Does gender-affirming hormone therapy affect the heart? How does a binder change breathing patterns? How do we risk-stratify trans patients? Join us in taking a brief tour of the organ systems to see how the health of the gender-diverse community is affected by a multitude of factors.

Featuring:

• Dr. Heather Cockwell (she/her)
• Meaghan Ray Peters (they/them) - @Chest_binding_support
• Dr. Arati Mokashi (she/her)
• Ken Mullock (he/him) - @ken.dietitian
• Jocelyn Adams (she/her) - @gacpei

Time stamps:

• 01:25 - MI risk
• 03:21 - Estrogen & VTE
• 04:58 - Testosterone & inflammation
• 05:38 - Risk calculation
• 07:19 - EKG changes
• 08:17 - Smoking
• 09:08 - Binding & lung function
• 13:52 - Osteoporosis & fracture risk
• 16:55 - Bone mineral accrual
• 18:55 - Vitamin D
• 19:30 - Diabetes risk & management
• 21:00 - CBC interpretation
• 21:40 - Prolactin levels
• 22:02 - Chronic health & looking forward

Resources:

• Acronyms used in this episode
• Meaghan Ray’s LinkTree: linktr.ee/chest_binding_support
• Ken’s nutrition guide for gender-affirming surgery - https://tr.ee/lsreGuebBV
• Gender-Affirming Care PEI - gacpei.ca
• The Queer & Trans Health Collective - Health & Nutrition

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: Aug 2024 (Dr. Mokashi), Oct 2024 (Dr. Cockwell), Aug 2025 (Meaghan Ray), July 2025 (Ken), Aug 2025 (Jocelyn)

Why doesn’t the average trans or gender-diverse person get enough exercise? Why might gender diversity impact someone’s relationship with food? How do these factors influence health and wellbeing? You’ll hear the challenges and the highlights of trans folks playing sports, the details of nutrition requirements for those taking hormone therapies, and some helpful tips for peri-operative nutrition.

Featuring:

• Cyrus Campbell (he/they/she)
• Nikki Valentine (she/her) - @nikkimvee
• Pascale Joëlle Fortin-Daigle (any pronouns) - @Hellogender_
• Elanor (she/her)
• Maeka Wright (they/them) - @mwrightyoga
• Justine Ward (they/them) - @cannonballjustine
• Ken Mullock (he/him) - @ken.dietitian

Time stamps:

• 01:19 - Rates of physical activity
• 02:52 - Guests’ experiences with sports & exercise
• 13:25 - Mindfulness & wellbeing
• 16:51 - Monitoring metabolic parameters
• 17:24 - “Our evidence is in our practice”
• 18:56 - Disordered eating
• 22:31 - Poor-quality diets
• 25:15 - Nutrient requirements on GAHT
• 27:46 - Metabolic changes on GAHT
• 30:03 - Counselling patients on diet
• 31:41 - Pre-/post-op nutrition
• 34:52 - Impact on health

Resources & more:

• Find Nikki on Twitch (nikki_mv)
• Justine's LinkTree: linktr.ee/cannonballjustine
• Maeka (Manual Osteopath/Yoga Therapist) - maekawright.com
• Maeka’s book recommendations: The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga (Jivana Heyman), Skill in Action (Michelle Cassandra Johnson), Yoga (Indu Arora), The New Saints (Lama Rod Owens), The Care We Dream Of (Zena Sharman)
• Rainbow Health Ontario’s guide for monitoring feminizing & masculinizing hormones
• Ken’s nutrition guide for gender-affirming surgery - https://tr.ee/lsreGuebBV

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: July 2025 (Ken, Cyrus, Nikki, Elanor, Pascale), Aug 2025 (Justine, Maeka)

Provider education plays a critical role in shaping trans and gender-diverse healthcare, but many clinicians receive little to no formal training. In this episode, we explore how gaps in clinical education impact patient care, from unnecessary referrals to patients feeling like they must educate their own providers.

We also unpack how trans health is often treated as optional or siloed in curricula, and why integrating it across all areas of practice matters. Finally, we highlight practical, evidence-based steps for creating more inclusive, affirming, and competent healthcare environments.

