Between medicalization and depathologization: the unsettled path of the trans issue

The trans issue, long marginalized and confined to groups of specialists, is today the subject of vigorous public debates. Focusing on the cognitive aspects, and opposing mainly doctors and activists of the transgender movement, controversies concern the definition of transsexuality as a pathology. In many different arenas, supporters defend their points of view and assert their expertise on psychiatric diagnosis, medical treatment, and access to health care or human rights. Confrontations are sometimes uncompromising, ruling out any attempts at political management of the problem. This article addresses the unsettled path of the trans issue as it is torn between medicalization and depathologization, and burdened by high stakes related to gender distinction, or to the social role of medicine.