The Forced Teaming of the Identity Alphabet Soup

"Hi, I'm Sligh, your snurse. My preferred pronouns are Sley/Slem."

This is a response to a post by Uchenna Umeh, MD.

https://www.kevinmd.com/2022/05/lgbtq-basics-10-things-your-queer-patient-wishes-you-knew.html

Many homosexuals feel that the term "queer" is a homophobic slur. I am not alone in wondering what "queer" even means these days. I know what gay, lesbian, and bisexual mean. Unless I was providing mental health treatment to someone based on discomfort with or bullying over their sexual orientation, I see no reason why I would need to know said sexual orientation. When I worked as a nurse before becoming disabled, I treated all of my patients, their family members, and my co-workers with respect and dignity. I never once demanded to know their sexual orientation before doing so.

The forced teaming of T and all the other letters with LGB causes more problems than it solves. T refers to gender identity. Gender identity is not a sexual orientation. Q is tied in with queer theory which many people of all sexual orientations reject. The Pronoun Brigade has been instrumental in taking the focus away from women in branches of healthcare that exist solely for the treatment of female health issues including pregnancy and menstruation. No male will ever menstruate or become pregnant. Referring to pregnant women as "pregnant people," to mothers as "birthing parents" and to women who menstruate as "menstruators" is dehumanizing language purported to be "inclusive" while erasing women. 

I would treat a transsexual patient with the same respect that I treated any other patient. However, I draw the line at corrosive ideology such as "saying only women have a cervix is transphobic" and calling women "cervix-havers or "uterus-havers." No male will ever have a cervix. Transwomen are biologically male. No female will ever have a prostate. Transmen are biologically female. This does not mean they are deserving of scorn or disrespect. It means that biological reality needs to be acknowledged in medicine in order to provide the best care for each patient.

The following was not included in my comment.

The post author states that:

"The best way to begin any conversation is, “Hello, my name is Dr. Lulu, and my pronouns are she/her. May I ask what yours are?” This sends a subtle message to your patient that you are a safe space.

If any physician said that to me, my response would be "I refuse to participate in a homophobic and misogynistic Orwellian ideology. If I desired metaphysical Woo Woo with my medical care, I would have consulted a witch doctor."

The Pronoun Brigade's safe spaces feel entirely unsafe for a gender-critical Truly Exceptional Real Female who is Tired of Explaining Reality to Fuckwits.

~Sligh Has Spoughken~

Stock image by Julia Henze

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