The institution of medicine and transgender identity construction: Between a doc and a hard place

Research shows that when transgender young people are well-supported throughout their gender transition they have similar levels of depression to their cisgender counterparts. For transgender young people who wish to transition medically, these support systems may include parents as advocates and healthcare professionals who specialize in transgender services. Decisions about steps throughout transition are made by transgender children, their parents, and their physicians. An examination of gender structure theory and medicalization literature helps to assess how medicine-on institutional, interactional, and individual levels-contributes to cisnormativity and enables us to reflect on the relationships among sex, gender, and science. This literature review aims to analyze how cultural ideologies influence medical processes that shape the identity construction of transgender children and it sheds light on parental involvement throughout transitions.