#pubertyblockers — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pubertyblockers, aggregated by home.social.
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Ken Paxton gloats after extracting $10 million from Texas Children’s Hospital for ‘detransition’ center
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/texas-childrens-detransition
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DATE: August 5, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Animal studies suggest that reproductive behavior fully recovers after puberty-blocking treatment ends
Recent research provides evidence that temporarily pausing puberty with the drug leuprolide delays reproductive development in adolescent rats but allows for full physical and behavioral maturation after the treatment stops. The findings suggest that the brain and body adjust to the medication through specific genetic changes, enabling normal reproductive function to eventually emerge. These two related studies were published in the journals Biology of Sex Differences and Hormones and Behavior.
Adolescents who experience distress because their gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth are sometimes prescribed puberty-blocking medications. These drugs, known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, temporarily pause physical changes like breast development or facial hair growth. Leuprolide is one commonly used medication in this category. Delaying these physical changes gives young people time to explore their gender identity without the stress of developing unwanted physical traits.
A research team led by Fay Guarraci at Southwestern University initiated a series of experiments to understand how protracted puberty suppression affects brain and reproductive development. The researchers wanted to track both the behavioral and biological changes that occur during and after leuprolide administration. Because long-term physiological studies on human adolescents are limited, animal models help scientists observe how the brain and reproductive systems respond to these hormone-altering drugs over time.
In the first study, published in 2023, Guarraci and her colleagues tested how leuprolide affected the physical and behavioral development of 40 adolescent Long-Evans rats. The sample included 24 female rats and 16 male rats. Starting on postnatal day 25, which corresponds to early adolescence in rats, the scientists administered daily injections of either 50 micrograms per kilogram of leuprolide or a neutral saltwater solution for 25 days. The researchers monitored the rats daily for physical signs of puberty, such as vaginal opening in females and penile development in males.
Following the treatment period, the authors placed the rats in specialized chambers to observe their sexual motivation and mating behaviors. They recorded how much time the subjects chose to spend with male or female stimulus rats and tracked specific reproductive actions. The female subjects were tested during their first reproductive cycle after the drug was stopped. The male subjects underwent weekly behavioral tests for a month to track their development over a longer timeframe.
The researchers observed that leuprolide delayed the physical onset of puberty. Female rats receiving the drug reached puberty at an average of 45.9 days of age, compared to 38.1 days for those receiving the saltwater solution. Male rats receiving the drug reached puberty at an average of 45.0 days, compared to 39.0 days for the control group. During the treatment window, the female rats did not experience normal reproductive cycles.
Once the leuprolide injections ended, the female rats rapidly resumed normal reproductive function. Within a week, they displayed typical mating behaviors and became pregnant at absolute rates comparable to the control group. The male rats took longer to recover from the puberty-blocking effects. During the initial post-treatment tests, the leuprolide-treated males showed reduced sexual motivation toward females and engaged in fewer mating behaviors. By the fourth week after treatment ended, the treated males exhibited sexual behavior that matched the control group.
To understand the biological mechanisms driving these behavioral changes, the researchers conducted a second study, published in 2025. This experiment involved 16 female and 17 male adolescent rats, using the exact same 25-day leuprolide treatment protocol. Instead of observing behavior after the drug was stopped, the scientists analyzed the rats’ brains and blood hormone levels on the final day of treatment. They specifically measured the activity of genes related to reproduction in the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, two brain regions that control hormone production.
Leuprolide once again delayed physical puberty, pushing the onset back by about five days in females (from 37.25 to 42.25 days) and ten days in males (from 39.50 to 49.67 days). Blood tests indicated that the circulating levels of sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen were not statistically significantly different between the treated and untreated rats at the end of the 25-day window. However, the genetic analysis showed distinct changes in how the brain was preparing for reproduction.
In the pituitary gland, both male and female rats treated with leuprolide showed increased activity in genes responsible for producing estrogen receptors and gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors. In the hypothalamus, the effects differed by sex. Male rats receiving the drug had lower activity of the Kiss1 gene in the preoptic area, a brain region involved in sexual behavior. This gene produces kisspeptin, a protein that helps trigger puberty.
In a different section of the hypothalamus called the mediobasal region, the Kiss1 gene was highly active in both treated males and females. The scientists note that this heightened gene activity likely represents the brain attempting to compensate for the drug’s suppressive effects. The brain continues to mature and build the necessary reproductive architecture even while the physical manifestation of puberty is stalled.
Applying findings from animal models to human biology requires noting that rats and humans mature on vastly different timelines. The precise brain mechanisms governing puberty also feature species-specific variations, meaning a one-week recovery period in rats does not correspond to a specific timeframe in human adolescents.
Animal studies remain highly useful, however, because they allow scientists to directly examine brain tissue and track genetic changes across a full developmental lifespan. Observing these molecular adaptations in a controlled environment provides evidence about how the mammalian brain responds to protracted puberty suppression that would be impossible to gather from human patients.
Drug doses used in experimental models do not always translate exactly to the proportional doses prescribed in clinical settings. Future research could isolate smaller, more specific clusters of cells within the hypothalamus to see exactly where these genetic changes originate. Tracking hormone and gene expression over a longer timeline after the medication is stopped would also help clarify how the brain readjusts. Testing different doses of the medication could provide additional context regarding how the body manages chemical puberty suppression.
The study, “Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the development of reproductive physiology and behavior of female and male rats differently, but both mature after treatment termination,” was authored by Fay A. Guarraci, Layla Avendano, Megan Kelly, Cleriza Estoesta, Bernard Sencherey, Hannah S. Valdivia, Amanda Gale, Lily Yepez, Jasmine B. Belfield, Kristen M. Carter, Natalie Williams, and Andrea C. Gore.
