“But we’ve always been there, it’s just that now, we are in an environment, in a favorable era, but it’s not a trend: these are people who make sacrifices, people who don’t love themselves, who look in the mirror and hate themselves and who have no choice but to go through this to live their lives in the image of what society expects.”
Activists have for years claimed that misinformation stifles much of Canada’s debate on transgender rights, particularly among young people. Last month, regulations requiring parental consent for individuals 16 and younger to change their names or pronouns at school were passed in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, which raised concerns among critics about Charter rights.
Premier Danielle Smith in Alberta has promised to pass legislation this fall that would put restrictions on gender-affirmation surgeries and hormone treatments for teenagers in addition to parental consent for pronoun and name changes. In opposition to the proposed legislation, opposition parties and LGBTQ+ organizations have accused Smith of using tales to “play politics” with the proposed policy.
According to Annie Pullen Sansfaçon, a gender identity scholar at the Université de Montréal for the past 15 years, using preferred pronouns may reduce rates of stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts in non-binary and transgender children.
Accessibility to gender diversity goes with learning, but it’s no small work, she said.
GRIS-Montréal, a community organization, has been holding seminars and workshops in schools about sexual orientation for 30 years. The organization has even brought up the issues of gender identity since 2017.
Even though it is well known that one cannot control someone else’s orientation or gender identity, Marie Houzeau, the group’s general manager, said, the same biases and myths that existed in relation to sexuality in the past are now transposed to gender identity.
“They are the same things that we hear,” according to Houzeau, saying that talking about it will confuse young people and that if we talk about it, young people might turn out to be that way. We previously said something about sexual orientation, and now we’re saying something about gender identity.
Her organization meets about 30,000 young people yearly in Greater Montreal. Houzeau believes she could triple the number of workshops offered at gender identity conferences because of the high demand for them.
She claimed that there is a significant difference between the amount of trustworthy information that is available in schools.
According to Houzeau, “we know that young people receive a lot of information through social media, some follow influencers, and that constitutes their main source of information.”
We also know about the phenomenon of algorithms and echo chambers, which allow young people to follow people who have opinions based on misinformation and ensure that only the information they already know is presented to them.
Some youth, she said, have the right information and can impart it to their peers to dispel myths about transition and treatment.
One common misconception, according to Pullen Sansfaçon, is that puberty blockers are medications used by adolescents who are transitioning between genders. Before puberty, she emphasized that children should not take these drugs.
A young person has more time to weigh their choices because the medication is not permanent and just slows down the puberty process. If a person stops taking it, puberty resumes its course within a few months, Pullen Sansfaçon said.
Recent research has shown that gender-affirming care benefits youth in terms of both psychosocial and mental health. During adolescence, hormone blockers reduce the risk of suicidal ideation.
“These are medications that can save a person’s life,” Pullen Sansfaçon said.
Some will eventually choose to receive gender-affirming hormone therapy, which may include taking testosterone or estrogen, depending on their gender, while blocking medications give youth the opportunity to mature and make decisions in due time.
It’s the same thing for gender-affirming surgeries. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, age restrictions for funding such operations vary by province and territory in Canada, but genital reconstructive surgery is only available to those who are 18 or older. The general population under the age of 16 and older is only allowed to undergo top surgery to remove or enhance breast tissue.
A follow-up with a psychologist is also required. Sam Lajeunesse, a 43-year-old trans man, can attest to its benefits.
“Before I even realized I was a trans person, I had an issue with my chest,” Lajeunesse said. “I was a teenager when I realized I couldn’t have had a mastectomy because I didn’t even know it was possible.”
After a six-month follow-up with a psychologist, he asked for a doctor’s letter supporting his decision to have a mastectomy and hormonal treatment. He has no regrets, despite his concerns about the potential side effects and the speed with which hormonal injections would take effect.
Pullen Sansfaçon said that some effects of hormone therapy can be reversed, sometimes through corrective surgery.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health has established standards of care since 1998 and has updated over
the years. This includes medical and surgical assistance for young transgender and non-binary people.
According to Pullen Sansfaçon, “the scientific consensus is currently that having access to and supporting young people’s ability to make informed decisions regarding gender-affirming care seems to be the best course of action to improve the mental health of these young people,”
Education is key.
Lajeunesse and Latour refer to discussions about their gender identity as a sort of perpetual “coming out” conversation. Some people say hurtful things unintentionally because they aren’t aware, but others do so deliberately. Both said they’re happy to answer questions when asked respectfully.
Lajeunesse said 13 years after transitioning, he no longer has those conversations with close friends or family, but they did come up before.
“They had questions which I sometimes answered, other times I directed people to the appropriate sources of information,” he said.
For Latour, the discussions can be tough.
“Often, people will say, ‘You’re a man,’ but no, I’m not a man, I’m a trans woman,” she said with pride. “And sometimes, it’s hard to always have to explain that you can’t address me as a man.”
The Canadian Press’s first publication of this report was on March 18, 2024.
Through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Press’s coverage of health issues is supported. CP is in total control of this content.
Katrine Desautels, The Canadian Press
by Canadian Press
