This monthly column is (primarily) focused on women's health issues and concerns, but our resident lesbian doc Inna can accommodate questions about anything womyn under the sun.  Please send your questions and requests for featured topics to indigophilippines@yahoo.com.

LESBIANS ARE WOMEN TOO, STUPID!
by Gina S. Itchon MD, Indigo Corewomyn
August 2003

I have a confession to make. I actually had another article written and prepared. However, I have to admit, albeit very very sheepishly that it’s lost somewhere in the innards of my trusty old PC.

I do not belong to the computer generation. I belong to the generation with ambivalent feelings about computers. I "ooh" and "aah" about the convenience it has brought to me and my daily work; but I curse at the monitor and scratch my head in frustration when the PC does not do what I want it to do. And that’s how I lost my other article. After being repeatedly reminded of my deadline, I attempted to send the article to my editor and promptly lost it. Duh. Please don’t ask me how.

It was, however, through the marvels of the internet that I received this article twice. One friend sent it to me from Manila; another sent it from abroad. Both were asking for my comments. After reading it, I ranted and railed and got into a very bad mood for around five days, after which I settled down and reflected upon the reasons why another woman and a colleague in the medical profession at that, would imply that lesbians should not consult obstetricians because lesbians are not, well, women.

I can only come up with two reasons: ignorance and hypocrisy.

Perhaps Dr. Lyra Chua, head of the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecology Society (POGS) is really an ignoramus. Despite years of rigorous medical training and performing surgery on a countless number of women, she really actually believes that lesbians are genetically and anatomically different from (other? Heterosexual?) women.

Lesbians are, of course, are genetically made up of two X chromosomes (XX), as all females are. In addition, we have the requisite two ovaries, one uterus, one vagina and two enlarged breast masses on our chest, which anatomically define the female of the species in humans.

There are cases of genetic mix-ups in nature where a person is born with the genetic structure of XXY. These persons will have ambiguous external genitalia and may have a mixture of female and male anatomic characteristics but they occur very very rarely. It is rumored that one famous Filipina sprinter had to retire because she was never able to pass genetic tests to confirm her gender.

However, Dr. Chua, ma’am, the overwhelming majority of lesbians are genetically and anatomically female. We just prefer to love and/or have sex with another woman for numerous reasons, but that’s another story altogether.

Hypocrisy is even easier to understand. Of course, Dr. Chua wouldn’t want to touch lesbians with a ten-foot pole.

In this predominantly Catholic and hypocritical society where all sorts of illicit liaisons and mistresses are tolerated for as long as they figure in a heterosexual relationship, of course lesbians would not be considered women.

Dr. Chua would also publicly declare that lesbians are not women, lest she lose the graces of conservative “family-oriented” companies who regularly contribute funds for POGS activities. These companies, mostly manufacturers of infant formulas and nutritional supplements for pregnant mothers, contribute millions of pesos to POGS annually. After all, annual and mid-year conventions, where OB-GYNs get together in a five-star hotel to listen to new knowledge in their field and socialize with each other, are expensive.

Never mind that prescribing milk products to patients send the subliminal message that these products are superior to breast milk and that feeding babies milk from a bottle is better than breastfeeding. Never mind that it violates the Milk Code as long as the annual and mid-year conventions are well funded. Never mind that these colleagues of mine are plain and simple prostitutes selling their services and loyalty to the highest bidder. Never mind.

I would like to remind Dr. Chua that as doctors we are members of one of the most respected professions in the land, that we swore to treat all men and women equally without regard to race, color, creed, and GENDER.

LESBIANS ARE WOMEN, period. We will continue to consult OB-GYNs for Pap smears, ovarian cysts, menopause symptoms, and yes, even pregnancy. I sure hope Dr. Chua realizes that lesbians are no different from her and most women; that yes, we are made up of the same genes and anatomic structures that define a woman, same in every way to heterosexual women – only better in so many ways.

Previous Articles
Looking Beyond Reproductive Health: An Issue for Women

Slow Burn - The Female Sexual Response

The Author
Doc Inna is an out and proud practicing lesbian doctor (yes, practicing lesbian, and practicing doctor!) who is also an assistant professor at a medical school somewhere in the Southern part of the country.  Aside from her medical degree, she also has post-graduate degrees in Medical Science and Public Health.