Gina

I’m slightly nervous to link to this because people I know and respect organized the action for Lyon Martin that Marlene quotes in her blog post. And I think that the end result of that action was positive, and did good things. (I heard that at last count folks raised $4k towards Lyon Martin yesterday. That’s pretty amazing.)

But also: Marlene makes some really astute and important points in this article, points that I think need to be considered. I do not want to see LM go under. For the record, again, neither does M. — she states that pretty clearly. But I think she’s right: LM is not the only option, and presenting them like they are effectively erases some important history with regards to other clinics in San Francisco — in particular clinics that have pioneered health care for trans people, especially trans women.

Case in point: I didn’t know any of the history she talks about with regards to the Tom Waddell Health Center. I also didn’t know that Lyon Martin started providing care to trans men before they started providing care to trans women (which sucks!). I think that all of those pieces are important and over-looked bits of the history of the clinic. (And, honestly, I also had the same question on the tip my tongue re: using the word “queers” when LM has always been either a “women” or a “women and trans” clinic.)

Also? The TWHC waiting rooms M. describes sound a lot like our waiting rooms at St. James on clinic nights.