Discover Your City
Restaurant kitchen behind the scenes
Five years ago, the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements called out top chefs and personalities for perpetrating alleged sexual harassment and abuse and for allowing the behavior to thrive in their hyper-masculine restaurant kitchens.
But did the movement improve kitchens for LGBTQ chefs, especially transgender chefs?
OUTvoices spoke with trans chefs about their experiences working in restaurants and commercial kitchens recently. Many of the chefs said kitchen environments are starting to change, but it depends on the leadership which is why many of these chefs have struck out on their own. They've opened restaurants, catering businesses, and food products to create the kitchens of their dreams: nurturing and supportive environments where the trans and queer people feel safe and can thrive cooking up their culinary creations.
Acceptance in Nontraditional Kitchens
Acceptance in fine dining to fast-food restaurants is hard to come by for many trans restaurant workers, especially in the kitchen.
It is unknown how many trans chefs work in kitchens. Statistics about the number of LGBTQ chefs, let alone trans chefs, and their experiences working in restaurants to commercial kitchens do not exist. There are only a few articles highlighting trans chefs.
Many trans chefs said they found acceptance in nontraditional kitchens, such as food banks or vegetarian or vegan restaurants. When they aspired to broaden their skills and horizons in fine dining or at chain restaurants, acceptance became hard to come by.
Trans chefs echo each other when they talk about their experiences in the kitchen. Some trans and gender-nonconforming kitchen staff are able to hide behind their aprons, but for others, especially trans women, it's not so simple. Many trans women chefs talk about not being allowed to be comfortable in their gender identity at work with managers denying them to wear makeup or dresses. Some talked about being groped in the kitchen and enduring anti-transgender comments and jokes.
Finding Yourself and Being Comfortable
Trans chef Telly Justice found community, herself, and a career at vegetarian and vegan cafes in the South before venturing into fine dining.
"It was like a Petri dish for growth and development as a person," said Justice, 35, who started out at the age of 18 with no culinary skills. Born and raised outside of Philadelphia, she fled to South Carolina working in vegetarian kitchens before making the leap to fine dining working her way up in kitchens in Savannah and Atlanta before ultimately landing in New York.
Justice is now a restauranteur about to open Hags, a queer fine dining restaurant in New York, with her business and life partner sommelier Camille Lindsley, a 29-year-old queer woman.
Justice said the warm and welcoming environment she found in the vegetarian restaurants quickly faded once she entered fine dining to build her culinary chops.
"I wanted to grow. I wanted to learn more," she said. "I didn't see how my identity in these spaces would be handled any differently.
"It was very shocking to me moving into these fine dining establishments," Justice said. Being out and proud expressing her transness and queerness "was very, very, very discouraged."
Then there were the anti-trans and queer comments by her co-workers.
"I would say a lot of the transphobia and homophobia that I experienced was not necessarily pointed or specific to me. It was cultural due to the nature of the work," she said beginning to cry as she recalled moments. "The space is so profoundly oriented to straight men, that they don't even consider what their actions do to other people. For them, it's all in fun. It's this boys club. I don't think that they are actively aware of the damage that male bonding does to people that are not straight, white men."
Yet, she doesn't believe the abuse was done maliciously calling the harshest abuses "accidental abuses" that happened while she was in the room.
The lack of awareness and hostility wears on LGBTQ people, especially trans people, making many trans chefs walk away from the hospitality industry.
"It's incredibly difficult to stay in this career field for over a decade when every day you just know that you're going to be the only person in the room who looks like you," Justice said.
Abuse in Commercial Kitchens
Marino Benedetto, nonbinary chef, founder, and owner of Yeah Dawg, vegan hot dogs
Photo credit: Heather Cassell
Restaurant kitchens aren't the only kitchens trans chefs experience harassment. Some commercial kitchens in the food industry are rife with similar abuse.
Marino Benedetto, 39-year-old nonbinary chef, founder, and owner of Yeah Dawg, vegan hot dogs, in Brooklyn was relieved when the commercial kitchen he operated out of closed in 2020.
Benedetto entered the culinary world by working in restaurants when he was 18-years old.
"When I first started working in restaurants, it was so much worse than it is now," Benedetto told OUTvoices about enduring sexual harassment.
Once he complained to a woman supervisor about a "guy touching my ass" in the kitchen. Her response was, "Oh, that's just how they are. They don't mean anything by it. Just don't let it get to you, he said.
