The World Health Organization (WHO) recently formed a new expert advisory group focused on transgender health, drawing notable attention for its inclusion of some unconventional experts in the field. The group, known as the Guidelines Development Group on the Health of Trans and Gender Diverse People, is tasked with creating guidelines to improve health services accessibility and quality for trans and gender diverse individuals, as well as to foster health policies that support gender-inclusive care.
Among the experts selected by the WHO are Erika Castellanos and Florence Ashley. Castellanos, a trans woman living with HIV, is a former sex worker from Belize now residing in the Netherlands. She is recognized for her work in youth engagement in HIV activism with the International AIDS Society. Castellanos has openly discussed her past, describing her experiences with migration, sex work, homelessness, and living as an HIV-positive transgender person. She has described sex work as empowering, detailing her journey from the streets of Mexico to various roles in activism.
Florence Ashley, a transfeminine jurist and bioethicist at the University of Alberta, is known for his work on trans issues within legal and healthcare systems. Ashley’s academic contributions include exploring “genderf**king” as a critical legal methodology, a concept focused on resisting gender governance through various means, including stylistic elements like sexually charged humor.
The WHO’s decision to include these figures on the advisory board has raised questions about its approach to assessing the medical implications of gender transition interventions. Critics, like Dr. Stanley Goldfarb from the non-profit organization Do No Harm, argue that the WHO’s group may overlook the growing body of literature questioning the support for medical interventions to modify one’s sex.
The WHO, however, maintains that its recommendations are based on a balance of available evidence, human rights principles, and inputs from end users and beneficiaries. The organization’s choice to include individuals like Castellanos and Ashley, who have diverse and non-traditional backgrounds, indicates a broader approach to understanding transgender health issues.
The formation of this group by the WHO comes at a time of increasing global dialogue around transgender health care and gender identity, with the organization seeking to navigate these complex and often polarizing topics.