It is always disturbing to see how people are discriminated against because of their race or gender identity. I found very interesting, sad, and hopeful the “Period: End of the Sentence” documentary. It was difficult to see how women were so ashamed of something as normal as having their periods. When they were asked about menstruation, it was very evident how their postures changed showing plenty of shame and discomfort by putting their heads down, contracting themselves, and looking another way. The patriarchy made them feel repulsion about themselves when they are bleeding, and they didn’t even have access to pads or any other menstrual products, so they had to use fabric, which I think must be very uncomfortable. Seeing people trying to solve this issue brings me a lot of joy and hope because we see progress and better life quality for women in India. I hope that this project impact other areas where people live in extreme poverty because it also creates employment for people in those communities. About racism and discrimination toward transgender people, it’s truly heartbreaking how are they dehumanized and prevented from quality healthcare. Those stigmas regarding black women that they tolerate more pain or they can do everything by themselves are extremely damaging. I was shocked when reading ” A Birth Story” when the woman that just had given birth, had to walk while pushing the baby’s crib so she could go to the other room. Everything in that story was awful, it really demonstrated the lack of respect the healthcare staff had towards black women.

This week’s reading had many problems that society today still faces such as discrimination against transgenders and Black women in the health care system. While reading “12 Reasons It Should Be Illegal for Doctors Not to Treat Trans People” by Diana Tourjée, it safe to say I was not shocked because it been a topic of discussion amongst my friend and me. I have never experienced the discrimination my friends have but when they speak on it and express not only their sadness but how uncomfortable they felt when they were treated like that, in a way that made them feel naked I tend to feel their pain and makes me feel privileged. I appreciated Diana Tourjée’s examples of people who do not support the HHS allowing federally funded healthcare providers and insurers to legally deny care to transgender people. As for “A Birth Story” by Dána-Ain Davis, Cheyenne Varner & LeConté J. Dill, it was new to me because I was unaware the kind of discrimination Black women face in healthcare settings. I am a medical assistant at an urgent care and could not picture ever treating or even witnessing someone treating a patient with disrespect. LeConté J. Dill’s poem was wonderful in describing the feelings she was facing during that time, the illustrates add to the poem and makes it a great piece to understand as well as visualize the struggle that Black women go through not just in normal life but healthcare too. Overall, the readings gave me a better understanding that discrimination in healthcare is still going on today and since my career is being part of helping those who need it, I will always be encouraged to be fair.  

This week’s materials at some point felt hard to continue reading because of the amount of humiliation it described. Not that I did not know about transphobia in the health field, but to immerse myself in the personal experiences was quite powerful. The article “12 reasons it should be illegal for doctors not to treat a trans person” shares messages from people who stand against the proposed law that would allow denying medical care to transgender people. Many of them have faced discrimination based on their gender personally, while some were speaking for others. I cannot point a specific quote out of it – they all seem equally sad to me.

While reading “A Birth Story,” I once again thought of how obscure oppression can be. The article illustrates one of the many examples of obstetric racism, which impacts a patient’s medical treatment or diagnostic decisions based on their race. It can be taken as medical negligence that has nothing to do with racism, but the article shares a statistic that proves the opposite: “Black Women are more likely to have C-sections than any other group of women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” One quote from the story that made me emotional is this: “No wheelchair was provided and she had to walk to another room, pushing her newborn in the mobile crib and her IV…” On top of being exhausted and perhaps traumatized by her difficult labor, and on top of all sorts of emotions that postpartum brings, LeConté had to also bear this humiliating experience and I can’t imagine how painful it was for her.

Not only the readings, but the film “Period. End of Sentence” made me emotional in many ways. In the beginning, when both men and women are asked about periods, no one seems to have a willingness to answer or actual knowledge about it. One of the comments under the film on YouTube states that it “Broke my heart when those boys called periods a disease,” and I can totally relate. But later on, when I saw men, who are husbands and relatives of interviewed women, joining the pad production, I also got too emotional in a happy way. The documentary also served me as a reminder of how precious my life is, after seeing those women finding so much joy in things that are ordinary to me (like pads or having a routine job).

This week reading, this reading was emotional for me but I wasn’t surprised about the abuse, neglect, and disrespect in the healthcare system and the workers getting away with it. There is some hospital that I went to located in the Bronx that has disrespected their patients regardless of gender and race. What’s more upsetting is are the doctors, nurses, and EMTs who have neglected their patients are still working and not receiving consequences for neglect. People need to take more action in healthcare, no matter what race, gender, or sexuality everyone deserves the health they need to be alive and go on with their lives. If they don’t want to treat people then they should find another job! It’s sad to read people who are non-binary or transgender typing an experience about trans people not receiving healthcare. In the film Period. End of the conversation I was upset about what women in India had to go through when it comes to periods. It seems during the film they went through a lot and a lot of clothes changing when it comes to their weekly menstruation. It’s amazing to see in India a woman creating their business to make pads for women in need, one of my favorite parts that I chuckle at is when a man was asked what the woman was doing and he said that these women are making “diapers” for their monthly cycle. It’s a shame how men in India aren’t educated about the monthly cycle.

The birth story and 12 reasons it should be illegal for Doctors not treat trans people were engrossing due to the fact that I have witnessed and been apart of both scenarios. Only difference it was actually different seeing it from the patients view. For me I feel like it would convey more of a sense empathy even more with added visuals . The visuals in Period end of sentence were shocking, captivating and meaningful especially hearing and seeing what people thought of woman on there period and how they were regarded as basically useless . That was eye opening to see the kind of oppressive ignorance that exists especially within a setting I was not well informed of.