There were champagne toasts and rounds of applause as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health released on Sept. 25 its newest Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People at a symposium at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta.
WPATH revision committee chair Eli Coleman launched the 7th version of the standards of care to some 300 people who attended the symposium as part of a partnership with the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association and the Southern Comfort Conference, the largest transgender conference in the nation that takes place annually in Atlanta.
WPATH was formerly named the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association to honor one of the earliest doctors to work with transsexuals. The organization provides comprehensive ethical guidelines concerning the care of transsexual, transgender and gender nonconforming people.
Each year, the Southern Comfort Conference brings transgenders, transsexuals and cross dressers together in a safe space to not only learn from each other but also to learn from experts on such topics as surgeries, transgender fiction writing and career searches.
For the 21st year of the conference, set for Sept. 22-25 with the theme “Coming of Age,” SCC is also partnering with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association for an all-day joint symposium at the Emory University Conference Center on Sept. 25.
“It should really be an historic event,” said SCC chairperson Alexis Dee. “For the first time, our community will have the opportunity to directly address the professionals that set the guideline for transgendered care and treatment.”