What would you like us to know about your experience accessing gender affirming care?
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I have been blown away by the compassion and understanding of my healthcare providers.
I identify as Black or African American.
My care at my PCP office (Prism Health) has been very gender affirming, but with long wait times. It's been my care with OHSU that's been bad as I try to pursue bottom surgery
I identify as Latinx, White .
I find it I can manoeuver the field quite well with most of my doctor's being unbiased
I identify as Black or African American.
I have put off getting gender affirming health care because I fear the government.
I identify as Latinx.
i experienced a huge issue with getting competent gender affirming surgery and care due to being non binary and chronically ill because the surgeons and doctor team were very unfamiliar with the special needs of someone with connective tissue disorders (despite being hugely common amongst trans folks) and lead me astray in what to expect in recovery as well as a level of recovery, pain, and regaining movement i would experience post op which was cl platelet incorrect, lead me to make diffferent irreversible medical choices i wouldn’t have if i was properly informed. and have caused me significant increase in chronic pain in the area of the surgery still debilitating after 3 years post op.
I identify as American Indian or Native American, Asian, Black or African American, Latinx, White.
i hit a financial wall whenever regular blood draw is required before accessing HRT. Blood tests have not been covered by premium insurance, and that makes it inaffordable to receive care and thus HRT.
I identify as Asian.
I kept gaining weight, doctor refused to test me (just told me to watch my diet even though I said I was eating normal). Ended missing a serious condition that later put me in the hospital.
I identify as Latinx.
I am fat with a high BMI and top surgery is almost unobtainable in my region. Only a handful of surgeons in Portland will work on patients with high BMIs, and their wait times can be years and years.
I identify as Asian, White .
I oftentimes face the most racism and fatphobia along with misgendering by the providers I am seeking gender affirming care from. Many continue to deny me top surgery due to my body type that’s related to genetics rather than gaining or losing weight. Numerous providers have tried to coerce me into weight loss surgery when I have been battling a restrictive eating disorder for over 10 years and still struggle to eat one meal a day. My insurance does not cover any weight loss medications, treatments, or procedures and barely covers anything for gender affirming care.
I identify as Black or African American.
I need access to hormones because I am intersex. I feel like doctors can understand a binary transgender person and give them the care they need but they can’t even wrap their head around what I need. (A sex hormone. I don’t really care which at this point. But I can’t keep going on with No Estrogen and Little Testosterone).
I identify as Prefer not to say or use these categories.
The wombo combo of being fat, Black, and queer + white providers not having enough Black people and other POC in their lives, and thus, they have no idea how to interact with Black people is undefeated.
I identify as Black or African American.
Being denied pain management post op because I elected to have a affirming surgery
I identify as Middle Eastern or North African.
I was diagnoced with cervical cancer becuse they didn't know what a cervix on 10 years of hormones lookedlike.
The lines for surgery are over a year and that is not acceptable
Urology is inept when it comes to trans bodies in an er for kidney stones.
I identify as Latinx.
Theres few doctors with gender knowledge and the ones that are in the area are booked out for months some even years.
I identify as American Indian or Native American, Black or African American .
I'm on a wait list for top surgery and it was the only way for me to get a reduction after trying for 15+ years. Been on the wait list for surgery for 7+ months
I identify as Black or African American.
The wait is too long. We need better education and route planning to navigate everything, and get around the red tape barring us from care.
I identify as Latinx, Prefer not to say or use these categories .
Wait times and insurance struggles make it very difficult to get top surgery
I identify as Asian, White .
The waitlist has been too long and very frustrating
I identify as American Indian or Native American, Latinx .
im a Black person so I have a lot of trauma. gender affirming care is expensive and my quality of life suffers bc of it
I identify as Black or African American.
My trans healthcare, reproductive healthcare, and disability healthcare and all other healthcare needs are all intersectionally effected my my doctors incompetence in one or more of these areas. I have autism and fetal alochol syndrome and multiple studies show that FAS people do not have average BMIs. I am considered underweight and it greatly effects how much T my doctors will prescibe. They have threatened to take me off of meds that make me functional because of my weight. This survey asked several times if I face fatphobia but I actually face the opposite in healthcare. There is a bias in healthcare around people who are underweight and what treatments we receive.
I identify as American Indian or Native American, White .
I want a breast augmentation I know is covered under medicaid for gender affirming reasons, but I present as a more femme non-binary person and I do not feel like I will be taken seriously if I ask for a medically covered breast augmentation. More needs to be done to show how gender affirming care access affects more than just typical presenting trans people, that it even affects cisgender people too.
I identify as American Indian or Native American, Asian, Black or African American, Latinx, Middle Easttern or Northern African, White.
I've experience both racist and transphobic incidents with providers at all levels
I identify as Asian.
Being misgendered and spoken to as if I am a woman who thinks and wants the things a woman 'typically' thinks and wants is a central feature for 99% of my healthcare. I have one therapist who affirms my identity as a trans agender person and she has never misgendered me or relates to me as a woman. I'm grateful for her.
I identify as Black or African American, Latinx .
It depends on the provider who I’m seeing
My regular Person I see is supportive
It’s just the office and the billing departments that I had to correct
I identify as Latinx.
