Trans 101 Inclusive Practice Tauranga Provider Pathway

Trans 101 & Inclusive Practice Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC Senior Gender Counsellor & Community Educator

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: the basics

Sex

Sexuality

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Gender

Trans 101: the basics

Sex

Sexuality

Gender

Aspects of the physical body. One’s biological reproductive characteristics, primary and secondary. [examples: chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, breast tissue, etc.]

The idea that there are only two sexes, male and female, is not culturally or scientifically accurate according to the LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui Communities and modern research in the fields of Endocrinology, Biology, and Genetics [Cytogenetics].

There are, in our current understanding, at least 5 sexes [X, XX, XXY, XY, XYY, XXXY] but only two are capable of reproduction [XX and XY]. __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: the basics

Sex

Sexuality

Gender

The emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction one has towards another. There are more than 200 ways to identify, classify, or subclassify an individual’s sexual orientation. [examples: straight, gay, bisexual, demisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, homoromantic, polyamorous, etc.] An example for one person could be: A heteromantic polyamorous bisexual [someone who is only romantic with people of the opposite gender, has multiple partners or relationships, and is attracted to two different genders.] The idea that there are only two sexual orientations, gay and straight, is not culturally or scientifically accurate according to the LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui Communities and research in Human Sexuality and Gender, in both medicine and psychology. __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: the basics

Sex

Sexuality

Gender

A social construct classifying various expressions [clothing, colours, mannerisms, etc.], roles [the nurturer, the disciplinarian, the submissive, the dominant, etc.], and expectations [‘you should be this way or act that way’] based on one’s real or perceived sex. An example of this would be- male bodied people should be men, female bodied people should be woman.

Gender is a societally created concept enforced in various ways and not a in any way a basis of science. Research has debunked the outdated concepts that women are more nurturing and men are more aggressive. [examples: There are plenty of aggressive and non-nurturing women. There are plenty of non-aggressive and nurturing men.] __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: terminology ( 13 basic terms ) • •

•

•

•

Gender Identity: An individual’s inherent sense of self, not based on biological sex. [examples: transman, transwoman, demiboy, agender, nonbinary, etc.]

Transgender/Irawhiti: This is an umbrella term, individual identifier and medical/psychological term. A transgender person is someone whose gender identity does not align with their sex, biology. Many transgender people have an inherent drive to make medical transitions to align their biology with their identities, but not all. This is where the umbrella term Trans comes from, another way of saying Gender Diverse. [Example: Someone can be born male bodied and identifies as female or Nonbinary, also known as assigned male at birth ‘AMAB’.] A person who is not transgender is cisgender.

Nonbinary: This is an umbrella term and an individual identifier. Nonbinary means any gender identity that is outside of the binary of male or female. Someone can use Nonbinary as their Gender Identity or have a Gender Identity that is under the Nonbinary umbrella, [examples: Agender or Genderfluid]. Nonbinary is the fastest growing self-identifier within the Gender-Diverse [transgender, nonbinary, or questioning] community. Many are realizing that their experience of self is not binary, but beyond confided and overly defined social constructs of gender.

Intersex: This is a medical term and an individual identifier. A physical sex characteristic developed at birth. The culturally insensitive and outdated term for this community is Hermaphrodite. There is a false belief that this is a small percentage of the human population however, 1.7% of people in the world are born Intersex or with Intersex attributes. There is also a false understanding that intersex people are transgender. However, intersex is a biological condition and transgender relates to one’s gender identity, which can manifest conflicts or a need for physical transition.

Pronouns: A natural part of language and grammar. A word(s) substituting a name or noun phrase. Used as a personal identifier in language. Examples of Pronouns: he/him, she/her, they/them. A significant aspect of Trans culture and cultural sensitivities needs. Many assign pronouns to a person based on their true or perceived sex and gender. __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: terminology ( 13 basic terms ) • •

• • •

•

Misgendering: Unintentionally or intentionally using the incorrect pronoun for a person based on assumption, insistence upon enforcing one’s own prejudicial viewpoint, or blatant disrespect of the person with intent to cause harm.

Authentic Name: [also known as true name, identified name, chosen name] The name a Trans, Nonbinary, Questioning, or Gender-Diverse person feels is an authentic representation of their sense of self and uses as their name. Some authentic names are not an individual’s legal name, some are, and some may be temporary as the individual explores what name best fits their authentic sense of self, their gender identity.

Deadnaming: Unintentionally or intentionally using the incorrect name for a person, typically the name they were given at birth. Deadnaming occurs through assumption or mindlessness, a lack of information, insistence upon enforcing one’s own prejudicial viewpoint, or blatant disrespect of the person with intent to cause harm.

AMAB/AFAB/MtF/FtM: Abbreviations of Trans terms explaining one’s biology at birth and a binary gender identity. AMAB: assigned male at birth, AFAB: assigned female at birth, MtF [AMAB] male to female, FtM [AFAB] female to male. These are slowly falling out of favor culturally but still heavily used in medical transition assessments and allopathic medicine.

Transition: [3 main forms of transition: Medical Transition, Social Transition, Legal Transition] The social, legal, and medical changes a Trans individual may chose or need to make in order to live their lives authentically in alignment with their inherent sense of gender or self. This can include presenting their gender through clothing or hair, introducing a new name and pronouns, making a legal name change, undergoing gender affirming hormone replacement therapy, or undergoing surgical procedures.

