Jump to content

World Professional Association for Transgender Health

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist (talk | contribs) at 20:17, 22 August 2024 (→History: Added section on 2000 to present, started adding details up to ~ 2011. Moved presidents out of history. Removed section on public statements, poorly referenced, out of date, and better covered chronologically.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

World Professional Association for Transgender Health
AbbreviationWPATH
FormationSeptember 1979; 45 years ago (1979-09)
TypeNGO
94-2675140[1]
Legal status501(c)(3)[1]
PurposeTo promote evidence-based care, education, research, advocacy, public policy, and respect in transgender health.[2]
HeadquartersEast Dundee, Illinois, U.S.
ProductsStandards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People
Membership (2021)
2,700[3]
Walter Pierre Bouman[4]
Marci Bowers[4]
Asa Radix[4]
Loren Schechter[4]
Board Members-at-Large - (2018 - 2022); Tamara Adrian; Jaimie Veale; (2020 – 2022); Javier Belinky; Michael Marshall; (2020 – 2024); Christina Richards; Stephen Rosenthal; Sanjay Sharma;

Christina Richards (EPATH REPRESENTATIVE); Erica Anderson (USPATH REPRESENTATIVE); Greg Mak (ASIAPATH REPRESENTATIVE); Jared Boot (EX-OFFICIO MEMBER - WPATH STUDENT INITIATIVE REPRESENTATIVE)

[4]
Revenue (2016)
$1,245,915[2]
Expenses (2016)$1,144,284[2]
Employees (2016)
0[2]
Websitewww.wpath.org Edit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and gender dysphoria, and creating standardized treatment for transgender and gender variant people. WPATH was founded in September 1979 by endocrinologist and sexologist Harry Benjamin, with the goal of creating an international community of professionals specializing in treating gender variance.[5][6]

Organization

Membership

Professionals include anyone working in disciplines such as medicine, psychology, law, social work, counseling, psychotherapy, family studies, sociology, anthropology, speech and voice therapy and sexology. Non-professionals may also join, paying the same membership fee, but without voting privileges.[7] The organization is funded by its membership and by donations and grants from non-commercial sources.[8]

Regional organizations

WPATH is affiliated with several regional organizations, including the European Professional Association for Transgender Health, the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health and ASIAPATH.[9]

Standards of Care

Main article: Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People

WPATH publishes the Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, educates professionals and consumers, sponsors scientific conferences, and provides ethical guidelines for professionals.[10] The first version of the Standards of Care were published in 1979.[11] WPATH released Version 8, the latest edition, in 2022.[12] Previous versions were released in 1979 (1st),[13] 1980 (2nd),[14] 1981 (3rd),[15][16] 1990 (4th),[17] 1998 (5th),[18] 2001 (6th),[19][20] and 2012 (7th).[21]

History

Background

Medical treatment for gender dysphoria was publicized in the early 1950s by accounts such as those of Christine Jorgensen.[22]

In 1966, Harry Benjamin published The Transsexual Phenomenon, arguing that since there was no cure for transsexualism, it was in the best interests of transsexuals and society to aid in sex reassignment and in the same year the Johns Hopkins Gender Clinic was opened by John Money.[22] In 1969, Richard Greene and Money published Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment, a multidisciplinary volume exploring instructions on medical care as well as social and clinical aspects, dedicating it to Benjamin.[22] The same year, the 1st International Symposium on Gender Identity was held in London; Reed Erickson, a wealthy transgender man, funded interdisciplinary professionals via the Erickson Educational Foundation. The 4th conference, taking place in 1975, was the first to use Benjamin's name in the title.[22]

During this period, the majority of literature on gender diversity was pathologizing, positing dysfunctional families as the causes of dysphoria and recommending reparative therapy and psychoanalysis, such as Robert Stoller' work. Others such as George Rekers and Ole Ivar Lovaas recommended behavioral treatments to extinguish cross-sex identification and reinforce gender-normative behaviors.[22]

1979-2000

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association and Standards of Care (SOC) were conceived during the 5th International Gender Dysphoria Symposium (IGDS) in 1977.[23] The organization was named after Harry Benjamin, one of the earliest physicians to work with transgender people,[24] and supported a mixture of psychological and medical treatment.[25][26]

The founding committee was entirely American and consisted of Jack Berger, Richard Green, Don Laub, Charles Reynolds Jr., Paul A. Walker, Leo Wollman, and transgender activist Jude Patton with Walker serving as president; The first SOC committee included all founding committee members with the exception of Patton.[23] The initial Standards of Care, The hormonal and surgical sex reassignment of gender dysphoric persons, were published in 1979 and served both as clinical guidelines for treating patients and to protect those who provided the treatments.[25] The Articles of Incorporation were approved in 1979 at the 6th IGDS and HBIGDA was legally incorporated 7 months later.[23] HBIGDA played a large role in the addition of Gender Identity Disorder to the DSM-III in 1980.[23]

