05/01/2026
If there were ever an area of healthcare in which negative responses to treatment were so rare that they barely registered in research, would that suggest flawed studies—or would it reflect the overwhelming weight of positive outcomes?
I genuinely believe that trans children are suffering today not because the evidence for puberty blockers is weak, but because it is, in reality, overwhelmingly positive—arguably more so than in many other areas of medical care. That evidence has been so consistently affirming that some cisgender people refuse to believe it, and as a result, we now see bans on puberty blockers driven by disbelief rather than data.
My lived reality working in this field is that this care is not complex. Trans children, like trans adults, know who they are. I cannot imagine a cis person sincerely believing they are trans when they are not. This may sound simplistic, but it comes from experience. Over the past ten years, I have worked with thousands of young people. I have led teams of therapists who followed up with those accessing gender-affirming care, and not once have I seen an outcome that was anything other than positive.
What I *have* seen is a small number of young people deeply harmed by social stigma and shame—damage no medical intervention alone can fully repair. Even so, their lives were made more bearable through the care they received. The harm did not come from treatment; it came from prejudice.
The only real complexity lies in cis people refusing to accept that being trans is simply who some people are. Regardless of personal beliefs, transness is a natural part of human existence.
Of course, I have worked with individuals who stopped accessing care—but not because it was a mistake, and not because they were never trans. They stepped away due to overwhelming social pressure, prejudice, and the emotional compromises required to survive. They still own their trans identity, and the physical and emotional changes they experienced helped strengthen their resilience, even when living as their assigned gender at birth.
I know my experience is not a controlled research study, but it is still valid and true. Part of my role is to ensure that cis people of all ages do not make mistakes. When there are genuine questions around gender identity, I support people to explore them thoughtfully and make informed decisions. This work is far bigger than a social media post, and the nuances are too great to fully capture here. Like all humans, every trans person’s situation is unique.
But with the right care, at the right time, people can flourish and thrive.
Take care—and remember, no matter what, care is out there.
