Chandler knows how it feels to fear the potential prejudices of health care providers, so they’re speaking out to ensure that every person in need of the life-saving Pap test has safe, comfortable, and identity-affirming access to the screening.
“As a nonbinary person who is both disabled and has pursued medical transition, accessible healthcare has always been so extremely important to me. …I knew I had to share my story and share why this message is so vital. . I know I personally was so scared about even going to doctors because I was afraid of being misgendered and invalidated. I was afraid of being put into dysphoria-inducing situations. And I was especially afraid of outing myself and being treated improperly by transphobic providers. This led to many instances where I denied myself care. . For so many of us who identify with a different gender than what we were assigned at birth, this nervousness can lead to us missing out on life-saving care. We cannot let that happen. I am actually right now at the age and experience of someone who should be getting their first Pap test. It is vital that for the health of everyone with a cervix, the Pap test should be a part of a routine wellness screening. We need to make our care a priority. . I believe it is important for everyone to have access to the Pap test because it can genuinely save lives. It has been critical to early detection of cervical cancer for decades which has in turn helped lower the rate in which it kills. . I know it can be scary. I know it can be nerve-wracking. I know it might make us uncomfortable and even potentially trigger our dysphoria. But it is crucial to our safety for us to continue advocating for the Pap test. We need to continue being vocal about our healthcare needs and demanding trans-informed and affirming medical providers. . For any of y’all who have had a Pap test recently, can you share down below some positive and trans-affirming experiences you’ve had?”