Trans men have a better quality of life after starting gender-affirming care and feel much happier when they their appearance more closely resembles their gender identity, new research suggests.
A study of 166 transgender men, for Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and the Breda University of Applied Sciences, in The Netherlands, revealed that gender-affirming care, as well as a generally affirming environment, improved trans men’s physical and mental health.
Published in the International Journal of Transgender Health on Monday (31 March), the research acknowledged that trans men face “unique challenges related to gender congruence, body satisfaction and quality of life” compared with other non-cisgender identities.
It was commissioned to better understand how issues around self-perception specifically affect trans men, by using four “domains”: physiological, psychological, social and environmental quality of life – and analysing how they “intersect”.
While trans men typically reported a higher quality of life physically and physiologically after undergoing gender-affirming care, such as hormones, and a higher body satisfaction and “gender congruence, it appeared to have less of an effect on their social and environmental quality of life, which researchers hypothesised could reflect the “unique shared-experience bonds formed among this community”.
Lead researcher Dr Liam Cahill, who is also a senior lecturer in LGBTQ+ psychology at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, said, earlier studies showed that trans people respond positively to gender-affirming care, but there has been less research on specific results for transgender men.
“Understanding this complex relationship is critical to developing the right support for trans men,” he insisted.
While results show that gender-affirming care doesn’t directly influence body satisfaction as a whole, it’s a “crucial” part of the majority of transgender men’s transitions, he added.
“These findings highlight the need for accessible gender-focused care that supports both gender congruence and body satisfaction, helping to improve the overall wellbeing of trans men.”
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