ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ramifications of World Health Organization’s reclassification decision to both the everyday experiences for trans people and the larger discussion of gender diversity. The transgender movement, of which World Professional Association for Transgender Health is a part, arguably represents a Western view of gender and a distinctly imperialist, Western logic to activism, inhibiting and silencing other voices advocating change. Transgender medicine, which is relatively in its infancy, has and continues to transform the meaning, treatment, and experiences of those who must navigate its processes and professionals. Since a diagnosable sickness is often required to necessitate medical interventions, it is not shocking that transgender “disorders” have been framed by medicine, and eventually, psychiatry. To enjoy full rights granted by the law, one must be legally recognized, and in this sense, transgender medicine provides what is generally seen as the most accepted pathway to legitimacy and recognition.