The study, “Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the expression of multiple genes in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland with a different pattern of expression in female and male Long-Evans rats,” was authored by Fay A. Guarraci, Ian M. Klepcyk, Lindsay M. Thompson, Madeline Streifer, Emily N. Hilz, Grace Hudson, Sarah H. Meerts, and Andrea C. Gore.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PubertyBlockers #Leuprolide #ReproductiveDevelopment #AdolescentResearch #AnimalStudy #HormonesAndBehavior #BiologyOfSexDifferences #Kiss1 #Hypothalamus #PituitaryGland
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DATE: August 5, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Animal studies suggest that reproductive behavior fully recovers after puberty-blocking treatment ends
Recent research provides evidence that temporarily pausing puberty with the drug leuprolide delays reproductive development in adolescent rats but allows for full physical and behavioral maturation after the treatment stops. The findings suggest that the brain and body adjust to the medication through specific genetic changes, enabling normal reproductive function to eventually emerge. These two related studies were published in the journals Biology of Sex Differences and Hormones and Behavior.
Adolescents who experience distress because their gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth are sometimes prescribed puberty-blocking medications. These drugs, known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, temporarily pause physical changes like breast development or facial hair growth. Leuprolide is one commonly used medication in this category. Delaying these physical changes gives young people time to explore their gender identity without the stress of developing unwanted physical traits.
A research team led by Fay Guarraci at Southwestern University initiated a series of experiments to understand how protracted puberty suppression affects brain and reproductive development. The researchers wanted to track both the behavioral and biological changes that occur during and after leuprolide administration. Because long-term physiological studies on human adolescents are limited, animal models help scientists observe how the brain and reproductive systems respond to these hormone-altering drugs over time.
In the first study, published in 2023, Guarraci and her colleagues tested how leuprolide affected the physical and behavioral development of 40 adolescent Long-Evans rats. The sample included 24 female rats and 16 male rats. Starting on postnatal day 25, which corresponds to early adolescence in rats, the scientists administered daily injections of either 50 micrograms per kilogram of leuprolide or a neutral saltwater solution for 25 days. The researchers monitored the rats daily for physical signs of puberty, such as vaginal opening in females and penile development in males.
Following the treatment period, the authors placed the rats in specialized chambers to observe their sexual motivation and mating behaviors. They recorded how much time the subjects chose to spend with male or female stimulus rats and tracked specific reproductive actions. The female subjects were tested during their first reproductive cycle after the drug was stopped. The male subjects underwent weekly behavioral tests for a month to track their development over a longer timeframe.
The researchers observed that leuprolide delayed the physical onset of puberty. Female rats receiving the drug reached puberty at an average of 45.9 days of age, compared to 38.1 days for those receiving the saltwater solution. Male rats receiving the drug reached puberty at an average of 45.0 days, compared to 39.0 days for the control group. During the treatment window, the female rats did not experience normal reproductive cycles.
Once the leuprolide injections ended, the female rats rapidly resumed normal reproductive function. Within a week, they displayed typical mating behaviors and became pregnant at absolute rates comparable to the control group. The male rats took longer to recover from the puberty-blocking effects. During the initial post-treatment tests, the leuprolide-treated males showed reduced sexual motivation toward females and engaged in fewer mating behaviors. By the fourth week after treatment ended, the treated males exhibited sexual behavior that matched the control group.
To understand the biological mechanisms driving these behavioral changes, the researchers conducted a second study, published in 2025. This experiment involved 16 female and 17 male adolescent rats, using the exact same 25-day leuprolide treatment protocol. Instead of observing behavior after the drug was stopped, the scientists analyzed the rats’ brains and blood hormone levels on the final day of treatment. They specifically measured the activity of genes related to reproduction in the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus, two brain regions that control hormone production.
Leuprolide once again delayed physical puberty, pushing the onset back by about five days in females (from 37.25 to 42.25 days) and ten days in males (from 39.50 to 49.67 days). Blood tests indicated that the circulating levels of sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen were not statistically significantly different between the treated and untreated rats at the end of the 25-day window. However, the genetic analysis showed distinct changes in how the brain was preparing for reproduction.
In the pituitary gland, both male and female rats treated with leuprolide showed increased activity in genes responsible for producing estrogen receptors and gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors. In the hypothalamus, the effects differed by sex. Male rats receiving the drug had lower activity of the Kiss1 gene in the preoptic area, a brain region involved in sexual behavior. This gene produces kisspeptin, a protein that helps trigger puberty.
In a different section of the hypothalamus called the mediobasal region, the Kiss1 gene was highly active in both treated males and females. The scientists note that this heightened gene activity likely represents the brain attempting to compensate for the drug’s suppressive effects. The brain continues to mature and build the necessary reproductive architecture even while the physical manifestation of puberty is stalled.
Applying findings from animal models to human biology requires noting that rats and humans mature on vastly different timelines. The precise brain mechanisms governing puberty also feature species-specific variations, meaning a one-week recovery period in rats does not correspond to a specific timeframe in human adolescents.
Animal studies remain highly useful, however, because they allow scientists to directly examine brain tissue and track genetic changes across a full developmental lifespan. Observing these molecular adaptations in a controlled environment provides evidence about how the mammalian brain responds to protracted puberty suppression that would be impossible to gather from human patients.
Drug doses used in experimental models do not always translate exactly to the proportional doses prescribed in clinical settings. Future research could isolate smaller, more specific clusters of cells within the hypothalamus to see exactly where these genetic changes originate. Tracking hormone and gene expression over a longer timeline after the medication is stopped would also help clarify how the brain readjusts. Testing different doses of the medication could provide additional context regarding how the body manages chemical puberty suppression.
The study, “Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the development of reproductive physiology and behavior of female and male rats differently, but both mature after treatment termination,” was authored by Fay A. Guarraci, Layla Avendano, Megan Kelly, Cleriza Estoesta, Bernard Sencherey, Hannah S. Valdivia, Amanda Gale, Lily Yepez, Jasmine B. Belfield, Kristen M. Carter, Natalie Williams, and Andrea C. Gore.
