-affirming-surgery-cost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the cost<\/a> of gender-affirming psychological care generally starts with therapy at $65+ per hour, while surgery can run anywhere from $7,000 to $63,000, depending on the procedure. Most insurance companies do not cover the cost of surgery because it is not deemed medically necessary. The result is that people generally pay for treatment out of pocket, on credit, or with a loan.<\/p>\n<p>Fundamentally, the question of gender-affirming care is about <strong>sex reassignment<\/strong>, <em>the process of having surgery and taking hormone medications to become the opposite sex<\/em>. It is worth noting that the U.S. isn\u2019t the only country grappling with this issue. Across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2023\/04\/gender-affirming-care-debate-europe-dutch-protocol\/673890\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Europe<\/a>, countries that had once been very much in favor of providing gender-affirming care to minors are starting to reverse their decisions because there isn\u2019t enough data on the long-term consequences of such treatments. When it comes to adults, European countries take a \u201cmedicalized\u201d approach to the process, requiring a <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/eurpub\/article\/32\/Supplement_3\/ckac129.070\/6765888\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psychiatric diagnosis<\/a> before covering the cost of treatment with state funds.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-108767 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Supreme_Court_Of_The_United_States_193413861-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"The U.S. Supreme Court building.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Supreme_Court_Of_The_United_States_193413861-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Supreme_Court_Of_The_United_States_193413861-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Supreme_Court_Of_The_United_States_193413861-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/03\/Supreme_Court_Of_The_United_States_193413861.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As the issue of gender-affirming care makes its way through state legislators and federal courts, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/03\/07\/politics\/supreme-court-gender-affirming-care-battle\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> may have to take up the topic to determine the law of the land. Only time will tell if they do and whether the decision they make helps or hurts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em>Thompson is a co-owner of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/uitac.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>UITAC Publishing<\/em><\/a><strong><em>. UITAC\u2019s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable, and socially responsible online course materials.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Images in this blog:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Idaho_welcome_sign.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Welcome to Idaho&#8221; sign along I-90 at the border with Montana<\/a>&#8221; by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/people\/90237600@N00\">Sebastian Bergmann<\/a> is licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>. This image has not been altered.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/photos\/pride-flag-pride-homosexual-love-4426296\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pride Flag<\/a>&#8221; by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/satyaprem-6578610\/\">SatyaPrem<\/a> is licensed on <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/service\/license-summary\/\">Pixabay<\/a>. This image has not been altered.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/photos\/surgery-hospital-1807541\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Surgery, Hospital, Medical Professionals<\/a>&#8221; by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/sasint-3639875\/\">sasint<\/a> is licensed on <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/service\/license-summary\/\">Pixabay<\/a>. This image has not been altered.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Supreme_Court_Of_The_United_States_%28193413861%29.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Supreme Court Of The United States<\/a>&#8221; by <a href=\"https:\/\/500px.com\/jtc\">Jesse Collins<\/a> licensed under the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY 3.0<\/a>. This image has not been altered.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Across the country, at least 22 states have passed legislation banning gender-affirming care for certain segments of their population. While in most instances the target of the bans has been youth (13-17 year-olds), Idaho legislators are trying to stop the use of public funds to pay for gender-affirming care for adults who are either state [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":108766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-illness-medicine","category-sex-and-gender"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Battle for Gender-Affirming Care - In The NEWS Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dive into the sociology of gender-affirming care bans, focusing on gender identity, norms, and the debate over medical necessity and funding.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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