Arriving at a critical moment in the struggle for transgender rights, A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States (SUNY Press, 2025) is the most comprehensive history of transgender medicine to date, as told by more than forty scholars, physicians, psychologists, and activists from trans, gender-diverse, and allied medical communities.
Gender-affirming care is considered the gold standard for treatment of gender dysphoria. Endorsed by every major medical association in the United States, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, and the Endocrine Society, its modern roots date to the 1920s.
“Transitioning can be as simple as changing gender expression by adopting a new hairstyle, name, pronoun, or style of clothing,” says Alejandra Caraballo, writing at Harvard Public Health. “Counseling is often an element of treatment. Some transgender patients may also receive medical intervention in the form of hormone replacement therapy or surgery. These standards have been established and supported by decades of scientific research.”
Sweeping in scope, this new history of transgender medicine traces the development of transgender medicine across three centuries – centering the voices of transgender individuals, debunking myths about gender-affirming care, and empowering readers to grasp the complexities of this evolving field.
More than forty contributors – including patients, advocates, physicians, psychologists, and scholars-weave an illuminating, sometimes surprising narrative of collaboration and conflict between trans people and the scientists who have studied and worked with them.
An indispensable guide to understanding the current tumult surrounding trans health-care access in the United States, the volume underscores a crucial message: gender diversity is not a new phenomenon but an integral part of our shared human history.
About the Authors
Carolyn Wolf-Gould is the founder of the Gender Wellness Center, a rural-based interdisciplinary center for transgender healthcare, clinical training, advocacy, and research in in Otsego County, New York.
Dallas Denny is a retired licensed psychological examiner, advocate, writer, and editor. Her books include Current Concepts in Transgender Identity (1997).
Jamison Green is an author, educator, public speaker, independent scholar, and consulting expert in transgender health and legal rights. A former president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, he is the author of Becoming a Visible Man (2020), now in its second edition.
Kyan Lynch is Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
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