Content warning: Mentions of blood and needles
For those who may not know, I am currently a student teacher! I have been doing my internship at an amazing alternative high school since September and will be there through June. In collaboration with Cascade Regional Blood Center, their Leadership team put on what I believe was their second blood drive of the school year recently. Knowing that there has been a national donation shortage, I was glad to be able to participate for this one since it fell during one of the field weeks I had scheduled to be at the school. It was my very first time doing so and I was excited to help out and participate alongside students and other faculty. That being said, there were a few things that I noticed that stood out to me as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Since I have not been able to legally change my name and gender marker on my official documentation, I knew that providing such information for the donation would be a source of discomfort, but that is not unusual for me. I did try to be as discrete as possible about providing my legal name as my students don’t know me as that at all and I would prefer to keep it that way. Upon checking in, I quietly provided two of the blood center employees with my ID card and verbally stated that I preferred to be called “Bek.” I jokingly remarked that I would also prefer that my legal name wasn’t shared loudly in spite of it being used for documentation purposes because there were students nearby. Being that my name isn’t that different than my legal name, one of the employees that I was joking with quipped back that the students could probably guess what my “real name is.” I didn’t take it personally and simply explained that I’m actually trans and just haven’t had the chance to change my documents yet due to COVID-19 and other personal factors. Both employees were very understanding, and one even asked if I would prefer to have my gender marker set as the other binary option available. Being nonbinary, I thanked them but asked if there was an “X” marker instead, as that is what I am planning to change to on my ID. They shared that their software was really old and that they were not sure if that would be possible until their update next month. However, they did document it as “X” on the document I would keep with me for the duration of the appointment as well as my pronouns, highlighting both. Not only did I find this to be very thoughtful, but it was also nice to speak candidly about my gender identity and ask them about the nuances of how they go about their documentation. Often times in regard to most things medical-related, people get awkward or defensive when I share my gender identity with them, and it can be pretty uncomfortable. The most uncomfortable part (beside some of the latter portion involving a needle) was simply reading through and filling out the survey prior to getting my vitals checked. I was reminded of how regressive the views about LGBTQIA+ people who were assigned male at birth and sex workers are from a medical viewpoint. While I understand that blood centers must be mindful of bloodborne viruses, there were some questions that I felt were missing that could easily apply to more people as well as there being some language present that was rather demeaning to the two prior mentioned groups. It was a moment in which I was able to check my privileges in the situation while also being rather upset about the current state of things, especially during a shortage. This is something that I have discussed at length with my partner, who is a nurse, to ensure that I’m not misunderstanding what is happening. He has confirmed that there is still a big issue with stigma in connection to upholding cisnormativity, heteronormativity and mononormativity in the field, which often results in hypocrisy. My vitals were taken smoothly afterward, and I was eventually paired with a blood center employee who I ended up clicking rather well with. It was one of those delightful moments in which two trans people see each other and can kind of relax a bit. It can be hard to describe, but it typically starts with questions and comments that are approached a bit gingerly such as pronouns and style before devolving into inside jokes. Being paired with this person certainly put me more at ease than I was originally since I was seen for who I am and got to laugh! With that said, my arms ended up betraying me. In spite of being in good health, getting as hydrated as I could, and having “great” veins, neither of my arms provided enough blood at a quick enough pace for me to be able to actually donate the proper amount. It was a noble effort on both of mine, my new friend’s, and another employee’s parts to try to get what they could from either arm, but it just didn’t work out. Though I was pretty disappointed by this, I was still proud to say that I tried and having this first experience was helpful as I now know what to expect. Beyond now knowing what the process is like, I know that the students also saw me there and not only did I cheer them on, but they encouraged me too. As a queer educator, I want to continue to show up in different spaces, even if it makes me uncomfortable at times. Good things are worth doing for the sake of doing them alone, but the visibility comes to mean more when you are a person with multiple marginalized identities and have young people watching you. This experience was a reminder of that for me and provides encouragement to try again and also to stay true to myself when I do so. Additionally, I want to keep asking the hard questions regarding who is singled out due to stigma and how the language used around the process can be more inclusive and accurate. I will include some resources below for those who would like further information about blood donation locally and what the current eligibility requirements are. -Bek Further Reading "Donor Eligibility Rules." Cascade Regional Blood Services, 2020, www.crbs.net/donate/donor-eligibility-rules-update-9-2020/. "LGBTQ+ Donors." American Red Cross Blood Services, www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/lgbtq-donors.html.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
SUWC Blog AuthorsAny posts on the SUWC Blog are authored by current consultants working to improve, refine and perfect our practice as peer tutors. Find a Post!
January 2024
Categories |