"As a queer kid, it was horrible," Benedetto said about the harassment on top of the 60-hour workweek, low pay, and no benefits.
"I did it for a bunch of years and all it did was burn me out and made me unhealthy," Benedetto told OUTvoices.
Benedetto was able to get the work-life balance he desired when he launched Yeah Dawg in 2013. But he didn't get away from sexist and anti-trans harassment in the kitchen despite hoping the environment in a commercial kitchen would be different. He was harassed for being transgender by other business owners working in the kitchen as he transitioned with no support from the kitchen's management.
"They would make fun of me like, 'Oh, you have a mustache now,'" he said. "They would say things like 'We like lesbians when they look like women, but when they look like that. It's not cute.'"
After six years, Benedetto found a better commercial kitchen, that is all-vegan, and is more aligned with his values.
"It's just a different environment. It feels great. I feel better having staff working there," he said about not wanting his staff to experience the harassment he endured. "It's been a long road. Now, I'm happy where we're at."
Finding Harmony in the Kitchen
In the kitchen cooking up vegetarian delights, restaurateur and chef Nat
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Café Flora
Trans chefs following their passion into the heat of the kitchen is a struggle for many, but it isn't every trans chef's experience.
Trans chef Nat Stratton-Clarke, who owns Café Flora's family of bakeries and restaurants in Seattle, had positive experiences.
A Berkeley native, Stratton-Clarke, worked in kitchens starting at Ann Walker Catering in Marin in the San Francisco Bay Area when he was 16-years old. He continued working in kitchens when he headed East for college at Hampshire College in Western Massachusetts. Studying social justice, Stratton-Clarke thought his love for food was going to be a hobby, not a career path, but the pull of the kitchen was too strong. He continued to work in kitchens in Massachusetts and in New York before settling in Seattle. Stratton-Clarke started working for Café Flora, one of America's first vegetarian restaurants and a popular local spot in Seattle's Madison Valley neighborhood, and eventually was given the opportunity to own the nearly 30-year-old restaurant.
"It was Cafe Flora that really made me realize that I can actually do both," said Stratton-Clarke, who didn't always have an easy time in the kitchen. "I can be part of the culinary world and participate in social justice movements. You can combine your loves."
Stratton-Clarke told OUTvoices before becoming the owner of Café Flora and its siblings The Flora Bakehouse and Floret, at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, he worked in kitchens that were unaccepting and accepting that he is transgender, he said.
"Definitely, being trans in this industry has had its challenges and kitchens can definitely be a challenging place to be," said Stratton-Clarke who admitted he worked in some kitchens where "it was really, really hard" and other kitchens where "they were totally great."
What made the biggest difference for him in the kitchen was accepting himself.
"For me, it was a huge moment of accepting who I am," he said. "It also made me able to follow my passions and be the person that I am today."
Trans Chef Chris Trapani, left, owner of Urban Cowboy Catering serving his culinary creations at an event.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Urban Cowboy Catering
Trans chef Chris Trapani, who owns Urban Cowboy food truck in Austin, also had a positive experience in the most unlikely place when he transitioned, he told Eater. He was 30-years old at the time and working for an Alabama-based company.
Alabama is making headlines for passing anti-trans bills to block trans youth from obtaining hormone blockers and a surprise "Don't Say Gay" amendment to a transgender bathroom bill April 7. Alabama still doesn't have an anti-discrimination law like many states. Until 2020, when the Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act includes protecting LGBTQ employees, transgender people could still be fired for being trans as well as their gay, lesbian, and bisexual peers. The Equality Act is still making its way through Congress.
"I didn't know how they were going to react, or if they would understand," but his employer and clients supported him, Trapani told Eater.
It was long before he became the first known transgender chef to appear on the Food Network's "Chopped: Great Food Truck Race" in the United States in 2014. Four years later he took India by storm as a guest of Indian gay-owned hospitality leader LaLit Hotels, Palaces, and Resorts developing the concept for the LaLit Food Truck Company and appeared on India's Food Network.
Learning to Grow While Staying in Your Hometown
Some trans chefs aren't leaving their hometowns to find acceptance and community in big cities but forging a path in the places they grew up.
Trans chef and writer Stacy Jane Grover wrote an essay about fellow trans chef, who she only identified as Astrid, and her experiences in the kitchen in Bitch Magazine last year.
