Posted on 12/10/2021 3:19:47 PM PST by nickcarraway
"I'm so glad it's all women in here."
As a family doctor and abortion provider, I hear this all the time. I know how important it is for many of the patients I care for to be seen by someone who shares their experiences. But I am not a woman.
I am trans. Getting dressed for every shift, I put on my they/them and he/him pronoun pins. Like many trans folx, I use multiple pronouns. Often these go unseen. People assume my gender based on what they've been taught about which bodies look like a woman and which bodies look like a man. I get it though. Patients have a lot on their minds when they come to see me. The middle of someone's abortion doesn't feel like the right time to talk about the difference between gender identity and gender presentation anyway.
I can make space for patients misgendering me. I believe abortion can be a very empowering experience, and for many of my patients, the solidarity between women is a part of that. People with uteruses suffer so much violence from men. Invasive exams and procedures can trigger that trauma, especially when performed by men. A great deal of what we, as medical providers, do to people in gynecological care was developed through violence, intentional abuse, and oppression of women of color. This legacy, rooted in white supremacy, is especially on my mind when providing reproductive care. So I choose not to correct the women who misgender me while voicing their appreciation for my presence out of respect for their experience and comfort.
But what I cannot make space for is being misgendered by my colleagues. It is a daily occurrence. Sometimes followed by over-apologizing, asking me to excuse the mistake to assuage their discomfort at my own expense. It happens despite the pronoun pins and Zoom name. Despite me talking about how weird it is to give myself testosterone injections. Despite the they/he in my email signature on that email I sent months ago announcing my pronouns and asking for some basic inclusion. All of the efforts I am asked to take on to become a part of a "more just" and "more diverse" workforce and movement are for naught if the very people they are trying to include are continually made to feel othered, a hassle, or forgotten.
There has been a concerted effort by some in the reproductive rights movement to make abortion more gender inclusive. Some clinics ask patients for their pronouns and some of those staff members will use them. Some organizations use "pregnant people" in their communications. The key phrase being "some." Others continue to use language and imagery that excludes gender queer and trans people from abortion conversations. The most hypocritical among us will espouse inclusion publicly, but fail to show up for non-binary and trans folx in meaningful ways. It is exhausting. Yes, I see you prescribing gender affirming hormones, yet calling me "she" in every meeting we attend. Sometimes I correct you. Sometimes I choose not to because I just don't have the energy.
This is all in addition to the "regular" day-to-day pressures of working at a clinic providing abortion care in Kansas, a state with many onerous restrictions on abortion. I already feel targeted by protestors when I come into work. I am already highly aware of my safety in my community, both as an abortion provider and as an out trans person. No one should feel harassed or stigmatized when they walk into work, but this is a regular experience for anyone working in a clinic that provides abortion care because of the stigma it holds. Adding transphobia to this already exclusionary experience is, quite frankly, exhausting. I would love to be able to focus all of my energy on providing compassionate healthcare to the person in front of me, not worrying if my coworker is going to respect me in the workplace.
We must make our movement more inclusive. But doing so includes our interpersonal actions. We cannot lift up inclusion for patients and not apply it to ourselves.
Quinn Jackson, MD, (they/he) is a family medicine physician in Kansas and fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health.
How did IT ever pass basic anatomy?
I’m sure I speak for many - when ever I read any of these sorts of articles - I completely get lost - is this a “she” pretending to be a “he” or the other way round. Usually I just give up since there is really nothing there that is really going to matter.
I think all these articles should start with a full disclosure - something like “Someone who was Larry and is now going by Donna” is writing this. Then you wouldn’t have to think so hard and at my age - that’s something.
Nonsense!
Ah yes inclusive except for the aborted babies.
We have insane people practicing medicine. What a country!
I couldn’t get more than about a third of the way through this. Have you ever noticed that people with this worldview all express themselves in exactly the same way: the same words, expressions, and concepts? It’s as if they have been programmed.
It’s pronouns are idiot/moron
FR admins would do well to disallow ANY "trans" or even homo sexual articles because every word read is imprinted in the mind.
The ultimate self-hating woman
I was supposed to do some new training at work for a new contract I’m working on. After 10 minutes of listening to a transgender “woman” getting berated by a male For changing his gender, I had had enough and turned it off.
Do you suppose it’s patient base is expanding or shrinking?
Why would I want an insane person for a doctor?
Can you imagine you join a new clinic and they assign you the tranny doctor? At your first meeting, you discover what they assigned you. Ugh.
I had a video call with my doctor this morning. His name was on the screen followed by “(He/Him).” It struck me as really odd and I thought there was some software bug at first until it finally dawned on me what I was seeing. Ugh Ugh. Insanity is growing by leaps and bounds.
Man. He’s a man.
Well, not really.
Insanity is just a modern, polite term for demonic possession, as this individual illustrates.
Quinn,
You are not trans. No one is.
To help with that, when you encounter trans, substitute the word fake.
For example, a trans woman is a fake woman, and thus a man, someone with XY chromosomes.
Just sincerely hope this abortionist is a homo trannie too. That’s the hat trick!
Albeit, a man with a uterus.
Oh, I had it backward. She’s a woman.
No, it’s a woman that wants everyone to pretend she is a man.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.