Why We Need Gender Neutral Language for Abortion Access

September 13, 2016 / Jack Qu’emi

“We aren’t being mindful of each other.”

Do you think only women need access to abortions and reproductive healthcare?

That’s the common assumption – and it shows up in so many conversations about reproductive rights.

But the truth is that there are transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people who need abortion access, too – and society’s assumptions about gender are making that really difficult.

Here’s a short video from the All Access Coalition of organizations working for reproductive health, rights, and justice. Jack Qu’emi’s moving words show exactly why this issue matters – and how we can all help make a simple change for more inclusive access to reproductive health services.

With Love,
The Editors at Everyday Feminism

Click for the Transcript

Jack: I am trans. I am disabled. I am Afro-Latinx. I am nonbinary. I am femme. And not everybody who has a functioning uterus identifies as a woman. Some trans people need access to abortions. Some trans people have periods. Some trans people can get pregnant. Some trans people can get mammograms.

I had an abortion when I was 20. I was really isolated at the time. I didn’t have access to a community. People at the clinic constantly read me as a woman and called me “ma’am,” “she,” “miss.” Having an abortion is tough enough without having to navigate constant misgendering. It’s like being slapped every two seconds.

Medical situations in general are not friendly to gender-variant people. Even the forms, it says “gender: M, F.” Okay, I see what you mean, but you wrote gender. You meant sex. And if I’m intersex, what do I put? There’s no option for that.

Language, I think, is by far the biggest obstacle in terms of making it more gender-inclusive for trans and gender non-conforming communities. The problem as I see it is that we aren’t being mindful of each other. We aren’t being mindful of where others are coming from. So if we change our language just to something gender neutral, we can invite and make these kinds of experiences so much easier for people that are of marginalized communities.

I share my story to give face to a community.

Make Abortion Access a Reality.

Jack: It’s time to show our support and make abortion access a reality. Join me at All Access on September 10^th.

To learn more about this topic, check out:

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Jack Qu’emi is a non-binary Boricua and transformational speaker and facilitator whose educational content addresses consent, the social constructs of gender/ biological sex, healthy relationships, safe(r) sex education, and LGBTQIPA+ inclusion and equity. They have been facilitating educational programming since 2011 and are known for injecting humor into heavily academic concepts while making them more accessible for all audiences. You can follow Jack on Twitter @jackquemi.