The Appalachian Ohio trans chefs found themselves and their calling in the kitchen and decided to stay in their local community rather than striking out to the big city.
Grover escaped the transphobia of her high school early into culinary school. Astrid escaped directly into the kitchen.
Grover found she could hide her body behind the androgynous apron and focus on developing her cooking skills. It eventually allowed her to come out to the support of her classmates.
"Cooking taught me that my body-one that had produced only shame and confusion-could produce joy," Grover wrote.
Like Grover, Astrid explained, "In the kitchen, I fit in."
Astrid learned that she could be accepted for her abilities through criticism, hard work, camaraderie, teamwork, and how to speak up for herself in the kitchen.
The kitchen is where both trans women chefs found confidence in their cooking skills and the ability to be themselves at work.
Despite harassment and not feeling like they could be out trans women in their towns, Astrid explained to Grover that she never considered leaving her community, her family, and the regional restaurant scene.
"I never really thought to go anywhere else. Any type of restaurant and any level of service from casual to fine dining can be found here. This is where I'm from, so why would I leave?" Astrid said.
Grover returned to Appalachian Ohio after culinary school and discovered by creating her culinary career where she was born and raised that, "Food has reconnected me with a place I thought had shunned me," she wrote.
These chefs along with other queer chefs struck out on their own to shape and redefine harsh abusive kitchen environments in their own vision. Their audacity and bravery as well as the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements five years later are inspiring changes for some fine dining and chain restaurants' kitchens to extend hospitality beyond guests to staff.
Increasingly queerer and kinder kitchens are rising across the country. Small restaurants to bigger restaurant brands kitchens are envisioning and modeling a more hospitable and supportive environment for staff in the back and front of the house.
How to Make Sure Everyone Feels Safe
Chef Surbhi Sahni, queer owner of Tagmo in New York, says she's creating a safe space for LGBTQ people of color to work in the restaurant industry. She is doing that by allowing staff the "freedom to be themselves" but beyond that having "respect for wherever they are," in their personal and professional journey, she said.
Executive Chef Hillary Sterling at Ci Siamo, restauranteur Danny Meyer's latest addition to the Union Square Hospitality Group's fine dining establishments in New York City, is happy to be an out lesbian chef.
Her presence "really kind of shows people that it is possible" to be a leader as a gay woman. Part of that is "making sure that our community feels safe and comfortable," she said fully aware that her team attracts other talented queer people and women.
"A lot of people do want to come here because it is a safe environment, they can be who they are, and free," Sterling said noting that it is just as important to welcome staff like welcoming guests to the restaurant. "The hospitality industry is about welcoming guests into your business just as much welcoming your team and giving them that same service and support as you would any guest."
Word is spreading. Employees at Hags and Yeah Dawg come from word of mouth, Benedetto and Justice said. Tagmo has optimized community service and social media posting employment listings on the Facebook group, Queer-Friendly NYC Employment Opportunities, to attract employees.
"I've only worked with a handful of trans cooks in my entire career and I would say predominantly they are all in the past two years," said Justice, who is excited to work with the restaurant's queer and trans staff. "So, to see that happening at all is just an absolute revelation for me in my career."
Hags and Tagmo in New York, Kismet in Los Angeles, and Café Flora in Seattle to Ci Siamo are leading the way. Bigger brands, such as sandwich chain Panera Bread, and Mexican franchise El Pollo Loco, are also paving the path forward.
Things are changing for the better, while a disconnect between leadership and workers continues the calls for more equitable and dignified workplaces are starting to be heard.
"The work is emerging it's still being pushed towards a place of equitability," Justice said. She believes a watershed moment for inclusion in the kitchen is coming, but "we're still like very far away."
To push the movement forward faster, Justice said she would love to see white male chefs to stand up for trans and queer chefs and kitchen workers.
"I would love to see them kind of taking the gauntlet and paving a path for people that don't look like them or occupy a different space," she said.
How to Find Support for Inclusive Workplaces
Support is available for restaurants and commercial kitchens to become more welcoming and inclusive for LGBTQ employees, including nonbinary gender workers, through New York-based HospitableMe and Los Angeles-based TransCanWork.
Founded in 2016 by trans woman Michaela Mendelsohn, TransCanWork has provided 500 employers and 2,500 job-seekers throughout the United States with the training to ensure comfortable work environments for gender-expansive employees and guests.