Versions 2, 3, and 4 of the SOC were published in 1980, 1981 and 1990 respectively, continuing to use the same name.[23][22] The first 4 versions of the SOC set strict eligibility requirements, requiring evaluations from separate mental health professionals and compulsory psychotherapy, and relied on professional consensus.[22][26]

The 5th version, published in 1998, was titled the "Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders" to be consistent with the DSM-III. It recommended but did not require psychotherapy and stated that while GID was a mental disorder, that was not a license for stigma.[22]

2000 - present

The SOC 6 was published in 2001 and offered more flexibility and individualized care but continued to use the phrase "gender identity disorder". At the same time transgender people increasingly complained of having to "jump through hoops".[22] In 2006, the organization changed it's name from the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA) to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).[22]

In 2010, WPATH published the "depath statement", urging the "depsychopathologisation of gender variance worldwide" by governments and medical bodies worldwide and stating "The expression of gender characteristics, including identities that are not stereotypically associated with one’s assigned sex at birth is a common and culturally diverse human phenomenon, which should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative".[22][27] Shortly afterwards it released the "Identity Recognition Statement", urging governmental and medical bodies to endorse gender self-identification and no longer require surgery or sterilization as a prerequisite.[22]

The SOC 7, published in 2011, was more evidence-based than the previous versions and was drafted with an international advisory committee of transgender community leaders. It changed the name to the "Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender-Nonconforming People", began to use the phrase "gender dysphoria", and marked a shift from conceiving gender as a binary to a spectrum.[22]

Presidents

  • Paul A. Walker, Ph.D., 1979–1981
  • Donald R. Laub, M.D., 1981–1983
  • Milton T. Edgerton, M.D., 1983–1985
  • Ira B. Pauly, M.D., 1985–1987
  • Aaron T. Bilowitz, M.D., 1987–1989
  • Jan Walinder [sv], M.D., 1989–1991
  • Leah Schaefer, Ed.D., 1991–1995
  • Friedmann Pfaefflin, M.D. 1995–1997
  • Richard Green, J.D., 1997–1999
  • Alice Elizabeth Savay Webb, DHS, 1999[28]
  • Eli Coleman, Ph.D., 1999–2003
  • Walter Meyer III, M.D., 2003–2005
  • Stan Monstrey, M.D., 2005–2007
  • Stephen Whittle, OBE, 2007–2009
  • Walter O.Bockting, Ph.D., L.P., 2009–2011
  • Lin Fraser, Ed.D., 2011–2013
  • Jamison Green, Ph.D., 2013–2015
  • Gail Knudson, M.D., FRCPC, 2016–2018
  • Vin Tangpricha, M.D., Ph.D., 2018–2020
  • Walter Pierre Bouman, M.D., Ph.D., 2020–2022
  • Marci Bowers, M.D., 2022–2024

