92nd ACFAS Congress - Colloquium 626: ‘Transition and detransition among young people: understanding and uniting in the face of misinformation and division’.

Summary:
The trans and transsexual communities are often portrayed as having divergent, if not completely opposing, medical interests. While trans people benefit from access to gender transition care, it is the barriers to care that benefit trans people. In this presentation, Florence Ashley will suggest that, on the contrary, the interests of trans and non-trans people are aligned when it comes to access to gender transition care, since barriers to care do not prevent regret and can even be detrimental to non-trans people. In doing so, the presentation opens up to the vision of a trans/trans alliance that places emphasis on autonomy, gender self-determination, and the diversity of gender pathways.

Biography:
Florence Ashley is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta and at the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre. In 2019-2020, they was the first openly trans-female clerk of the Supreme Court of Canada. Florence is the author of two books on trans issues and numerous academic articles, including articles on detransition written in collaboration with trans and trans-detrans researchers.

Abstract

Data from hotlines for LGBTQ2+ young people in the United States at the time of Trump's election and inauguration show an explosion in the use of services directly linked to the political context. THEM.us reported an increase of almost 200% in calls to the Trevor Project in the 2 days preceding the election on 5 November, and 700% the day after. But what about on our side of the border?
Are US executive orders and divisive rhetoric influencing calls for help and the plight of trans and non-binary young people in Quebec and Canada? Is the current social climate jeopardising their mental health and daily lives?
This paper explores the impact of the socio-political climate on the mental health of young trans and non-binary people through statistics from the Interligne helpline, anonymous reports of discrimination and violence via the ALIX platform, and the results of a recent Canada-wide study on the mental health of 2ELGBTQIA+ people conducted by Léger for Interligne.
We will analyse trends in requests for help and their links with anti-trans discourse and restrictions on affirmative care. By shedding light on these data, we hope to raise awareness of the concrete impact of political debates on young people from New Brunswick and suggest courses of action to better support them.

Biography

Mathé-Manuel Daigneault (He/They) is a transmasc neuroqueer working in service coordination at Interligne, having previously collaborated with several other sexual and gender diversity organisations over the last decade. He holds a bachelor's degree in Animation and Cultural Research and a short post-graduate programme in EDI management in the workplace. He is also a research professional at the Université de Sherbrooke's Laboratoire inclusif de recherche et développement, a role that enables him to hone his skills in statistical analysis and social science research. His research interests include the realities and representation of trans and neuroqueer people, as well as EDI initiatives.

Summary

Although many countries have passed laws protecting the rights of trans and non-binary (NTB) people, some have seen a rise of the political right, with repressive policies and anti-trans protests. In Canada, despite legislative and social progress, access to gender-affirming care (GAC) varies from province to province, creating a climate of uncertainty because legal protections are not always guaranteed. SMAGs, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, are essential to the psychological and physical well-being of young people, reducing gender dysphoria and improving their quality of life. How does the socio-political context between 2022 and 2024 influence or not the well-being of young TNBs and their access to SMAGs? This presentation is part of the Grandir Trans project, an international longitudinal study of SMAG, focusing on changes in care pathways and their impact on the well-being of young Canadian newcomers aged 11 to 17. The data show that access to SMAG and the legal transition have improved the general well-being of young people, by reducing gender dysphoria. Despite setbacks in some provinces, families remain confident that support is available, even in the face of sometimes negative information from politicians, bills and the media.

Biography

Naomie-Jade Ladry, a doctoral candidate in applied human sciences, is a graduate of the Master of Science in Administration - Management of International Development and Humanitarian Action and the Graduate Microprogramme in Gender Studies at Université Laval. Her interests lie in gender equality issues, in particular intersectional feminist perspectives and issues surrounding gender diversity. Naomie-Jade Ladry works as a research assistant on the Grandir Trans project.

Summary

GRIS-Montréal is an organisation that has been demystifying sexual orientation (since 1994) and gender identity (since 2019) in schools. Interventions answer students' questions, with LGBTQ+ volunteers sharing their personal experiences. Since 2021, GRIS workers have observed an increase in hate speech and closed attitudes towards sexual and gender diversity among the students they meet. This impression is confirmed by its survey questionnaires, which show a recent significant decline in young people's sense of comfort with these realities. This paper is based on data from questionnaires (n= 35,705) completed by secondary school pupils during 1,512 interventions carried out between 2018-2023, in a variety of regions of Quebec. The questionnaires probed young people's level of comfort with a series of statements on sexual orientation and gender identity. Among the hypotheses that could account for this decline in young people's feelings of comfort are the structure of social media, which exacerbates the presence of echo chambers; the neoliberal journalistic ecosystem, which accentuates disinformation processes; and the proven effectiveness of moral panics around LGBTQ+ people in distracting from real social issues and rallying diverse fringes of the population around shared, often national, values.

Biographies

Amélie Charbonneau (She) has been a research fellow at GRIS-Montréal since 2013. With a background in social work, feminist studies and communications, she particularly enjoys documenting young people's perceptions and representations of people of sexual and gender diversity.

