The sky is trans, why wouldn’t I be Florence Ashley

​F Ashley. ​“Gender self-determination as a medical right.” (2024) CMAJ, 196, E833–35

Abstract: In this article, I argue that the principle of gender self-determination grants trans people have a presumptive right to gender-affirming care, and that physicians should accordingly rethink barriers to gender-affirming care. By considering gender self-determination as a presumptive right, physicians are more likely to avoid unnecessary barriers to care. This presumption can be rebutted by showing that encroachments are adequately justified by clear and compelling evidence. Many common barriers to gender-affirming care—such as rigid age requirements and the requirement that adolescents prove several years of gender incongruence—do not satisfy this threshold.


(Link to paper)

F Ashley. "Do Trans/Humanists Dream of Electric T**s? CRISPR and Transgender Bioethics" in Neal Baer (ed), Reshaping Human Nature: The Promise and Peril of CRISPR (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024)



Abstract:
​This chapter explores on the possibilities and risks of CRISPR gene editing for trans lives, discussing its potential use in conversion practices and medical transition before offering some reflections on the ethics of hype. For those who believe in a ‘trans gene’, CRISPR risks being used as a form of high-tech conversion practices to ‘correct’ trans existence. Regardless of its effectiveness in that regard, the spectre of CRISPR highlights lacunas in ethical discussions around conversion practices. CRISPR could more positively be used as a form of high-tech medical transition, helping trans people customize transition-related interventions and better achieve their embodiment goals. However, this prospect is also fraught due to the prevalence of cisnormativity within the medical profession. Rather than loosening gender norms, CRISPR could reinforce them by excluding trans people who do not want to blend in with cisnormative society. CRISPR is hyped. It lets us imagine possibilities that can sustain life as much as destroy it. Given these risks, bioethical engagement with CRISPR should begin by discussing the ethics of hype. Caught in the daydreams of CRISPR’s endless possibilities, let us not forget to fight for a better world. 

(Link to paper)

F Ashley, S Brightly-Brown, GN Rider,. Beyond the trans/cis binary: Introducing new terms will enrich gender research. Nature, 630, 293–95



Abstract: Human experiences are inevitably richer than the categories we carve out for them. But finding the right concepts and language to describe their diversity is an essential part of the scientific endeavour. The term ‘gender modality’ could enable researchers to broaden their horizons. Gender modality refers to how a person’s gender identity relates to the gender they were assigned at birth. Scientists should expand the gamut of gender modalities included in questionnaires given to participants, to capture a broader range of experiences. Researchers can also use gender modality to refine how they phrase questions or discuss results. Lastly, researchers can use gender modality to think more meticulously about what it is that they are really trying to capture in their study. Researching gender should begin with critically engaging with current language and concepts. Thoughtfulness, flexibility, curiosity and empathy are what science needs.



Link to paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01719-9

Florence Ashley, “Reflecting on the Rhetoric of Adoption in
Trans Youth Care” (2023) 2 Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies 249–75

 

Abstract: Adoption is increasingly being discussed as an alternative to procreation for trans youth given the impact of gender-affirming medical care on fertility. In this article, I caution against idyllic views of adoption and offer a critical perspective on the social, political, and ethical dimensions of adoption. After reviewing adoption’s relationship to sexism, racism, imperialism, and cisheteronormativity, I sketch an alternative view of adoption as a com­plex and multi-valenced form of care in an unjust world.


(Link)

Florence Ashley, Neeki Parsa, til kus, & Kinnon R MacKinnon, “Do gender assessments prevent regret in transgender
healthcare? A narrative review” (2023) Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity



Abstract: Gender assessments are traditionally required before accessing gender-affirming interventions such as hormone therapy and transition-related surgeries. Gender assessments are presented as a way of preventing regret experienced by some people who reidentify with the gender they were assigned at birth after medically transitioning. This article reviews the theoretical and empirical foundations of commonly used methods and predictors for assessing trans patients’ gender identity and/or dysphoria as a condition of eligibility for gender-affirming interventions. We find that the DSM-5 diagnosis, taking gender history, standardized questionnaires, and regret correlates rely on stereotyping, arbitrary, and unproven considerations and, as a result, do not offer reliable ways of predicting future regret over-and-above self-reported gender identity and embodiment goals. This finding is corroborated by empirical data suggesting that individuals who circumvent gender assessments or pursue care under an informed consent model do not present heightened rates of regret. The article concludes that there is no evidence that gender assessments can reliably predict or prevent regret better than self-reported gender identity and embodiment goals. This conclusion provides additional support for informed consent models of care, which deemphasize gender assessments in favor of supporting patient decision making.



Link: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-16010-001.html

Florence Ashley & Sam Sanchinel, “The Saint of Christopher Street: Marsha P. Johnson and the Social Life of a Heroine” (2023) 134 Feminist Review 39–55

Abstract: This article analyses the legacy of Marsha P. Johnson as a heroine through the notion of labour, emphasising how heroine narratives are both a product of labour as well as a form of labour. After offering a short account of Marsha P. Johnson’s role in the Stonewall riots and STAR, we explore the development of trans communities’ ability to create, sustain and disseminate heroine narratives, emphasising Tourmaline’s pivotal archival role in establishing Johnson’s legacy. Then, we elucidate the role of heroine narratives in creating and sustaining a collective identity. We argue that community attachment to Marsha P. Johnson reclaims the place of trans communities in LGBTQ+ history but is often done in a manner that obscures the whiteness of mainstream trans advocacy. We suggest that the recent increase in interest towards the life-sustaining labour of STAR House reflects the evolution of trans collective identity in the post-visibility era.

(⁠Link to article⁠)