The study, “Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the expression of multiple genes in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland with a different pattern of expression in female and male Long-Evans rats,” was authored by Fay A. Guarraci, Ian M. Klepcyk, Lindsay M. Thompson, Madeline Streifer, Emily N. Hilz, Grace Hudson, Sarah H. Meerts, and Andrea C. Gore.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PubertyBlockers #Leuprolide #ReproductiveDevelopment #AdolescentResearch #AnimalStudy #HormonesAndBehavior #BiologyOfSexDifferences #Kiss1 #Hypothalamus #PituitaryGland
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🚨 BREAKING: Drama alert! A judge has decided that testing puberty blockers on kids is soooo fine, because who needs a childhood without experimental meds? 😳🎉 Meanwhile, the BBC continues its noble quest to cover every square inch of the planet with news, because clearly, more is more. 🌍📰
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jl4np49w1o #dramaalert #pubertyblockers #BBCnews #childhoodrights #experimentalmedicine #HackerNews #ngated -
🚨 BREAKING: Drama alert! A judge has decided that testing puberty blockers on kids is soooo fine, because who needs a childhood without experimental meds? 😳🎉 Meanwhile, the BBC continues its noble quest to cover every square inch of the planet with news, because clearly, more is more. 🌍📰
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jl4np49w1o #dramaalert #pubertyblockers #BBCnews #childhoodrights #experimentalmedicine #HackerNews #ngated -
Puberty blockers trial can start recruiting children
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jl4np49w1o
Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49124367
#HackerNews #pubertyblockers #clinicaltrials #childhealth #healthcare #news
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Puberty blockers trial can start recruiting children
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jl4np49w1o
Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49124367
#HackerNews #pubertyblockers #clinicaltrials #childhealth #healthcare #news
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DATE: July 28, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New study sheds light on how testosterone and estrogen treatments alter sexual motivation
A recent study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior provides evidence that administering opposite-sex hormones to rats tends to shift their sexual behavior and motivation to resemble that of the opposite sex. The findings suggest that these hormonal changes also suppress natural reproductive functioning. This offers new insights into the physiological effects of treatments like gender-affirming hormone therapy.
Cross-sex hormone therapy is commonly prescribed to transgender individuals to help them develop physical characteristics that align with their gender identity. Transgender men may take testosterone to deepen their voices, redistribute body fat, and increase muscle mass. Transgender women might take estrogen to reduce muscle mass, encourage breast growth, and soften their skin. These treatments often yield positive psychological benefits and alleviate feelings of distress related to gender dysphoria.
Along with these physical changes, hormone therapy can affect a person’s sexual functioning and desire in varied ways. Some people report an increase in sexual motivation after beginning treatment, but others experience a loss of desire or difficulties in achieving sexual satisfaction. Because human sexuality is deeply influenced by complex social and cultural factors, studying the direct biological effects of these hormones in humans is difficult.
To better understand the biological mechanisms at play, scientists turn to animal models. Rats are useful for this type of research because their sexual response cycle shares basic biological similarities with human sexual responses. By observing animals, researchers can isolate the effects of hormones on motivation and physical arousal without the influence of human social constructs.
Fay Allison Guarraci, a professor of psychology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, noticed a gap in this area of study. “I realized that there was very little preclinical work conducted investigating any issues related to transgender health care,” Guarraci said. “Because I study animals, I can model the treatments and various reproductive physiological and behavioral outcomes.”
Personal experiences also inspired her research focus. “I had a friend whose pre-teens was questioning their gender identity and that led them to seek medical care,” Guarraci explained. “The current standard of care is to delay puberty with hormones that block pubertal development (GnRH agonists) to give them more time to consider their gender identity.”
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists are medications used to pause puberty.
“They were delaying pubertal development but there was not much known about how these hormones affect other aspects of their health and behavior beyond development of secondary sex characteristics,” Guarraci said. “Using animal models we could investigate some of the consequences of delaying puberty and following up with transgender hormone therapy if they transition to a gender they were not assigned at birth.”
Guarraci emphasized the clinical need for this data. “I was inspired when I learned that pediatric endocrinologists are desperate for information so they can make informed recommendations to their patients, even if the information is based on animal studies,” she noted.
While her broader research program looks at puberty blockers, the current study focused on adult subjects. Previous research on rats has explored sexual behavior, but most studies used animals that had their reproductive organs surgically removed. To address these gaps in the medical literature, the current research models how prolonged exposure to opposite-sex hormones interacts with natural hormone production and affects sexual motivation in intact adult subjects.
To conduct the experiment, the researchers utilized sexually experienced adult Long-Evans rats. The animals were considered gonadally intact, meaning they had not been surgically altered to remove their natural reproductive organs, such as ovaries in females or testes in males. The study included an initial sample of sixteen female rats and eighteen male rats.
The scientists randomly assigned the female rats to receive either a specific type of testosterone or a placebo made of sesame oil. The testosterone was given via injection twice a week for five weeks to mimic the ongoing hormone treatment prescribed to transgender men. One female rat from the control group was later excluded from the analysis because she did not display sexual receptivity during testing, leaving fifteen female rats in the final data set.
For the male rats, the scientists randomly assigned them to receive either daily injections of an estrogen compound or a sesame oil placebo for twenty-eight consecutive days. This schedule was chosen to model the continuous estrogen therapy commonly prescribed to transgender women. During the treatment period, all animals were weighed regularly and housed with same-sex cage mates in a controlled environment.
On the final day of the hormone treatments, the researchers evaluated the sexual motivation of the subjects using a partner preference test. The testing apparatus was a large plastic enclosure divided into three distinct sections. During the first phase of the test, known as the no-contact phase, the subject rat was placed in the middle section. A female stimulus rat was placed in one outer section, and a male stimulus rat was placed in the other.
Wire mesh barriers separated the middle section from the outer areas. This allowed the subject rat to see, hear, and smell the stimulus animals without being able to physically interact with them. For ten minutes, trained observers recorded how much time the subject spent near each stimulus animal and how many times they visited the barriers.
Following the no-contact phase, the scientists immediately initiated a contact phase. They removed the wire mesh barriers, allowing the subject rat to move freely throughout the entire enclosure and interact physically with both the male and female stimulus rats. During this ten-minute period, the researchers closely monitored and recorded the exact timing and types of sexual behaviors displayed.
