For some reason, pharmacies can’t seem to compute trans existence — and the trans folks of the internet have the stories to prove it.
A transmasc TikToker with the handle @lilarmfat kicked off the conversation with a storytime of their own recent pharmacy visit. “Nothing will humble a pharmacy tech more than dealing with a transgender patient,” they began. “Because every time that I go in to get my prescriptions, people always think that I’m, like, the best boyfriend ever — like I’m picking up prescriptions for my girlfriend. But it turns out, I’m the girlfriend.”
That included a recent visit to a pharmacy in Chicago. @lilarmfat broke down the pharmacy technician’s actions in order: “Looks me up and down, looks at the screen, is like, ‘Give me a second,’” they said. “Goes to the pharmacist, talks to the pharmacist for like five minutes — which is like seven years in pharmacy line time — comes back and goes, ‘The computer’s asking me to ask you if you’re … pregnant.’”
“I say, ‘No, I’m not, but thank you! Thank you,’” they continued. “‘Cause wow, he really took the due diligence to go to the pharmacist and say, ‘Do I really have to ask this motherf*cker with the goatee if they are with child?’ But yes, you do. ‘Cause the thing is, if I get a nut up in me, it will crawl out nine months later. It surely will.”
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In @lilarmfat’s comments section, other trans folks shared their own stories of pharmacies being unable to reconcile their prescriptions with their appearances.
“EVERY time I pick up my Testosterone AND estradiol cream it causes like an error message in the techs brain,” one commenter wrote.
“the first time I got testosterone I had to get birth control pills too for Endo and I the pharmacy tech said ‘testosterone AND birth control 🤨’,” shared another. “I felt greedy after that.”
“picked up my estrogen today and the pharmacist did a complete double take when they saw ‘estradiol’ 😭,” recalled a third.
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Others shared anecdotes about pharmacy techs who were excited to prove their allyship. “I have a young pharmacist that is always THRILLED to see me and gets so excited to use my preferred name,” one user commented. “I think I’m the only trans person she knows 😭”
“Last time I was at the pharmacy, it was the tech misgendering me and the lead pharmacist NEXT TO HER, looking at the same screen, correcting her every time and apologizing profusely to me,” shared another commenter.
Some pharmacy techs even chimed in on the conversation, sharing how the interactions go from their perspectives.
“STOP I HATE ASKING THAT BUT I HAVE TO 💔💔💔💔💔💔,” one commenter wrote in regards to @lilarmfat being asked if they were pregnant. “me and my pharmacist always side eye each other and sigh because i’m the one that has to ask.
“hate asking people if they’re pregnant bc it feels so personal,” added another pharmacy tech, who added that they were nonbinary themself. “I know it’s important to ask but damn.”
“As a trans person myself I often clock people but I give them the hookup with extra supplies etc 😌,” shared another trans pharmacy employee. “we gotta stick together.”
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