In this episode, the tables are turned: Ioannis Ntanos (he/him) takes the hot seat as he is interviewed by returning guest Avgi Saketopoulou (she/her), the clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, and co-author of Gender Without Identity, whom he welcomed on a previous episode.

Avgi trained at NYU's Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, where she now teaches. Her co-authored book Gender Without Identity (Unconscious in Translation Press / NYU Press, 2023) won the 2024 Silver Medal for LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

With Avgi guiding the conversation, Ioannis reflects on what brought him to gender-affirming care - a field he describes as his road to Damascus, a moment of sudden clarity that this was where he could see the difference he was making in real time. He speaks candidly about the isolation that often accompanies this work and the awkward silences that tend to follow when he describes his work at social gatherings.

The conversation ranges widely. Ioannis explores the neoliberalisation of medicine and how market-driven structures keep practitioners apart rather than in community - and why surgeons so rarely engage with the political and philosophical frameworks that shape their work, often feeling they lack the background or fearing conflict. He reflects on the binary gender system as a product of colonialist intervention, on the interrogation of power structures, and on his belief that patients are social beings who exist in and are shaped by the wider world - making the struggle for trans people not merely medical, but the struggle of living in a world that does not always permit you to be who you are.

Connect & Learn More

LinkedIn: Ioannis Ntanos | Instagram: @ioannisntanos

Resources: Learn more about top surgery at ioannisntanos.com

Gender Without Identity by Avgi Saketopoulou and Ann Pellegrini

About The Podcast

The Top Surgery Podcast explores the intersection of healthcare, advocacy, and community through candid conversations with experts, patients, and allies. New episodes released every month.