HRT/GAHT: Abbreviations for hormonal medical transition. HRT: hormone replacement therapy, GAHT: gender affirming hormonal therapy/treatment. __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: terminology ( 13 basic terms ) •

•

Gender Dysphoria: [DSM-V] A distress which causes significant clinical stress, suffering, or impairment stemming from a person’s inherent sense of self regarding their gender identity not aligning to their biology and gender assigned at birth.

This manifests in individuals showing a strong need to make changes in their social, legal, and medical presence in their lives to align their assigned gender and sex with their gender identity. “Not all transgender or gender diverse people experience dysphoria.”

Gender Incongruence: [ICD-11] “…characterised by a marked and persistent incongruence between an individual´s experienced gender and the assigned sex, which often leads to a desire to ‘transition’, in order to live and be accepted as a person of the experienced gender, through hormonal treatment, surgery or other health care services to make the individual´s body align, as much as desired and to the extent possible, with the experienced gender. The diagnosis cannot be assigned prior the onset of puberty. Gender variant behaviour and preferences alone are not a basis for assigning the diagnosis.” – direct quote from the ICD-11 for Gender Incongruence, (HA60).

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Trans 101: basic does & don’ts DO

DON’T

• Ask what name feels like the most authentic representation of their sense of self. Then use them.

• Ask what pronouns feel like the most authentic representation of their sense of self. Then use them.

• Ask what LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui terms they use or feel the most comfortable with as a identifiers.

• Utilize the person’s authentic name, pronouns, and LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui language throughout all documentation to be affirming of the client.

• Encourage LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui cultural sensitivities and address any inappropriate treatment towards LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui clients.

• Do not use their legal/deadname name, unless the client has asked you to do so.

• Do not use the pronouns assigned to them at birth or any that do not match the ones the client uses.

• Do not make assumptions as to what LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui terms a client uses or feels comfortable with. Also, ask if you may also use those terms; cultural word privilege.

• Do not deadname, misgendering, or use unknown LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui terms in the client’s documentation as they can see this and experience invalidation/dysphoria.

• Do not tolerate any form of disrespect towards LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui in any part of the workplace. A lack of action is action.

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Inclusive Practice: documentation Example of a gender affirming statement  “This client’s name is Jane Doe [legally John Doe in the system] and her pronouns are she/her. She is a woman who happens to be transgender and she identifies with the LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui term of Transwoman.”

Example of a oh no you didn’t statement  “John Doe is transgendered and believes he is a woman. He reports he prefers female pronouns.”

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Inclusive Practice: documentation Example of a gender affirming statement  “This client’s name is Jane Doe [legally John Doe in the system] and her pronouns are she/her. She is a woman who happens to be transgender and she identifies with the LGBTQIA+/Takatāpui term of Transwoman.”

Example of a oh no you-didn’t statement  “John Doe is transgendered and believes he is a woman. He reports he prefers female pronouns.”

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Inclusive Practice: environment

Posters

Literature/Handouts __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Signage

Tauranga Provider Pathway Any gender-diverse client [Transgender, Nonbinary, Questioning] of any age who is seeking any of the following should be referred to Gender Dynamix via our website [gdnz.org] through our referrals page: • Readiness for Medical Transition [hormones, surgery] • Gender Counselling • Brief Therapy/Counselling interventions • Peer and facilitator group therapies/support • Intentional Peer Support [mentorship & extra emotional support from peers] • Aid with Legal Transition [name change, gender marker change, etc.]

• IPL [laser hair removal] • A quiet safe trans inclusive space • Resources & Education for self and whānau • We also offer community/organisational trainings on a variety of subjects __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Tauranga Provider Pathway Any gender-diverse client [Transgender, Nonbinary, Questioning] of any age who is seeking any of the following should be referred to Gender Dynamix via our website [gdnz.org] through our referrals page:

WE ONLY SERVE GENDER-DIVERSE CLIENTS

WE ARE NOT A CRISIS SERVICE

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Tauranga Provider Pathway Access for GAHT or Surgeries • Refer to Gender Dynamix.

• Assessments performed be Gender Dynamix clinical team. Assessing for the following: → age of consent → ability to make informed consent → deemed healthy enough to present [no acute risks] → meets criteria for Gender Incongruence (ICD-11) • The Gender Dynamix clinical team present the assessments to: • the DHB Sexual Health Department (adults) • the Pediatrics team at the DHB (adolescents 16 and under) • Sexual Health meets with the client to assess for prescribing GAHT or placing them on waitlist of procedures. __________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC ⏤ Email: einstein@gdnz.org ⏤ Cell: 020 4092 7468

[voicemails are terrible, just text or email me]

thank you tēnā koutou

Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa ⏤ Website: gdnz.org ⏤ Email: referrals@gdnz.org ⏤ Address: The Historic Village, 17th

Avenue, building #55, Tauranga, 3112

⏤ FB & Insta: genderdynamixnz

__________________________________________________________

Einstein Hale MEd, NZAC / Gender Dynamix of Aotearoa