GENDER DIVERSITY – The biggest social shift since Feminism .
Annie Tyldesley
I recently attended a Gender Diversity workshop run by Ari Nicholson of Q-topia . For me this was definitely a toe in the water of a sea I was very unfamiliar with , and this is why I had decided to go . I was the only Practice Nurse there , which surprised me as gender diversity is one of the major emerging issues of the 20 th century . So , what did I learn and how can I use this knowledge ?
Firstly , sex and gender are not the same . Sex is what we are born with : It is biological : male , female , intersex ( 100s of definitions ). Gender is who you are : It is social , individual , emotional , etc . There are many descriptions : female , male , neutral , pan , queer , demi , and many more . The term ‘ agender ’ identifies outside of gender .
The Rainbow community makes up 12 to 12.5 % of the NZ population . Therefore , this community makes up 12 to 12.5 % of the people we provide healthcare to .
I was surprised to learn that gender emerges between 3-4 years of age . This being the case , children need a good deal of support to enable them to explore who they are . During the journey , gender is often a fluid spectrum and the child may move within it for some time .
The child ’ s identity can change from day to day , so labels should not be used at this age ; giving support and affirmation to the four year old leads to much better outcomes . From about 10 to 15 years onwards , the construct of gender will match what young people identify with .
Support is also needed with relationships , both inside and outside the family / whanau e . g . school , sports , church , clubs , healthcare , etc . Ari works with families / whanau to help the child navigate this journey . Trying to change gender to match sex breaks the brain , causing damage to mental health leading to : drug abuse ; alcohol abuse ; self-harm ; risk taking ; and more . Supporting trans youth leads to better outcomes for all ( Figure 1 ).
Ari said that the United Nations directive is that no child should have surgery until they are old enough to consent ; unless they are unable to urinate or the organs are on the outside . In NZ this is at age 18 . However , an individual going through puberty for a gender which they don ’ t identify with can cause phobias and mental health issues , as mentioned before .
Hormone blockers need to be started to prevent puberty and the harm that puberty can cause . The body will still grow , then at 18 , the adult can make their own decisions about interventions . For older people , depo provera is used to stop menstruation .
Although access to high level of support is available at 18 , it is only with extensive ( intrusive ) assessments ( see MOH
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