Don’t ask anyone’s name
More stupidity and bullying, this time aimed at medical staff. What could go wrong?
A noticeboard at one of London’s biggest hospitals is advising staff not to ask patients their name in case it causes offence to trans people.
Critics have said that the poster, at the Royal Free Hospital, would in effect leave doctors unable to access a patient’s records and is against General Medical Council rules.
The hospital has been displaying materials as part of an “allyship scheme” that is supposed to be more inclusive.
Why?
Why can’t hospitals just be allowed to get on with their work, rather than making displays of trans allyship? Why would a hospital be a good place for hectoring noticeboards? Why can’t trans activists just shut up for a change?
The noticeboard is for staff, the Times says, so I guess that means patients aren’t forced to see it, which is some small mercy, but it’s still a bossy nagging presumptuous piece of crap.
“What you think their pronouns should be does not matter a single bit.”
People with a brain have no opinion on what anyone’s luxury pronouns should be, because that’s not a thing. People know what third-person pronouns go with what sex, end of story. Medical staff have more important things to keep in mind than anybody’s bespoke pronouns. Shut up, get out, and take your poster with you.
What the hell is the point of telling hospital staff to listen more and talk less? A hospital isn’t a pub or a living room.
As for telling hospital staff they don’t need to know what sex their patients are…come on.
Remember when hospitals had noticeboards like this urging respect for women? No, neither do I.
Rudeness is contextual. You might be offended (or at least find it weird) if some random person on the street asked you for your shoe size, but surely you’d expect it of a shoe salesperson. And inquiries from your best friend about your bowel movements might seem intrusive, but your doctor might well have good reason to ask.
And knowing your name and sex is surely your doctor’s business.
I love how (taking What a Maroon’s point) ‘what is your name’ is an ‘inappropriate question’. And, reading the rest of that paragraph, why yes I think one would ask a cisgender [sic] person the same question in the same situation.
@ Guest:
I assume the intent is to prohibit inquiries about so-called “deadnames.” If an obviously male person introduces himself as, for example, Emily-Ann Ręnësmée Honeysuckle, you must always say “Nice to meet you, Emily-Ann” and never “Okay, but what’s your REAL name?”
I think it’s probably even stupider than that – I think it’s a generic Rules For Being Kind to Trans People poster that was just slapped up in the clinic, as opposed to a set of rules specifically for a medical clinic.
If that poster was in a clinic in West Yorkshire it would be under police protection.
Ophelia: that explains the bit about genitals. I mean, if there’s ANYONE that I’d expect to question me about my genitals, it’s a doctor!
@3 an illustrative anecdote:
https://ovarit.com/o/GenderCritical/450055/got-delayed-at-the-er-by-a-tim
#3 As The Smoke Rises Upward
“Okay, but what’s your REAL name?” might be putting it rudely.
However, “Did you have any former name that I should use to look for medical information on you?” Would be an important question.