Gender-Affirming Surgeries More Prevalent in Cisgender Minors

A new study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that gender-affirming surgeries are more prevalent in cisgender minors than their transgender peers.

This study speaks in opposition to right-wing narratives about access to gender-affirming care, disproving claims that such surgeries are being conducted on transgender minors. It also follows the wake of the Biden administration’s reversal on support for transgender minor’s access to gender-affirming surgery.

According to the co-author of the study, Elizabeth Boskey, “We found that gender-affirming surgeries are rarely performed for transgender minors, suggesting that U.S. surgeons are appropriately following international guidelines around assessment and care.” Boskey is an instructor at Harvard’s Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The study, titled “Prevalence of Gender-Affirming Surgical Procedures Among Minors and Adults in the US,” was published by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It follows data from 2019 that found out of 22.8 million insured American children who sought care, 80% of gender-affirming surgeries were performed on cisgender males. Approximately 96.4% of these surgeries were chest-related and were restricted to kids between the ages of 15 and 17.

No surgeries were done on anyone under the age of 12. Within the sample, 146 out of 151 (97%) breast reductions were performed on cisgender minors to treat gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is the term used in the medical field to describe unwanted breast tissue development in cisgender males. However, teenage gynecomastia—unlike gender dysphoria—is something that can resolve itself over time.

According to Assigned Media, multiple studies have come out in defense of gender-affirming care for minors, who, according to the results, rarely receive such surgeries. The report also found that the regret rate of these surgeries is “virtually nonexistent” according to another study by Olson-Kennedy et al. The studies reported by Assigned Media found that these surgeries are safe, with extremely low rates of complications, and “no evidence to support delaying surgery for eligible patients based on age.”

Donnie Dai, lead author in the Harvard study, states in a press release: “Our findings suggest that legislation blocking gender-affirming care among (transgender) youth is not about protecting children, but is rooted in bias and stigma against (transgender) identities and seeks to address a perceived problem that does not actually exist.”

The study cross-examined its data by reviewing de-identified insurance claims from minors and adults across the country. They assessed the numerical differences between cisgender youth and youth with gender dysphoria diagnoses who received care. The samples excluded intersex individuals, and a Microsoft SQL analysis was performed, which took several months to complete.