In female rats, the testosterone treatment appeared to alter their natural sexual preferences. Typically, female rats prefer to spend more time near a male when a physical barrier is present, as this allows them to control the pace of the sexual encounter safely. However, the female rats treated with testosterone spent significantly less time near the male stimulus during the no-contact phase compared to the control group.
During the contact phase, the testosterone-treated females spent less time with the female stimulus animal and visited her less often than the control rats did. The authors noted that this shift in behavior resembles a more masculine pattern of sexual preference.
“Our paradigm allowed us to see who the rats ‘wanted’ to spend time with when they could pick between either a social partner (same sex) or a sexual partner (opposite sex),” Guarraci told PsyPost. “We found that females showed preferences that were more similar to male rats, but they did not display male sexual stimulations (mounts), which we thought might happen.”
In addition to these changes in preference, the female rats given testosterone displayed fewer solicitation behaviors. Solicitation behaviors are specific physical movements, such as hopping or wiggling their ears, that female rats use to signal sexual interest to males.
The testosterone treatment also affected the female rats’ reproductive physiology. The researchers tracked the female animals’ natural reproductive cycles, known as estrous cycles, by examining their cells under a microscope. The females receiving testosterone experienced disrupted cycles and spent fewer days in the fertile phases compared to the control group. They also gained more body weight and developed smaller ovaries, which suggests that the testosterone suppressed their natural ovarian function.
Despite this suppression, the females still displayed some typical mating behaviors, which stood out to the researchers. “I was surprised that testosterone enanthate (TE) disrupted their reproductive estrous cycle (changes in hormones and ovulation, like the menstrual cycle in women), but they were still able to show behavior typical at ovulation even though they were not ovulating,” Guarraci said.
“In female rats, like most mammals, sexual behavior (willingness to mate) is tightly linked to ovulation,” she continued. “This finding indicated to me that sexual behavior is likely being influenced by aromatization (conversion) of TE into estrogen and its activation of the brain to produce sexual behavior, in the absence of ovulation.”
“Even more interestingly, the behavior of TE treated females was not identical to females who were ‘ovulating’ (i.e., given hormones to mimic ovulation behavior),” Guarraci noted. “It was not totally masculinized but it shared characteristics of male sexual behavior and female sexual behavior.”
The estrogen treatment produced noticeable behavioral changes in the male rats as well. Ordinarily, male rats show a strong preference for spending time with a female partner when physical contact is allowed. However, the male rats treated with estrogen spent significantly more time with the male stimulus animal and less time with the female stimulus animal during the unrestricted contact phase.
The researchers observed that the estrogen-treated males exhibited a more feminine pattern of sexual preference. When physical contact was permitted, they seemed less interested in a sexual partner and more interested in a non-sexual partner. The estrogen treatment also affected their physical mating behaviors. The males receiving estrogen initiated fewer sexual mounts and took a significantly longer time to attempt their first mount compared to the male control group.
Physiologically, the continuous estrogen exposure suppressed the natural reproductive functions of the male subjects. By the end of the twenty-eight-day treatment period, the male rats in the estrogen group had gained less body weight than the control rats. Additionally, their testes were significantly smaller in proportion to their body weight, providing evidence that the estrogen treatment reduced their natural testicular activity.
“Motivation to mate is powerful and influenced by prenatal and neonatal (just after birth) hormone exposure,” Guarraci said of the overall findings. “Our study showed that sexual motivation can be influenced in interesting ways by hormones that are opposite to their endogenous hormones.”
Interpreting animal behavior requires caution, as rats do not experience the social concepts of gender identity or sexual orientation that humans do. Animal models cannot fully capture the nuances of human relationships or the psychological aspects of gender-affirming care.
“Preclinical studies in animal models have an inherent limitation; rats are not people,” Guarraci explained. “Because we are not testing human participants, we can’t directly translate and generalize our findings to people.”
“Although rats and mice are different from humans, we try to study aspects of behavior and physiology that are conserved (similar) across species,” she added. “Female rats and female humans both have reproductive cycles, and both have preferences for opposite-sex partners. Both also are more likely to display sexual behavior around the time of ovulation (just not limited this time in humans).”
The researchers stress that human preferences are influenced by culture and upbringing, so the specific hormonal effects seen in rats may not be identical in humans. Still, the findings provide a window into the biological and physiological shifts that occur when natural hormone levels are altered.
“Animals can be useful in understanding some aspects of reproductive physiology and behavior, when studies in people are not possible,” Guarraci said. “It can give people some heads up about what to expect and what long-term consequences they might have to deal with after they proceed with treatment.”
“Although these treatments are considered ‘safe’, they have not been thoroughly tested in the context that they are being used in,” she noted. “We know that puberty blockers are effective treatments for kids with precocious puberty (signs of pubertal development before the age of 7 or 8 in girls and boys respectively). We know how sex hormones work and affect behavior and physiology when taken as adults if people have hormonal deficiencies (e.g., ‘low T’, menopause).”
“However, we don’t know what happens when you start to take GnRH agonists like leuprolide or Lupron to block puberty at around 10-12 years old,” Guarraci explained. “Kids who are prescribed puberty blockers for precocious puberty typically stop taking the drugs at 12 years old.”
“We also don’t know what the consequences are of taking opposite-sex hormones during this period of development; these hormones are not congruent with their endogenous gonadal hormones,” she added. “So my research over the past five years has been investigating these topics.”
In future projects, the research team plans to explore those exact developmental questions. “We are hoping to continue on this research to assess the long-term effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on changes in the brain and in the genitals to understand physical issues that arise from delaying puberty and then taking hormones that do not align with gender assigned at birth,” Guarraci said.
“Specifically, we are interested in how the brain develops under these conditions to better understand potential effects on emotional, social, sexual, and cognitive development,” she added. “We also want to know if the effects on brain development that are affected by hormones are permanent or transient.”
