When it comes to health and wellbeing, trans people have always sustained one another through networks of friends, shared resources, and mutual aid. Some of us also use trans-inclusive services (like Plume!) to fill the gaps in the traditional healthcare system. Telehealth and gender-expansive healthcare are some of the most innovative options available to our community. We believe in a future where trans people are at the center of our culture—not pushed to the margins.
We believe the future of healthcare isn’t just trans-inclusive. It’s trans-positive. We believe trans people deserve so much more than inclusion. That’s the bare minimum. Rather than ask transgender people to assimilate into mainstream care or squeak by in the margins of a healthcare system not designed for us, we believe our community deserves to be centered and uplifted. Our uniqueness should be acknowledged and honored. We should not have to debate about what is “valid” health coverage or fight to receive basic needs. We deserve expert care from trusted, safe providers. A trans-positive future reflects the potential that is deep in all of us.
Informed Consent is Plume’s Gold Standard of Care
Community-centered, trans-positive healthcare is respectful of each individual. It is based on the principle of informed consent, which is the idea that patients should have enough information to make free choices about their medical care. Informed consent is, in fact, a fundamental ethical standard that protects the dignity and individual choice of the person receiving care. Every person has the right to health. Yet, so much of the existing healthcare system goes counter to these standards of care, where the doctor decides what someone needs or is “allowed” to have, dispenses it, and has absolute power over the individual’s outcomes. A system that is nominally trans-inclusive can still put transgender people in a position where they have to “prove” their needs to a provider or jump through hoops that non-transgender patients don’t.
In a trans-positive future, on-demand services are possible for people who need help with gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT, also known as HRT). There are few or zero barriers to getting what you need—you just have to ask. We imagine a future where hormones such as testosterone are not listed as controlled substances. Syringes and surgery are treated seriously—not as “elective” procedures but as the life-saving interventions they are.
Cultural Competence is Just the Beginning
Trans-positive healthcare combines expert medical care with cultural competence. It acknowledges that each person has unique needs and a path of their own. Each person should receive treatment that reflects their cultural background and individual needs while providing excellent care. Studies show that transgender patients face unique issues and inequities within the healthcare system which affects their healthcare outcomes. We often begin a relationship with a care provider with more health challenges than cisgender patients; we report poorer physical and mental health, and are significantly more likely to have a disability. However, when we received gender-affirming treatment, transgender patients reported feeling better about how our bodies looked and how other people perceived us, compared with transgender people who received fewer or no therapies.
Plume knows that gender-affirming care saves lives. We envision a world where healthcare is cooperative, and providers are educated about our needs and do not gatekeep the care we need. At Plume, affirming support is already the norm. We imagine a future where trans-specific options are normalized and where the needs of every trans person, regardless of ability, are met.
Maybe this sounds like a faraway fantasy or dream. Yet, we believe it is possible. Advocacy, innovation in healthcare, and holding existing systems accountable are all making the small changes today that can create a better tomorrow. In the meantime, Plume can make sure you stay healthy so that you can keep doing your own vital work, whatever you imagine that to be. Most of all, we believe in you—because you are the future, too.
