What is Transition? : The Dangers of Presenting a Binary Solution

Dear Readers,

I apologize for my overly long absence. I've been incredibly busy with the end of the semester and with a number of projects dealing with gender dysphoria, with which I have been spending far more time than I perhaps I should, hence my neglect for this blog. A reader recently presented me with a question and I decided it was far past time to write on this topic. The question I was presented with was, “Because of your writings I've realized that transition is far more varied than I initially thought, can you describe a little more about the various different kinds of transition?”

So what is transition? This single question is far more complicated than many people presume. So often stories, the media, our own perceptions, and even Church policy make this issue feel very black and white—like there are only two options: transition fully, completely, and totally or do nothing. Often within communities this idea is encouraged by the slippery slope fallacy; that idea that if a single step is taken soon enough pressure will inevitably build that the individual will need to transition completely, and in the process abandon their community and ideals completely. This creates a dangerous and pervasive divide in which transgender individuals either identify themselves as non-transitioning or transitioning, but this binary is no more correct than assuming a completely binary experience of gender here in this world.

In fact, the dangers of assuming the slippery slope fallacy can be shown just by looking at simple numbers. Our best guess is that between 1 in 300 and 1 in 500 people in the United States identify in some way as transgender, yet only between 1 in 30,000 and 1 in 50,000 apply to have genital reconstruction surgery. While the price of the surgery and the difficulty in finding treatment might actively prevent that number from being higher, it seems reasonable to say that to assume that most transgender people want or need surgery is a vast overstatement.

Going back to the initial question how can we even define transition? Is transition the process of accepting the fact that your internal gender does not match your external gender? Is transition defined by presentation or wearing the clothing and having the social cues of your internal gender? Should transition be defined legally through name changes and gender on legal document? Is transition determined medically through the application of hormone treatments? What if an individual is on hormone treatments but doesn’t choose to present as their internal gender in public? Has that individual transitioned? Are surgeries necessary for transition? If so, which surgeries are necessary?

All of these different actions can be defined as transition in some way, and within the transgender community we tend to tack on a defining word in front of transition to help clarify. Transgender individuals socially transition, legally transition, medically transition, and surgically transition and each of these types of transition have their own spectrum's. Socially one could partially socially transition and present as their internal gender in a part of their life (e.g. at work) while presenting as their biological sex at home or they could define their process of partially transitioning just by being called by the name of their internal gender which they prefer and having people use the pronouns of their internal gender. These types of social transition are drastically different but both would be referred to as a partial social transition. Medically an individual could be on a small dose of hormone therapy to help them cope with the feelings of dysphoria or an individual’s entire medical plan could be based around effecting the greatest external changes possible. Both of these actions could be defined as medically transitioning but once again a vast spectrum of possibility is introduced.

This means that for each individual the process of transitioning will be defined differently. Transition or non-transition can’t be slapped on people like a label at a store. In fact, I would argue that we need to see transition in a completely different light. I would argue that every individual with gender dysphoria goes through transition to some degree. Every individual needs to transition from some degree of pain and sorrow to a place of acceptance and happiness, and for every individual what needs to occur to reach that point of acceptance and happiness is going to be different. It is this transition which I think is the most important, because true happiness is only achieved through acceptance. Everyone needs to learn how to accept themselves, they need to accept the fact they have the agency and responsibility to make a choice for themselves, they need to recognize what choices exist and make an informed choice, and then they need to accept their choice without any shame, without any regret, and without any self-consciousness. This level of acceptance can only be found through a close cooperation with our Heavenly Father and with the self-assurance that the path we have chosen is right for ourselves.

I would love to stop trying to define ourselves through the dichotomy of transitioning and non-transitioning and instead except that the most important kind of transition occurs inside of ourselves as we learn to except ourselves, love ourselves, and become comfortable with the choices that we have made knowing that each choice is individually made in consultation with our Heavenly Father.

Kyle Merkley