Featuring:

• Victoria Brown (she/her)
• RJ (he/him)
• Amy Prescott (she/xe)- @affirmpt
• Xiaoqi Zhu (he/they)
• Gabriel Enxuga (he/they)
• Nikki Valentine (she/her) - @nikkimvee
• Aspen (she/her)
• Jocelyn Adams (she/her) - @gacpei
• Dr. Sue Atkinson (she/her)
• Fawn (she/her)
• Pascale Joëlle (any pronouns) - @Hellogender_
• Mitchell (he/him)

Time stamps:

• 00:33 - Why provider education matters
• 01:14 - Student perspectives
• 04:24 - Confidence and care deferral
• 09:24 - Referral culture
• 10:42 - Advice to providers
• 14:30 - Patients as educators
• 16:54 - Healthcare avoidance
• 18:48 - Checkbox vs meaningful change
• 21:56 - The hidden curriculum
• 23:32 - Where trans health “lives” in curriculum
• 24:43 - Creating safer clinical spaces
• 28:24 - What the evidence shows
• 30:16 - Student-led curriculum change

Resources:

• Sherbourne Guidelines
• Rainbow Health Ontario: Trans Primary Care Guide
• Trans Care BC
• prideHealth NS
• Gender Affirming Care PEI

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: Apr 2025 (Aspen, Fawn), June 2025 (Amy, Xiaoqi), July 2025 (RJ, Pascale), Aug 2025 (Dr. Atkinson, Jocelyn, Victoria, Mitchell, Nikki), Sept 2025 (Gabriel).

How does the intersection of disability and gender diversity influence one’s experience accessing healthcare? Why is it important for providers to acknowledge this intersection? How does having a disability affect surgical planning? And where does the topic of sex fit into all of this? In addition to the challenges, we also discuss practical steps for providers to make their practice more accessible and affirming.

Featuring:

• RJ (he/him)
• Rachele Manett (they/she)
• Gabriel Dit L’individu (he/they) - @youngqueersick
• Dr. Joukhadar (he/him)
• Dr. Sarah Fraser (she/her)

Time stamps:

• 00:56 - Intersectionality
• 03:33 - Feeling split in two
• 05:15 - Why is identity relevant?
• 07:06 - Unmet health needs
• 09:59 - Access to care
• 13:01 - Surgical care
• 21:18 - Medication interactions
• 24:24 - Neurodiversity
• 30:00 - Community
• 33:17 - Sex & sexuality
• 41:14 - Conflicting access needs
• 44:18 - Advocacy

Resources:

• Check out the Venus Envy website (venusenvy.ca) and Instagram @venusenvyhfx
• 10 Principles of Disability Justice | Sins Invalid
• Gabriel’s LinkTree: linktr.ee/youngqueersick
• Gabriel's recommendations for first-person perspectives and examples of their work: Alice Wong (Year of the Tiger; Disability Visibility), Brené Brown (Daring Greatly), Rupi Kaur, Sonya Renee Taylor (The Body is Not an Apology)

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: Oct 2024 (Rachele), July 2025 (RJ), Sept 2025 (Dr. Fraser, Dr. Joukhadar), Dec 2025 (Gabriel)

Is chestfeeding an option while taking testosterone or after top surgery? How does induced lactation work for transfeminine folks? And what is it like to go through the ups and downs of infant feeding as a trans parent? We get into all things infant feeding with midwives CJ & Coral plus the amazing Laura, Tori, and Forrest!

Featuring:

• CJ Blennerhassett (she/they)
• Coral Maloney (she/her)
• Laura (she/her)
• Rev. Tori Mullin (they/them, he/him)
• Forrest Sandifer (he/him)

Timestamps:

• 00:39 - A note on language
• 1:23 - Physiology of lactation
• 2:35 - Medications and lactation
• 3:22 - Rates of chestfeeding among TGD parents
• 5:00 - Midwifery & infant feeding for TGD parents in Atlantic Canada
• 7:30 - Newman-Goldfarb Protocol for Induced Lactation
• 15:33 - Laura: parent experience with induced lactation
• 21:13 - Donor milk in Atlantic Canada
• 25:18 - Rev. Tori Mullin: parent experience with chestfeeding
• 31:01 - Options if someone does not want to lactate
• 32:01 - Testosterone, chestfeeding, and dysphoria
• 33:27 - Binding and chestfeeding
• 34:30 - Forrest Sandifer: patient experience with chestfeeding
• 36:10 - Is testosterone safe during pregnancy or chestfeeding?
• 38:10 - Chestfeeding after top surgery

Resources:

• Transcare BC Pregnancy & Infant Feeding
• La leche league international as a community resource incl. write-up
• Sugarhealth: online source of information for sexual/reproductive health specific to NS
  • More info specific to pregnancy/lactation and birth is coming
• Rainbow health Ontario

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: July 2024 (CJ & Coral), Jan 2025 (Forrest), May 2025 (Rev. Tori Mullin), Feb 2026 (Laura)

How many trans & gender-diverse folks are interested in parenthood? How does gender-affirming hormone therapy affect fertility, contraception and family planning? What kinds of fertility preservation options are available? And what is it like to experience pregnancy as a trans person? We talk all things family planning!