Alexis Graindorge (He/They) is a queer sociolinguist and research professional at GRIS-Montréal, where he contributed to the latest report on the rise of unease towards queer realities, published in January 2025. She is particularly interested in issues of linguistic norms, representations and attitudes, and attaches great value to the accessibility of research and the sharing of knowledge.

Summary

Surveys of young trans people reveal a predominance of individuals assigned female at birth (i.e. transmasculine persons) compared with individuals assigned male at birth (i.e. transfeminine persons), a phenomenon that remains unexplained. This study examines whether this transmasculine predominance in adolescence can be linked to macro-social factors, such as LGBT policies, by analysing data from the United States and Europe. We used the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (N = 27,715 trans individuals), the 2019 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) survey (N = 118,945 cis LGB individuals and 18,608 trans individuals). Policy scores were obtained from the Movement Advancement Project (US) and the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index (Europe). Our results reveal a consistent predominance of transmasculine adolescents, with later identity sharing for transfeminine youth in all 50 US states (2015) and 30 European countries (in 2019). While differences in age of identity declaration are not correlated with gender politics in the US, they are significantly correlated with LGBT politics in Europe. The predominance of transmasculine adolescents is closely linked to the greater difficulties encountered by transfeminine adolescents in sharing their identity.


Biography

Claire Vandendriessche is the association coordinator for Trajectoires Jeunes Trans, a French platform for coordinating the health care of trans minors and their families in the Paris region, a health mediator for these groups and a researcher into their health issues. She is also co-president of Réseau Santé Trans, a French association of trans health professionals and users of the health system.

Abstract

The discovery of a child's transgender identity challenges parents' gendered representations, prompting them to reconsider their roles. This study explores how they navigate between family support and societal norms, redefining their perception of identity and the parental role. 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of transgender children in French-speaking Belgium, analysing the processes of identity deconstruction and reconstruction in response to social expectations. In response to the discovery of their child's transidentity, parents revisit and readjust their parental identity. This transition leads to a profound reassessment of their roles, in which support for their child's gender identity becomes central. Their journey is punctuated by multiple “coming-outs” in various environments (school, extended family, etc.), placing parents in the role of mediators. This redefinition of their role highlights the challenges and adaptations needed to navigate between personal identity and social acceptance. These findings highlight the increased need for support for parents, who must constantly adjust their own identity while defending that of their child. This presentation will look at possible solutions aimed at strengthening family resilience and contributing to wider social acceptance of gender diversity.



Biography

With a Masters in Public Health Sciences, her doctoral research focuses on the lived experiences of transgender and non-binary adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24, in order to better understand the complexity of their needs in terms of well-being and support. The overall aim of this research project is to understand and triangulate the perspectives of young people, parents (and extended family) and professionals, and to encourage effective participation in developing recommendations for relevant support strategies. These multidimensional recommendations will focus on health promotion from the perspective of health-promoting environments, an inclusive society and the strengthening of community action and individual skills.

Summary

While the scientific literature on the relationship between trans and non-binary children and their parents focuses primarily on the role of parent figures in their child's development, few studies examine how this relationship transforms the parents themselves. Filling this gap, this article explores how activism on behalf of trans and non-binary children shapes the lives of affirming parents, strengthening bonds of trust and broadening their understanding of human diversity and the struggles that accompany it. Based on a preliminary analysis of 62 interviews with affirming parents in Canada, we contrast the vision of the parental rights movement, which seeks to control young people's gender non-conformity, with that of affirming parents, who see parenthood as a relational practice. This article reaffirms the well-established finding that parental support improves the mental health of trans and non-binary young people, but also shows how affirmative parents experience personal transformation through their involvement. By mobilising the concept of a “psychologically rich life” (Oishi & Westgate, 2021), we suggest that the affirmation of a trans child embodies the complexity and change of perspective characteristic of such a life, thus offering an alternative framework for creative gendered parenting based on openness, transformation and an ethic of care.


Biography

A doctoral student in political science at Concordia University, Francesco (he/they) studies the citizenship and political representation of two-spirited, trans and non-binary people in Canada. For the past three years, Francesco has been the project coordinator for a study on the claims of parents of trans children in Canada. In addition, since 2020, he has been working as part of the communications team at the Community Research Centre, where he creates engaging promotional materials to support the organisation's research and advocacy activities on queer and trans health issues. Motivated by a desire to bring academic research closer to public debate, Francesco is committed to making knowledge and policy issues more accessible. Outside his professional life, Francesco enjoys video games, cooking and gardening.

Summary

Despite legislative and social advances for the rights of trans and non-binary people (TNB), access to gender-affirming medical care (GAMC) for minors remains under debate. While some advocate access from puberty onwards, others are cautious, believing the data to be insufficient. The emergence of narratives about detransition and post-transition regrets are also fuelling concerns. However, when care is adapted, notable benefits are observed, such as a reduction in minority stress and an improvement in the quality of life of TNB youth. So what are the effects of access to GAMC on the well-being of TNB youth in Canada? This presentation is part of the Growing Up Trans project, an international longitudinal study on GAMC, which focuses on the evolution of care trajectories and their impact on the well-being of young people aged 11 to 17. The presentation explores changes in the physical, psychological and social well-being of 7 TNB youth who had begun gender-affirming medical treatment. The data show that while blockers can reduce puberty-related stress, hormone therapy has a greater impact on reducing dysphoria and self-confidence. GAMC also appear to improve social and family relationships, despite some misgivings. However, challenges remain in the face of environments that are not very supportive or adapted to their gender identity.


