Is my job transphobic?

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

I am a health care professional. I work in sexual health. Most of my patients are female, an increasing number of whom also have a gender difference, which is why they land up in my clinic.

Is it transphobic to say to a person who has a condition which only affects female people that this is because of their sex? I have re-written patient information leaflets so that trans men and NB identified females have the correct language in the info, but the fact remains that it is a condition linked to their sex.

I'm a little worried because the Lib Dems and Greens have said that it is transphobic to refer too someone's biological sex if they have transitioned. I think their definitions leave me vulnerable to being accused of bigotry because sex is immutable.

I want to talk to HR about this, but, can't quite think about how to frame it without sounding like I'm, well, a bigot.

honestly, whatever terminology we use, it’s never enough.

That is the key point here. It won't be, because this is about power and removing the word "woman" from female people.

You can usefully help them by saying "It sounds as though you might have an infection so I'll need to swab your cervix to check" rather than "Because you are female, I'll need to swab your cervix for infection".

you start referring to things as happening to "people" then it could lead to a reduction of funding . Because 25 percent of 66 million people sounds less worrying than.50 percent of 33 millions people.

Yes I mentioned an actual example upthread of statistics being given wrongly because of this.

You can usefully help them by saying "It sounds as though you might have an infection so I'll need to swab your cervix to check" rather than "Because you are female, I'll need to swab your cervix for infection".

No one would need to use the word "female" in that specific sentence. But in other contexts they may need to do so. And this should be expected.

@DaisyWaldron

Do you need to use the word female when talking to them? Can you not just talk about the body parts affected? Or chromosomes if that's what's relevent.

It’s not going to be medically professional or accurate to say “do you mind if inspect your labia, Sir?” is it 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

What the fuck is going on with the world when medical professionals can’t tell the truth

Jesus wept.

It really should be part of whatever therapy people with gender dysphoria recieve, that whatever interventions they go on to have, that the world is made up of two sexes, neither which can change, and that their bioligical sex is relevant when it comes to healthcare. I still dont understand how trans men can be suicidal over the word 'female' yet go on to have babies. 9 months of being pregnant vs occassionally needing to acknowledge biological sex !

What the fuck is going on with the world when medical professionals can’t tell the truth

What happens if the Dr says, we will need to test your daughter/son for X sex specific condition?

How many unnecessary blood tests and examinations and appointments ( because 2 kids = a double appointment so that's one less appointment fir someone else) should be wasted in order to avoid disclosing the reality.

It really should be part of whatever therapy people with gender dysphoria recieve, that whatever interventions they go on to have, that the world is made up of two sexes, neither which can change, and that their bioligical sex is relevant when it comes to healthcare.

I fully agree.

My profound difficulty with the obfuscating language around this and the extraordinarily high levels of literacy and health literacy it demands are rooted in my age and life experience.

When I was a child, it was well known that only women who'd "slept around" were at risk of cervical cancer. Religiously observant women of any denomination were actively deterred from attending screening even when it was introduced because it was a statement about their sexual experience.

At its most mealy mouthed here was no use pointing out that a widow who remarried would come under this ridiculous description.

Women who plainly had wretched symptoms didn't attend their GP with them because they knew they'd had one sexual partner so it couldn't be cervical cancer.

Of course, scarcely anyone was publicising that your own sexual history could count for pretty much nothing when it came to cervical cancer of the transmission of sexual diseases and that the sexual history of the partner could be a relevant contributory factor.

The past is a different country - and I hate to think of the number of women I knew who died early or had their quality of life ruined because linguistic and social games to the point of deliberate obfuscation (that served the agenda of others) prevented them from seeking or obtaining appropriate healthcare.

If we start using the word cervix and cervical without referring to women or females specifically, it could end up very confusing. Those who don’t know what a cervix is or whether they have one may end up googling it, only to find the definition is “the neck of an organ or structure”.

Oh, I have a neck, I must need a cervical smear test.

You might as well say 'as a table outside a teapot'.

What do we do when people start getting dysphoric about being a "cervix haver"? Move on to the next thing on the euphemism treadmill?

"The euphemism treadmill" -- perfect description, with the implicit warning that once you're on this damn thing it's hard to get off.

