“It is our request that the association evolve to offer a form of accreditation for surgical membership in WPATH. Furthermore, we believe that this change would only be successful with substantial input from a Community Advisory Board of patients. Finally, we envision a collaborative research database to ultimately provide accurate information for surgical providers and patients.”
Sign the letter to WPATH here if you have had genital surgery or are seriously considering/planning on getting genital surgery.
For those curious about what happened, here is WPATH’s reply to the letter.
I’m very skeptical about this because WPATH is not our advocate. They do not represent the transgender community. In fact, they represent the gatekeepers who routinely prevent trans people from being able to access necessary medical care. This is literally killing vulnerable trans people.
WPATH used to have a stranglehold on access to hormone replacement therapy in North America. The only reason why trans people in North America are able to access hormone therapy without having to court the approval of a shrink who may or may not derail your transition based on gendered stereotypes is because physicians in North America simply decided to ignore WPATH’s authority.
… of course the endocrinologists, gynecologists, and general practitioners who prescribe hormone replacement therapy aren’t accredited by WPATH.
WPATH already has a very firm grip over access to gender affirming surgery, including in North America, thanks to cooperation with insurance companies and governments that look towards WPATH as the authority on trans care. This stranglehold is being challenged but ‘accrediting’ surgeons will threaten this movement.
I guarantee that part of becoming an accredited surgeon will involve a commitment to adhere strictly to WPATH’s gatekeeping standards but because this accreditation masquerades as merely a way to certify a surgeon’s technical skill it exposes any surgeon who wants to challenge WPATH’s authority to additional civil liability.
WPATH is literally about to elect a dangerous disciple of Dr. Ray Blanchard’s doctrine of autogynephilia, Dr. Baudewijntje Kreukels. They also gave a speaking platform to Dr. Kenneth Zucker, an advocate of conversion therapy for transgender children, at their conference only backing down after intense protest by the transgender community.
WPATH has justified their continued imposition of transgender gatekeeping on the trans community by claiming it is for our own good. We cannot allow them to further exploit our name to shore up their patriarchal control over our lives.
Yeah, this.
WPATH and the hospitals that adhere to it’s policy of gatekeeping have already been using the ‘Standards of Care’ to try to shut down and undermine health insurance coverage of clinics that provide health care based on informed consent, claiming that not diagnosing us is not providing accurate care. It’s not difficult to see them using the same trick to shut down surgeons who provide surgery to people outside their gatekeeping system.
WPATH should NOT be in charge of who gets to treat us.
QueerAnarchism 