february 1 .2ÛÛ2 ?
fr in a t l i v i d i m e w s
f you are a lesbian, do you feel comfortable
with your health care provider? Are you
able to he out in your doctor’s office, or do
you feel you must walk into a closet to get
Volunteers compiling lesbian health
decent health care? T he concern of two
Portland lesbians might lead to an easier way of
finding lesbian-friendly health care in the Port
land metropolitan area.
The two women want to help create a direc
Erin Sexton accompanied a friend to a med
tory similar to the one available through the
ical appointment and was stunned when her
W omen’s Therapy Project. This resource guide
physician insisted the womans sexual orientation
would provide information about traditional and
was an iasignificant factor in her health care and
alternative health care providers who offer a les
bian-friendly atmosphere to clients.
yelled at them. She knows now that “people ask
their friends [about safe medical prac
titioners], but if you’re new to town,
it’s hit or miss.”
Miriam Volpin learned about the
plight of “a lesbian diagnosed with can
cer who moved out of the area because
she didn’t know of any resources local
ly where she could get help being out.”
Consulting a nationwide database to
find any lesbian-friendly physicians
around Portland, she found only one
listing—one supportive physician in a
community that boasts a large lesbian
component.
|
Not that there aren’t more, but it’s |
not that easy to find such a health 1
care provider. Most of them don’t “
have the phrase “lesbian-friendly” $
tacked up on their walls.
Sexton works for the H am bleton Project,
“Lesbians do not tend to their health needs
which serves lesbians with cancer and other life-
because of a fear that they won’t be in a safe place,”
threatening conditions. She and Volpin, a vol
Volpin says. A number of women agree with her.
unteer, have decided on a course of action to
Members of Hambleton and the Lesbian Q m m u-
confront what both see as a serious lack of nity Project, intrigued by presentations made at
resource information for Portland-area lesbians
board meetings, have agreed to provide resources
and volunteers to help make the directory a reality.
seeking medical care.
will it be for a lesbian to pass that first level, only
to discover her health care provider is intolerant
of her choices or ways of expressing her sexuality?
Volpin also is concerned about lesbians who
directory by Patricia L. MacAodha
express gender ambiguity. How are they going to
find doctors who understand the dilemma of a
stone butch who has to undergo a vaginal exam?
How does she go through this process with any
Barbara Turrill, a Portland-area therapist and
kind of comfort when she doesn’t even relate to
member of the LCP board, heard about the project
that part of her body? These are only a few of the
through a presentation by Sexton. She thought
the idea made sense and became involved as a challenges facing the women who have com
mitted to this project.
member of the steering committee. She especially
Adequate financial support is vital; so is find
is interested in how the project “will reflect accu
rately who’s friendly and who’s ing enough interested volunteers to make it take
off. Committees already exist to create a ques
not friendly.”
tionnaire, do outreach, develop marketing tech
W hat does make a provider
niques, oversee distribution and identify the best
lesbian-friendly? How will the
software to do the job.
The time length estimated for pulling the
"Lesbians do not tend to
whole project together and having the guide
their health needs because ready for publication is 18 months, but much
depends on determining how it will be
o f a fear that they won't financed. Fund-raising ideas are in process,
including a search for appropriate grant
be in a safe place"
money.
Kristan Aspen, LCP program director,
— Miriam Volpin
looks forward to this cooperative adven
ture. She suggests the best thing is to get
project address the variety of started, “and if we don’t end up with the money,
we’ll put it on hold until we get the money.” J H
different health care needs and
many kinds of lesbian identities
Volunteers should contact Erin Sexton at
for the women to be at ease
503-335-659/ or hambletonproject@yahoo.com.
with their providers?
The next meeting will start 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in
Simply being able to tell one’s doctor “1 am a les
Room 329 at Portland State University’s Smith
bian” or “My spouse is a woman” might be enough
Memorial Center, 1825 S.W . Broadway.
for some, but lesbians face a wider range of problems
beyond this primary level of identification.
P atricia L. M ac A odha is a Portland free-lance
W hat about those who have piercings or
writer. E-mail her at plmacaodhal@hotmail.com.
other kinds of body ornamentation? How hard
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