'A cavity is not a vagina': Trans woman refused healthcare in France
'A cavity is not a vagina': Trans woman refused healthcare in France
The French doctor admitted he didn't have the training or knowledge to treat trans patients - as experts say there's no need for a trans woman to visit a gynaecologist at all.
Ragebait headline - what he actually said was "A cavity is not a classic vagina" which is a completely different sentence, and correct.
Specifically designed to make you angry
"I told her that I'm not competent, but I can guide you. I can refer you to services that can take better care of you. But after I said that, things went south," gynaecologist Victor Acharian told Euronews.
Talk about the article just wanting to stir shit with the headlines. And so many of you are falling for it.
The comments about only treating "real women" and not men who "shave their beards" and "tell my secretary that they are a woman" are problematic
The patient needs to be educated about their body and the medical community needs to evolve to better serve trans people as well
I don't understand why someone without a vagina would go to a gynecologist.
I'm very trans friendly, and I agree. A gynecologist is there to help you with things related to your vulva, vagina, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes.... If you don't have any of those things, there is nothing a gynecologist can do for you.
gynaecology: the area of medicine concerned with disorders and functions of women's reproductive organs
Was she going there just for the experience or something? What was the end goal she was looking for here...
There is actually a chance to develop cancer in that region as a trans person. Also to check up hormon levels etc., there are a lot of valid reasons
This is just rage bait. The title is intentionally misleading.
I have to ask: considering the profound surgical intervention required to aid a person transition, are there any life lasting specialized care needs to assure health? Or after normal surgery recovery that's it?
from what I know of a friend: There's some stretching required of the new vaginal entrance (medically prescribed dildos back in fashion!) and yes, trans women can potentially develop cancer much like their cis counterparts. Generally advised to get it checked every so often to make sure it's all up to snuff.
can potentially develop cancer much like their cis counterparts
No. Very much unlike their cis counterparts, a female transperson has no uterus, no fallopian tubes, or any other part commonly found in a vagina. They can develop topical cancers such as skin cancers or subdermal cancers as in literally any tissue anywhere in their bodies, but those are not cancers generally found during a pap-smear (which is the primary domain of a gyno). Any sufficiently skilled GP or dermatologist would be equally or better suited.
I see there's a lot of ignorant bigots in this comment section making claims without any actual knowledge on the topic.
From the Canadian Cancer Society: "If, however, you’re a trans woman who has had bottom surgery to create a vagina (vaginoplasty) and possibly a cervix, there’s a very small risk that you can develop cancer in the tissues of your neo-vagina or neo-cervix."
there's a lot of angry little terfs in here. And a disturbing number of people who seem to think the only thing a gyno does is peer up a clacker with a torch.
im locking this as there are multiple reports of transphobia and bigotry. It appears the comments are devolving into personal attacks.
The doctor replied with a message addressed to a "gentleman", claiming that he treated "real women".
He justified himself by saying that he had "no skills to treat men, even if they have shaved their beards and come to tell my secretary that they have become women".
what the fuck
Dr Acharian admits he lashed out with the online comments, but says his reasoning for not seeing the patient is still justified, and highlights an underlying problem for medical professionals.
"I reacted spontaneously, out of anger, and I felt I'd been unfairly attacked. I reacted with very clumsy words that may have offended. I'm well aware of that, I've expressed my regrets on several occasions," said Acharian.
good ol' trans panic defense 🙄
So this doctor is a complete douchbag and should not be practicing medicine. But he's also not entirely wrong. Medically speaking what your gender is is irrelevant most of the time. Of course it applies to any procedures you may be undergoing or medications you may be taking to alter your body to match your gender but that's about it. Any competent doctor will of course respect your gender identity because understanding and having a good relationship with the patient is important. But medically speaking they care more about whether you are at risk for prostate cancer or uterine cysts and your biological sex (alongside your medical history) is a much better indicator of that (outside of relatively rare exceptions). If you are a trans woman who has had bottom surgery then not every gyno is going to have the skillset to help you because that just isn't what many of them are trained for. I've definitely had my doctor tell me I need to see someone else for certain issues because they just didn't have the skillset to help. Of course there are far better ways to say that than how this "doctor" chose to do so, but him not providing care that he wasn't trained to provide isn't the issue here. His douchbag attitude and him not providing a referal to a doctor who could help is the issue.
Agreed with everything you said except that, according to the article, he initially did offer a referral to another doctor. It was only after she got angry that the discourse escalated and he said offensive things in response.