2026 Update from Dr. Cockwell: Technology has progressed since this recording, and AART now offers both ovarian and testicular tissue cryopreservation for folks taking puberty blockers!

Featuring:

• Dr. Heather Cockwell (she/her)
• Dr. Elgin Pecjak (he/him)
• Forrest Sandifer (he/him) - @groovyshroom

Timestamps:

• 00:50 - Canada’s history of forced sterilization
• 01:41 - Ethics of reproductive care access for trans folks
• 03:09 - Coverage and barriers to fertility care
• 06:04 - How many trans people want to parent & what kinds of parenthood are they interested in?
• 14:53 - How puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormone therapy impact fertility + fertility preservation options
• 27:32 - Pregnancy experiences of trans folks
• 29:30 - Forrest Sandifer: trans experience of pregnancy, perinatal care, and parenting
• 37:50 - Contraception for patients on gender-affirming hormone therapy

Resources:

• Forrest’s CBC Article
• RHO Guidelines that include costs of fertility treatment
• Conceivable: book about queer family in Canada
• Queer Conception
• Baby Making for Everybody
• Contraception Counseling for Transgender Patients Assigned Female at Birth

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: Oct 2024 (Dr. Cockwell), Jan 2025 (Forrest), July 2025 (Dr. Pecjak)

How is gynecological, breast, and prostate cancer screening different for trans folks? What is it like to navigate the more gendered sides of healthcare as a trans person? And how can healthcare providers improve the experiences of trans patients in gendered spaces? We get into what we do (and don’t) know about gendered healthcare!

Featuring:

• Kaiden Dalley (he/him)
• Dr. Sue Atkinson (she/her)
• Dr. Nadim Joukhadar (he/him)
• Xiaoqi Zhu (he/they)
• Pascale Fortin-Diagle (any pronouns) - @Hellogender_
• James Moriarty (he/him) - @100percenttransfat
• Eleanor (she/her)
• Amy Prescott (she/xe) - @affirmpt

Timestamps:

• 02:50 - Breast cancer
• 08:53 - Gynecologic cancers
• 17:54 - James Moriarty: having a gendered cancer as a transman
• 24:52 - Prostate cancer
• 26:00 - Testicular pathologies
• 27:33 - Eleanor: having an inguinal hernia as a transwoman
• 29:40 - Pelvic physiotherapy

Resources:

• Kaiden's map for gender neutral bathrooms in NFL.
• Sherbourne Guidelines
• Amy's Pelvic Physio Linktree: http://linktr.ee/affirmpt

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: May 2025 (Kaiden), June 2025 (Amy, Xiaoqi), July 2025 (James, Elanor, Pascale), Aug 2025 (Dr. Atkinson), Sept 2025 (Dr. Joukhadar)

What do health outcomes look like for trans & gender-diverse youth? What are the risks and benefits of transitioning for youth? And how can healthcare providers help support families and kids through this process? We talk all things pediatrics with Dr. Arati Mokashi and Elsja Hennessy!

Timestamps:

• 00:48 - The Cass Review
• 03:48 - How many TGD youth are out there?
• 09:16 - Mental & physical health outcomes for TGD youth
• 13:50 - Social transition
• 20:01 - Elsja: supporting your child through social transition
• 32:16 - Puberty suppression
• 43:36 - Gender-affirming hormone therapy in youth
• 47:05 - Barriers to care for youth
• 50:35 - Detransition

Resources:

• Science vs Trans Kids’ Healthcare: Are We Getting It Wrong?
• Local child and youth mental health clinics
• Guidelines for supporting transgender and gender non-conforming students
• PFLAG Canada: parent support group
• The Youth Project
• Trans Lifeline for immediate support

Transcripts at linktr.ee/genderqueriespod

Instagram: @genderqueriespod

Recording dates: Aug/Sept 2024