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Post by yojetak on Feb 27, 2010 1:17:33 GMT -5
I know we have a bunch of awesome posters here who are transgender, and I'm really in need of your help.
One of my classes (favorite class of all time) is taught by a woman named Terri Kapsalis who specializes in Transgender gynecology. She's awesome. She even wrote a book about the history of gynecology called Public Privates. If you ever want to know how brutal the beginnings of women's health care really was, read that book. Opened my eyes.
Anywho. Each person is assigned a reading in the class and is required to create something in response to that writing. It could be anything.
My reading is an essay called "I Can't Afford to get Sick" by Leslie Feinberg. It's about the author's experiences as an intersex person with the medical community and the stigma's attached to not being one of the binary genders.
So I've been brainstorming. Since I'm not intersex/trans myself, and I know many of you are, I think it would be awesome to collect some of your stories in dealing with the medical community. Do you dread going to a doctor? Do you really like your doctor? Any horror stories? Good stories? Anything relating to you and medicine.
I'll keep you anonymous, unless you say you would like me to use your name. If you prefer, you can send me a pm.
I think I'll either compile them into a collection or do a dramatic reading. I'll tell you how it goes.
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Post by Nihilist on Feb 27, 2010 1:29:12 GMT -5
I actually have been thankful that my lack of insurance has prevented me from going to the doctor- sure I can't afford therapy, hormones, etc, but then nobody touches me. But when I was younger and actually went to the doctor, they performed breast/pelvic exams and I would always try to finagle out of them because I didn't associate myself with my genitals, and that being touched in that way was a violation of my personal code- not in a prudish sense but that... they're treating my parts as if they're one, when I'm not that at all.
I remember being suicidal last year, I remember somehow my mom drove me to emergency, and I remember hunching over in the little paper nighty they give me, sitting there with my shit exposed for them to see and judge and ask why the hell I want to commit suicide.
Although I've had far more problems with my mother growing up, convinced I'm going to Hell, giving me exorcisms, waking me up in the middle of the night to say the doctors saw my parts and deemed me a girl because anatomy knows all.
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Post by Magnizeal on Feb 27, 2010 3:17:29 GMT -5
I actually haven't had any problems, mostly because our doctor is pretty damned open minded. Also because I don't care either way about my genitals. Then again, when I had the lump in my breast, I had to deal with trying not to hope for breast cancer, because I am smart enough to know I don't want that. So... that probably doesn't help at all. I'll poke Oriet to respond.
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Post by yojetak on Feb 27, 2010 17:29:58 GMT -5
<333 Thanks guys.
Can you think of anywhere I could post a request for stories that would generate a lot of replies? I was thinking of posting a craigslist ad, but I don't know of any forums that I could go to for help with this.
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Post by Mira on Feb 27, 2010 17:40:49 GMT -5
Seeing as my physician has no idea still (I've made no physical changes as my HRT-quest is currently halted... my therapist is looking for a new doctor. *sigh*) I thought I didn't have anything to contribute, but remembered that I have a short tale that may be of significance.
One would think that since they work with hormones and glands, endocrinologists would be where to go for HRT treatment. However, when I went to an appointment with an endocrinologist, he pretty much said he won't treat transsexuals. Despite treating all sorts of endocrine issues, even hormone replacement in menopausal women and stopping puberty in kids who start early, he said he wouldn't feel comfortable putting me on HRT because of his lack of expertise.
Out of the 10 million people living in this area, not one of them seems to do HRT for GID patients T_T.
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Post by yojetak on Feb 27, 2010 18:08:48 GMT -5
So I whipped up something I think would be good to post on various places. Tell me what you think. Should I change anything? I want to be sensitive to trans/intersex issues, but I admit that I'm woefully undereducated about the subject. Thanks for your help so far guys.
The post:
Are you transgender or intersex? I need your help.
I'm a student studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In one of my classes I've been asked to create a response to the essay by Leslie Feinberg called "I Can't Afford to Get Sick." In it, Feinberg accounts of the effect that being intersex/transgender has had on dealing with medical staff and doctors, and the stigma attached to not being one of the binary genders.
