 Lyn Morgain puts lesbian
health under the spotlight.
The ‘in and outs’ (or what a recently produced publication
calls the ‘out and ins’) of lesbian health, and the health of same-sex
attracted or queer women, doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
Most of us baulk at the idea that we are inherently - heaven
forbid biologically - different to our straight sisters; and strongly resist
the idea that our ‘difference’ might be defined physically. Not least because,
over many years, our efforts towards emancipation have drawn heavily on
arguments of ‘same as’ and ‘just like’ and therefore ‘equal to’; not to mention
the considerable work involved in resisting any proposition that defines
ourselves as ‘sick’.
It’s an understandable reticence. Physical, emotional, and
mental health are all easily taken for granted when you have them, and bloody
hard to regain when you don’t. Put simply: why worry about things you don’t
have to be concerned about when there are so many things that need doing now
(paying bills, caring for kids, attracting that new lover, changing the world)?
It seems many of us would rather focus on our strength and wellness
than delve into the murky world of vulnerability, risk, and ‘disadvantaged’
health status.
“Yes, it can be difficult to distinguish lesbian health
issues from the other influences that impact our health,” says Dr Ruth McNair,
from the University
of Melbourne’s Division
of General Practise. “Many would say the same thing - isn’t lesbian health just
women’s health?”
It shouldn’t be forgotten that, generally, women’s health
has never been a well-accepted phenomenon. It’s been frequently relegated to misogynist
interpretations of women’s physicality and needs. As queer/lesbian women, we
are definitely not exempt from these more general influences, since being
lesbian hardly makes you less of a woman!
However, the popularity of lesbian/queer-friendly general
practices; together with the production of special resources and health
promotion projects created by and for the lesbian community, suggest there may
be some differences between the needs of straight women and ourselves:
differences that we ourselves can identify.
Maybe it’s not about us, but about those who purport to
treat us, and who, in doing so, forget that we are not all the same. Sometimes
the differences do matter.
The work of women like Dr McNair, and that of Associate
Professor Anne Mitchell at Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, has highlighted the
subtle but important ways in which we are indeed ‘different’ from our
heterosexual sisters.
This includes the consequences of assuming that a negative
response to a query about contraception means a woman is not sexually active,
and therefore requires no sexual heath information; and thus assuming that we
don’t need to be included in screening programs. But few now would have missed
the message: yes, lesbians need pap tests too!
“Many services and clinicians often lack a sensitivity to
our cultural and social environments, and may make assumptions which in turn
reinforce misconceptions,” explains Anne Mitchell.
Such assumptions may range from whether we do or don’t have
children; how many partners we have; whether we have or have ever had sex with
men; and what family means to us. It might also include a lack of understanding
of the absence or denial of family and community support, and the impact this
has on our mental health; as well as a poor understanding of the particular
needs of seniors.
We are all familiar with the effort involved in trying to
get medical personnel to treat us as we are. Most of us have had the experience
of wondering whether or how to correct an inaccurate hetero-normative assumption
about ourselves, which has to be weighed up against the need to expend our
energy in remedying the mistake.
We also know the often-expressed unwillingness to have a
problem checked out because medical institutions ‘make us feel uncomfortable’.
This no doubt impacts adversely on early detection and intervention of an array
of issues, and reduces the likelihood of the trust that’s necessary between
patient and practitioner. This is particularly concerning in the fields of
mental and emotional health, where there are significant issues for our
community, and where disclosure - and being able to comfortably access services
- is vital.
It seems that it may not be so much ‘what’ we are as ‘who’
we are that creates vulnerability around our health. It’s likely that our
invisibility within the mainstream health care system, and our stated wish at
times to avoid contact with these systems, is a significant factor in our
health status.
The good news? It seems that that many of us place a
particular emphasis on health, well being, and fitness; and that our community
has keenly adopted complementary therapies. We also have a good grasp on the
practise of moderation in the use of alcohol and drugs, and have excellent
social and caring networks for support.
Are we that different from our non-lesbian sisters; and is
that a positive thing? Maybe yes, and maybe no - but until we gain an equitable
share of access to clinical services, support, health promotion and research
resources, we’ll never know.
Outs and Ins: A Resource Booklet for Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s
Health is available from the ALSO Foundation (9660 3900 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
) and Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria (9285 5382 or
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).
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Are we that different?
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