Transgender coverage in media tied to treatment-seeking
Clinic referrals go up after stories that normalise gender diversity, researchers say
Media coverage of transgender issues appears to trigger immediate increases in presentation of children and teens at gender clinics, a study shows.
The finding is consistent with anecdotal evidence that transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth cite media attention as a catalyst to seek assistance, the Australian and UK researchers say.
They assessed the link between new patient referrals at two publicly-funded specialist paediatric clinics — the Royal Children’s Hospital Gender Service in Melbourne and the Gender Identity Development Service in London