pansexual – The Rainbow OT

Out in Healthcare: Madison Kirkpatrick, SPT, M.S, CSCS, LSVT BIG

Name: Madison Kirkpatrick

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Identity: Pansexual and asexual cisgender female

Background: I was born and raised in Eureka, CA. I grew up in an extremely conservative household that made me feel unsafe and forced me to repress my emotions and my identity. I completed my B.S. in Kinesiology: Pre-Physical Therapy with a Health Education minor in three years and then earned my M.S. in Kinesiology: Exercise Science in one year, after which I published my thesis research. I was accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences- Austin, TX campus. I will graduate with my DPT at the end of November 2020. I met my now wife during my M.S. and we got married in 2019. In my free time I enjoy spending time outdoors with my wife and our two puppies.

Profession: Physical Therapist

Area(s) of Practice or Interest: Pelvic floor PT with an emphasis on the LGBTQ+ population and outpatient orthopedics so I can treat other types of impairments beyond the pelvic floor.

What does being ‘Out in Healthcare’ mean to you?: Being out in healthcare means being visible to others so the future generations have the representation I did not have growing up, and it means fighting for health equity, justice, and healthcare inclusion for all marginalized communities. As someone that understands what it is like to have to deal with healthcare disparities simply based on my identity, being out in healthcare is taking on the system full force to improve the lives of my community and the lives of all marginalized communities.

What is one thing everyone should know about your identity?: I don’t like labeling my identity. I label my identity for the people that “have” to know. I am asexual, an identity that doesn’t get a lot of attention, and where I am on the asexual scale personally is that I have never been attracted to anyone I have ever met other than my wife. I am theoretically attracted to all identities of humans, hence why I use pansexual, but in reality, my asexual identity and my lack of interest in the labels another person uses are more who I am at my core (I respect everyone’s labels, but that doesn’t influence whether I am attracted to them or not).

How do you feel when your identity is included?: I feel seen and respected when my identity is included. I feel like my identity is as valuable as the heterosexual identity has been systematically respected historically.

What does “taking up space” mean to you?: Taking up space means taking ownership of the space that has historically given to heterosexual people but denied to members of the LGBTQ+ community. It means demanding that my identity and needs get as much attention as anyone else and it means fighting for more and more space for those that come after me. It is advocacy, it is radical, and it is vital to equity and justice for the LGBTQ+ community.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to healthcare workers who aren’t sure how to honor the identities of their patients?: Put the work in to find the answers to the questions they have about how to honor the identities of their patients. It is not the job of a marginalized community to educate the majority, but there are a number of people from marginalized communities that do fill the role of educator and their resources are plenty and widespread. All it takes is a little Google searching and/or social media perusing. Once they have answers to their questions, it is time to put in the work and put those answers into action. Once the action is being taken guess what? It’s time for more work. It is time to continue to learn and grow, and it is time to teach others and fight for the rights of their patients. The work never stops.

Has your identity influenced healthcare that you’ve received?: My identity has caused me to deal with subpar care from my primary care provider who asked me about my sexual activity and then spent a lot of time asking if I could be pregnant (multiple questions about this, to which I answered no every time), didn’t ask me if I was using protection, and then was shocked when I told him I was in a relationship with a woman, which I only told him because he wouldn’t stop grilling me about pregnancy. The visit was really uncomfortable after that, and it felt like he was rushing to get my visit done as quickly as possible. Ultimately, I was not educated on STIs, asked if I felt safe in my relationship (thankfully my wife isn’t an abusive person), or anything else that would normally be routine.

Where can people find you?: I am on Instagram @lgbtqphysicaltherapists and my email is lgbtqphysicaltherapists@gmail.com.

Out in Healthcare: Caroline Cuyler, LMSW

Name: Caroline Cuyler, LMSW

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Identity: Pansexual Cisgender Female

Background: I was born and raised in a suburb of Rochester, NY. I went to the University at Buffalo for my bachelors in psychology and did 1 year of my masters in social work at Hunter College in New York City and my 2nd year at the University at Buffalo. I now live in Rochester with my fiancé and our fur children. I have spent my career working with many different populations beginning with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. I am newly out as of about 2 years ago and it was a rollercoaster ride of an experience but, overall, quite positive. In my free time I enjoy camping, traveling and playing video games.

Profession: Medical Social Worker

Area(s) of Practice or Interest: I pretty much do it all in the inpatient medical world. The main unit that I work on is an adult medicine unit that is staffed by resident medical teams.

What does being ‘Out in Healthcare’ mean to you?: Being out in healthcare for me is about visibility and representation. I wear a rainbow pin on my nametag every day as visibility but also to signal to other LGTBQ folks that this is a safe space. I also see LGBTQ folks in all different roles in the hospital and it really creates a culture of inclusivity.

What is one thing everyone should know about your identity?: When trying to find the “right” identity for me, bisexual never felt right because it excluded folks that didn’t fall into the gender binary. I felt pansexual really suited me and my attraction to people for who they are rather than based on their gender. My fiancé is non-binary and is starting the first steps with top surgery and low dose hormones. I am proud that she is becoming the person she always knew she was.

How do you feel when your identity is included?: When my identity is included I feel seen. There is nothing better than when your identity is not something you have to explain or review over and over with others. That is why I focus so much on educating staff on practices such as asking for preferred pronouns and not assuming a patient is in a heterosexual relationship.

What does “taking up space” mean to you?: Taking up space is really about being your most authentic self, whatever that means for each person. I think it can be easy to shrink down who you are to make a situation feel more “comfortable” for everyone but when you take up space it paves a path for others to be able to also take up space. It’s a form of activism and advocacy for others as well as yourself.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to healthcare workers who aren’t sure how to honor the identities of their patients?: This is a part of my role every day as a social worker. Constantly educating staff about how to honor patient’s identities. My number one piece of advice is ASK QUESTIONS. Our patients are the experts on their own lives. You can never assume anything about anyone’s identity and just ignoring or not seeing parts of someone is not treating the whole patient. If you make a mistake about someone’s identity, apologize. We are all humans who make errors but it’s important to commit to correcting the mistake. I think it’s also important to take an intersectional approach to honoring our patient’s identities. Each person’s experience is unique and much of that has to do with how the different parts of our identity shape how we experience the world.

Has your identity influenced healthcare that you’ve received?: I have only been out for 2 years but even in that short amount of time some things have come up. Specifically around sexual health there is always the assumption that I am in a heterosexual relationship and constantly having to correct my providers can get a little exhausting.

Where can people find you?: I am on Instagram (private account) @cecuyler and if you are ever at Strong Memorial Hospital, I am sure you will see me floating around!