elijah castle
Hi there. My name is Elijah Castle. I work in research centered around the trans community, addressing topics such as client-clinician relationships, autonomy and consent, and how stigma affects provisions of care. I also provide educational workshops, materials, and support in community settings on topics related to gender-affirming healthcare including surgery information, healthcare navigation, adolescent care, and sexual health.
I strive for all of my work to be community-centered. My specific academic research interests and expertise include:
Gender-affirming surgery, most specifically genital surgery
Patient-clinician relationships
Patient autonomy and informed consent
Adolescent healthcare
Genital surgery and sexual health, pleasure, embodiment
Knowledge dissemination and health education
Patient-reported outcome measures
Community-engaged research
Peer and community support
Considerations regarding the intersections of and relationships between:
Weight stigma, fat studies, and gender-affirming care
Reproductive health, assisted reproductive technologies, and disability justice
Stigma and provisions of care
Selected Citations
Manuscripts/Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Blasdel G, Kloer C, Parker A, Castle E, Bluebond-Langner R, Zhao LC. Coming Soon: Ability to Orgasm After Gender-Affirming Vaginoplasty. J Sex Med. 2022;19(5):781-788. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2022.02.015.
Castle E, Blasdel G, Shakir NA, Zhao LC, Bluebond-Langner R. Weight stigma mitigating approaches to gender-affirming genital surgery. Plast Aesthet Res. 2022;9(20). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2021.130.
Oral Abstracts and Presentations:
Castle E, Blasdel G, Dubach-Reinhold C, Zhang TR, Bluebond-Langner R, Zhao LC. Does Body Mass Index Influence Vaginoplasty Outcomes? 2023 American Urological Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. April 2023.
Blasdel G, Dubach-Reinhold C, Castle E, Bluebond-Langner R, Zhao LC. Outcomes of 429 Primary Robotic Peritoneal Flap Gender Affirming Vaginoplasty Cases. 2023 American Urological Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. April 2023.
Castle E, Mishra K, Blasdel G, Bluebond-Langner R, Zhao L. Pleasure and Sexual Health After Gender-Affirming Genital Surgery. First Event Conference. Boston, MA. January 2023.
Castle E. The importance of peer support and embodied knowledge: A model for community-led gender-affirming surgery education based on an existing peer support model. Callen-Lorde Gender Affirming Perioperative Practices (GAPP) Summit. Virtual. November 2022.
Castle E, Blasdel G, Robinson IS, Zhao LC, Bluebond-Langner R. A Comparison of Non-Surgical Methods Used By Phalloplasty and Metoidioplasty Patients to Improve Connection to Genitals: How Usage of Methods and Their Perceived Helpfulness Shift After Surgery. World Professional Association of Transgender Health 27th Scientific Symposium Surgeon’s Only Program. Montreal, Quebec. September 2022.
Castle E, Cazares A, Luscombe R, Fisher K, Bluebond-Langner R, Zhao LC. Multidisciplinary Teamwork in Gender-Affirming Surgery: An Integrative Approach to Care. Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference Continuing Education Track. Virtual. July 2022.
Castle E, Blasdel G. Transmasculine Genital Surgery in the 21st Century. Philadelphia Transgender Wellness Conference 2022. Virtual. July 2022.
Castle E, Cazares A, Dubach-Reinhold C, Bluebond-Langner R. Gender-Affirming Surgery for Youth. Philadelphia Transgender Wellness Conference 2022. Virtual. July 2022.
Castle E. Gender-Affirming Care for Youth - Evidence-Based Information and Advocacy. Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference Continuing Education Track. Virtual. July 2022.
Agochukwu-Mmonu N, Castle E, Zhao LC, Radix A, Bluebond-Langner R, Makarov DV, Ospina-Norvell C, Berry C. Patient Reported Outcomes in Genital Gender-Affirming Surgery: Magnifying the Patient Voice. United States Professional Association of Transgender Health 2021 Virtual Scientific Symposium. Virtual. November 2021.
Castle E, Shakir N, Blasdel G, Zhao LC, Bluebond-Langner R. Weight-stigma mitigating approaches to genital gender affirming surgery. United States Professional Association of Transgender Health 2021 Virtual Scientific Symposium. Virtual. November 2021.
Poster Presentations:
Dubach-Reinhold C, Blasdel G, Castle E, Zhao LC, Bluebond-Langner R. Comparing Electrolysis and Laser Hair Removal For Depilation of Phalloplasty Donor Flap: Patient Reported Outcomes and Satisfaction. World Professional Association of Transgender Health 27th Scientific Symposium. Montreal, Quebec. September 2022.
Agochukwu-Mmonu N, Castle E, Zhao LC, Radix A, Bluebond-Langner R, Harel D, Makarov D, Ospina-Norvell C, Berry C. Patient Perspectives in Genital Gender-Affirming Surgery: The Need for Patient Reported Outcome Measures. 2022 American Urological Association Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. May 2022.
Blasdel G, Castle E, Kloer C, Parker A, Bluebond-Langner R, Zhao LC. Quantifying Time To Orgasm After Gender Affirming Vaginoplasty. A2022 American Urological Association Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. May 2022.
Professional Memberships:
1/2023-Present Member
National Student Bioethics Association
12/2022-Present Member
American Society for Bioethics + Humanities
10/2022-Present Member, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data Working Group
NYU Langone Health
08/2022–Present Member, Empirical Bioethics Working Group
NYU Langone Health
07/2021-Present Member, LGBTQ+ Advisory Council
NYU Langone Health
07/2021-Present Full voting member
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
07/2021-Present Full voting member
United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH)
10/2019-Present Member
Trans Health Advocates of New York (THANY)
If you would like to see my full CV, please contact me via the link at the bottom of this page.
Resources
These are some resources I think are particularly helpful and want to recommend.
Gender-Affirming Surgeons with No/High BMI Limit
You can find a list of surgeons who have no BMI limit or a BMI limit higher than the average of 30-35 here.
Healthy Trans
Trans health and surgery resources by my friend and colleague, Gaines Blasdel, including insurance information and health education. Click here to take a look.
T4T Caregiving
T4T Caregiving is a US-based network of caregivers who can provide assistance with postoperative surgery needs and recovery. Find out more here.
Contact
If you would like to contact me, please click here.