June Message from the Directors: On Being an Ally
director's message Heading link
June is Pride Month.
What do you think about when Pride Month comes up? Maybe Midsommarfest in Andersonville, the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Humboldt Park, PrideFest and the Pride Parade in North Halsted, Pride in the Park in the Loop at Grant Park, Pride North in Rogers Park, Navy Pier Pride, and Pride South Side in Hyde Park. These are all great events to go to and there are many more to consider.
For those in the LGBTQ+ community, it is also a time to celebrate visibility, albeit while having some fun, and to take account of where progress has been made for the community, where work needs to be done, and where the community needs to come together in unity to respond to how the world perceives and responds to it. LGBTQ+ folks remember that social progress has come through hard work, thanks to Stonewall pioneers.
For the LGBTQ+ community’s allies – and mind you, the status of being an ally is conferred upon individuals by community members – it’s a very good time to assess how to manifest allyship. Is it through going to Pride events? Perhaps supporting LGBTQ+ businesses throughout the year? Are LGBTQ+ community needs kept in mind when allies vote? Is a call-out or a call-in made when a discriminatory incident is witnessed? The point is, there are many ways to be an ally, but this year, given the current political climate, there are some ways that are more impactful and, quite frankly, necessary.
According to the ACLU, there are currently 491 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the US.1 And according to CNN Politics, the quantity of legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community has increased by about 230% in one year.2 While we, as state university faculty and staff, try not to be political during our work lives, one thing as healthcare professionals remains clear, we must strive to provide clinically appropriate care for our clients and we must also help ensure that individuals’ rights and access to healthcare are not compromised. Healthcare is a human right.
If we drill down just a little bit, 142 of the bills are healthcare-related, and more than two-thirds of these are seeking to stop provision of gender-affirming care, including proposing felony charges for healthcare providers who help patients <26 years of age navigate gender affirmation services.3
Some of the bills are banning the discussion of two same-gender parents in schools, prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, while others are promoting that schools disclose gay, lesbian, or transgender and nonbinary students to their parents rather than provide a supportive environment, potentially creating conflict (or danger) at home. These trends are negatively impacting the entire LGBTQ+ community. The refusal to provide individuals access to gender affirmation services will cause harm. The banning of drag, however you feel about it, or of gender expression outside of binary heteronormative terms, is discriminatory. LGBTQ+ youth will not see themselves in performances, read about themselves in (now banned) books, nor will many have access to appropriate support services.4
The use of legislation to further marginalize the LGBTQ+ community is a political ploy to turn hate into votes. Many people in the LGBTQ+ community are afraid. People are packing up their lives and leaving states with severe anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.5
Please, help. Be empathetic and show intention with your words and in your actions. Help prevent health disparities in a community that is already marginalized. Advocate for appropriate treatments. Provide standard of care services.
For ways on how to be supportive of patients from the LGBTQ+ community in your care, please use some of the resources below.
With that said, happy Pride!
Contributed by:
Charlie Peterson (he/him), Manager, Project Wish, Co-Chair, Committee for the Status of LGBTQ+ People
James Flamm (he/him), Assistant Director, College of Medicine Records & Registration, Co-Chair, Committee for the Status of LGBTQ+ People
Resources
- https://www.herzing.edu/blog/support-patients-within-your-local-lgbtq-community?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content
- https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-care/creating-lgbtq-friendly-practice
- https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/patient-care/care-resources/lbgtq.html
References
- https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights
- https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/politics/anti-lgbtq-plus-state-bill-rights-dg/index.html
- https://translegislation.com/
- https://www.them.us/story/anti-lgbtq-legislation-bills-tracker-us
- https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medical-exiles-families-flee-states-crackdown-transgender-care/