Trans and health: reality bites

[QAOPspaceman]

Maybe affirming people's fantasies doesn't help them or anyone else

www.theguardian.com/society/2024/sep/19/trans-people-england-missing-vital-cancer-screening

the obvious answer, as it always has been is a supplementary marker, if it is appropriate that the person now presents as a different gender to what their sex marker indicates.

So M or F. (sex)

and if they are trans (i am rolling my eyes so it's hard to type) they get an extra box that is entered. And if the trans person chooses not to indicate that they are trans - anything healthcare related that is sex specific, is on them.

Frankly this is why Pregnant People is harmful.

If they are so traumatised by their own sex, they have a mental health issue. Oh wait being trans isn't a mental health issue though is it according to activists.

Once again the cognitive dissonance is through the roof.

Why on earth did the NHS ever start pandering to this nonsense?

Is it known how and exactly when this ridiculous system was agreed and given the go-ahead and who is responsible? Because thinking in terms of medical realities rather appeasing trans demands, surely erasing or falsifying the sex of a person when there are important differences in illnesses, symptoms and medication requirements between the sexes (I.e. sex matters), is a legal failure to safeguard health and do no harm? Besides the many lawsuits the NHS will be facing for ruining minors’ health, this is surely going to add more?

Especially as there are quite a few trans people according to various accounts, who genuinely believe they have changed sex (because it’s transphobic for anyone to enlighten them otherwise, and the ideology attracts a lot of young people in care, autistic people and others who might lack full understanding and education on the reality). Arguably the sex marker thing is contributing to that and making them literally unable to understand which sex-related medical issues can affect them.

Forms need to say:
M or F
plus
Taking cross-sex hormones? GRS?

Some women might present as male/nonbinary but if they have had no medical or surgical interventions, it doesn't matter from a clinical point of view. The HCP can deal with a person sensitively when they see them in the flesh. They already ask how they would like to be addressed, etc.

This is the problem you run into with an unreality-affirming approach.

If you're committed to pretending someone is something they are not you're really fucked when it comes to evidence based treatments.

There were threads on.the NHS software on here. There are fields for recording both sex and gender identity, but at least at the time the NHS was only using the latter.

Erasing someone's entire medical history because they think they've changed sex is really a very odd course of action when you think about it.

'I've become a woman!'

'Brilliant, I'll just wipe all your medical records, madam. If you fancy a prostate exam at any point, you'd probably better tell someone. But not me. I wouldnt dream of upsetting a lady by asking about her prostate'.

Yes, indeed.

There were threads on.the NHS software on here. There are fields for recording both sex and gender identity, but at least at the time the NHS was only using the latter.

Yes, there was a sex fudge I think

RoyalCorgi · Today 13:22

Gosh. Have I really been on Mumsnet 13 years?

It's from before my time, I saw a few references to it and searched, it gave me such good laughs!

Anyway, sorry for the digression....

Well, if a person is going to deny that biological sex matters then this sort of think will happen, won't it?
Anyone with half a brain would understand that a cervix still needs a smear test. And that boobs need to have screening.
I'm just wondering what that person who identifies as a wolf does when ill. Does s/he contact the local veterinary practice?

It's probably too specialised, they might have to visit a zoo vet.

Here's some NHS guidance on gender data.

It's ridiculous: they state that Sex at birth data can be understood from the combination of the two questions answered [a question covering gender identity, followed by one on gender reassignment, both of which are voluntary]. For example, a response of male to the first question, and ‘yes’ to the question asking if their gender identity is the same as sex registered at birth, would lead to the recording of the sex ‘male’.
However, that will obviously not work when the answer to the first question is "non-binary" or "other", which are both options in addition to "male (including trans man)" and "female (including trans woman)"

digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/mental-health-services-data-set/guidance-on-collecting-and-submitting-data-for-data-items-on-gender#data-items-on-gender-and-trans-status

https://medium.com/@anneharperwright/sex-gender-the-nhs-bb86b0c3ebb

https://fairplayforwomen.com/why-isnt-the-nhs-collecting-data-on-biological-sex/

Those are from 2018 and 2021, respectively.

Here’s the NHS CSP guidance on cervical screening for trans and non-binary
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-population-screening-information-for-transgender-people/nhs-population-screening-information-for-trans-people

As part of the change to their medical records, it is supposed to be explained to the person that they will need to take responsibility for sex based screening tests as the central screening database won’t call them if their sex marker is changed from F to M or U. The GP practice also should follow guidance (as above) which is clear that it requires manual call for screening.
In terms of the lab and other specialities such as colposcopy then there are processes in place to ensure the samples are screened appropriately, there are more steps to get the result to the person though.

What a fucking palaver. Meanwhile people are waiting months for cancer treatment.

This is much too sensible an idea ever to be considered.

I find it hard to understand why it is that since a trans person knows their genetic sex, (and has it confirmed every time they take a shower or have a pee, ) why insist on having an inaccurate record held, a record which is only accessed by a small number of highly trained professionals, who by the nature of their professional interaction know damn well what sex the person is anyway.

Actually recording both sex and gender identity was suggested during design consultation for the new screening database. I don’t know why it wasn’t included but presumably the confidentiality issues regarding the new personal history as described in the article came into play. Setting up screening invites for sex (female/male) specific diseases without basing it on sex would lead to millions of unnecessary invitations being sent out.
I hope the individuals and their GP practice take responsibility for their health, and they are fully informed about the decisions they are making.

I think this is a case for doctors using those rather rude acronyms and initials to describe patients to invent one for trans people who don't give their real sex e.g. head their medical records with BC as in batshit crazy, which would automatically alert doctors that their "woman" is actually a man or vice versa.

BMW. = Boy Man Woman

CTY = Check the Y

Unfortunately I think getting everyone else to run around after you is part of the motivation for some people.

A teenager of my acquaintance, immature and a chronic attention-seeker (probably autistic; batshit mother) has not only changed gender but required everyone to follow obediently along through two changes of name.

Being able to garner loads of sympathy and control the adults is a win-win, and probably induces feelings of power. The person in question, given what I know of them, is highly unlikely to have the willingness or capacity to understand what the future might hold. There's no sense of responsibility there, either. I feel sorry for the kid, tbh: society should never have let this level of crazy take off and become normalised.

Yes it's one of those times when the intersection of narcissism and autism becomes very clear.