TransCanWork calls transgender, gender-variant and intersex people TGI.
Mendelsohn is familiar with the restaurant industry and TGI people's struggles in the industry. She owns and manages six El Pollo Loco franchises in Southern California, reported the New York Times. She has hired 50 trans employees, most of them women of color, at her restaurants over the last several years.
Mendelsohn also worked to make cultural sensitivity training to recognize anti-LGBTQ harassment California law, with Senate Bill (SB) 396 in 2017. Then California Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law which went into effect in 2018
Catch the action from Washington, D.C. live on OutVoices.US
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 2022 ASANA Softball World Series will bring together nearly 70 of the most competitive adult softball teams in the country to Washington, D.C. August 16 – 20. The tournament, which welcomes LGBTQ cisgender women, transgender men, transgender women, and non-binary people and their allies, will bring together top teams from nearly 30 cities across the country. The event is being welcomed to the D.C. area by the Chesapeake & Potomac Softball League (CAPS), the DC area’s LGBTQ softball league, members of which are serving as the hosting committee for the tournament.
“We are very excited to be heading to the D.C. area this year for the 2022 ASANA Softball World Series,” said ASANA Commissioner Angela Smith. “The Host Committee has been fantastic to work with to make sure this event is one of our best ever. I know all of our teams are looking forward to experiencing all there is to do and see in the area and playing some incredible softball along the way.”
“Having the bid to host the ASANA World Series before the pandemic, the DC community was eagerly anticipating the event,” said Tony Mace, Co-Chair of the DC Host Committee. “Little did we know that the world would shut down for over a year, but our Host City committee never stopped working to bring the best player experience for ASANA athletes and families. After three years in the making, the Host City committee and I are looking forward to welcoming the first players who arrive.”
For the fourth consecutive year, a selection of the tournament games, including all championship games, will be live-streamed in partnership with the Cloud Sports Network (CSN) through the ASANA Facebook page and YouTube channel. But, for the first time ever, those games will also be available to stream for free on OutVoices.us through an exclusive partnership agreement.
“Typically the ASANA Softball World Series will get anywhere from 40,000 to 50,000 unique viewers each year just from the ASANA social media channels,” said Roman Jimenez. “That’s an already large and highly targeted audience who want to watch LGBTQ cis women, trans men, trans women, and non-binary softball players compete at the highest level. To be able to increase that audience by a factor of 3 or 4 as a result of our partnership with OutVoices.us is an incredible opportunity for a much larger portion of our community to be exposed to competitive sports by and for our community and our allies.”
For those who haven’t seen their coverage before, Jimenez cautions against having low expectations. “We’re not just a lone cell camera jury-rigged to a backstop,” he said. “We have multiple cameras, on-field microphones, on-screen graphics, instant replay, and professional broadcasters describing the action as it’s unfolding. We are as close to the Queer version of ESPN as you can get.”
The Cloud Sports broadcast team includes as its analyst ASANA Hall of Famer Rosalyn Bugg, who in addition to having competed as both a coach and player at the ASANA Softball World Series, is also the Commissioner of the Women’s + division of the Greater Los Angeles Softball Association (GLASA) and runs that division’s tournament at the Sin City Classic, the largest annual LGBTQ sporting event in the world. In 2022, Bugg was also inducted into the GLASA Hall of Fame. Describing the action play-by-play will be Jimenez, a veteran broadcaster and softball player, and coach who has helmed various championship teams for over 25 years. In 2019 Jimenez was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his hometown LGBTQ softball league in San Diego, America’s Finest City Softball League (AFCSL). In addition, both Bugg and Jimenez are championship-certified USA Softball umpires.
“Both Roman and I know the game,” said Bugg, “and we work great together as a team.”
As part of the 2021 ASANA Softball World Series broadcast, Bugg introduced player shout-outs to family members and friends who were watching the broadcast. This created an incredibly engaging atmosphere on the ASANA social platforms.
“I love highlighting not only the action on the field but also the players responsible for it,” Bugg said. “This tournament is all about the players and telling their stories is a privilege we take very seriously.”
