The article titled "8 Things That Really Happen When Transgender People Start Hormone Therapy" published on Cosmopolitan.com by Ashley Lauren succeeds in offering useful and meaningful information, while failing at avoiding generalization and deconstructing gender stereotypes.
In summary, the article provides eight possible effects that transgender people face as a direct result of hormone therapy which, according to the article, consists of mostly physical changes. Some of the changes the article claims to be true include the return of teenage acne, lactation from nipples, and the increase or decrease in body hair. The article also introduces some words of advice for transgender people, such as "stopping hormones once you've started them doesn't necessarily mean you regret transitioning".
My first critique of the article is it's generalizing statements that reinforce stereotypes concerning transgender people. The article does this by…show more content… Most obviously is the question of whether the information is accurate. The article provides no sources for information and does not include any credibility that would validate the author's claims. Whether or not the information is true, readers interpret the information in different ways. Many people have the critical capacity to not trust the information they read in Cosmopolitan, yet the magazine may serve as the only source of information to some. Furthermore, the magazine's reader base is largely composed of young, impressionable people whose views on these subjects may easily be formed. It is my opinion that authors writing about important subject matters such as hormone therapy and transgender people have a moral duty to relay accurate information, as they are undoubtedly part of broader social developments that shape societies' view of these subjects. The impact of this article arguably transcends the