Watch: Gay Doctor Takes to Social Media to Increase Representation
A gay physician is making virtual house calls with social media posts that reassure LGBTQ people and model what out professionalism looks like.
Buzzfeed has reported on @ThatGayDoctor more than once, most recently covering his efforts to "increase queer visibility in the office and online."
@ThatGayDoctor, Buzzfeed notes, is "a primary care physician in Chicago who prefers to go by his username for privacy," but he's not afraid to post photos along with his common-sense advice.
Two of @ThatGayDoctor's favorite platforms are Instagram and TikTok, which he uses "to challenge harmful stereotyping and openly addresses why talking about being gay can be crucial for advancing equality," Buzzfeed noted.
Speaking with the site, the physician said, "So many of us can be out and proud in our lives, but feel like we have to mask our true identity in the workplace.
"I think it comes out of fear of being met with homophobia, and I want to show people that it's okay to be out and proud."
@ThatGayDoctor doesn't just address his comments to his LGBTQ audience; he also speaks directly to straight and cisgender people.
@thatgaydoctor The same logic applies to other minority groups. If you can't relate, please recognize that you are lucky. ##perspective ? original sound - thatgaydoctor
But it's his posts about "inclusive medical practices" and his approach to the LGTBQ community - which too often faces hostility from medical professionals - that might mean the most to the non-heterosexual and non-cisgender social media users who tune in to see what he has to say.
Saying he treats people at "a clinic focused on underserved populations," @ThatGayDoctor declared in one post, "I'm hoping to help young people feel comfortable opening up to their doctor about sexual and mental health."
That extends to him going out of his way to make his LGBTQ patients feel welcome and heard.
@ThatGayDoctor also models a patient-centered approach to providing health care; in one post, he said, "It's important that you leave the office feeling like your concerns were heard. I don't want you leaving thinking 'Ugh, I'm worried it's still this.' Tell me!"
The response from the LGBTQ community has been swift and filled with gratitude, which is perhaps not a surprise given the disparities in health care LGBTQ people face as compared with heterosexuals - disparities that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified.
The problem runs deeper than homophobic doctors and nurses. State lawmakers have begun a fresh wave of anti-LGBTQ legislative attacks, working hand in hand with national anti-gay organizations - all in spite of recent poll numbers showing that more Americans than ever before openly identify as LGBTQ.
Ongoing attacks from lawmakers include so-called "Religious Refusal" bills like the one recently signed into law in South Dakota, which allows medical professionals to turn LGBTQ patients away, as well as a slate of anti-trans laws that a number of states have embraced, some of them attacking the rights of trans youth to receive medically appropriate care and criminalizing physicians who provide that care.