An opaquely written Harvard study and linked press release prompted false reporting that gynecomastia surgeries for boys are vastly more common than gender-affirming surgeries for trans kids.
Thank you for getting down in the weeds on this issue. Most people, myself included, wouldn’t have noticed that slippery transition from “mastectomy” to “breast reduction”.
This can only be deliberate obfuscation on the part of the Harvard authors. This sort of misinformation only serves to discredit academic research as a whole. My faith in academia dwindles daily as I hear about more and more flawed research.
I use the word "male" twice: once to describe the male identity of cisgender males getting gynecomastia surgery, and again to describe trans males getting top surgery. Anyone who finds the term "trans male" impossibly confusing could be asked to simply remember the notion of "opposites day" from childhood and proceed accordingly. These are not difficult concepts.
You could you the more accurate phrase “trans identifying male/female”. Given that biological sex never changes, this phrase is easy to understand, accurate, and doesn’t erroneously validate terms like “cis”.
We do not need a word for someone who is not suffering from gender dysphoria.
I agree with Steve and have the same distaste for those phrases, but I also understand that you need to use those terms to communicate what is going on without sounding like a complete crank.
As a complete crank myself, I would use "self-inflicted medical mutilation" rather than GAC, and I would stick to male/female, boy/girl, man/woman based on the sex of the person and not their self-proclaimed gender identity. But, in addition to being a complete crank, I'm not a journalist :-)
I know this has been a point of contention before, but as recent Olympic shenanigans have reminded us, specificity and precision of language really matters here.
"whether these were double mastectomies (known as “top surgery,” conducted on trans males), breast augmentations (for trans females)"
A trans male, i.e. a male who is trans, would not get a double mastectomy. A trans man, i.e. a man who is trans, and is therefore female, would get a double mastectomy.
Similarly, a trans male needs to have their prostate checked, as they're male. A trans man does not, as they're female and lack a prostate.
This conversation goes best when there is a clear distinction between sex (male/female) and gender (man/woman), and I think your important and valuable reporting on this issue would be that much more helpful if you maintained that distinction.
Thank you for getting down in the weeds on this issue. Most people, myself included, wouldn’t have noticed that slippery transition from “mastectomy” to “breast reduction”.
This can only be deliberate obfuscation on the part of the Harvard authors. This sort of misinformation only serves to discredit academic research as a whole. My faith in academia dwindles daily as I hear about more and more flawed research.
The use of the terms “gender affirming surgeries” and “cisgender boys” really grinds my gears.
You're going to need to cope, Steve. I needed to use those words to reflect what was in the paper.
I get it.
Even worse is the word “males” when you are discussing females and vice versa.
I use the word "male" twice: once to describe the male identity of cisgender males getting gynecomastia surgery, and again to describe trans males getting top surgery. Anyone who finds the term "trans male" impossibly confusing could be asked to simply remember the notion of "opposites day" from childhood and proceed accordingly. These are not difficult concepts.
You could you the more accurate phrase “trans identifying male/female”. Given that biological sex never changes, this phrase is easy to understand, accurate, and doesn’t erroneously validate terms like “cis”.
We do not need a word for someone who is not suffering from gender dysphoria.
I agree with Steve and have the same distaste for those phrases, but I also understand that you need to use those terms to communicate what is going on without sounding like a complete crank.
As a complete crank myself, I would use "self-inflicted medical mutilation" rather than GAC, and I would stick to male/female, boy/girl, man/woman based on the sex of the person and not their self-proclaimed gender identity. But, in addition to being a complete crank, I'm not a journalist :-)
I know this has been a point of contention before, but as recent Olympic shenanigans have reminded us, specificity and precision of language really matters here.
"whether these were double mastectomies (known as “top surgery,” conducted on trans males), breast augmentations (for trans females)"
A trans male, i.e. a male who is trans, would not get a double mastectomy. A trans man, i.e. a man who is trans, and is therefore female, would get a double mastectomy.
Similarly, a trans male needs to have their prostate checked, as they're male. A trans man does not, as they're female and lack a prostate.
This conversation goes best when there is a clear distinction between sex (male/female) and gender (man/woman), and I think your important and valuable reporting on this issue would be that much more helpful if you maintained that distinction.