‘I recognize gender to be deeply violent, but that does not stop me from organizing on grounds of gender. That which is intrinsically violent can also become the condition of new possibilities of resistance of re-imagining the world.’ – Vqueeram
Bodies of LGBTIAQ+ persons, people from marginalised communities, oppressed castes, and women have always been a site of interrogation for institutions that decide what is normal.
I went through a phase of wanting to shave badly when Veet ads used to punctuate every TV show. I sneaked in a razor and shaved my underarms once. Learning about ingrowths and skin problems made me stopped obsessing over it. Singer Halsey was shamed for armpit hair. Just like the shocked shamer asked Halsey, “What the hell is this?!”,’ I have witnessed people’s shocking, polite requests to ‘please put your arm down’ or unsolicited advise to shave. I find it amusing that people see it as unearthly as if they aren’t just shaving body hair but its memory altogether.
Upon discussing PCOS with people going through it, one of the major things that came up is how bodily changes caused by PCOS becomes difficult to deal with. “Excess hair growth, weight gain, skin disorders, and resultant emotional lows. Telling people that I cannot lose weight fast enough, says Sima Ghosh*.
Diya, who has a severe case of ovarian cyst says, “We might say looks don’t matter but I accept the black spots on my face or the hair fall. Beauty is important for a girl”. Soumi Mukherjee says, “Body hair, weight issues insecurity due to changes in the body that differ from so-called normal”’ Health conditions often have a damaging emotional effect because of the perceived ‘normal’. The normal body doesn’t exist because physicality itself and its association with the mind is unique to each person.
Tracing back to the carpenter’s square norma, anything made according to it was normalis—‘in conformity with the rule’.
So, the normal is not something intrinsic; it is a condition. It is violent and exclusive since the structure maintains itself through its demand for conformity.
It controls and attests eligibility based on institutionalised standards of appearances, behaviour, roles, and more. Thus, it negates the nuanced possibilities of the personal, whereby, whatever breaks norms is seen as a threat to this fragile, simplistic, linear idea of identity. So, this ‘normal’ also results in otherisation and marginalisation.
Healthcare And Stigma
One would expect science to be unaffected by social conditioning, but it isn’t because the ‘normal’ affects our understanding or disruption of things. That also extends to legal, judicial structures, educational and healthcare institutions; those who make and execute them.
“A doctor refused to answer my queries on sex because I am unmarried”, “I was shamed by the doctor for contracting UTI“—these are some of my friends’ experiences of being shamed at a doctor’s chamber. Most people have either had or heard instances of being shamed by doctors which is one of the reasons people are inhibited about consultation. Tanurima Chanda opines how patient confidentiality is often compromised in India, “…and doctors often shame patients or disregard their concerns by normalising them.” She continues, “[Doctors] have belittled my concerns and fears by linking it to anxiety. With no further substantial information or help. Which in turn increased my anxiety. They often act irritated when I demand a full explanation of my condition, which is actually my right.”
Explaining every detail to a client regarding their condition falls under ethical practice which most doctors in India don’t follow as our family physician, Dr P.K. Banerjee had once opined.
Medical Stigmatisation Of The LGBTIAQ+
Diban, a 24-year-old trans man says, “Several doctors are still unaware of trans identities and see only cis-binary as normal. Not only doctors but people across the society are also ignorant. There are no separate washrooms for us. Schools do not have a choice of uniform (for a trans/nonbinary)”.
According to Dr P Raghupathy, Paediatric Endocrinologist, IGICH, “Globally, 1 in every 10,000-15,000 persons is intersex. India lacks reliable statistics on intersex persons”.
There is a widespread lack of awareness among people about sex, sexual identity, and orientation. This hinders medical practice resulting in a lack of research, stigmatisation and the most concerning ‘conversion therapy’ and nonconsensual corrective surgeries of LGBTIAQ+ individuals. Koushumi who adopted an intersex child spoke about the harassment and hostility she had to go through because of stigma at courts, hospitals, and schools. She is giving her child a gender-neutral upbringing and has left it up to them to identify themselves as they grow.
On 19th June, Intersex Voices addressed issues on healthcare and intersex persons where intersex individuals, doctors, and researchers spoke about these issues. Experiences came up where a doctor went on treating an intersex person assuming they were homosexual despite no diagnosis. A case has been filed against the doctor by the client for the wrong treatment.
Vino, an intersex activist from Tamil Nadu, said, “I was raised as a girl but was a genotypical male. My family still doesn’t understand my reality, it is new to them. I faced a lot of emotional pressure, growing up. I had a sense of being ‘different’. During puberty, I experienced no changes girls have and began to feel disabled. My mother would pray at the temple for me to attain puberty. It was only after my karyotype result that people believed. My anatomy is different from what dictates my genes. External appearance is not always indicative of a person’s complete identity.”
Actor-anchor, SRC, an intersex person whose surgery gave rise to severe health complications said, “I wish I knew better and had more exposure and a better doctor to guide me more responsibly, tell me about the risks surgeries involve. Life would have been different. But I now resolve to spread awareness about the issue and tell my story”.
Doctors Speak
In the webinar, Dr Sameera M. Jahagirdar addressed loopholes of the undergrad medical syllabi which pathologizes LGBTIAQ+ content and subjects relating to sexuality, gender variations are selectively omitted and not taught. Dr Jahagirdar highlighted the need for its revision to make healthcare LGBTIAQ+ friendly. Dr Shruthi Chandrasekaran, a Chennai-based endocrinologist, poignantly stated, “They teach us medicine, they teach us symptoms but empathy is really what we need to learn.”
The lack of understanding of LGBTIAQ+ disrupts healthcare and causes legal complications. Doctors and courts refuse to give intersex certificates so intersex persons are forced to identify as transgender in official documents. More often than not intersex and transgender identities are conflated which the heavily problematic Transgender Bill 2019 has also done by not addressing unique healthcare provisions separately for transgender and intersex persons. Government hospitals especially have no proper provisions for treatment.
Shakti Sri Maya, an intersex activist from Chittoor urges legal and healthcare centres to treat the intersex community equally, “We’re treated like aliens, without proper medical knowledge. I wish to see people knowledgeable, keeping themselves updated.”