Kinnon Ross MacKinnon, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, was featured in two recent articles in The New York Times. The first announced a $2 million dollar malpractice verdict that awarded a 22-year-old woman damages for receiving a gender-affirming double mastectomy when she was a 16 year old transgender boy, later detransitioning. MacKinnon has suggested that a majority of transgender people report that medical transition improves the quality of their lives. The second article was about a new announcement by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The medical group recommended that its members refrain from performing gender transition surgeries on patients until they reach age 19. MacKinnon said that the group’s position reflects the growing political backlash over gender-affirming care for minors in addition to liability concerns for practitioners in the field.
Kinnon R. MacKinnon, MSW, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work. He studies transition-related care, how it is delivered by care providers, and how it is experienced by gender-diverse people. He is the principal investigator of the DARE study, a mixed-methods study examining lived experiences of detransition and gender fluidity. He co-writes the One Percent newsletter on Substack.
Read the full articles in The New York Times (behind paywall):
Woman Wins Malpractice Suit Over Gender Surgery as a Minor
Plastic Surgeons’ Group Advises Delaying Gender-Affirming Procedures Until Age 19
Read additional input from MacKinnon on the topic of transgender care and detransition in The New York Times (behind paywall).