Xtra Explains: Gender-affirming surgery for young people

No province in Canada performs bottom surgery on young people, and even top surgery is very rare

There are many myths circulating online and within communities around gender-affirming surgery for young people in Canada. But what’s the truth? Are kids really getting dangerous gender surgeries en masse?

As part of our series Xtra Explains: Trans Youth, senior editor Mel Woods breaks down everything you need to know about gender-affirming surgery for young people in Canada—including the key fact that it doesn’t really happen at all. 

Check out other explainers on topics like sports, puberty blockers and social contagion theory on our website, YouTube channel and TikTok. And check out the full list of sources cited in Xtra Explains here

Senior editor Mel Woods is an English-speaking Vancouver-based writer, editor and audio producer and a former associate editor with HuffPost Canada. A proud prairie queer and ranch dressing expert, their work has also appeared in Vice, Slate, the Tyee, the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Walrus.

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