Temporal regimes in gender-affirming hormone therapy

An Austrian case study of neuroscientific and clinical temporalities

Bibliographic Data

ID19491841
AuthorsSusanne Gahbauer (0000-0002-0621-5083, University of Vienna, corresponding author), U Felt (0000-0001-7506-4234, University of Vienna)
Year2026
Volume9
Pages100759
Publication date2026-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSSM - Qualitative Research in Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2667-3215 • E-ISSN: 2667-3215
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.ssmqr.2026.100759
OpenAlexW7152635540
LanguageEN
References cited18

Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is organized through multiple, overlapping temporal regimes that shape what counts as valid knowledge as well as when and for whom care becomes accessible. This study examines the social organisation of time in GAHT through an ex-post qualitative case study of an Austrian neuroscience project. Drawing on interviews with study authors and researchers (n=4), related peer-reviewed publications, media coverage, policy and institutional documents, and visual materials, we analyse how scientific and institutional temporalities are produced, stabilised, and circulated. We demonstrate how standardised measurement intervals (e.g. neuroimaging at fixed time points), publication cycles, and diagnostic procedures act as time generators that privilege institutional pacing over the open-ended character of transition. As findings travel into media and policy arenas, they are re-temporalized into progress narratives that compress processual change into discrete ‘snapshots’, reinforcing chrononormative expectations and gatekeeping timelines. Our analysis foregrounds chronopolitics and temporal capital to explain how temporal arrangements distribute authority, produce delays, and delimit legibility within research and care. While lived temporalities are not directly sampled, we demonstrate how institutional and scientific temporalities condition what becomes visible about transgender lives. Based on our observations, we argue for reflexive, temporally responsive research designs and clinical protocols that recognise transition as continuous and varied, and for policies that reduce temporal inequalities in access to GAHT. • Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is foundational in transgender healthcare. • This is one of the first empirical studies on temporalities in GAHT. • GAHT temporalities intersect neuroscientific research, policy, and experiences. • Rigid temporalities were identified in medical and neuroscientific research fields. • Recognizing the plural and dynamic temporalities of transgender experiences is essential for inclusive GAHT research and practice

Cognition · Duration (music) · Temporalities · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access