By Kristal Quevado

The LGBTQ+ community and the left claim to be supportive and accepting of all. If you go to anyone that is a liberal or part of the LGBTQ+ community and come out as transgender they will immediately congratulate you and support you in every decision you make no questions asked, even if you are a minor. But it seems that some of them have been blinded and they are not fully aware of what they are supporting. But it is not fully their fault because their life experiences will shape the way they go about their beliefs and handle these situations. 

Gender dysphoria is the main symptom of being transgender. As we know, in medicine, a symptom can be a cause of many things, not just one. It is not logical to always treat gender dysphoria with a gender transition without first evaluating the patient. Of course gender dysphoria could indicate that you are transgender but it could also be puberty, SA, or even gender roles and social expectations. And the big question is how will we know? Psychotherapy!

In California, to transition, you must either be an adult who wants to transition or a minor with parental permission who wants to transition. That is all. There is no therapy needed to make sure this is the best option and you won't regret it.  According to Planned Parenthood California Central Coast they “...provide quality, compassionate care… Patients do not need to participate in therapy or provide information from a mental health provider to receive medical care with us”. They don't care what the psychological implications for the transition are because if they did they would lose money. With therapy doctors can determine if transition is the best option to go with. According to the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine “70% of detransitioning realized that their gender dysphoria was related to other issues, 62% had health concerns, 50% transition did not help their gender dysphoria…” (Figure 1). Although I do not know if the people in this survey had psychotherapy or not, it is likely that they did know since it is not required. All the issues mentioned can be taken care of with psychotherapy. If you are concerned about feeling invalidated during psychotherapy do not worry. This process is not to change your mind about transitioning and a good doctor will not attempt it. Its only purpose is to determine the cause of your gender dysphoria and from there do the best thing for you. 

Psychotherapy has many benefits and if it turns out you are actually transgender you can still benefit from it if you have depression, anxiety, or trauma. If you are one of the people that i mentioned in the beginning and you blindly support your friend, keep in mind they could become a transitioner and suffer for a long time. We need to provide them with healthy support and guide them in the best path because they might be in a difficult time where they cannot make decisions on their own. And if you are a parent you are responsible for guiding your children through the best path. Therapy will not damage anyone but the absence of it could. 

Now let's get into the term “Gender affirming care” (GAC), if you are not aware GAC includes puberty blockers, hormones, gender reassignment surgery, voice therapy, etc. I want to really focus on the “care” part. Assuming we all know what care means, is that word really an appropriate choice? If “care” involves removing someone's healthy body parts/organs, is it really care? Getting bottom or top surgery has serious consequences. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, “The possible risks of transfeminine bottom surgery include, but are not limited to, bleeding, infection, poor healing of incisions, hematoma, nerve injury, stenosis of the vagina, inadequate depth of the vagina, injury to the urinary tract, abnormal connections between the urethra and the skin, painful intercourse…”. Although these complications are not common, they can still happen. Now imagine that someone who would have benefited from psychotherapy doesn't go through it and gets this surgery with complications just to regret it after because they are not actually transgender. Removing a healthy organ just to replace it with something else does not seem to be the best option. Another less serious issue with this is the gender ideology I see from the left and the LGBTQ+ community. Many if not most of these individuals consider gender to be completely different from sex. Let's take one of the most controversial examples: “What is a woman?”, the majority will say, “A woman is anyone that identifies as a woman.” Now the issue with this is that they are still not providing a valid definition. 

For example, if you ask them what a non-binary person is, they will not say “'someone who identifies as non-binary”; instead, they will say something like, “someone who does not conform to any gender.” If you say “someone that identifies as a woman” you still have to define woman because how do you know you identify as that? There must be a criteria. Others might say that a woman is someone who conforms with the social and cultural norms that align with the female sex. The issues with this definition are that the things associated with the female sex by society and cultures are things like: menstruation, vagina, XX chromosomes, giving birth, pregnancy, and things like that. Of course you can still be a woman and not fit into all of those categories but those are rare cases. But even if we go with what society truly thinks a woman is, you cannot just identify as one because there are things you cannot change. 

For example women’s health care has never included a prostate exam because women don't have prostates. Another example is women’s restrooms. When have you seen a urinal in a woman's bathroom? Never. What I'm trying to get at is that the second definition still points to a biological female because the majority of the things society associates with the female sex are biological things you cannot change like your internal organs and chromosomes. That is not to say that transgender women are not valid, they are.  

Let’s suppose that being a woman only requires identifying as one. In that case, why would anyone undergo physical transition? The American College of Pediatricians notes that puberty blockers can lead to depression, emotional disturbances related to suicide, and serious permanent side effects, including osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment, and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.

If identifying as a woman is sufficient, why take on these risks? Some say transitioning improves confidence or prevents suicide, yet treatments like puberty blockers may actually contribute to emotional distress. Others argue it’s for social acceptance, but is that worth the physical and mental toll, especially in a society where transphobia still exists? And what about those who might regret transitioning, especially if they lacked proper psychological evaluation?

If being a woman only requires self-identification, wouldn't it be better to help trans people find confidence in their bodies as they are? Avoiding medical interventions would preserve their health, reduce the chance of future regret, and eliminate the challenges faced by detransitioners. If the goal is to support transgender individuals, perhaps the best approach is helping them embrace themselves without unnecessary physical changes.

In summary, gender-affirming care carries significant risks, and gender dysphoria can stem from a variety of causes, so it shouldn’t be addressed with a one-size-fits-all approach. Psychotherapy could reduce detransition rates and provide valuable support for transgender individuals, helping them explore their feelings safely. In fact, therapy can benefit anyone, offering a space to understand oneself better. If you know someone considering transitioning, encourage them to seek therapy, and consider joining them as a show of support. By approaching this journey with care and understanding, we can prioritize well-being in every sense.

This Op-ed reflects the views and opinions of the writer, not Westwood Review as a whole.