The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice

by Shon Faye

But something more fundamental is required: a change in the culture of trans healthcare. Trans people’s trust that they, their bodies and their identities will be respected in all healthcare settings – from the GP surgery to A&E to specialist oncology or sexual health clinics – is low. This trust dwindles even further in the case of gender identity services, whose practices are still clouded by the ongoing perception of clinicians as ‘gatekeepers’. While many modern clinicians refute the idea that they are gatekeeping, the nature of gender identity services – with its continued emphasis on assessment and diagnosis – nevertheless ensures, as the sociologist Ruth Pearce points out, that ‘they do play this gatekeeping role, thereby exercising power as “gender experts”.’