APA Introduces Revolutionary Support Measures for Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals

In a move that has made landmark history in the world of gender politics, the American Psychological Association has adopted changes to policy, introducing a variety of new support measures for members of the gender-diverse community, including children and adolescents. The change in policy makes several key statements regarding the nature of not just individuals of non-binary gender identities, but outlining their medical right to care and support.

The changes to policy mean that shortly, courses such as an online post-master’s PMHNP program could be gender-affirming and that information regarding the gender spectrum and gender identities is not withheld or misrepresented.

The APA

For 132 years, the American Psychological Association has been the USA’s foremost authority on all issues and research regarding the psychology and the science of the mind and brain. In the 1800s, psychology amounted to shoveling the mentally ill into abusive prisons or homes. Nearly a century later, in 1892, Professor of Psychology and president of Clark University Granville Stanley Hall, gatherers 26 like-minded psychologists interested in what they called “the new psychology.” The first meeting was held in Hall’s office, but due to issues with other interested and expert psychologists being unable to make it to the location, the group decided to schedule their first official full meeting at the University of Pennsylvania in December.

Even though this organization accepted women members, these members had little say in the affairs of the organization, as the misogynistic standards of the time refused women the right to earn doctoral degrees - even if they fulfilled all the academic requirements. This right would be denied them until 1894 when Margaret Floy Washburn became the first woman to receive a PhD in psychology.

From then on, the APA became the authority on certification, practice, and research standards in all areas of psychology, revolutionizing psychological education and treatment for decades to come.

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Gender Diversity

For a long time in the Western world, “gender” and “sex” were interchangeable, however, this is largely a result of colonialist social structures that have dominated most European cultures. The fact is they are quite distinct. A person’s “sex” refers to the reproductive capabilities of a person’s body, whether their role in reproduction is to supply or incubate gametes. However, “gender” refers to a sociocultural understanding of masculinity and femininity. It is constructed through history, cultural values, and individual feeling - it is not set in stone nor is it indicative of moral strength or flaccidity.

Modern research with updated methods and knowledge all agree that both biological sex and gender identity exist as a spectrum as opposed to the commonly accepted binary scale. The range of physical and chromosomal sexes present in the world, coupled with the sheer number of gender dynamics across cultures and societies combine to form a truly non-linear image of sex, sexuality, and gender.

These self-images can be an important part of a person’s identity, and people identifying as transgender, and other non-binary identifying people, are consistently shamed, ostracized, bullied, harassed, and even killed for the nature of their existence. They are often denied medical care, and protection, especially with recent legislative changes.

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The Change in Policy

The APA’s change in policy was published officially on the 28th of February this year. It is called the “APA Policy Statement on Affirming Evidence-Based Inclusive Care for Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Nonbinary Individuals, Addressing Misinformation, and the Role of Psychological Practice and Science.”

The policy “affirms APA’s support for unobstructed access to healthcare and evidence-based clinical care for transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary children, adolescents, and adults, and for increased public accessibility to timely and accurate information founded in clinical and psychological science.”

Put simply, the APA has made it part of their official policy that healthcare institutions must care for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse people in a way that is consistent with official modern research. This creates the precedent that the standard-setting institution for psychological knowledge in America recognizes gender diversity as neither abhorrence nor perversion, but as a valid form of existence that does not disqualify people within these communities from professional medical care.

Additionally, the statement commits the APA to active suppression and retaliation against gender misinformation, seeking to impact the severity and frequency of the stigma against non-traditionally gendered individuals.

In one document, the APA has recognized that non-binary people deserve the same medical freedoms as people within the binary, and acknowledges the role it plays in the social understanding of gender and non-binary, transgender, and gender-diverse people.

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Where Do We Go From Here?

America is currently at a crossroads. Hot on the heels of one of the most tumultuous presidencies in history, the United States of America was thrust into the relatively silent age of the Joe Biden presidency. Now as November looms a mere six months away, Trump is gunning for the White House again, after having rolled back medical and legal protections for the gender diverse community after promising to protect them.

The people of the US are divided from one extreme to the other, but the APA’s policy change should force politicians to look again at how they treat the gender-diverse community. The APA’s statement does not change laws, it is merely the strongest voice for the psychological community in their formation, and in a democracy, the loudest voice can often prove the most valuable.

It will be interesting to see how things develop after the APA’s change to their policy. Though it can feel like too little too late for many members of the gender-diverse community, the APA’s statement represents the first step in a plausible shift in social attitudes. Where once gender diversity is merely tolerated or worse, actively suppressed and abused, this statement of support by the APA means that the foremost psychological body of knowledge in the entire USA has thrown its weight behind one of the most marginalized, stigmatized groups in our society. Now all we can do is wait and see how our policymakers and the public respond to the support.

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(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)