The ASANA Softball World Series will consist of four divisions. The B Division is the highest level of skill and often includes players with a history of playing the fast-pitch version of the sport in high school or college level. The C Division includes players who, while highly skilled, aren’t quite at the same level as the B Division-caliber of players, or whose skills may have slowed with age. The D and E Divisions are for both newer players and for those who may have aged out of the higher divisions. Since many players have been playing in ASANA-affiliated associations for 20+ years, many will have experienced every division of play before settling into where their skills are currently best suited.
In total, nearly 3,000 athletes will be headed to D.C. for this year’s event and as you might guess, in addition to hundreds of volunteers, it takes a lot of money to make an event like the 2022 ASANA Softball World Series even possible. For that, both ASANA and the CAPS Host Committee have been engaging with sponsors to help offset costs.
“We want to thank our sponsors on both the national and local levels. Without them we couldn’t provide the experience we do for our players, their families, and for our fans,” said Smith. “We look forward to being able to share these experiences with them and with our live-streaming audience on our social channels and right here on OutVoices.us.”
Coverage begins Thursday, August 25th with early tournament play, continuing during “Elimination Friday” on August 26th all the way through to “Championship Saturday” on August 27th, when all four divisional championships will be broadcast. Stay tuned to this page for updates on game time and team announcements and to watch the games live.
ASANA — Amateur Sports Alliance of North America — was created in 2007 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of amateur athletics for all persons regardless of gender, age, race, creed, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation with a special emphasis on the participation of women, trans men, trans women, non-binary and agendered people.
The organization currently has 25 member cities across the United States and hosts the annual ASANA Softball World Series which brings together over 70 teams for a 4-day championship tournament. The World Series has four divisions to provide varying competitive levels of play, with "B" being the most skilled and the "E" supporting the most recreational.
6 Best Lesbian Romance Novels in 2022
The One Woman
To connect with stories involving gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer characters, you don't have to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community yourself. These new lesbian romance novels are a must-read for everyone, whether you're hoping to improve your ally skills or are just seeking a really awesome book. Check out our book recommendations now since they are DEFINITELY worth your time.
The One Woman By Laura May
The One Woman, a New sapphic romance novel by Laura May. Julie's life and her relationship with her partner Mark are routine in every way. That is until she meets Ann. Web developer Ann is a kind and beautiful person. It is impossible to deny Julie's feelings for Ann. The spark is genuine as their present and past converge in Barcelona. Julie has to choose between her love for Ann and her devotion to Mark when tragedy strikes. Will true love last the distance? You’ll find out in The One Woman.
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Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
Count Your Lucky Stars
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Margot receives the spotlight in Bellefleur's third book Written in the Stars even though she has no intention of entering a committed relationship herself. Margot has been experiencing severe fifth wheel vibes lately. But everything gets mixed up when she runs with her first love, Olivia, who is starting over in Seattle after her divorce. This is especially true when Margot gives Olivia a much-needed place to crash. Can Margot trust the girl who once broke her heart again?
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No Rings Attached by Rachel Lacey
No Rings Attached
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Bookseller Lia only made up having a girlfriend to get her mother to stop berating her, but now that her brother's wedding is quickly approaching, she is forced to stick to her narrative. Her best friend introduces her to Grace, who recently relocated to London, the location of the wedding, and accepts Lia's invitation to go on a date with her. But a series of mishaps (just one bed! ), especially when it comes time to say goodbye and they discover they're not at all prepared to do that, make it a weekend full of unpleasantness.
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In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae
In the Event of Love
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Morgan will have to take on an event in the small hometown she never wanted to see again in order to save her budding publicity career when an awful catastrophe threatens to destroy everything. The girl who crushed her heart after their first and only kiss, Rachel, is still in Fern Falls and has transformed into a seductive lumberjack, which only serves to worsen the situation. Morgan is the ideal candidate to help Rachel's family's tree farm since she can demonstrate that she is still at the top of her public relations game by organizing the world's greatest fundraiser.
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Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Mistakes Were Made
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With a sophomore that mocks the slow-burning face of their debut by opening with a hookup that'll have you fanning your face for days, Wilsner displays their serious romance range. The said connection involves Cassie, a senior in college, and Erin, an attractive older woman she meets at a pub and who Cassie soon discovers is the mother of one of her best friends. The delicate balancing act of keeping that night a secret while giving in to the sexiest chemistry either of them has ever felt begins, which is made much more difficult by the fact that they are going on a full break together. Can they say goodbye when their vacation comes to an end, or is there something here that they simply cannot ignore, no matter the price?
