A model of medical care requiring physicians to disclose complete and accurate information regarding the known risks of pharmaceutical drugs, medical procedures, and tests before administering them to patients (Shuster, 2019). The practice is intended to empower individuals with the information necessary to make evidence-based decisions regarding their medical care.
Any statement or action that dictates how one should identify, express, or present their gender. Identity policing may come from cisgender people who seek to punish or “correct” a person’s gender-variant identity or expression. It may also be observed among some transgender people who believe other transgender individuals should conform to the gender binary. Telling a transgender woman to “dress more feminine” is a form of identity policing, as it suggests that women must adhere to standards of conventional femininity in order for their womanhood to be respected.
Some transgender people undergo hormone replacement therapy (abbreviated HRT) to assume the secondary sex characteristics associated with a different gender. Hormone replacement therapy may consist of Note that not all transgender people wish to undergo hormone replacement therapy and that some may be physically unable to do so because of preexisting medical conditions. Furthermore, HRT is often cost-prohibitive for people who lack health insurance or access to a trans-competent medical practitioner. A person’s willingness or ability to undergo HRT does not reflect the validity of their gender identity.
A group of medications that suppress the actions of a person’s endogenous hormones (see: spironolactone). Some transgender people may take hormone blockers as part of their medical transition (see: hormone replacement therapy).
Deliberate and/or unconscious acts of prejudice or discrimination against those who are not heterosexual, including gender-based blanket assumptions and/or generalizations regarding a person’s sexual orientation. Presuming that all men experience sexual attraction to women, for instance, is an example of heterosexism.
The perspective that only being heterosexual and cisgender is “normal,” disregarding the experiences of people who do not identify as heterosexual or cisgender.
A device used to hold a prosthetic penis (or packer) in place during casual use or while engaging in sexual activities.
A range of public health policies that emphasize education and prevention rather than pathologizing, criminalizing, and/or punishing potentially unsafe activities, both legal and illicit. The harm reduction model allows an individual to determine whether they want to stop or change a behavior and may be applied to various scenarios, including (but not limited to) recreational drug use, self-injury, and sexual activity. In the latter example, a harm reduction approach may consist of sex education (as opposed to abstinence-only education), pre- and post-HIV exposure prophylaxis, and/or condom distribution to at-risk populations.
