LGBTQIA+ on Sidechat | I have heard a lot of people say amab/afab are transphobic even in a medical setting. I work in genetics and was wondering if there is a better way to describe them. The clinic helps test people for intersex conditions

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LGBTQIA+ 2w

I have heard a lot of people say amab/afab are transphobic even in a medical setting. I work in genetics and was wondering if there is a better way to describe them. The clinic helps test people for intersex conditions

Anonymous 2w

AMAB/ AFAB is fine IMO. Im genderqueer. Many of my friends are binary trans. Everybody talks about struggles with the body they We’re born with or esp in a medical setting they talk about it and unique quirks. As long as the intent isn’t transphobia but like legit medicine/trying to Raise legit health concerns saying “AMAB trans people with X genetic marker and Y treatment are % more likely to develop cancer”

Anonymous 2w

I’m not sure how well it’d work in a medical setting, but saying someone is trans fem/trans masc is my go-to alternative since it implies where they come from but focuses on where they are now. ofc you’d have cis man/woman & intersex there too. I’m also not educated on agab language in the medical field so I can’t speak on that

Anonymous 2w

We often get results where the gender someone was assigned at birth doesn’t match their chromosomes. So we would say something like she is afab with XXY chromosomes. Is this transphobic or is it different bc it is talking about intersex ppl?

Anonymous

#1 2w

but for the situation you said, I don’t believe you’d need to mention their AGAB at all if they’re intersex. to my understanding, AGAB is an imperfect method of gender assignment based on genital length after birth, which inherently mis-assigns intersex people and thus shouldn’t have any medical implications

Anonymous

#1 2w

So the reason it matters is we are looking at the chromosomes and most of these patients don’t believe they are intersex until the testing comes back. If we sent in a sample that just had patient name and not sex or gender assigned at birth the person can get an incorrect diagnosis. It is considered medically necessary to determine if someone is intersex (this isn’t the case for all intersex conditions but some)

Anonymous

OP 2w

idk I personally don’t think it’s transphobic for your situation but again I’m not the most educated, someone else would need to enlighten us both. but again, a non-AGAB solution would be to use cis man/woman & trans fem/masc as your categories

Anonymous

#2 2w

It’s not transphobia then because you’re not denying somebody’s gender or being lame. You’re trying to talk “yes you are a man/woman/nb. But this problem may be something you face” is great. Because it means medicine can discuss risks and long term health outcomes or Different drug Side effects on trans bodies. Like maybe MTF trans women may react poorly to certain heart medication or whatever. Mentioning AGAB and stuff and anatomical stuff isnt transphobia there. It’s just.. “please study stuf

Anonymous

#2 2w

Or talking about psychological/social things AMAB trans people often struggle deconstructing X social behaviors or feelings related to Y. These are valid things to talk about and IMO AGAB is fine and if somebody is trying g to be kind, they’re doing the best they can.

Anonymous

#2 2w

Ok thank you! I’m a lesbian and I just want to be supportive of my trans siblings and I went to a queer social event and I mentioned I work in human genetics and this person blew up on me and went on about how ppl who study human genetics are transphobes bc there’s never a reason to chromosome test

Anonymous

OP 2w

that’s a hurt person who is dealing with their pain in an unhealthy and harmful way. thank you for approaching this with good intent after that experience, it shows a lot of maturity & I’m glad that someone like you is working in your field 🫶

Anonymous

#1 2w

That’s generally what I try to do and I only really use agab when we are doing a chromosome analysis. Thank you

Anonymous

#1 2w

Thank you! I’m just trying to the best I can

Anonymous

OP 2w

Yeah that person is wild. I can be genderqueer, but my underlying “hardware” /sex stuff (not gender) carries certain risks or medical things with it, that if ignored could physically harm me. Or with like babies stuff could be normal for one type but not another. Your field is valid and valued and just by how you talk you seem to approach things from a place of respect. That person just had a chip on their shoulder. Sex != to gender.

Anonymous

OP 2w

I don't think it's problematic when it's relevant, and this is a situation where it's relevant.