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I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
I Kissed Shara Wheeler
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Being named valedictorian of her high school has been Chloe Green's main motivation since she relocated from Southern California to a rural Alabama town. But when Shara Wheeler, her competitor for valedictorian, kisses her a month before graduation, Chloe is left looking for explanations—and Shara herself. Chloe will have to work with Shara's quarterback boyfriend and her bad-boy neighbor to decipher the cryptic notes they have each received in order to find out where she has gone. Can Shara be located and brought back in time for graduation?
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Diane Hayes is an online writer and editor.
LGBTQ+-affirming healthcare
Finding suitable healthcare can be difficult for everyone, but those in the LGBTQ+ community have an extra hurdle to contend with: finding a healthcare practitioner who is not only supportive of LGBTQ+ folk but also experienced in treatments that are more likely to be required by members of the community.
Everyone deserves to be able to access healthcare that suits them, so why is this often so hard for LGBTQ+ people to find?
Poor Training
Seven out of ten LGBTQ patients report having negative experiences while accessing healthcare, and this is completely unsurprising when you consider the shortage of healthcare practitioners who are well-versed in issues that are overrepresented in, or even exclusive to, the LGBTQ+ community.
Hormone replacement therapy, experience treating intersex patients, gender affirmation surgery, and HIV treatment and prevention are only a handful of things that a professional working closely with members of the LGBTQ+community should be experienced in and comfortable with, but how many are?
Unless your healthcare practitioner takes a particular interest in these areas or has significant experience in dealing with them, it’s likely that they have only spent a measly five hours studying LGBTQ+ issues as part of their medical training. This can create an unfortunate catch-22 situation where doctors do not feel comfortable treating these conditions, leading to avoidance and lack of opportunity to build up their knowledge and real-world experience.
Under-representation Of LGBTQ People In The Medical Community
While more comprehensive training would go some way to increasing access to high-quality healthcare for LGBTQ people, studying can only go so far; those with lived experience of the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community can offer insights and empathy that those outside the community cannot, despite their best efforts.
Stanford University conducted a study that found that 30 percent of medical students who were part of the LGBTQ+ community hid their sexual or gender identity. In addition, around 40 percent of medical students who self-identified as “not heterosexual” said that they were wary of facing discrimination. If we extrapolate this to healthcare professionals in the workplace, it’s not surprising that it can be hard for LGBTQ patients to find a practitioner who is also openly part of the community.
Encouraging more LGBTQ people to enter healthcare professions, and ensuring that those who are already working in healthcare feel able to embrace their sexuality or gender identity, are key to helping LGBTQ patients find healthcare that meets their needs.
Bias And Stereotypes
Whether intentional or subconscious, bias and harmful stereotypes are endemic throughout the medical community. “For example, from the moment you enter the waiting room and are handed paperwork asking your gender, with only male and female boxes available to tick, you can be made to feel unwelcome, misunderstood, and alienated,” explains Benita Martines, a journalist at OXEssays and Paperfellows.
Due to previous negative experiences, LGBTQ people can feel reluctant to offer information about their sexual orientation or gender to a healthcare provider. Equally, professionals can be wary of asking for this information in case it offends the patient. As this information can have a very real impact on medical decisions, it’s crucial that the medical community get comfortable with discussing these issues in a way that includes and empowers LGBTQ folk.
Lack of Transgender Care
“The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force recently conducted a survey which revealed that a shocking 19 percent of trans and gender non-conforming people have been refused medical care,” explains Mark Dobbins, writer at Boomessays and UKWritings.
In addition, transphobic terminology is rife in the medical community and is often used without consideration of how unwelcome it can make trans patients feel. Worryingly, the same survey found that half of the respondents have had to explain some transgender-specific medical terms to healthcare professionals.
Although the healthcare industry has a long way to go in becoming inclusive, accessible, and supportive to members of the LGBTQ+ community, progress is being made. For example, John Hopkins University School of Medicine has updated its curriculum to help its graduates care for a more diverse range of patients.
In the meantime, finding a healthcare provider who is understanding and supportive of your needs can feel like an impossible task, but don’t give up; everyone deserves good healthcare, and there are some excellent LGBTQ+-friendly practitioners out there.
Madeline Miller is a writer at Academized, as well as a business development manager at Essay Services and State Of Writing.
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