DR Z PHD Interviews Ethan Patron.
In this illuminating interview, Dr. Z speaks with Ethan Patron, a 32-year-old transmasculine non-binary person, patient advocate, and CEO of Breaking the Binary. Ethan shares their journey from Peru to the United States as an immigrant, beginning medical transition at 23, and evolving from identifying as a trans man to embracing a non-binary identity that feels genuinely liberating.
Ethan offers rare insider perspective on transgender healthcare advocacy in Los Angeles, having worked as a patient advocate at St. John's Transgender Health Clinic (2017-2019) and currently at UCLA's transgender health program. They reveal the behind-the-scenes work that led to Medi-Cal covering comprehensive gender-affirming surgeries, including facial reconstruction and body contouring procedures that weren't previously approved.
This conversation goes beyond typical transition narratives to explore the limitations of binary thinking—even within transgender spaces. Ethan candidly discusses feeling pressured to perform stereotypical masculinity after coming out as a trans man, experiencing the suffocating expectations of toxic masculinity, and the profound relief of discovering non-binary identity as a framework that allowed authentic self-expression without rigid gender roles.
Key topics include: how insurance companies systematically deny hormone therapy coverage based on assigned sex (requiring prior authorizations that force trans people to justify their medical needs), socioeconomic barriers preventing people from accessing covered surgeries (housing instability affecting post-surgery recovery), the appeals process for overturned insurance denials, and why PPO insurance holders often face multiple denials before approval.
Ethan shares vulnerable insights about their relationship with husband Edison Ross, explaining how being in a queer non-binary partnership helped them unlearn harmful gender performance and embrace all aspects of themselves—masculine, feminine, and everything in between. They discuss plans for future parenthood, including Ethan's shifting perspective on pregnancy (previously a source of dysphoria, now something they're open to experiencing), and their commitment to raising children without assigned gender roles.
This interview addresses critical gaps in transgender healthcare advocacy, the evolution of gender identity over time, building confidence as a gender non-conforming person of color, the freedom of breaking free from both cisgender and transgender binary expectations, and finding community as essential medicine for gender dysphoria.
Ethan's story offers hope and practical wisdom for anyone navigating the complex terrain between binary gender categories, challenging themselves to unlearn limiting beliefs, or advocating for systemic change in transgender healthcare access.
