TRANSCRIPTSam: Welcome to queer health podcast a podcast by queer people for queer people about - queer health.
Gaby: Cue the theme music!
[QHP THEME MUSIC]
Gaby: So let's get to introductions. I’m Dr. Gaby Mayer. I use she, her, pronouns and I’m a resident physician – which means I’m a physician in training in internal medicine/primary care. And I live in New York City.
Sam: I’m Sam Dubin. I use he him pronouns and I'm also an internal medicine resident physician in New York.
Richard: I'm Dr. Richard Greene. He him, his, an older queer doctor, director of the pride health center at Bellevue hospital.
Gaby: Sam, why are we here?
Sam: Well, the reason we're here is to tell Richard that older doesn't really quite apply to him yet.
Richard: Is that an expert opinion?
Sam: Hmm. No comment, Dr. Greene.
But the real reason we're here - and that we decided to start this podcast - is because so many queer people depend on their own experience or talking to their friends and network to know what works and what doesn't, when it comes to their health. And so many more don't even have access to the resources that they would need or want to make the most of their health. But there's a visible body of public health and clinical knowledge around many queer health topics. LGBTQ health exists. It may not be mainstream, but it's getting its critical mass. We want to share that knowledge that clinical and public health knowledge with others and this podcast is a way to do that using community storytelling to share the power that that health knowledge can provide people
Richard: So each of our episodes is going to center on an individual story and then some of the medical questions that come up as a result. So we're going to use experts from the community, from the medical community and weave a narrative to answer the questions in the context of what science and clinical research actually knows about.
Gaby: In other words: if you want to learn about queer health, this is the podcast for you.
Richard: And when we use the word queer, we use the word queer inclusively. Some people like that word, and some people don't like that word, but we're choosing to use that word because we feel like a spacious home for people's identities as sexual and gender minorities. It gives people the breathing room to be their fullest self.
Gaby: Too often we sent her on just one part of our community, but on this podcast, we're going to be focusing on activities and things that involve everybody in the LGBTQ+ community. And that's our reasoning for using queer.
Richard: And we want to make sure you know, this isn't for healthcare professionals. Although if you're a healthcare professional, we think you'll probably learn something too.
Sam: Okay. Now that we're talking about vocabulary, can someone explain what we mean when we say queer health and why we're not using LGBTQ or the phrase sexual and gender minority health instead?
Gaby: Queer health…it's a broad term that encompasses a range of issues that impact how a queer individual might interact with the healthcare system. It can be everything from walking into a waiting room and interacting with staff at the front desk. To talking about things like gender affirming, hormone therapy, or talking about fertility issues, if you're a queer couple. whatever you think is relevant to your health as a queer person is queer health. And that's the important thing.
Richard: What's our approach going to be, how are we going to handle this?
Sam: So QHP understands that the queer community has a diverse array of experiences and perspectives. QHP is going to pursue our mission with evidence based medicine and expert advice. Acknowledging what we know when we know it. And what we don't know when we don't know
Gaby: Something we do know are the episodes that are going to be in our first season. Some of the topics you can expect include: douching, what you need to know about the two current options for preexposure prophylaxis for HIV, what nonbinary primary care looks like and how to access gender affirming surgery.
Richard: We'll also have episodes on the blood donation ban for men who have sex with men episodes on queer cisgender women's primary care and sexual health. And we'll also spend some time exploring intersex, community members, healthcare stories, and ongoing ethical controversies.
Gaby: I know, I know you probably want to hit next and listen to our first episode. And if it's Winter 2020, then you can - but otherwise hang on tight and tune in in December for episode number one.
Sam: In the meantime, you can follow us on social media @QueerHealthPod, both on Instagram and Twitter.
Gaby: Yes. And if you're not a social media person, don't worry. We have a website too. It is www.queerhealthpod.com. You can go there for our episodes. We'll have show notes up there; we'll have resources that we talk about during our episodes. So bookmark it, make it your home page - aaaall that good stuff.
Richard: And though we are all doctors, I need to make it clear that we cannot give medical advice on this program. What we can do is talk about what we know in the literature. So please, if you have concerns, go see your own healthcare professional,
Gaby: BUT for everything else. Please slide your queer health questions into our DMs or inboxes. We would be glad to incorporate them into an episode.
[QHP THEME MUSIC]
Sam: QHP’s mission is a power sharing project that puts community stories and conversation with health expertise to expand autonomy for sexual and gender minorities.
Gaby: We can’t wait to have you listen to our first season. You’re gonna love it!
Sam: Everyone feel free to be your bossiest bottom.
