Spring Break
Prof. speaks on LGBT discrimination
Issue date: 4/24/08
Awareness of the difficulties lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) individuals face has increased in the last 20 years, but much more progress remains to be made, according to Professor Jen Hayashi of the Hopkins School of Medicine.
Hayashi, an assistant professor of geriatric medicine at Bayview Hospital, discussed the issues facing both patients and care providers in a speech on Monday.
Hayashi discussed a wide range of topics including homophobia and heterosexism in the medical field, methods of dealing with discrimination, and her own personal experiences.
"I can tell you at Bayview when I came to geriatrics I had never felt any iota of being treated or seen differently," she said.
In 1982, 70 percent of respondents said highly qualified LGBT individuals should be admitted to residencies. By 1992, this number had increased to 98 percent. While polls certainly show a dramatic increase in acceptance of LGBT individuals, it is still difficult to gauge the real progress that has been made in attitudes in the medical field, due to individuals becoming more closed-mouthed and hesitant to voice their true opinions, according to Hayashi.
Hayashi described her own coming-out experience in detail. By trying to fit in she suspected she was not like everyone, suspicions which developed into much more by the third year of medical school. By a twist of fate, the one man she dated in college turned out to be gay. Originally planning to be a Navy doctor for life, Hayashi was hit by the realization of what that entailed.
"I was just busy taking care of patients, taking care of life, so I didn't notice all the Navy lip service stuff. The longer I stayed here the longer I was going to be like those people and I couldn't deal with it," she said.
For Hayashi, it was essential that she find a residency that accepted her as a lesbian. Among the choices that were open and accepting was an opening at Hopkins.
"I got trapped because Hopkins is a really fun place to work," Hayashi said.
Hayashi, an assistant professor of geriatric medicine at Bayview Hospital, discussed the issues facing both patients and care providers in a speech on Monday.
Hayashi discussed a wide range of topics including homophobia and heterosexism in the medical field, methods of dealing with discrimination, and her own personal experiences.
"I can tell you at Bayview when I came to geriatrics I had never felt any iota of being treated or seen differently," she said.
In 1982, 70 percent of respondents said highly qualified LGBT individuals should be admitted to residencies. By 1992, this number had increased to 98 percent. While polls certainly show a dramatic increase in acceptance of LGBT individuals, it is still difficult to gauge the real progress that has been made in attitudes in the medical field, due to individuals becoming more closed-mouthed and hesitant to voice their true opinions, according to Hayashi.
Hayashi described her own coming-out experience in detail. By trying to fit in she suspected she was not like everyone, suspicions which developed into much more by the third year of medical school. By a twist of fate, the one man she dated in college turned out to be gay. Originally planning to be a Navy doctor for life, Hayashi was hit by the realization of what that entailed.
"I was just busy taking care of patients, taking care of life, so I didn't notice all the Navy lip service stuff. The longer I stayed here the longer I was going to be like those people and I couldn't deal with it," she said.
For Hayashi, it was essential that she find a residency that accepted her as a lesbian. Among the choices that were open and accepting was an opening at Hopkins.
"I got trapped because Hopkins is a really fun place to work," Hayashi said.
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Karen Chen
posted 4/30/08 @ 4:42 AM EST
Dr. Hayashi actually said this was harmful: "To illustrate this concept, she suggested that a form asking for marital status simply include the options single, married or divorced," because not all people in committed relationships are necessarily married. (Continued…)
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