The study, “Chronic testosterone enanthate or estradiol benzoate affects sexual behavior and motivation in Long-Evans rats tested for partner preference,” was authored by Raylee G. Bowling, Chance T. Bauer, Iva Irabor-Ighedosa, Kole M. Petersen, Katarina Wilson, Anna Pavlova, Alex Avila, Sarah H. Meerts, and Fay A. Guarraci.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #CrossSexHormones #SexualMotivation #GenderAffirmingCare #HormoneTherapyResearch #PreclinicalStudy #TransHealthScience #SexualBehavior #GnRHBlockers #PubertyBlockers #HormoneImpactOnBehavior
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DATE: July 28, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New study sheds light on how testosterone and estrogen treatments alter sexual motivation
A recent study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior provides evidence that administering opposite-sex hormones to rats tends to shift their sexual behavior and motivation to resemble that of the opposite sex. The findings suggest that these hormonal changes also suppress natural reproductive functioning. This offers new insights into the physiological effects of treatments like gender-affirming hormone therapy.
Cross-sex hormone therapy is commonly prescribed to transgender individuals to help them develop physical characteristics that align with their gender identity. Transgender men may take testosterone to deepen their voices, redistribute body fat, and increase muscle mass. Transgender women might take estrogen to reduce muscle mass, encourage breast growth, and soften their skin. These treatments often yield positive psychological benefits and alleviate feelings of distress related to gender dysphoria.
Along with these physical changes, hormone therapy can affect a person’s sexual functioning and desire in varied ways. Some people report an increase in sexual motivation after beginning treatment, but others experience a loss of desire or difficulties in achieving sexual satisfaction. Because human sexuality is deeply influenced by complex social and cultural factors, studying the direct biological effects of these hormones in humans is difficult.
To better understand the biological mechanisms at play, scientists turn to animal models. Rats are useful for this type of research because their sexual response cycle shares basic biological similarities with human sexual responses. By observing animals, researchers can isolate the effects of hormones on motivation and physical arousal without the influence of human social constructs.
Fay Allison Guarraci, a professor of psychology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, noticed a gap in this area of study. “I realized that there was very little preclinical work conducted investigating any issues related to transgender health care,” Guarraci said. “Because I study animals, I can model the treatments and various reproductive physiological and behavioral outcomes.”
Personal experiences also inspired her research focus. “I had a friend whose pre-teens was questioning their gender identity and that led them to seek medical care,” Guarraci explained. “The current standard of care is to delay puberty with hormones that block pubertal development (GnRH agonists) to give them more time to consider their gender identity.”
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists are medications used to pause puberty.
“They were delaying pubertal development but there was not much known about how these hormones affect other aspects of their health and behavior beyond development of secondary sex characteristics,” Guarraci said. “Using animal models we could investigate some of the consequences of delaying puberty and following up with transgender hormone therapy if they transition to a gender they were not assigned at birth.”
Guarraci emphasized the clinical need for this data. “I was inspired when I learned that pediatric endocrinologists are desperate for information so they can make informed recommendations to their patients, even if the information is based on animal studies,” she noted.
While her broader research program looks at puberty blockers, the current study focused on adult subjects. Previous research on rats has explored sexual behavior, but most studies used animals that had their reproductive organs surgically removed. To address these gaps in the medical literature, the current research models how prolonged exposure to opposite-sex hormones interacts with natural hormone production and affects sexual motivation in intact adult subjects.
To conduct the experiment, the researchers utilized sexually experienced adult Long-Evans rats. The animals were considered gonadally intact, meaning they had not been surgically altered to remove their natural reproductive organs, such as ovaries in females or testes in males. The study included an initial sample of sixteen female rats and eighteen male rats.
The scientists randomly assigned the female rats to receive either a specific type of testosterone or a placebo made of sesame oil. The testosterone was given via injection twice a week for five weeks to mimic the ongoing hormone treatment prescribed to transgender men. One female rat from the control group was later excluded from the analysis because she did not display sexual receptivity during testing, leaving fifteen female rats in the final data set.
For the male rats, the scientists randomly assigned them to receive either daily injections of an estrogen compound or a sesame oil placebo for twenty-eight consecutive days. This schedule was chosen to model the continuous estrogen therapy commonly prescribed to transgender women. During the treatment period, all animals were weighed regularly and housed with same-sex cage mates in a controlled environment.
On the final day of the hormone treatments, the researchers evaluated the sexual motivation of the subjects using a partner preference test. The testing apparatus was a large plastic enclosure divided into three distinct sections. During the first phase of the test, known as the no-contact phase, the subject rat was placed in the middle section. A female stimulus rat was placed in one outer section, and a male stimulus rat was placed in the other.
Wire mesh barriers separated the middle section from the outer areas. This allowed the subject rat to see, hear, and smell the stimulus animals without being able to physically interact with them. For ten minutes, trained observers recorded how much time the subject spent near each stimulus animal and how many times they visited the barriers.
Following the no-contact phase, the scientists immediately initiated a contact phase. They removed the wire mesh barriers, allowing the subject rat to move freely throughout the entire enclosure and interact physically with both the male and female stimulus rats. During this ten-minute period, the researchers closely monitored and recorded the exact timing and types of sexual behaviors displayed.
In female rats, the testosterone treatment appeared to alter their natural sexual preferences. Typically, female rats prefer to spend more time near a male when a physical barrier is present, as this allows them to control the pace of the sexual encounter safely. However, the female rats treated with testosterone spent significantly less time near the male stimulus during the no-contact phase compared to the control group.
During the contact phase, the testosterone-treated females spent less time with the female stimulus animal and visited her less often than the control rats did. The authors noted that this shift in behavior resembles a more masculine pattern of sexual preference.
“Our paradigm allowed us to see who the rats ‘wanted’ to spend time with when they could pick between either a social partner (same sex) or a sexual partner (opposite sex),” Guarraci told PsyPost. “We found that females showed preferences that were more similar to male rats, but they did not display male sexual stimulations (mounts), which we thought might happen.”
