The Power and Limits of Classification

Link to journal article:


My comment: 

In our work with transgender men and women and other gender minorities, this was the common opinion among all "categories" of people - to stop categorizing them.


Here is another illustration. HIV prevention and control efforts in India has a certain stress on prevention among high risk groups. For many people in the field, "LGBTQ" is a high risk group. If you look at it, the only thing common among the members of this "category" is that they are all gender minorities. By using the term "LGBTQ" many lesbians and transgender men who are actually "low risk groups" get mischaracterized as people with risk of HIV and gets repeatedly asked to do HIV testing.


The people we talk to have all been affected by the medical system's lack of ability to deal with the full spectrum of gender. They strongly ask for developing a framework for healthcare providers to use when it comes to gender, such that there is neither negligence nor over-cautiousness.


This article does leave a few hints on how that framework might look like. Thanks for that. 

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I am a general practitioner rooted in the principles of primary healthcare. I am also a deep generalist and hold many other interests. If you want a medical consultation, please book an appointment When I'm not seeing patients, I code software, advise health-tech startups, and write blogs. Follow me by subscribing to my writings