Pronouns

  • Social transition – changing names, pronouns, clothing and bathroom use – correlates with the persistence of transgender identity. Expand
    Social transition – changing names, pronouns, clothing and bathroom use – correlates with the persistence of transgender identity.

    Pediatric transition doctors in the Netherlands who first pioneered the use of puberty blockers in dysphoric children observe that social transition correlates with an increase in young people’s persistence when it comes to gender identity [1]. This led them to caution against social transition before puberty.

    Another paper [2] notes that gender dysphoria is more persistent into adolescence where social transition has occurred, and as such asserts that social transition is a “psychosocial intervention [which] might be characterized as iatrogenic” – a medical problem caused by the treatment itself.

    There is evidence [3] that social transition by the child was found to be strongly correlated with persistence for natal boys, more so than for girls.

    REFERENCES

    [1] de Vries, A. L., & Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2012). Clinical management of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents: The Dutch approach. Journal of Homosexuality 59 (3): 301–320. [Link]

    [2] Zucker, K. J. (2019). Debate: Different strokes for different folks. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 25(1): 36-37. [Link]

    [3] Steensma, T.D., McGuire, J.K., Kreukels, B.P., Beekman, A.J. & Cohen-Kettenis, P.T. (2013). Factors associated with desistence and persistence of childhood gender dysphoria: a quantitative follow-up study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 52 (6): 582-90. [Link]

  • More and more children have already socially transitioned – often including pronoun changes – by the time they present to gender clinics. Expand
    More and more children have already socially transitioned – often including pronoun changes – by the time they present to gender clinics.

    Dutch data [1] indicate that, between 2000 and 2004, 3.3% of children had completely socially transitioned (clothing, hairstyle, change of name, and use of pronouns) when they were referred to gender clinics, with 19% already living in the preferred gender role in clothing style and hairstyle, but not announcing that they wanted a name and pronoun change. 

    However, between 2005 and 2009, these percentages increased to 8.9% and 33.3% respectively, demonstrating that social transition is becoming more common before medical transition is investigated.

    REFERENCES

    [1] Steensma, T.D. & Cohen-Kettenis, P.T. (2011). Gender Transitioning before Puberty? Archives of Sexual Behavior 40 (4): 649-50. [Link]

  • There is no evidence that English historically used ‘they’ to refer to a named and known individual. Expand
    There is no evidence that English historically used ‘they’ to refer to a named and known individual.

    For centuries, the English language has used ‘they’ as an epicene pronoun (i.e. to mean ‘he or she’). This epicene use is shared by authors from Shakespeare to Austen and Shelley [1].

    However, epicene use of ‘they’ rules out knowledge of the identity — and thus the sex — of the person in question. In other words, this historical use of singular ‘they’ is restricted to contexts where ‘they’ refers to an unknown party, rather than to a particular named and known individual.

    There is no literature on the use of definite singular ‘they’ (i.e. to refer to a named and known person) before 2017 [2].

    Furthermore, the research undertaken in 2017 [3] indicates that many English speakers who naturally use epicene ‘they’ find it difficult to parse uses of ‘they’ to refer to a named and known singular individual.

    REFERENCES

    [1] Grubber, B. (2017). Singular They: The Best Epicene Pronoun. Student Research Conference Select Presentations: Paper 45. [Link]

    [2] Konnelly, L. & Cowper, E. (2020). Gender diversity and morphosyntax: An account of singular they. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 5 (1): 1–19. [Link]

    [3] Bjorkman, B.M. (2017). Singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in English. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 2 (1): 1-13. [Link]

  • One study showed that, without social transition, nearly two-thirds of pre-teen gender-dysphoric males grow up to be gay or bisexual. Expand
    One study showed that, without social transition, nearly two-thirds of pre-teen gender-dysphoric males grow up to be gay or bisexual.

    A University of Toronto study [1] found that 63.6% of boys with early onset gender dysphoria, who received ‘watchful waiting’ treatment and no pre-pubertal social transition, grew up to be gay or bisexual. 

    Only 12% of the study participants continued to identify as transfeminine. 

    REFERENCES

    [1] Singh, D., Bradley, S.J. & Zucker, K.J. (2021). A Follow-Up Study of Boys With Gender Identity Disorder. Frontiers in Psychology 12. [Link]

  • Social transition solidifies a transgender identity.
    Social transition solidifies a transgender identity.

    A study of 317 trans-identifying youth found an average of five years after their initial social transition, 94% continued to identify as binary transgender, while 3.5% identified as non-binary.

    In a 2022 longitudinal study by Olson et al., 317 trans-identifying youth were followed for an average of five years after their initial social transitions (mean age at start of study = 8.1 years). The findings showed that five years post-social transition, 94% of youth continued to identify as binary transgender, 3.5% identified as nonbinary, and 2.5% identified as cisgender. Avoiding the use of the DSM-5 criteria for gender dysphoria due to ethical concerns from parents, the study classified gender identities using initial visit data, which displayed signs of gender identification and preferences, along with parent-reported “cross-sex” preferences. The final identity was then established based on the most recent interaction with the youth or their parents before January 1, 2021. [1]

    REFERENCES

    [1] Olson, K. R., Durwood, L., Horton, R., Gallagher, N. M., & Devor, A. (2022). Gender identity five years after social transition. Pediatrics, 150(2). [Link]