Despite experiencing discrimination in medical and the workplace, a study of more than 92,000 trans people in the United States found that the vast majority reported more career happiness after transitioning.
On Thursday, preliminary findings from the poll, which aims to widely study the experiences of trans people in the United States, were made public. Although some trans or non-binary people claimed to have experienced discrimination in the workplace or in healthcare settings, the findings indicate that people who transitioned were generally happier with their lives after the procedure.
Some respondents claimed that in order to prevent unfair treatment, they were even thinking about moving across state lines.
According to Dr. Joshua Safer, executive director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at New York’s Mount Sinai Health System, “those of us who provide gender-affirming care find that nearly all of our patients are quite satisfied with their healthcare but are anxious because of animosity in some parts of society.”
Survey reveals improved satisfaction following transition
More than three-quarters of respondents said they were “a lot more happy” with their career after adjusting to their preferred gender identity, while 15% stated they “were a little less happy.”
According to 3% of respondents, transitioning did not affect their level of satisfaction with life. Similar proportions of people were less satisfied; 1% of them were “a little less content” and 2% were “much less satisfied” with life.
The survey’s findings, according to Safer, “mirror what we experts believe we are seeing in practice,” and the statistics regarding gender-affirming hormone therapy “are especially striking.”
The majority of respondents who were receiving estrogen therapy said they were happier with their lives. 84% of respondents said they were “a lot more satisfied” after taking hormones to match their gender identity, and 14% reported feeling “just a little bit happier” while taking them.
According to the survey, people who underwent surgery to match their gender identity were even more likely to be happy with their lives, with 88% of respondents saying they were “a lot happier” after receiving at least one form of surgery that matched that gender. 9% of respondents said they were “a little more satisfied.” Less than 2% of respondents said they were a little or significantly less satisfied after having gender-affirming surgery, while 1% said surgery had no effect.
The biggest opportunities for improvement, according to Safer, are earlier engagement with care and more support from society as a whole. “If we want to see improvements in the well-being of transgender people who seek healthcare,” he said.
Despite improvements, responders continue to experience abuse at work and in care.
Nearly a quarter of respondents said they avoided going to the doctor when they needed to in the previous year out of concern for being mistreated. About half of those who did see a doctor in the previous year reported having “at least one bad experience because they were transgender.” Health professionals were actually tough or abusive, and they used harsh language. Patients were occasionally mistreated or turned down for treatment.
More than one in ten respondents to the study claimed that their gender identity or expression had caused them to be fired, forced to resign, or then lost their job at work. 18% of survey respondents were unemployed. In the meantime, 30% of respondents claimed to have ever experienced poverty, and about a second said they were living in poverty.
Almost one in ten respondents said they had been denied equal treatment or assistance in the previous year because of their identification or expression. People who responded to the survey reported that they frequently experienced harassment and violence due to their gender identity. 39% of respondents reported experiencing online harassment, while nearly a third reported being verbally harassed.
In the previous month, 3 percent of respondents claimed to have been physically assaulted. In the previous year, 4% of respondents claimed that their gender identity had prevented them from using or accessing restrooms in public areas, at work, or at school. 6% reported being verbally or physically harassed while using a restroom.
During a meeting to help the trans community and spread awareness of the problems that trans people in the nation face, candles and portraits of members of that community are depicted. AFP/HILDEGARD TITUS via GettyImages
Interviewees claim that in order to avoid harassment and discrimination, they cross state lines.
Almost half of respondents said they had thought about leaving their home state as a result of proposed or passed legislation that targeted trans individuals. Some respondents claimed to experience some form of prejudice.
In an email to CBS News, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, stated that “the data makes it clear that gender-affirming care helps trans people feel more satisfied with their lives.” And yet, we continue to observe discriminatory laws in states across the nation that actually harm people by putting obstacles in the way of such care.
Because the state in their home state “considered or passed laws that target trans people for uneven treatment,” such as banning access to restrooms, healthcare, or sports, nearly half of respondents said they had considered moving to another state. One in 20 people, or 5% of respondents, claimed they had really relocated as a result of such legislation.
According to the study, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia are the leading 10 states where respondents have relocated as a result of transgender-related laws. Not how many people had left those states, but their chronological order was listed in the review.
10% of respondents had actually moved because of discrimination or unequal treatment where they lived, while 40% said they had considered moving to another area as a result of this.
The perspectives were based on data gathered by the National Center for Transgender Equality over a six-week period in 2022. Over 92,000 transgender and non-binary individuals 16 and older in the United States, U.S. territories, and on American military bases abroad were polled.