In addition to these changes in preference, the female rats given testosterone displayed fewer solicitation behaviors. Solicitation behaviors are specific physical movements, such as hopping or wiggling their ears, that female rats use to signal sexual interest to males.
The testosterone treatment also affected the female rats’ reproductive physiology. The researchers tracked the female animals’ natural reproductive cycles, known as estrous cycles, by examining their cells under a microscope. The females receiving testosterone experienced disrupted cycles and spent fewer days in the fertile phases compared to the control group. They also gained more body weight and developed smaller ovaries, which suggests that the testosterone suppressed their natural ovarian function.
Despite this suppression, the females still displayed some typical mating behaviors, which stood out to the researchers. “I was surprised that testosterone enanthate (TE) disrupted their reproductive estrous cycle (changes in hormones and ovulation, like the menstrual cycle in women), but they were still able to show behavior typical at ovulation even though they were not ovulating,” Guarraci said.
“In female rats, like most mammals, sexual behavior (willingness to mate) is tightly linked to ovulation,” she continued. “This finding indicated to me that sexual behavior is likely being influenced by aromatization (conversion) of TE into estrogen and its activation of the brain to produce sexual behavior, in the absence of ovulation.”
“Even more interestingly, the behavior of TE treated females was not identical to females who were ‘ovulating’ (i.e., given hormones to mimic ovulation behavior),” Guarraci noted. “It was not totally masculinized but it shared characteristics of male sexual behavior and female sexual behavior.”
The estrogen treatment produced noticeable behavioral changes in the male rats as well. Ordinarily, male rats show a strong preference for spending time with a female partner when physical contact is allowed. However, the male rats treated with estrogen spent significantly more time with the male stimulus animal and less time with the female stimulus animal during the unrestricted contact phase.
The researchers observed that the estrogen-treated males exhibited a more feminine pattern of sexual preference. When physical contact was permitted, they seemed less interested in a sexual partner and more interested in a non-sexual partner. The estrogen treatment also affected their physical mating behaviors. The males receiving estrogen initiated fewer sexual mounts and took a significantly longer time to attempt their first mount compared to the male control group.
Physiologically, the continuous estrogen exposure suppressed the natural reproductive functions of the male subjects. By the end of the twenty-eight-day treatment period, the male rats in the estrogen group had gained less body weight than the control rats. Additionally, their testes were significantly smaller in proportion to their body weight, providing evidence that the estrogen treatment reduced their natural testicular activity.
“Motivation to mate is powerful and influenced by prenatal and neonatal (just after birth) hormone exposure,” Guarraci said of the overall findings. “Our study showed that sexual motivation can be influenced in interesting ways by hormones that are opposite to their endogenous hormones.”
Interpreting animal behavior requires caution, as rats do not experience the social concepts of gender identity or sexual orientation that humans do. Animal models cannot fully capture the nuances of human relationships or the psychological aspects of gender-affirming care.
“Preclinical studies in animal models have an inherent limitation; rats are not people,” Guarraci explained. “Because we are not testing human participants, we can’t directly translate and generalize our findings to people.”
“Although rats and mice are different from humans, we try to study aspects of behavior and physiology that are conserved (similar) across species,” she added. “Female rats and female humans both have reproductive cycles, and both have preferences for opposite-sex partners. Both also are more likely to display sexual behavior around the time of ovulation (just not limited this time in humans).”
The researchers stress that human preferences are influenced by culture and upbringing, so the specific hormonal effects seen in rats may not be identical in humans. Still, the findings provide a window into the biological and physiological shifts that occur when natural hormone levels are altered.
“Animals can be useful in understanding some aspects of reproductive physiology and behavior, when studies in people are not possible,” Guarraci said. “It can give people some heads up about what to expect and what long-term consequences they might have to deal with after they proceed with treatment.”
“Although these treatments are considered ‘safe’, they have not been thoroughly tested in the context that they are being used in,” she noted. “We know that puberty blockers are effective treatments for kids with precocious puberty (signs of pubertal development before the age of 7 or 8 in girls and boys respectively). We know how sex hormones work and affect behavior and physiology when taken as adults if people have hormonal deficiencies (e.g., ‘low T’, menopause).”
“However, we don’t know what happens when you start to take GnRH agonists like leuprolide or Lupron to block puberty at around 10-12 years old,” Guarraci explained. “Kids who are prescribed puberty blockers for precocious puberty typically stop taking the drugs at 12 years old.”
“We also don’t know what the consequences are of taking opposite-sex hormones during this period of development; these hormones are not congruent with their endogenous gonadal hormones,” she added. “So my research over the past five years has been investigating these topics.”
In future projects, the research team plans to explore those exact developmental questions. “We are hoping to continue on this research to assess the long-term effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on changes in the brain and in the genitals to understand physical issues that arise from delaying puberty and then taking hormones that do not align with gender assigned at birth,” Guarraci said.
“Specifically, we are interested in how the brain develops under these conditions to better understand potential effects on emotional, social, sexual, and cognitive development,” she added. “We also want to know if the effects on brain development that are affected by hormones are permanent or transient.”
