“Do you have a penis?” That’s what Arkansas Senator Matt McKee asked a trans pharmacist last week. Not only does this question not arise, but it often serves to dehumanize trans people, complain two speakers.
During a hearing on gender-affirming underage care, pharmacist Gwendolyn Herzig was asked the question she refused to answer.
“I’m a naturopath, a doctor. please treat me like one Next question,” she answered. In an interview with NBC, she described the exchange as “the most publicly humiliating thing” she’s experienced in her life.
Watch as GOP State Rep. Matt McKee asked Gwendolyn Herzig, a pharmacist who is a trans woman, during a PUBLIC hearing if she had a penis.
Her answer: “I am a doctor. Please treat me the same way. Next question.”
What the hell is wrong with these people? pic.twitter.com/DrT0Q2mSpV
—Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 15, 2023
The bill under discussion aims to ban state medical professionals from providing gender-affirming treatments and surgeries to minors.
Inappropriate and inhuman
For trans activist Celeste Trianon, the senator’s question had no other purpose than to discredit the expert before him.
“We miss his pharmaceutical expertise and focus the conversation on his privates. His dignity is questioned. If he had asked the question to a cisgender pharmacist, it would never have happened,” she says.
With kind approval
Questions about genitals may be asked out of curiosity, but are too often a tactic of domination, says the activist.
“Language is used to oppress people who have not adjusted to binary gender distribution in a very long time. We continue to confuse transgender people with gays and lesbians and even suffragettes.
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For his part, Ash Paré, a social worker who accompanies trans people in their transition process, recalls that while we have the impression of being in good faith, it remains an inappropriate question.
“Ask your neighbor if he slept with his girlfriend last night? That is the same. No matter what someone looks like, there are questions that don’t arise.”
A question that comes up again and again
Ultimately, when we ask a trans person questions about their genitals, what we’re interested in is whether they’ve had surgery or are planning surgery, notes Ash Paré.
“Looking like a man means having a penis, looking like a woman means having a vagina. When we’re confronted with trans people, we feel uncomfortable because we’re not sure if the person doesn’t fit that pattern, especially if they don’t intend to have surgery at that level.”
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We ask this question to try to understand how we should treat the person in front of us, which Ash Paré believes remains problematic. “You should never base your treatment of a person on their appearance or how you perceive them anyway.”
Not just an American problem
Before being apostrophized by Senator McKee, Gwendolyn Herzig spoke about the lack of empathy towards trans people in the United States. This is not an issue unique to our southern neighbors, Celeste Trianon regrets.
“Trans people are still marginalized in Quebec. 58% of them make less than $30,000 a year,” she says, adding that there is still a transphobic discourse, especially in the media.
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Although trans people have been protected by the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms since 1998 and gender identity has been a recognized ground of discrimination since 2016, in practice they still do not have the same rights as cis people, particularly at the medical level, supports Ash Paré.
With kind approval
By assisting trans people with their medical procedures, they have found that their access to healthcare is often limited.
“The wait times are so long and there are so few professionals that some people resort to do-it-yourself solutions and hormones ordered online,” regrets Ash Paré.
A lack of awareness and openness towards trans people can also contribute to poor quality of care for trans people.
“This is very serious. There are people who take their own lives for lack of proper care. Resources to learn more [existent,] for the general public and healthcare professionals […] It’s just an irrational fear that keeps people from getting information,” laments Ash Paré.