What is gender-affirming care?

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate identity, visibility, and the freedom to live authentically—and it’s also a moment to have more open, informed conversations about the care that supports that freedom. Gender-affirming care is often misunderstood and unfairly stigmatized, shaped by misconceptions rather than the realities of the people it serves, yet at its core, it’s about helping people feel seen, respected, and aligned in their own lives.

So, what is gender-affirming care?

Human Rights Campaign describes gender-affirming care as “a broad approach to health care and support that recognizes and respects an individual’s gender identity, ensuring that all individuals can live healthy, fulfilling lives by addressing their unique needs.” It encompasses all kinds of individually tailored services, such as medical, surgical, and mental health services.

For transgender people, gender-affirming care might look like:

• Hormone therapy
• Puberty blockers
• Gender-affirming plastic surgeries
• Hair removal
• Voice therapy
• Mental health care

Though we most often hear about gender-affirming care in relation to transgender people, everyone, including cisgender people, or people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth, can benefit from gender-affirming care. For cisgender people, gender-affirming care might look like a woman shaving her legs or getting lip filler to appear more feminine, or a man using medication to prevent hair loss or growing out a beard to feel more masculine.

According to Planned Parenthood, “Gender-affirming body modifications can also be as small as wearing certain clothes to accent different body features, drinking protein shakes to make muscles bigger, wearing certain scents to smell more like the gender they want to, or using different body language.”

At the end of the day, gender-affirming care is a supportive type of care that can benefit everyone individually, but especially members of the trans community. This type of care also saves lives. In fact, according to the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, “numerous research studies have found that gender-affirming care leads to improved mental health among TGNB (transgender and nonbinary) youth” and gender-affirming hormone therapy significantly decreases gender dysphoria.

Being able to access gender-affirming care is about dignity, autonomy, and authenticity. As we celebrate Pride Month, it’s worth remembering that supporting this kind of care isn’t just about policy or health care. It’s about people. By taking the time to understand what gender-affirming care is, we can help challenge stigma, foster empathy, and create a world where everyone feels supported and empowered to live fully as themselves.

If you or a loved one is seeking gender-affirming care, you can check out Massachusetts General Hospital’s Transgender Health Program. They provide patients with comprehensive, gender-affirming care, including medical transition, surgical care, and behavioral health services.