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.

I agree with babyiskicking: As you are asking about face to face discussion with a patient who genuinely believes that they have changed sex, I would use simple language that talks about their body in factual terms. There could be milage in "You were born with ..." or "Your body has ..." so that the conversation stays concrete and about them, rather than getting derailed into abstract concepts like gender.

So "You were born with a cervix, which means you should ..."

If they are upset about the appointment bring in the Women's Health Centre or something, perhaps you can say "This condition usually happens in women, which is why we have our clinic there. But men can use the service too if they need it "