Transphobia at Lu’s
August 14th, 2009
When I first heard about it, I thought the idea of Lu’s Pharmacy was fantastic- a pharmacy serving women in the Downtown Eastside. Everyone here at PWN was upbeat about it, and there was much talk among members in the drop-in. Then the news came out- Lu’s would only serve “women-born women”, excluding trans women. Why would a women’s pharmacy discriminate against women?
Vancouver Women’s Health Collective runs Lu’s, the concept of which is great. It’s the details I’m struggling with. On reading the historical info, the VWHC site states that the vision for Lu’s was of “a community pharmacy for women that would provide safe, comprehensive, and respectful services and health care support for women in the downtown eastside.[sic]” Sounds good. The section continues, “We know that women are still underserved by the current health care model, and we know that certain women face considerable barriers to accessing quality health care, which include poverty, addiction, racism, and sexism, among others.” This sounds good too, but it doesn’t play out that way. The VWHC itself is contributing to these barriers by discriminating against trans women. As one reader of the Georgia Straight’s coverage put it, “The idea that they would have to go far out of their way to serve trans women’s needs is, I believe, a weak cover story for their bigotry. Trans women ARE women, and need services provided for women.” Over 500 people on Facebook agree.
Women’s issues go far beyond the continuum of baby making options. Discriminating against trans women contributes to compromises in health care, access to information, support, education, advocacy. It can affect individuals’ self-perception, and choices, leading to vulnerability and risk. Positive Women’s Network is trans-inclusive, as are many women’s organizations. On their own site, the Vancouver Women’s Health Collective mentions many barriers facing women, so I hope they wil listen to all the protest and address the large one they’ve created.
- Janet
This blog represents the ideas of individual writers, and does not necessarily reflect any formal stance taken by Positive Women's Network.
This was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 11:15 am and is filed under News . Feel free to respond, or trackback.
Leave a Reply