The study, “Chronic testosterone enanthate or estradiol benzoate affects sexual behavior and motivation in Long-Evans rats tested for partner preference,” was authored by Raylee G. Bowling, Chance T. Bauer, Iva Irabor-Ighedosa, Kole M. Petersen, Katarina Wilson, Anna Pavlova, Alex Avila, Sarah H. Meerts, and Fay A. Guarraci.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #CrossSexHormones #SexualMotivation #GenderAffirmingCare #HormoneTherapyResearch #PreclinicalStudy #TransHealthScience #SexualBehavior #GnRHBlockers #PubertyBlockers #HormoneImpactOnBehavior
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Children's Hospital Colorado resumes trans care — but says no doctors will provide it
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/gender-affirming-care-colorado
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Judge stops Kansas law restricting transgender youth health care
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After failing in Senate, Josh Hawley urges House to ban funding for trans youth healthcare
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/josh-hawley-trans-youth-healthcare
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You Were Lied to About the Tavistock Trans Youth Clinic
'1,000 former patients are suing Tavistock for being given gender affirming care!' was the battle cry Jordan Peterson and other transphobes used to undermine trans youth healthcare. Yet a new freedom of information request (FOI) has blown said lie right open.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEyvEDUQj9Q
#tavistockgenderclinic #GenderAffirmingCare #pubertyblockers #transyouth #lgbtq #transgender #transgenderhealthcare #jordanpeterson
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You Were Lied to About the Tavistock Trans Youth Clinic
'1,000 former patients are suing Tavistock for being given gender affirming care!' was the battle cry Jordan Peterson and other transphobes used to undermine trans youth healthcare. Yet a new freedom of information request (FOI) has blown said lie right open.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEyvEDUQj9Q
#tavistockgenderclinic #GenderAffirmingCare #pubertyblockers #transyouth #lgbtq #transgender #transgenderhealthcare #jordanpeterson
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Cisgender kids in Texas can’t get care due to anti-trans laws
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/01/professor-reportedly-paused-uk-puberty-blockers-trial-recused-bias. A #cisgender man with "gender-critical" views being in charge of a clinical trial of the use of #pubertyblockers, @transactualuk, @stonewalluk, @PinkNews, @transworld, @christineburns, @HarriettMB? I'm very glad to hear he's been recused - Professor Jacob George shouldn't have been involved in the first place, especially as he thinks JK Rowling is a "treasure of our time"!
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/01/professor-reportedly-paused-uk-puberty-blockers-trial-recused-bias. A #cisgender man with "gender-critical" views being in charge of a clinical trial of the use of #pubertyblockers, @transactualuk, @stonewalluk, @PinkNews, @transworld, @christineburns, @HarriettMB? I'm very glad to hear he's been recused - Professor Jacob George shouldn't have been involved in the first place, especially as he thinks JK Rowling is a "treasure of our time"!
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UK Medical Regulator Stops Children’s Puberty Blocker Study Over Safety Concerns
UK medical study on puberty blockers for children paused by MHRA due to safety concerns. Study researchers to meet next week. Who is affected?
#PubertyBlockers, #UKHealth, #MedicalStudy, #ChildSafety, #MHRA
https://newsletter.tf/uk-pauses-childrens-puberty-blocker-study-over-safety-concerns/
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The UK's Pathways study on puberty blockers for children has been paused. The regulator MHRA has serious safety worries, especially about the minimum age for participants.
#PubertyBlockers, #UKHealth, #MedicalStudy, #ChildSafety, #MHRA
https://newsletter.tf/uk-pauses-childrens-puberty-blocker-study-over-safety-concerns/
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UK Puberty Blocker Trial Paused Amid Regulator's Safety Concerns
UK's Pathways trial for puberty blockers paused by MHRA due to safety concerns. Discusses age limits and future of the trial for young people.
#PubertyBlockers, #UKTrial, #MHRA, #YouthHealth, #GenderIncongruence
https://newsletter.tf/uk-puberty-blocker-trial-paused-due-to-mhra-safety-concerns/
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The UK's Pathways trial for puberty blockers has been paused. The regulator, MHRA, has safety concerns, especially about the age limit for participants.
#PubertyBlockers, #UKTrial, #MHRA, #YouthHealth, #GenderIncongruence
https://newsletter.tf/uk-puberty-blocker-trial-paused-due-to-mhra-safety-concerns/
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Clinical Trial for Puberty Blockers Paused Amid Regulatory Concerns
A UK clinical trial for puberty blockers for gender incongruence is paused. The MHRA has safety concerns about young participants, especially the minimum age.
#PubertyBlockers, #ClinicalTrial, #MHRA, #ChildSafety, #GenderIncongruence
https://newsletter.tf/uk-puberty-blocker-trial-paused-for-young-people-due-to-safety-worries/
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The PATHWAYS trial for puberty blockers in young people is on hold. The MHRA wants to raise the minimum age from 10 to 14 due to safety concerns.
#PubertyBlockers, #ClinicalTrial, #MHRA, #ChildSafety, #GenderIncongruence
https://newsletter.tf/uk-puberty-blocker-trial-paused-for-young-people-due-to-safety-worries/
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Northern Ireland Pauses Puberty Blocker Trial Amid Legal Challenge
Northern Ireland's health minister paused a puberty blocker trial due to a legal challenge. This decision has caused arguments among leaders.
#NorthernIreland, #PubertyBlockers, #HealthTrial, #LegalChallenge, #Politics
https://newsletter.tf/northern-ireland-puberty-blocker-trial-pause-legal-challenge/
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Northern Ireland has stopped its part in a trial for puberty blockers. The health minister said this is because of a legal case. Some leaders are unhappy with this decision.
#NorthernIreland, #PubertyBlockers, #HealthTrial, #LegalChallenge, #Politics
https://newsletter.tf/northern-ireland-puberty-blocker-trial-pause-legal-challenge/
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Health Minister Halts Puberty Blocker Trial, Sparks Political Uproar
Northern Ireland's Health Minister stops a puberty blocker trial. This causes arguments between politicians about helping young people.
#PubertyBlockers, #NorthernIreland, #HealthNews, #Politics, #GenderCare
https://newsletter.tf/northern-ireland-puberty-blocker-trial-halted-politics/
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The Health Minister in Northern Ireland has stopped a trial for puberty blockers. This has caused a big disagreement between political leaders. Some say it's for politics, while others think it's a careful step.
#PubertyBlockers, #NorthernIreland, #HealthNews, #Politics, #GenderCare
https://newsletter.tf/northern-ireland-puberty-blocker-trial-halted-politics/
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Activists protest HHS rules against gender-affirming care; 24 arrested
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Activists protest HHS rules against gender-affirming care; 24 arrested
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New York jury finds psychologist and surgeon didn't follow best practices in gender-affirming care case
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No really, powerful forces are attacking Trans People, it's not conspiracy theory....that's their trick!