@vivariumvivariumsvivaria

I am a health care professional. I work in sexual health. Most of my patients are female, an increasing number of whom also have a gender difference, which is why they land up in my clinic.

Is it transphobic to say to a person who has a condition which only affects female people that this is because of their sex? I have re-written patient information leaflets so that trans men and NB identified females have the correct language in the info, but the fact remains that it is a condition linked to their sex.

I'm a little worried because the Lib Dems and Greens have said that it is transphobic to refer too someone's biological sex if they have transitioned. I think their definitions leave me vulnerable to being accused of bigotry because sex is immutable.

I want to talk to HR about this, but, can't quite think about how to frame it without sounding like I'm, well, a bigot.

It's easy, add AMAB and AFAB and trans people will be able to feel included based on sex assigned at birth. Job done. next?

Its not job done though. Its also false information to say someone was assigned at birth. They weren't. Often their sex was discovered at the 20 week scan. It implies there was a choice or a mistake. Many would view that as also misleading their patient. Remember its their name on the chart/records. The staff are the ones that take the hit when investigated

Why do you need to tell them it is linked to their sex. Can't you just say 'you have vaginal thrush'. Then when speaking to them mention the sex at birth link if necessary.

AMAB AFAB ?? People, the vast majority of whom have no idea about such identify politics will look at that and wonder WTF?

It's not exactly reassuring when you are already worried over a form of cancer!

@Tibtom

Or 'as a male with a vagina/cervix etc'

This is quite simply a corruption of language removing any meaning from words. If 'male' no longer has any meaning, what about 'cervix' and if not they how can you say anything is it not all meaningless? You might as well say 'as a table outside a teapot'.

You're being hysterical. OP asked for options, but you and many others are determined to deny someone their gender identity. Addressing them individually in this way harms no one.

@CrunchyBiscs

Why do you need to tell them it is linked to their sex. Can't you just say 'you have vaginal thrush'. Then when speaking to them mention the sex at birth link if necessary.

It's for leaflets....

There's no reason why you can't have a pile of leaflets clearly identify sex with matching gender, and another pile that is gender neutral using parts of anatomy.

@ArabellaScott

Your primary responsibility is to give clear, factual information.

'Sex' and 'female' and 'woman' are not bad words, OP. They are simple, everyday, commonly used, clear and accurate.

I'm fairly sure a transman is well aware that they are 'female', whatever their gender identity. If they choose to deny or ignore this then I don't know how you can really usefully help them, I'm afraid.

This is the problem, Transmen say there are men and Transwomen say they are women. It's seen as transphobic to disagree with them. People have received a lot of hate for saying a Transwoman isn't a woman, or that the definition of a woman is an Adult Human Female

I’s not going to be medically professional or accurate to say “do you mind if inspect your labia, Sir?” is it

Why not? Should doctors also refuse to address women as MsX on the grounds that they should be Miss or Mrs?

@MolyHolyGuacamole

There's no reason why you can't have a pile of leaflets clearly identify sex with matching gender, and another pile that is gender neutral using parts of anatomy.

Sex and matching gender?

Could you give an example of how you think that would look?

And duplication wouldn't half kill a lot more trees!

@vivariumvivariumsvivaria

I am a health care professional. I work in sexual health. Most of my patients are female, an increasing number of whom also have a gender difference, which is why they land up in my clinic.

Is it transphobic to say to a person who has a condition which only affects female people that this is because of their sex? I have re-written patient information leaflets so that trans men and NB identified females have the correct language in the info, but the fact remains that it is a condition linked to their sex.

I'm a little worried because the Lib Dems and Greens have said that it is transphobic to refer too someone's biological sex if they have transitioned. I think their definitions leave me vulnerable to being accused of bigotry because sex is immutable.

I want to talk to HR about this, but, can't quite think about how to frame it without sounding like I'm, well, a bigot.

Oh, honey.

You're doing all the right, kind, thoughtful, inclusive things. It's a sign of an insane world that you're still frightened, and I am sorry.

@crosspelican

I'm GC, but if a transman is in your clinic and is distressed about having to have a mammogram or a smear, saying "IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE REALLY A FEMALE" just seems needlessly pedantic. They KNOW that, but they're still upset and that's okay. We can be upset about all sorts of things.

"It's because you have some vulnerable anatomy" would be much kinder.