Hi
The decision to use non-heterosexual comes from being heterosexual and as yet finding no way of 'defining' lesbian, gay, non-straight, bi etc women in a way that is inclusive and acceptable and in doing my research I've been constantly challenged in a way that I haven't experienced before as a midwife. I'm not really sure how well it's received. I'll just have to wait and see. In the UK queer is one of those labels (for want of a better word) that appears to be more acceptable from within than without. But I think it's really important that midwifery research for minority groups of women is not just the realm of those minority groups. We are midwives trying to improve all women's experiences of pregnancy at the end of the day.
But I do find your research fascinating. It is a truly challenging area that I don't think is apparent in the UK. Not that it's not an issue (and I have no idea whether it is or not) but that if it is we (the midwifery population) are not aware of it. I would be very interested to hear if you find any useful information on this area. I wouldn't want the discussion to end there.
Elaine
>>> varainja stock <[log in to unmask]> 13/09/2007 17:53 >>>
Hi Elaine,
Yes, it's true no one should assume what another person should be called,
but for the purposes just putting the question out there for the research i
am doing which aims to be inclusive of all family/parent configurations out
there. Queer is the only way to say that without saying Lesbian, gay, bi,
queer, transgender, transsexual, polyamorous, queer, and questioning. My
apologies, it's widely used here in the LGBTTQQ community, although it is
still new. Rest assured the final product doesn't assume anything in the
wording.
Has using the term "non-heterosexual" been received well? As a queer woman
myself, I am not fond of being categorized in relation to an other, or
rather being put in a category of other. I believe my identity can exist
without the existence of heterosexuality. But that's just me and I don't
claim to be the majority.
As for the Trans issue, yes i am aware that MtoF cannot get pregnant. I am
looking for information on FtoM and pregnancy, as yes these Men do some
times want to have biological children of their own, much as a lot of people
opt to give birth to children who are biologically theirs. This is one of
the problems these Men face in society, the assumption that their choice to
have children and how they would want to go about having children is decided
by the gender/sex they are. They can often face ostracism in the health
care sector, along with in the workplace (on top of the discrimination they
regularly face by being Trans). This is not all together unlike the
assumptions, not so long past, that lesbians and gays don't want children,
or worse that they would psychologically or physically harm children if they
had them.
This is also the reason that the community centre i am doing this research
for is one of the only in north america that offers pre-natal classes for
Trans Dads-to-Be.
The reason these issues are being addressed together is because gender/sex
does not determine sexuality or famillial configuration. FtoM can be
straigh men, they can also be gay men, as MtoF can be straight women as well
as gay women as they can both be bi, or questioning or in polyamorous
relationships.
Outside of that, FtoM could act as surrogate to another couple.
There are a lot of questions that few people are working to answer, and most
of it hasn't been published yet.
rhonda
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