WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) has recently released its Standards of Care, Version 8 (SOC8) to a lot of criticism and controversy. Sasha and Stella provide a preliminary examination of WPATH and their SOC8, explaining why they believe glaring issues within these guidelines have discredited the organization.
Links:
WPATH SOC8: https://www.wpath.org/soc8
Wesley Yang: https://wesleyyang.substack.com/p/of-eunuchs-and-wannabes
Genspect: https://genspect.org/wpath-explained/
The Economist: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/09/22/new-standards-of-transgender-health-care-raise-eyebrows
Extended Notes
WPATH is a fringe organization.
Many doctors are influenced by WPATH without knowing it.
The Standards of Care are misguided and fully represent the citations they are based on.
Stella shares the history of WPATH and its documents.
In 1979, Harry Benjamin released his first Standards of Care.
In 2006, the Henry Benjamin Foundation changed its name to WPATH.
In SOC 7, a chapter on ethics was removed from the document yet the chapter on eunuchs remained.
SOC8 has the feel of a shopping list of surgical interventions.
Almost all of the minimum age requirements were missing from SOC8.
The language is “lawyer language” because it is vague enough for no one to be held responsible.
The document is more about political will than clinical care.
Sasha shares the nonsensical parts of SOC8, referencing the non-binary chapter.
Many items are categorized under gender but are truly body modifications.
Many website references cited in the document include unsavory information.
Detransitioners are badly depicted in SOC8 and the definition of a detransitioner is abhorrent.
94 — WPATH’s Bizarre 8th Standards of Care