What is a transition?
To live a better life and to better reflect their gender identity, many trans and non-binary people transition. Each person decides which elements to include in their transition, and if a change is useful for them. Each transition is unique, and no one is obligated to include any of the elements in the table below in their transition.
This table includes some of the things that can make up a transition:
| Social transition | Legal transition | Medical transition |
|---|---|---|
| Change one's gender expression (clothes, haircut, voice intonation, etc.) | Legally change one's first name | Hormones (HRT1), hormone blockers |
| Come out to the people around oneself (family, friends, colleagues) | Change legal sex marker | Affection Longue Durée (ALD)2 |
| Change one's name | Surgery(ies) | |
| Change one's pronouns | Hair removal | |
| Speech therapy |
Why transition?
Transitioning can have a big impact on the mental health and well-being of a trans or non-binary person. The ability to be oneself and live authentically greatly improves quality of life, so transitioning is often considered essential for a large part of trans and non-binary people. Written so simply, the "steps" that can make up a transition seem easy, but in reality this is not the case. Each "step" takes a lot of time, energy, and more often than not financial ressources. Additionally, during any of these "changes", the person risks being faced with transphobia or misunderstandings from different individuals (municipal workers, judges, nurses, family doctors, specialised doctors, pharmacists...).