The VA healthcare system is the worst when it comes to dead making and misgendering patients. And their gender pathways program acitvely lies to patients about what care they can or cannot access. I was told to spend a year "living as a woman" before I could access hormones, and then another year on hormones before I could access bottom surgery. After those two years I was told, sorry, the VA doesn't offer bottom surgeries and won't pay for them either.
I identify as American Indian or Native American, Latinx .
While I've been misgendered often, that's more because the doctors rotate every appointment and don't read my chart than malice.
I identify as Asian, Black or African American, White, .
Providers are insensitive to gender affirming care patients if you do not “look trans enough”
I identify as Latinx.
When I told a white woman provider that my hair was thinning due to hrt and i wanted to know what i could do to manage it, she brushed aside my concerns saying my hair was very thick and full and i didn't need to worry. Compared to her straight, thin hair it was, but i know my natural hair texture. When i was preparing for top surgery, my meetings with my surgeon depressed me because she would always comment on how big i was on top. I lost trust in her, thinking it was obvious she shouldn’t make comments like that… ??? These experiences at times made me second guess my decisions to access care at all, and would keep me from asking other questions because i didnt want to spend any more time talking to these providers, worried what else they might say. It was very hard to advocate for myself in those relationships.
I identify as Latinx, White .
As far as gender afirming care, whenever I try to bring it up with a doctor, first up, I am misgendered every single time I'm being seen, and when I try to talk about hormones or other gender related issues, I feel like I'm being ignored. I have never been referred to a gender specialist, and since I don't have an official gender dysphoria diagnosis, it is as if hormones/ surgery are not an option for me, as far as my insurance-provided medical team is concerned
I identify as Latinx.
I am so grateful for Oregon Health Plan. I received my top surgery letter Dec 2024 -I do wish these letters didn't expire after 1 year. I was on Regence BCBS for several years through my employment, but lost my job in Jan 2025 and quickly applied for OHP. From Feb - Apr I had double coverage through Regence and OHP. I ended up in the ER for a serious mouth infection in Feb, Regence would barely cover any of my ER costs, but OHP covered all of it, saving me $10K -THANK YOU OHP!!!! In April I finally had the capacity to start looking for surgeons for top surgery. I contacted the following providers: Legacy Emanuel, OHSU, and The Oregon Clinic East. Legacy Emanuel's Dr Thatcher was the most highly recommended and most popular among my social circles. I never heard back from Legacy, I'm sure they are swamped. I heard back from OHSU quickly, they emailed saying that current estimated wait time for top surgery intake/consult is two years; they said they are getting a lot of requests for surgery while having staffing shortages. They also said to contact the clinic directly for most up to date wait times. OHSU also emailed a 23 page booklet with a provider list for all types of gender affirming care, that was SO helpful. I am grateful. I was able to schedule a consult with The Oregon Clinic (East) April 18 and receive insurance approval by end of May to schedule surgery. The earliest surgery date was August but I opted for November instead.
I identify as Asian.
My therapist is amazing. If it were strictly about them the answers would be all positive. I know I lucked out with them.
My answers refer to services such as Planned Parenthood and other free/low-income/OHP options.
I identify as Black or African American, White .
Accessing gender-affirming care has been a game changer for my mental health and well being.
I identify as Black or African American.
I moved to this area to receive the care i knew i needed around HRT and transitioning. I've received most of my care from Outside In
I identify as Asian, White .
Being fat and brown and poor and a sex worker with cptsd has provided an interesting experience overall. I often feel like im fighting against whatever stereotype they have imagined of me. Im very rarely treated as a trans man.
I identify as Latinx.
I was treated very harshly by nurses during my chest reduction surgery due to my race. I had a bruise on my hand from having a thick anesthesia needle bag puncture it too many times in the same spot, and I wake up with paralysis of that hand's two fingers even til this day, years later. The treatment during the surgery scarred me and made the healing process traumatic. Additionally, I was not notified of the full process of accessing HRT by my healthcare provider. I endured over a year of combating extreme gender dysphoria alone to finally complete my process of accessing HRT (securing the WPATH letter, getting medicated, and reducing cholesterol levels). During the time I was securing the WPATH letter and getting medication, I should have been notified that I still wouldn't be allowed on HRT until I lost weight and got my cholesterol levels down so I could work on both requirements at once. My cholesterol levels were not at dangerous levels, but gender affirming care was withheld from me for another half year until I intensely dieted and worked out to meet normal fat levels. It took a toll on my mental health and was also difficult for me because I already have numerous eating restrictions as a symptom of my physical disability.
I identify as Black or African American.
My provider knows I am non monogamous and is very affirming and accepting
I identify as nhpi.
Often time misgendered and assumptions made based on my physical presentation
I identify as Latinx.
I've been on and off hormone replacement therapy and have had providers praise me for coming off hormones (even though it was temporary and I had no intention of detransitioning). It makes it difficult for me to know which providers I can trust to not be transphobic and makes it difficult for me to want to talk about any concerns or side effects related to my gender affirming care.
I identify as American Indian or Native American, White .