For my response, I've been collecting various accounts from transgender and intersex people about how they've been treated by the medical community. I will be sharing the collection once I gather a decent amount of responses, but this will be an ongoing project.
My goal for this project is summed up by Feinberg's quote from the same essay:
"You might feel such seething rage at health care workers that you would stand up with us as trans people against them. But that's not my goal. I want you to be angry about the abuses we have suffered. I want you to help us create zero tolerance for gender-phoia and trans-phobia in the health care industry. But I believe that pitting patients against health care staff only exacerbates the problem. The only way we can begin to create change in the care of trans people is to open up a dialogue with health care workers.
But there are obstacles that prevent such a discussion from taking place. Bigotry is pandemic in this society, so the education of health care workers has to be part of our larger struggle to build alliances between everyone to suffers discrimination and prejudice."
So as a person who knows the power of discrimination personally, my question to you is:
How has being transgendered or intersex affected your medical treatment? Could you share a memorable story? Have your interactions been good? Bad? Do you dread going to a doctor? Do you really like your doctor? Any horror stories? Good stories? Any sage advice for the medical community?
It would help if you could include the following information, but you can also remain anonymous. The following is completely optional.
1. First name and last initial
2. Age
3. The gender you prefer to be recognized as (if any)
I appreciate your help! Thank you for your time.
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Post by yojetak on Mar 1, 2010 2:06:22 GMT -5
So I've been getting some pretty nasty responses... One person went so far as to accuse me of exploiting all trans people. FFS.
Sharing stories is exploitation? Ugh... I might have to scrap this project.
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Post by Mira on Mar 1, 2010 3:02:55 GMT -5
The fuck?
Tell them some of your best forum friends are trans... >.>
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Post by Amaranth on Mar 1, 2010 8:14:53 GMT -5
So I've been getting some pretty nasty responses... One person went so far as to accuse me of exploiting all trans people. FFS. Sharing stories is exploitation? Ugh... I might have to scrap this project. You wants I should hurt them? |
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Post by Vene on Mar 1, 2010 8:33:35 GMT -5
So I've been getting some pretty nasty responses... One person went so far as to accuse me of exploiting all trans people. FFS. Sharing stories is exploitation? Ugh... I might have to scrap this project. I have an idea, try talking to the person that hosts this blog. It deals a lot with transsexual issues and coming from somebody they already trust, you're more likely to get positive feedback. Just a wild guess, but did you get that response from trueselves? |
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Post by yojetak on Mar 1, 2010 12:40:33 GMT -5
So I've been getting some pretty nasty responses... One person went so far as to accuse me of exploiting all trans people. FFS. Sharing stories is exploitation? Ugh... I might have to scrap this project. I have an idea, try talking to the person that hosts this blog. It deals a lot with transsexual issues and coming from somebody they already trust, you're more likely to get positive feedback. Just a wild guess, but did you get that response from trueselves? Nope, twas craigslist. I might just do a drawing instead of having to deal with people. People on the internet can be ridiculous at times. |
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Post by Bezron on Mar 1, 2010 12:52:26 GMT -5
Yeah, stay away from Craigslist for this type of thing, especially the local Chicago boards. It's like the asshole of 4chan. |
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Post by yojetak on Mar 1, 2010 13:36:27 GMT -5
Yeah, stay away from Craigslist for this type of thing, especially the local Chicago boards. It's like the asshole of 4chan. I actually posted on the sanfran boards. but lesson learned. |
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Post by Lady Renae on Mar 1, 2010 23:09:12 GMT -5
If you're in Chicago, there's a shelter in Uptown with a lot of trans and other individuals of atypical gender and sexuality status. In fact, they kind of specialize in it. (They have an on-site HIV testing area, case workers who help you get sliding scale medical and therapy, clothing runs, and everything... it's pretty cool) I don't remember the name (unfortunately), but if one of the two of us can find it and you're interested, it might be a good local source.
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