When Kristina Rodriguez received the test results for a blood sample, she made a shocking discovery. It appeared that Lake Park Family Practice of Carolinas Healthcare System listed lesbianism as a medical condition on her health record.
Lesbianism Listing
She argued that such association between one’s sexual orientation and medical history could lower the patient’s self-esteem. In response, health officials from Carolinas Healthcare System defended the listing saying this was only a way of protecting her from being offended in the first place.
Kristina Rodriguez then said that the doctors offered to remove the lesbianism listing and replace it with her sexual orientation instead as she argued same-sex relationships should be regarded as normal in 2017.
Carolinas Healthcare System officials released an official statement defending their actions, saying that doctors resort to such measures for a better understating of the patient’s history. Furthermore, they also said doctors are constantly trying to balance important pieces of information about the patients’ conditions, including sexual preferences, with respectful connotations. They added the lesbianism listing did not refer to a clinical diagnosis but was rather linked to patient information for future reference. Ultimately, they ended their statement expressing their full support for the LGBT community.
LGBT Community’s Struggles
In 2016, a girl was arrested in Uganda for committing lesbianism. The 8-year-old was taken into custody by local authorities after a neighbor reported her for engaging in romantic relationships with other same-sex individuals. At the moment, Uganda’s LGBT community is subjected to some of the most restrictive laws against same-sex relationships in the world.
Moreover, a survey conducted last year revealed that bisexual, lesbian, and gay high school students are more susceptible to assault or even rape in dating situations, as opposed to their straight peers. Also, other studies showed that gay teens are more susceptible to self-harm, abusing drugs, or engaging in other life-threatening behaviors because of the constant social pressure they experience. Several other smaller studies conducted throughout the years backed such claims, concluding that social stigma is directly linked to some gay teens developing certain mental conditions at some point in their lives.
The most historic moment for the LGBT community was marked by 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages and acknowledged the practice as constitutional. At the moment, efforts are made to pass laws that will forbid businesses to evict, expel, or fire LGBT employees because of their sexual preferences.
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