Susan's Place Transgender Resources

The Pathology service I work for is buying a new test reporting system, this is a massive exercise and in the region of $40mill. There is a lot of work, testing etc.

We had a meeting today with one of the companies consultants who wanted us to think of 'extreme'  situations that the system needed to recognise and auto correct for.

She brought up a few examples such as a Vitamin C add on for a stored sample and the system would trigger that the assay couldn't be performed on a stored sample.

She then said, of course we don't want ridiculous stuff such as a pregnancy test on a transgender woman and gave a little laugh in the way people do when they expect the audience to join in. Of course everyone in my department and in the Pathology service know I am a transgender woman - so no one joined in any laughter. She looked a bit perplexed, so I decided to get into her.

"What about a transgender man requiring a fetal-maternal bleed assay (a test you do for giving anti-D to a mother who is Rhesus negative and their child Rhesus positive)."

She sort of sneered and was about to say something.

"Two of my close friends are transgender men, their gender marker are male and that have given birth"

"I'm a transgender female, my gender marker is female, yet I require screening for both breast cancer and prostrate cancer."

"So are you suggesting my health issues and those of my community are not important and a bit of a joke?"

I thought I had gone too far and had a quick look around the table; my colleagues where sitting with smiles on their faces - just like wolves.

The CEO of the service then said; if you wish to make a joke about members of our society I will ask that you are removed as a consultant on this project.

I decided to shut up. Game over.

Well, that sure showed her!! ;D >:-)

So, what's the moral of the story here....
When speaking to people careful what you say, and if your going to offend, hurt the people, don't say it!
If only we as humans remembered to say less, listen more.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well done, Cindy!