Member-only story
Eyeballs Have No Gender
Trans-affirming medical care is good for your health
While waiting for a bus on an ordinary night a few weeks back, a large dark smudge and a field of dust-like specks suddenly appeared in front of my left eye. I took off my glasses and wiped them on my shirt, but after replacing them the obstruction— which was near the top of my field of vision, partially but not completely obscuring my sight —remained; a dirty lens was not the culprit. I rubbed my eye and peered out, sans glasses; the smudge still did not go away.
Upon returning home I did some web searching, beginning to panic that I had a torn or detached retina. I made an appointment for the following morning with the first physician available at my medical clinic, where I was already planning to drop in for my biweekly testosterone injection. My optometrist was closed that day, and I figured I would need a referral to an ophthalmologist in any case.
At my appointment the next morning, I described the incident, showing the physician a rough sketch that I’d done in brown marker to illustrate what I was seeing. After some questions and a brief exam, he called up an eye specialist to try to get me a same-day appointment. I overheard him on the phone state “The patient prefers they/them pronouns.” He paused and then repeated this information.
