LGBTQ patients face heteronormativity bias in medical settingsHeteronormativity is a cultural bias that presumes heterosexuality is the natural and normal default state of all people.
by The Conversation
04-04-2023 11:15
in LGBTQIA
Expectations of prejudice and discrimination can lead LGBTQ patients to avoid seeking health care. Image: The Conversation.
Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community have long experienced prejudice in medical settings. This can range from microaggressions, such as comments that a patient doesn't look queer or trans, to outright discrimination like denial of care. Combined with living in a society where LGBTQ people are routinely subjected to discrimination and bigotry, many patients choose not to disclose their sexual or gender identities to medical providers or not to seek care at all.
--
ALSO READ: MSM: The low-down on the down-low
Even among medical providers who practice some form of cultural competency - an awareness of and respect for differences across cultures - and are accepting of LGBTQ patients, unconscious biases can shape how they understand and talk to and about LGBTQ patients and issues. No one leaves their cultural baggage at the clinic door.
I am a medical anthropologist who researches LGBTQ health and health disparities. I have paid special attention over the past decade to how a particular kind of bias called heteronormativity shapes how health care providers deliver care and practice medicine.
--
What is heteronormativity? Heteronormativity refers to a cultural bias that presumes heterosexuality is the natural and normal default state of all people. Under this worldview, cisgender male and female bodies are treated as complementary opposites that are meant to fit together. Heteronormativity is pervasive in contemporary societies and is easily visible in social norms about gender relations, gender roles, sexual attraction and kinship and family.
An example of heteronormativity I have personally experienced in multiple settings is being asked if I have a wife. That question is heteronormative because it presumes the person is heterosexual and requires them to come out as not being straight to correct the bias.
Deviations from heterosexuality have historically been considered pathological. Homosexuality was removed from the list of diagnostic mental illness categories only in the 1970s. Despite that change, some contemporary conservative discourses continue to pathologize LGBTQ people as dangerous and abnormal and consider the heterosexual nuclear family as the ideal social arrangement. This perspective is known as heterosexism.
--
While heteronormativity is largely implicit and unconscious, heterosexism is explicit and considers heterosexuality to be morally superior. Heteronormativity might involve asking questions that assume a patient is heterosexual, but heterosexism would deny patients care altogether.
Heteronormative biases can sometimes force LGBTQ patients to come out during medical encounters. Manuel Arias Duran/Moment via Getty Images Homophobia Homophobia - a disgust, hatred or prejudice toward queer people - often stems from heteronormativity or heterosexism. Sometimes homophobia is unintentional, and people don't immediately recognize that something they said or did is homophobic. Other times, people deliberately intend to express bigotry.
ALSO READ: REMINDER | DStv price hike: What you'll pay from April
Like other forms of prejudice such as racism and ableism, people are socialized into homophobia, heteronormativity and heterosexism. Even members of the groups that are being targeted and marginalized with these forms of prejudice can internalize them. When these cultural norms and values are internalized, they become biases like heteronormativity.
Heteronormativity in health care Cultural norms and values, of which heteronormativity is one, are deeply ingrained and form personal and societal worldviews. These attitudes shape individuals' thought and behavior and social institutions such as health care. So it is unsurprising that heteronormative biases are just as pervasive in medical settings as they are in other areas of society.
Since at least the late 1990s, movements have sought to encourage medical practitioners to be more attentive to the diversity of their patient populations, including LGBTQ people. People identifying as members of the LGBTQ community are increasingly coming out in medical education settings, though they often continue to experience heterosexism, homophobia and transphobia. Nonetheless, LGBTQ medical students and practitioners are often at the forefront of working for positive changes in order to improve health care for LGBTQ people.
Harvard Medical School student Aliya Feroe recalled an experience she had with an OB-GYN who referred her to another physician after learning she identified as queer. AP Photo/Steven Senne LGBTQ However, integrating their personal and professional identities can be challenging. Medical students develop identities as physicians with clear moral boundaries separating them from patients through a process called professionalization. My work with LGBTQ medical students has found that their experiences of heteronormativity and heterosexism did not seem to overcome the professionalization they underwent in medical school. Instead, they experienced a friction between their LGBTQ experiences and their budding identities as neutral and objective clinicians. In other words, medical education isolated their sense of who they are as doctors from their sense of who they are as queer and/or trans.
ALSO READ: Kruger National Park | Latest sighting: Lioness with 3 cubs near Phalaborwa
I refer to the ways medical students talked about this tension as an irrelevance narrative. They would expla
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
LGBTQ patients face heteronormativity bias in medical settingsHeteronormativity is a cultural bias that presumes heterosexuality is the natural and normal default state of all people.
