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How dangerous is it to not have any sex hormones (androgens)? (self.asktransgender)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by FirstMajesticComet to c/asktransgender
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I'm curious, how much of a danger is it in terms of health for someone to have lower than normal or no hormones at all.

I was wondering that because I was looking things up and I recently came across a thread on r/Asktransgender where the OP said if they didn't have hormones they would physically die in a year and several other people said similar things. Is this true? I'm not an expert in medicine but it seems like misinformation to me. I know Osteoporosis is a long term risk.

I also know that personally that I have not taken Testosterone (or Estrogen) in 15 years, and I'm mostly fine. These people said it was fatal to not take it for a year or two.

What are your thoughts on what they said? Does this sound plausible or does it sound like misinformation or exaggeration?

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[-] anindefinitearticle@sh.itjust.works 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I medically cannot take HRT because it would kill me.

Many trans people cannot take HRT because of its inherent medical risks.

The type of misinformation/exaggeration that you are calling out is known as transmedicalism. It's toxic and should be called out as such. It presents hormones as the One True Way to be trans. It implies that the other ways of being trans are not valid, even if they have existed for as long as humans have.

We should pursue, uplift, and recover old cultural methods of being trans. It's more inclusive, and avoids the often-downplayed medical and health impacts of HRT. We have forgotten these older methods because transphobic industrial/abrahamic societies erased them from our cultural memory. Now drugs are filling the void, but it would be healthier if we recovered these old methods as alternatives to drugs. Drugs aren't for everyone and shouldn't be treated as the default.

[-] riwo 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

i think the post wasnt about people claiming that trans people need to take hrt or they will die, but that supressing both estrogen and testosterone has dangerous health effects. that is not trans medicalism but at worst an exaggeration of the importance of e/t on the human body.

i know that average humans make it a while without much of either, during prepuberty and post menopause, so ig its probably not deadly(?) but i know that there are negative health effects like osteoporosis, low energy, meno pausal symptoms when comming off e...

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this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
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