Gender-Curious Care

(vs Gender Essentialism)

MPP Wong-Tam:

Kristyn, hello, I just attended the event at the church about gender-affirming care, and as I study the media very closely, I can tell you that the definitions panelists provided of 'gender-affirming' are NOT what the media portrays -- to 'debunk' the most common counter-arguments you will have to address the following in the debate tomorrow:

DEFINITION FROM THE BILL:  "“gender affirming health care” means procedures, medical treatments and referral processes that align a patient’s body and physical presentation with their gender identity."

This definition is gender essentialist in that it falsely presupposes that gender is an objective fact, rather than a social construction, relative to which care is objectively either -affirming or -denying -- the consequence of this painted constantly in the media is that medical practitioners can therefore be held liable if they counsel any patient not to transition, as I would hope they would have freely counselled myself if I had enquired as a young person.

Over the past year I have heard, for instance, fears from lesbian women that they would have been transitioned inappropriately as teens due to homophobia -- once passing as male their behaviors would pass as straight -- Toronto sexologist Deborah Soh has made this case frequently, that many transitions stem from homophobia and sterilize gay youth, reducing the amount of 'gay' in society, ultimately serving, not as a liberal plot against your kids, but as a eugenic plot against "The Gays".  Please review her work and get in touch with her -- I have cc'ed her here along with Kenneth Zucker.

The definition one panelist provided would be better as a definition of "Gender-Curious Care" rather than of "Gender-Affirming Care", which assumes the answer in advance: the customer is always right -- gender-affirming care produces more total business, and capitalism over-prescribes everything, from ADHD medications to death, due to the inherent business logic of increasing market share & customer base --  I can only assume this is how the conservatives view the world.

Gender-curious care would be curious as to what a patient's socially constructed gender could become, rather than seeking to affirm what it is supposed to be so far.

We must fight all forms of essentialism.

I will add that one very specious argument was raised by the person who provided the 'curious' definition: Puberty and puberty blocking were presented as somehow symmetric -- they are both life-altering changes to one's body, but of course only one is an irreversible change to fertility.
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adamgolding.ca