Gender-Affirming Care

Gender-affirming care is an umbrella term for the support that helps transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse people live in line with their gender identity. It can include social steps like a new name and pronouns, mental health support, hormone therapy, puberty-delaying medication for eligible adolescents, and various surgeries. Care is individualized, and no single path fits everyone. Clinical guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), through its Standards of Care, shape how providers deliver it. Mainstream medical organizations describe this care as evidence-based and, for many people, life-improving. In the United States and elsewhere it has become a target of political and legal restrictions, with several states limiting access, especially for minors.