WPATH

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary medical and educational association that was organized by a small group of physicians, mental health professionals, researchers, and trans people who were concerned with the type of gender variance that, in the 1970s, was associated with the term transsexualism. Over the next 40 years, the group slowly expanded its membership, began taking public positions advocating for the health and human rights of trans people, and initiated professional continuing education aimed at increasing access to gender-affirming health care globally. Incorporated in 1979 as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), the group convened biennial international meetings to share knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of trans people. It also developed the first Standards ...