Most medical intake forms only have a simple checklist for gender: M, W, or other. Not exactly comprehensive in a post-binary world. But a different kind of medical intake form just went viral, and it’s delivering on both humor and health.
Rather than asking for a patient’s sex and leaving it at that, the checklist tells them to “select all body parts you have today,” then check as many or as few as they need to from this list: breasts, cervix, uterus, ovaries, vagina, penis, prostate, and testes.
When the checklist hit social media, folks were quick to latch on to the word “today.” No, organs aren’t liable to disappear or materialize overnight — but in some cases, the answer could change day to day (depending on if you’ve had surgery or are undergoing hormone therapy).
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today? a penis. tomorrow? who knows . . .
— Your New Millenium (@your_miIlenium) April 10, 2024
— fox! 🇵🇸 (@bmb_wav) April 9, 2024
im concerned about the “today” part…it seems like a threat that you won’t have those or will gain new ones tomorrow
— 🍉Lynx ☭🌹🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (@LynxxxIDK) April 9, 2024
Others were delighted at testing the capabilities of the checklist. How would a nurse react to checking every single box? How about leaving them all blank? Or requesting an “other” box and really rattling the medical field?
selecting every available option and watching the nurses gather in abject shock as they check my chart
— sarah 🪻🏳️⚧️ 🍉 (@CharAGPznable) April 9, 2024
i want to select none of them and see what it does
— χ𝖎𝖔 (@V33EX) April 9, 2024
They should add an “other” option and let you get weird with it
— Dean Jones (@deanhsjones) April 9, 2024
On a serious note, though, this checklist, also known as an “organ inventory,” is great not only for trans inclusion, but for many cisgender folks, too. Lots of cis women have had their uteri or breasts removed, and some cis men are capable of growing breasts. Being specific about bodies in a medical context can only make healthcare more efficient.
This is actually the best method of medical care. Your doctor can ask specifics about your circumstances, but ultimately preventative care just comes down to if you have these parts
— In my cracked egg era 🐣 (@KillianGabe) April 9, 2024
Also useful for women who had a hysterectomy, the amounts of stories of women with hysterectomies having to take pregnancy tests I’ve heared is one too many.
— Pinch🌿🍄🌈 (@pinch_of_magic) April 10, 2024
Yeah this is actually really handy as a haver of a vagina and a prostate but no cervix or uterus. Can avoid wasting time worrying about parts I don't have that usually come with parts I do.
— ✨🏳️🌈Emily B.🏳️🌈✨ (@_emmy_bee) April 10, 2024
Im a straight cis male but i have breats 😭 god nerfed me
— rabbit (@rabb1tsfoot) April 9, 2024
Implementing organ inventories also means assigned genders at birth, or AGABs, would be far less relevant to healthcare, making trips to the doctor more comfortable — and more helpful! — for folks of all genders.
“People often say ‘isn’t AGAB language useful for medicine’ when I argue against using it, and unironically, no, something like this is far more useful,” one user explained. “AGAB is about the past, but the doctor is treating you in the present. They need to know hormone balance and what parts you have.”
A lot more useful than "what's your BIOLOGICAL SEX it's for MEDICINE"
— Emily Skye 🕊🎐 🧟♀️ 🔎🎲🏆🎼 (@deerleisure) April 10, 2024
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