Introduction:
Transgender individuals encounter certain discrepancies and a lack of concord between their biological sex and their self-identified gender. Transgender women are assigned as males at birth while self-identifying as women. In contrast, transgender men are individuals assigned as females at birth who self-identify as men.
Many transgender women and men get professional hormone therapy for their desired transition. The use of hormones for the transition process is known as hormone therapy; certain guidelines exist for choosing them.
Cross-sex hormone therapy is a hormone therapy that has positive psychological and physical effects in transition and is also regarded as a mainstay intervention for many individuals. The number of transgender men and women attempting cross-sex hormone therapy has significantly increased.
What Is Cross Sex Hormone Therapy (CSHT)?
Cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) is a kind of medical treatment involving the use of hormonal medications to help transgender individuals or people with gender dysphoria orient and align their physical characteristics in accordance with their gender identity. This therapy generally includes the administration of hormones (testosterone or estrogen) associated with their desired gender.
Exogenous testosterone precipitates masculinization and suppresses feminizing characteristics in transgender men. In the case of transgender women, exogenous estrogen is employed for feminization, and anti-androgens are also used as an adjunct therapy for suppressing masculinizing characteristics.
How Does Cross Sex Hormone Therapy Work?
Cross-sex hormone therapy involves introducing or administering exogenous hormones into the body to precipitate the changes in secondary sexual characteristics that seem unstable with a transgender individual’s gender identity. CSHT has a specific mechanism of action depending on the desired gender and the hormones involved in the therapy.
1. For Transgender Women: Here, CSHT typically comprises the use of estrogen hormones and anti-androgen medications. Estrogens aid in promoting the feminization of physical changes. Anti-androgens are used to suppress the effects of testosterone in the body, which, in turn, helps in further feminization changes, preventing or suppressing the development of masculine features. The physical feminization changes in transgender women include:
-
Breast development.
-
Softening of the skin.
-
Changes in the fat distribution in the body.
2. For Transgender Men: CSHT significantly concentrates on administering testosterone. No other adjunct therapy is introduced here rather than primary testosterone administration. Testosterone helps in advancing the following masculine changes.
-
Deepening of the voice.
-
Increased facial hair growth.
-
Increased body hair growth.
-
Changes in muscle mass.
-
Changes in the fat distribution in the body.
How Is Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy Done?
The cross-sex hormone therapy is part of a comprehensive approach to the healthcare of transgender individuals that incorporates specific ongoing medical procedures, mental health rehabilitation, and other tailored treatments for the individual’s needs. It is typically based on hormone administration. The doctors usually prescribe the hormone medications for an extended period as the desired effects develop gradually. The doctors determine the appropriate dosage, method of administration, and frequency based on the individual’s health determinants, needs, and treatment goals. The method of administration can be pills, gels, injections, or patches.
Another important note is that cross-sex hormone therapy does not radically reverse primary sex features and characteristics, including reproductive organs. Nevertheless, this therapy can markedly impact those secondary sexual characteristics by aiding transgender individuals to attain a more compatible physical appearance by gender identity.
What Are the Uses of Cross Sex Hormone Therapy?
Cross-sex hormone therapy is chiefly done to help people who are transgender or encounter gender dysphoria align their physical features with their desired gender identity. Gender dysphoria deals with an individual's uneasiness or discomfort due to a mismatch or discrepancy between their biological sex and gender identity. Cross-hex hormone therapy is essential in the gender transition process, with the following goals and benefits.
-
Alleviation of Gender Dysphoria: With gender dysphoria, the transgender individual has a sense of unease due to the discord between the birth-assigned sex and the self-identified gender. This dysphoria can be so intense and severe that it leads to depression and anxiety. CSHT can help alleviate distress and grief associated with the discrepancy. Moreover, CSHT can bring about marked hormonal changes that could help transgender individuals feel more aligned with themselves. This results in reducing psychological distress.
-
Facilitation of Physical Changes: CSHT is notably known for facilitating physical changes in transgender individuals. So, it is clear that CSHT contributes to the enhancement of secondary sexual characteristics that are associated with the self-identified or desired gender. Therefore, CSHT can promote breast development, feminine fat distribution, and skin softening in transgender women. For transgender men, CSHT helps increase the growth of body and facial hair, voice deepening, and masculine fat distribution.
-
Social Integration: Transgender individuals have difficulties living with social integration. CSHT can help them in their social integration, validation, and endorsement. The therapy contributes to desired physical changes that help them move and live more easily in society. They can live their life as their authentic gender and be esteemed and honored by the people in society. This recognition can positively impact the social relationships and integration of transgender individuals.
-
Inflation of Emotional Well-being: In addition to physical health changes, CSHT addresses mental health to a greater extent. CSHT is attributable to improved mental health and an overall sense of well-being. For many transgender individuals, it can help alleviate symptoms associated with anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. It could enhance the overall quality of life.
How Effective Is Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy?
Cross-sex hormone therapy is mainly regarded as a safe and effective treatment for obtaining physical changes aligned with the desired gender of transgender individuals. But, the specific result and effectiveness can vary among individuals based on certain factors, including age, genetic compatibilities, hormone dosage, health status, frequency, and duration of therapy. So, many factors influence the treatment's success, even though it offers desired physical and psychological changes.
Conclusion:
Cross-sex hormone therapy is a medical intervention used to help transgender individuals and people encountering gender dysphoria align with the physical characteristics according to their gender identity. It also contributes to psychological changes, positively affecting mental status and overall quality of life. It is considered a safe and effective treatment, and more transgender individuals prefer this therapy. Nevertheless, working conscientiously with healthcare professionals certified and experienced in transgender healthcare promises safe and effective outcomes of cross-sex hormone therapy.
