This letter is the single best one I have seen on these issues, by far. Many thanks to Lauren for doing this good and hard work. May we send it, with attribution to Lauren of course, indicating our agreement with it, to our D officials, and/or is it possible to sign a WDI petition to this effect directed toward the Democratic Party/officials?
Much appreciated, Lauren! I have now written Schumer, Gillibrand, and Nadler, quoting your letter in full, and starting with this para (w/minor changes to the starting para for Gillibrand and Nadler):
"In December, 2022, Lauren Levey wrote you a letter of which I have just become aware. Like Lauren, I am a lesbian and lifelong Democrat who holds the values of the political left, and like her, I am therefore dismayed with the stances Democrats are currently taking on the issue of “gender identity.” I am writing now to convey my agreement with and full support of what Lauren Levey wrote you then, which, with her permission, I am quoting in full below:"
I then closed with this: "I implore you and all in the Democratic party to heed Lauren’s words and change course."
With grateful thanks to you, Lauren, for writing so well and so powerfully on this and for allowing us to quote you in our own letters.
For your “amusement”: I never get a response from Gillibrand until months have gone by, if at all. This time, I get it in one day. Needless to say, no one read what I sent, probably pulled this stock response on seeing the word “lesbian” in the subject line. Needless to say, I will be following up. This time I will probably call first and direct them to the letter I sent, then follow-up with another letter. Anyway, here’s what I got back :
Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on strengthening the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals. I appreciate your perspective on this important issue and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
“Every person should be treated equally under the law and protected from discrimination. Every individual is entitled to freedom in every aspect of daily life without fear of harassment or discrimination, and I am committed to ensuring that LGBTQIA+ individuals are treated equally under the law. I am a proud cosponsor of the Equality Act, which would amend the landmark federal and anti-discrimination in key areas of life, including housing, employment, health care, credit, education, and federally funded programs. Nobody should ever be treated as less than equal because of who they love or who they are. Please rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind when making decisions regarding LGBTQIA+ rights.”
Well, I liked what Lauren wrote so much I was happy to put it “on the record.” In any event, the way Gillibrand works, I am confident even a one-sentence letter wouldn’t have been read. I am pretty sure a lot of this is automated—with a form response generated based on the selected topic (from a drop down list, you can’t tailor it). I followed up with a phone call to let the office know what I thought of that, that I opposed the Equality Act as written, and also sent a follow-up letter, because I too have templates at the ready, and what else do I have to do with my time😎. I am under no illusions here: none of it makes any difference. Gillibrand will never get my vote. It’s not just this issue, she’s completely unresponsive generally, a complete waste of space. She does have an R opponent, but he is a jerk, so I will vote blank ballot. She will be a shoo in no matter what. What we need here is a more concerted push, but it doesn’t appear there are anything like enough people in NY who are even aware of how bad this is. I had lunch with a couple well-meaning friends yesterday, and their jaws dropped as I conveyed just a little of how bad this is—and I haven’t even broached with them yet the calamity that is Prop 1. As you have noted elsewhere, it is highly likely Prop 1 will pass, and that is going to be a disaster.
If you want to see what erasure looks like in action, this is the response I received from one of my doctor's health care organizations when I asked to have errors in my personal information corrected.
I said it was an error to report that my sex was "assigned at birth" because it was not.
I also said that it was an error to report that I have a gender identity. I do not have a gender identity.
This is the response I received from the company's compliance, quality and risk manager, who is a woman:
Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. The sex assigned at birth and gender identity fields are fixed fields in the medical record. Thus, the information cannot be removed.
However, you are welcome to select the "Choose not to disclose" option if you do not wish to select an answer.
Sex assigned at birth is the recognized nomenclature in health care. This is also the nomenclature used by the CDC. As you mentioned, the sex that is assigned by a medical provider is based on the genitalia (and in certain cases other factors) observed at birth.
We appreciate your feedback regarding gender identity, but as an organization that is proud to serve a diverse population of patients, we believe that it is important to give all patients the opportunity to express their identity and have that identity acknowledged.
Please feel free to select the "Choose not to disclose" option if you do not wish to provide an answer for the gender identity field.
😳 That is some real emotional manipulation, in addition to complete denial of physical reality, a combined technique also known as gaslighting. Reads to me very much like the proselytizing speech in a religious pamphlet, and is totally condescending. Thank you for sharing the text of the letter here.
you can also take a nice red or black marker and cross out all the offending descriptions and write in the correct language beside them. I am getting VERY good at that.
This letter is the single best one I have seen on these issues, by far. Many thanks to Lauren for doing this good and hard work. May we send it, with attribution to Lauren of course, indicating our agreement with it, to our D officials, and/or is it possible to sign a WDI petition to this effect directed toward the Democratic Party/officials?
Thanks Susan. I'm asking the WDI USA board both questions.