Biography

Naomie-Jade Ladry, a doctoral candidate in applied human sciences, is a graduate of the Master of Science in Administration - Management of International Development and Humanitarian Action and the Graduate Microprogramme in Gender Studies at Université Laval. Her interests lie in gender equality issues, in particular intersectional feminist perspectives and issues surrounding gender diversity. Naomie-Jade Ladry works as a research assistant on the Grandir Trans project.

Summary

In Canada, there are more than 62,000 trans and non-binary (TNB) young people aged 15 to 34. However, their transition profiles remain poorly documented. This study used latent class analysis to identify five transition profiles among 671 TNB youth aged 15 to 29, based on their socio-medical-legal transition processes and sociodemographic characteristics. The five patterns are: Contemplation (16%; few steps taken); Non-conformity (13%; moderate social steps, rare legal steps, low medical interest); Medical intention (38%; widespread social steps, some legal steps, high medical interest); Surgical goals (27%; widespread social and legal steps and hormone therapy, strong interest in surgery); Socio-medical-legal history (7%; widespread steps of all types). Patterns in which several steps were desired and undertaken showed high satisfaction with their transition, greater well-being and were more ‘out’. Those who had taken fewer steps or had a strong interest in future steps had lower satisfaction and well-being scores and were more likely to conceal their identity. These results highlight the need to support TNB youth in their transition efforts, improve social support for them, and ensure access to the legal and medical steps they desire in order to promote their fulfilment and recognition in society.

Biography

PhD candidate in sexology, analyst and scientific writer at the Research Chair on Sexual Diversity and Gender Plurality.
Their doctoral work focuses on the intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural factors influencing the process of lesbian and queer identity formation. More broadly, their research interests focus on the lived realities of queer people and the experiences that influence their well-being, such as social support or experiences of adversity.

Summary

After undergoing gender transition, some younth interrupt it, either temporarily or permanently. This phenomenon of detransitioning is often viewed negatively and used to justify restrictions in gender affirmation policies. However, few studies have examined the experiences of youth who have detransitioned after a social transition only (YDS). This presentation explores the detransition experiences of YDS and their feelings after discontinuing their transition. We draw on international qualitative research, with semi-structured interviews conducted with 25 youth aged 16 to 25 who have discontinued their transition. A sub-sample of 8 YDS was formed. Regarding their relationship with themselves, some YDS continue to experience bodily discomfort and identity doubts, while others experience a sense of fulfilment and liberation. As for their social relationships, YDSA report conditional or unconditional support, but also misunderstanding from their loved ones. Others prefer to live their detransition in secret. These results illustrate the diversity of social detransition experiences. It is essential to provide appropriate psychological support and to strengthen education about detransitions in society.


Biography

Noémie Lambert (she/her) is a master's student in psychology at the University of Montreal, under the supervision of Annie Pullen Sansfaçon. She completed a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Montreal in 2023. She has been involved with various organisations, particularly with young people and families at a youth centre in recent years. As part of her master's degree, Noémie is working on the Discours (De)trans project. She is particularly interested in the school experiences of young people who have undergone a transition and then a detransition.

Summary

In recent years, a highly publicised discourse has emerged on detransitioning experiences, portraying a growing phenomenon and spreading the idea that trans and non-binary youth (TNB) are transitioning too quickly and regretting it later. This narrative is used to justify measures restricting access to gender-affirming care for TNB youth and is already having an impact in many countries, states and provinces, which are now adopting restrictive policies on gender affirmation. This presentation aims to understand how discourses on detransitioning constitute forms of epistemic injustice (Fricker, 2007).We will cross-reference data from two parts of a study examining discourse on detransitioning: an analysis of media discourse based on a corpus of 192 press articles and 2,396 tweets published between 2017 and 2020, and an analysis of 25 interviews conducted between 2020 and 2022 with young detransitioners aged 16 to 25. The data show that detransitioning experiences are portrayed in a homogeneous and negative light, limiting their social intelligibility and the ability of detransitioners to make sense of their experiences (hermeneutic injustice). The analysis also reveals a political instrumentalisation of these experiences, reinforcing stereotypes and reducing detransitioners to mere sources of information rather than informants, which leads to epistemic objectification and a deflection of their credibility (testimonial injustice). We will begin a reflection on regaining power in the face of these epistemic injustices.


Biography

Morgane studied sociology and anthropology. Since 2019, Morgane has worked with Annie Pullen Sansfaçon as a research coordinator at the Canada Research Chair on Transgender Children and Their Families, notably on the Discours (De)trans project. In 2023, they took on the role of senior research advisor for the new ReParE chair.