#TransRightsAreHumanRights #Fascism #PubertyBlockers #NHS #Russia #NoBillionaires #TerfIsland
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No really, powerful forces are attacking Trans People, it's not conspiracy theory....that's their trick!
#TransRightsAreHumanRights #Fascism #PubertyBlockers #NHS #Russia #NoBillionaires #TerfIsland
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House passes bill banning Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for youth
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/medicaid-gender-affirming-care-bill
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House passes bill banning Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for youth
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/medicaid-gender-affirming-care-bill
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RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz announce sweeping measures to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/rfk-oz-gender-affirming-care
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I get that some people have concerns about puberty blockers, but if so, then the absolute last thing they should be doing is campaigning against a clinical trial of them.
How else are you going to get good data on what the benefits and harms are?
Seems to me to be campaigning more from a standpoint of ideology than anything else.
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I get that some people have concerns about puberty blockers, but if so, then the absolute last thing they should be doing is campaigning against a clinical trial of them.
How else are you going to get good data on what the benefits and harms are?
Seems to me to be campaigning more from a standpoint of ideology than anything else.
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Texas expands lawsuits against doctors accused of providing gender-affirming care to youth
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/texas-doctor-lawsuit-transgender-youth
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#CallToAction for folks based in Auckland/Tāmaki Mākaurau! If you are able, please join or spread the word of tomorrow's #BlockTheBan rally to oppose the New Zealand Government's ban on puberty blockers. Stand in solidarity with our transgender, takatāpui and MVPFAFF+ whānau at Myers Park tomorrow at 10 am. Gender-affirming healthcare saves lives!
#nzpol #pubertyblockers #trans #healthcare #auckland #TransRightsAreHumanRights
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NZ government's puberty blockers move attracts strong reactions
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-20/nz-government-puberty-blockers-move-attracts-strong-reactions/106034502This is an appallingly transphobic act by the government of Aotearoa New Zealand.
And, shame on the ABC for uncritically giving their platform to disingenuous TERFs and "both sides"-ing the issue. One "side" is a government of right-wing extremists who are repeating the evils we've seen other extremist governments do, such as racism with genocidal intent and, in this instance, removing the human rights of LGBTQIA+ people with the knowledge and intent that their actions will cause harm and will cost lives. The other "side" is transgender children who need respect, support, and medical care. Trans rights are human rights.
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Supreme Court in Brisbane overturns controversial freeze on puberty blockers for adolescents
A court has set aside the Queensland government’s controversial freeze on puberty blockers for adolescents. If you or…
#NewsBeep #News #Australia #AU #Brisbane #Children #childrenhealth #courtruling #female #judgement #male #non-binary #puberty #pubertyblockers #Qld #Queensland #supremecourt #trans #transgender #Transition
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/245433/ -
Supreme Court in Brisbane reserves decision on Queensland’s puberty blocker freeze after legal challenge
Queensland’s top public hospital chiefs were only consulted about the directive to freeze puberty blockers as the decision…
#NewsBeep #News #Australia #AU #Brisbane #freeze #Mentalhealth #PiperValkyrie #pubertyblockers #Qld #Queensland #queenslandhealth #suicide #SupremeCourtinBrisbane #teenagers #transhealth
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/232510/ -
Fenway Health stops providing hormones and puberty blockers to trans patients under 19
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/health/fenway-restricts-gender-affirming-care
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A treatment is a drug AND a dosage | @destiny
#Medication #Treatment #Healthcare #PubertyBlockers #Destiny
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There's now a UK petition on the government petition site asking to lift the ban on #PubertyBlockers for #TransKids. Please consider signing it if you're a UK resident -- I doubt it will cause Labour to change course (though you never know) but it will at least show support for trans kids https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/702538 #ProtectTransKids #TransRights
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#Hateful #Kansas #Republicans will try again to #ban #genderaffirmingcare for #Trans #minors.
The #GOP previously failed to #ban #PubertyBlockers, #HRT, and #surgery for #children with #genderdysphoria. This year, #Republicans hold a stronger #Gerrymandered #majority in the #Kansas #Statehouse.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Kansas #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate
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Fewer than 1 in 1,000 #US #adolescents receive #GenderAffirmingCare— #pubertyblockers or #HRT — according to #researchers.
Over a recent five-year period, fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents with commercial insurance accessed these treatments. Meanwhile, at least 26 states have adopted #transphobic #laws restricting #medicalcare for #TransYouth.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #TransKids #GenderAffirmingCare #PubertyBlockers #HRT
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Fuck the Washington Post!
Having said that, this is some actual good reporting about the plight of transgender youth: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/26/puberty-blockers-transgender-bans-restrictions/
#trans #transgender #transYouth #transgenderYouth #transgenderYouthcare #pubertyBlockers #Europe #transgenderBan
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#transgenderrights #pubertyblockers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/26/puberty-blockers-transgender-bans-restrictions/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F401cd40%2F676d89b9c2ea5077876c7bc5%2F59736af1ae7e8a1cf4ba13db%2F16%2F57%2F676d89b9c2ea5077876c7bc5 -
#CallToAction: if you live in the U.K., please consider signing this petition to ask the government for an independent review of the Cass Review.
The form needs ten thousand signatures before the government will provide a written response, and it's sitting at around eight thousand six hundred signatures. Please sign, share, boost, remind people.
#CassReview #Transphobia #TransHealth #Transphobia #PubertyBlockers #UKChildGenderServices
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'I #fought to take #pubertyblockers when I was 16 - it #saved my #life'
As the #UK #Government #bans #pubertyblockers for #genderdysphoria, The #iPaper speaks to a #mother and #daughter about their five-year #fight for #medication.
https://inews.co.uk/news/fought-take-puberty-blockers-saved-life-3427474
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#UnitedKingdom #bans #pubertyblockers indefinitely: It’s a “#deathsentence”
#Activists have accused those behind the #ban of putting #politics over #lives.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #UK #Labour #NHS #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #GateKeeping #Transphobia #TERFIsland