Thanks for your nice feedback, Susan. Yes, feel free to share my letter, with attribution.
Much appreciated, Lauren! I have now written Schumer, Gillibrand, and Nadler, quoting your letter in full, and starting with this para (w/minor changes to the starting para for Gillibrand and Nadler):
"In December, 2022, Lauren Levey wrote you a letter of which I have just become aware. Like Lauren, I am a lesbian and lifelong Democrat who holds the values of the political left, and like her, I am therefore dismayed with the stances Democrats are currently taking on the issue of “gender identity.” I am writing now to convey my agreement with and full support of what Lauren Levey wrote you then, which, with her permission, I am quoting in full below:"
I then closed with this: "I implore you and all in the Democratic party to heed Lauren’s words and change course."
With grateful thanks to you, Lauren, for writing so well and so powerfully on this and for allowing us to quote you in our own letters.
Well done, Susan!
You made it irresistibly easy!💕💕💕
For your “amusement”: I never get a response from Gillibrand until months have gone by, if at all. This time, I get it in one day. Needless to say, no one read what I sent, probably pulled this stock response on seeing the word “lesbian” in the subject line. Needless to say, I will be following up. This time I will probably call first and direct them to the letter I sent, then follow-up with another letter. Anyway, here’s what I got back :
Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on strengthening the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals. I appreciate your perspective on this important issue and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
“Every person should be treated equally under the law and protected from discrimination. Every individual is entitled to freedom in every aspect of daily life without fear of harassment or discrimination, and I am committed to ensuring that LGBTQIA+ individuals are treated equally under the law. I am a proud cosponsor of the Equality Act, which would amend the landmark federal and anti-discrimination in key areas of life, including housing, employment, health care, credit, education, and federally funded programs. Nobody should ever be treated as less than equal because of who they love or who they are. Please rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind when making decisions regarding LGBTQIA+ rights.”
"Needless to say, no one read what I sent"
Exactly right, which is why I am not a fan of long letters like this.
I would send something like
"I am a lifelong Democrat who will be voting for your Republican opponent because you support the anti-lesbian Equality Act."
Period, full stop.
Well, I liked what Lauren wrote so much I was happy to put it “on the record.” In any event, the way Gillibrand works, I am confident even a one-sentence letter wouldn’t have been read. I am pretty sure a lot of this is automated—with a form response generated based on the selected topic (from a drop down list, you can’t tailor it). I followed up with a phone call to let the office know what I thought of that, that I opposed the Equality Act as written, and also sent a follow-up letter, because I too have templates at the ready, and what else do I have to do with my time😎. I am under no illusions here: none of it makes any difference. Gillibrand will never get my vote. It’s not just this issue, she’s completely unresponsive generally, a complete waste of space. She does have an R opponent, but he is a jerk, so I will vote blank ballot. She will be a shoo in no matter what. What we need here is a more concerted push, but it doesn’t appear there are anything like enough people in NY who are even aware of how bad this is. I had lunch with a couple well-meaning friends yesterday, and their jaws dropped as I conveyed just a little of how bad this is—and I haven’t even broached with them yet the calamity that is Prop 1. As you have noted elsewhere, it is highly likely Prop 1 will pass, and that is going to be a disaster.
Gillibrand’s last line 😂
"fall on the sword of "gender identity". What a great line.
excellent. Lauren nails it.
If you want to see what erasure looks like in action, this is the response I received from one of my doctor's health care organizations when I asked to have errors in my personal information corrected.
I said it was an error to report that my sex was "assigned at birth" because it was not.
I also said that it was an error to report that I have a gender identity. I do not have a gender identity.
This is the response I received from the company's compliance, quality and risk manager, who is a woman:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. The sex assigned at birth and gender identity fields are fixed fields in the medical record. Thus, the information cannot be removed.
However, you are welcome to select the "Choose not to disclose" option if you do not wish to select an answer.
Sex assigned at birth is the recognized nomenclature in health care. This is also the nomenclature used by the CDC. As you mentioned, the sex that is assigned by a medical provider is based on the genitalia (and in certain cases other factors) observed at birth.
We appreciate your feedback regarding gender identity, but as an organization that is proud to serve a diverse population of patients, we believe that it is important to give all patients the opportunity to express their identity and have that identity acknowledged.
Please feel free to select the "Choose not to disclose" option if you do not wish to provide an answer for the gender identity field.
Thank you, Compliance, Quality and Risk Manager
😳 That is some real emotional manipulation, in addition to complete denial of physical reality, a combined technique also known as gaslighting. Reads to me very much like the proselytizing speech in a religious pamphlet, and is totally condescending. Thank you for sharing the text of the letter here.
you can also take a nice red or black marker and cross out all the offending descriptions and write in the correct language beside them. I am getting VERY good at that.