Head In The Clouds About
Insurance??

It’s not you. Insurance was hard for me too. It can be so unclear and confusing, especially when you need life-saving care. After my first surgery, I realized how important it was for folx within marginalized communities to have access to medical literacy to advocate and protect themselves navigating the healthcare system. This way we can all avoid the frustration and despair of canceled procedures, denial of services, or discrimination due to the absence of education, and ableist policies. Even though it’s been an entire year since my procedure, I can still feel the headache of trying to register for insurance and then keep it active long enough to undergo a surgery I had been waiting for over two years for. Long story short, on top of all the preparation…

Are You Queer & In Need of Medical Care?

Considering the historical injustices of this country’s medical system it’s no surprise that our most crucial needs remain unmet. Given the obscure nature of medical policies, practices and terminology, medical literacy and access to services is especially limited to that of the most marginalized and vulnerable demographics, including but not limited to Black and Brown Queer communities experiencing homelessness, addiction, disability, immigration, and mental health crisis. If you’re a queer person of experience struggling to navigate health care services, this is the article for you. We’re hoping to provide some relief as we cover and define patient rights, queer health care guidelines, and the most commonly used medical terminology. As a patient receiving care you have a right:❖ To safe, considerate and respectful care, provided in a manner consistent with… Read more »

Historical Roots of Eugenics and impact on Afro-Indigenous Communities (Part 2)

So what exactly is Eugenics again?  “Eugenics is a scientifically erroneous and immoral theory of racial improvement and planned breeding”– National Human Genome Research Institute  For the past 150 years, this theory has been branded as a cause for “corrective” procedures on those deemed “hereditarily ill.” In a monstrous attempt to breed for ‘desired characteristics’ in order to “improve” the future generations of human beings. Which later ensued genocides and medical sterilization in the name of ethnic ‘cleansing’- better known as eugenicide.  To better clarify my use of the term genocide, it is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. It became a crime, punishable by international law under the United Nations in 1946 and to provide reparations to… Read more »

Biology is Not Binary: A History

Trigger Warning:  Illustrations of human reproductive system and referential use of outdated binary biological terminology  “While Biology is not and will never be binary. It is inarguably refreshing, diverse and unbelievably more beautifully designed than we have ever been taught to imagine.” – Ë11VËN Human Biology, has never been binary. Although, unfortunately each time it is discussed it becomes lost in the vague dichotomy of Western terminology (i.e men, women, boy, girl, penis, vagina, motherhood, fatherhood etc.) otherwise obstructing our ability as a society to explore and understand ourselves beyond the violent narratives surrounding the study of human biology. Ultimately removing us entirely from the Indigenous history of human life before colonialism. While complex, the basic fundamentals of biology actually begin quite simple. Biology in short  is ambiguously unique among… Read more »