References

  1. ^ a b "World Professional Association For Transgender Health Archived 2018-10-04 at the Wayback Machine". Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax Archived 2022-06-18 at the Wayback Machine". World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Guidestar. December 31, 2016.
  3. ^ Bowers, Marci (January 11, 2021). Dear WPATH Membership (PDF). WPATH. WPATH has seen significant growth in its membership and programming over the past year, now with more than 2700 members and 49 countries represented.
  4. ^ a b c d e ["https://www.wpath.org/about/EC-BOD Archived 2018-10-04 at the Wayback Machine]". World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "World Professional Association for Transgender Health". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  6. ^ "International Symposia". WPATH. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  7. ^ "Membership Information". WPATH. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  8. ^ "WPATH". Archived from the original on 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
  9. ^ "Regional Organizations". World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  10. ^ Wong, Gillian (June 17, 2009). China preps 1st guidelines for sex change surgery. Archived 2022-06-18 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian
  11. ^ Figures, K. (2007). Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Is Founded. In Faderman, Lillian & Retter, Yolanda (Eds.). Great Events from History: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Events, 1848-2006 Salem Press, ISBN 978-1-58765-263-9
  12. ^ Coleman, E.; Radix, A. E.; Bouman, W. P.; Brown, G. R.; de Vries, A. L. C.; Deutsch, M. B.; Ettner, R.; Fraser, L.; Goodman, M.; Green, J.; Hancock, A. B.; Johnson, T. W.; Karasic, D. H.; Knudson, G. A.; Leibowitz, S. F. (2022-08-19). "Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8". International Journal of Transgender Health. 23 (sup1): S1–S259. doi:10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644. ISSN 2689-5269. PMC 9553112. PMID 36238954. S2CID 252127302.
  13. ^ Walker, P. A.; Berger, J. C.; Green, R.; Laub, D. R.; Reynolds, C. L.; Wollman, L. (13 February 1979), Standards of Care: The Hormonal and Surgical Sex Reassignment of Gender Dysphoric Persons (1 ed.), Palo Alto, California: The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc.
  14. ^ Walker, P. A.; Berger, J. C.; Green, R.; Laub, D. R.; Reynolds, C. L.; Wollman, L. (20 January 1980), Standards of Care: The Hormonal and Surgical Sex Reassignment of Gender Dysphoric Persons (2 ed.), Stanford, California: The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc.
  15. ^ Walker, P. A.; Berger, J. C.; Green, R.; Laub, D. R.; Reynolds, C. L.; Wollman, L. (9 March 1981), Standards of Care: The Hormonal and Surgical Sex Reassignment of Gender Dysphoric Persons (3 ed.), San Francisco, California: The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association
  16. ^ Walker, P. A.; Berger, J. C.; Green, R.; Laub, D. R.; Reynolds, C. L.; Wollman, L. (February 1985). "Standards of Care: The Hormonal and Surgical Sex Reassignment of Gender Dysphoric Persons [3rd Edition]". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 14 (1): 79–90. doi:10.1007/BF01541354. ISSN 0004-0002.
  17. ^ Walker, P. A.; Berger, J. C.; Green, R.; Laub, D. R.; Reynolds, C. L.; Wollman, L. (25 January 1990), Standards of Care: The Hormonal and Surgical Sex Reassignment of Gender Dysphoric Persons (4 ed.), San Francisco, California: The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association
  18. ^ Levine, S. B.; Brown, G.; Coleman, E.; Cohen-Kettenis, P.; Joris Hage, J.; Van Maasdam, J.; Petersen, M.; Pfaefflin, F.; Schaefer, L. C. (June 1998). "The Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders [5th Edition]". International Journal of Transgenderism. 2 (2). Consultants: Dallas Denny MA, Domineco DiCeglie MD, Wolf Eicher MD, Jamison Green, Richard Green MD, Louis Gooren MD, Donald Laub MD, Anne Lawrence MD, Walter Meyer III MD, C. Christine Wheeler Ph.D
  19. ^ Meyer, W.; Bockting, W. O.; Cohen-Kettenis, P.; Coleman, E.; DiCeglie, D.; Devor, H.; Gooren, L.; Joris Hage, J.; Kirk, S.; Kuiper, B.; Laub, D.; Lawrence, A.; Menard, Y.; Patton, J.; Schaefer, L.; Webb, A.; Wheeler, C. C. (February 2001). "The Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders – Sixth Version". International Journal of Transgenderism. 5 (1).
  20. ^ Meyer, W.; Bockting, W. O.; Cohen-Kettenis, P.; Coleman, E.; DiCeglie, D.; Devor, H.; Gooren, L.; Joris Hage, J.; Kirk, S.; Kuiper, B.; Laub, D.; Lawrence, A.; Menard, Y.; Patton, J.; Schaefer, L.; Webb, A.; Wheeler, C. C. (2001). "The Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders, Sixth Version" (PDF). Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality. 13 (1): 1–30. doi:10.1300/J056v13n01_01.
  21. ^ Coleman, Eli; et al. (2012). "Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender-Nonconforming People, Version 7" (PDF). International Journal of Transgenderism. 13 (4). World Professional Association for Transgender Health: 165–232. doi:10.1080/15532739.2011.700873. ISSN 1553-2739. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-03-27. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fraser, Lin (2015). "Gender Dysphoria: Definition and Evolution Through the Years". In Trombetta, Carlo; Liguori, Giovanni; Bertolotto, Michele (eds.). Management of Gender Dysphoria: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Milano: Springer Milan. pp. 19–31. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-5696-1_3. ISBN 978-88-470-5696-1.
  23. ^ a b c d e Matte, Nicholas; Devor, Aaron H.; Vladicka, Theresa (2009-05-12). "Nomenclature in the World Professional Association for Transgender Health's Standards of Care : Background and Recommendations". International Journal of Transgenderism. 11 (1): 42–52. doi:10.1080/15532730902799979. ISSN 1553-2739.
  24. ^ Allee, Kegan M. "Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association". In Encyclopedia of gender and society, Volume 1, p. 402. SAGE, ISBN 978-1-4129-0916-7
  25. ^ a b Dewey, Jodie M. (2015). "Challenges of implementing collaborative models of decision making with trans-identified patients". Health Expectations. 18 (5): 1508–1518. doi:10.1111/hex.12133. ISSN 1369-6513. PMC 5060816. PMID 24102959.
  26. ^ a b Fraser, Lin; Knudson, Gail (2017-03-01). "Past and Future Challenges Associated with Standards of Care for Gender Transitioning Clients". Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Clinical Issues and Affirmative Treatment with Transgender Clients. 40 (1): 15–27. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2016.10.012. ISSN 0193-953X. PMID 28159141.
  27. ^ "WPATH "depath statement"" (PDF) (Press release). WPATH. May 26, 2010.
  28. ^ "Alice Webb Obituary (2008) - Houston, TX - Houston Chronicle". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Professional_Association_for_Transgender_Health&oldid=1241723858"