Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are
Coming out is generally a relief. Finally, everybody knows. You know who your true friends are and which family members you can count on. Coming out is difficult, but once it's done, it's done, and you'll never have to do it again, right? Wrong. What's done is only done until something changes: until you get a new job, move to another neighborhood, switch doctors. Then you get to come out all over again.
It isn't an insurmountable obstacle, but it's a deterrent. It's one more reason not to find a better physician. Your doctor isn't great, but he's OK. It's one more reason not to see a specialist. That pain is probably nothing, anyway. And it's one more reason not to get screened. If you had symptoms, you would go, right?
By choosing to stay with a doctor you don't trust or putting off medical care until the problem is big enough to get in your way, you're denying yourself equal healthcare.
Multiple "Choice"
A. You've been with your partner for 15 years and are raising three children together. You stay at home with the kids while your partner works. But, she's a federal employee, so her "family" plan covers her and the children, but not you. So, you pay $300 a month for individual coverage. Sure, that $300 could've gone in a college fund, but what good would a mere $60,000 mean for your kids' education, anyway?
B. You're a U.S. citizen but your partner isn't. He has to leave the country because his work visa expires. Since you're not legally recognized as a couple by the federal government, you can't sponsor him for a green card. However, you are free to abandon your country and move to his; that is, of course, assuming you can find a way to legally reside there. And healthcare? Well, you'll work it out.
C. Your partner is in the U.S. Navy. She gets stationed for a two-year tour of duty in Naples, Italy. As established earlier, your Uncle Sam still hasn't come to terms with your relationship. So, if you want to be together, you'll have to find a way to legally reside in Italy. Since you're not a proper spouse, you won't be able to go to a naval hospital if something happens to you while you're there. You decide to learn how to say "Cabbie, please take me to Naples General" in Italian.
D. None of the above. Seems easier to stay single or pretend you're straight.
Welcome to Your Playing Field
"Hey, this field is crappy! I want to play on the one over there, with the damp dirt and golf grass!" Too bad. Our field is dusty and clumpy and has a bunch of hidden holes. The bases slide all over the place and the umpire seems to be playing favorites.
Cue the old adage: Life's not fair. I used to think that referred to the occurrence of natural disasters, loved ones' deaths, and life-altering illnesses. As it turns out though, life's unfairness is all-too-often man-made. What an infuriating and overwhelming realization, since unjust laws can't be changed unless an entire political entity (or "activist judge") is convinced enough of their detriment to actually do something about it.
The bigger groups get the better fields. That means the rest of us have to work more, pay more, and incur more risk simply to stay in the game. We can sit in the dugout and rot, or we can brace ourselves and welcome the rain. Find and fill the holes. Work within the system to make things even.
The key to working and playing on this field of ours, is knowing we deserve better and staying healthy enough to effect change. We have a duty to take care of ourselves. We are assets to our family, our friends, and our community. And we're an asset to this country, whether or not it realizes it yet.
Related Articles:- Gay People and Colon Cancer
- Women: How to Get Your Female Partner to Get Screened for Colon Cancer
- Men: How to Get Your Male Partner to Get Screened for Colon Cancer
Sources:
Courtenay, Will. "Behavioral Factors Associated with Disease, Injury, and Death among Men: Evidence and Implications for Prevention." The Journal of Men's Studies 9.1 (Aug. 2000): 81-142. 26 Jul. 2006 [www.menshealth.org/code/BEHV-JMS.PDF].
Heck, Julia and Sell, Randall. "Health Care Access Among Individuals Involved in Same-Sex Relationships." Medscape Today. 20 Jul. 2006. 26 Jul. 2006 [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/540886?src=mp].
Schwartz, Martin. "Gay Men and the Health Care System." Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services 5.1 (1996): 19-32. 26 Jul. 2006 [http://www.bubl.ac.uk/archive/journals/jgalss/v05n0196.htm].
Peterson, K. J. and Bricker-Jenkins, M. "Lesbians and the Health Care System." Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services 5.1 (1996): 33-47. 26 Jul. 2006 [http://www.bubl.ac.uk/archive/journals/jgalss/v05n0196.htm].
Roberts, S. J. and Sorensen, L. "Health Related Behaviors and Cancer Screening of Lesbians: Results from the Boston Lesbian Health Project." Women & Health 28.4 (1999): 1-12. PubMed. 26 Jul. 2006 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10378342&dopt=Abstract].
