Shifting language for shifting anatomy: Using inclusive anatomical language to support transgender and nonbinary identities

Abstract

While navigating a medical or surgical gender transition, transgender, and nonbinary people encounter anatomical language and concepts through their own informal research on the topics and directly through healthcare providers. Use of appropriate and inclusive language is important for affirming identities and can be fostered at any point during professional training through modeling of inclusive language and in the formal curriculum, including during anatomical education. In this article we discuss anatomical language and how it intersects with gender identity, first from the perspective of a transgender patient, then from the perspective of an anatomy educator. The patient shared how she benefited from informative resources, nongendered language, language tailored to her level of understanding, and providers not making generalizations about her based on her anatomy or sex assigned at birth. The educator shared her experience developing a primer on sex and gender that moved beyond a prescriptive binary and exposed students to language and concepts inclusive of diverse sexual and gender identities. Recommendations were made related to how to implement these lessons and better explore how transgender and nonbinary individuals experience anatomical language and the potential impact of language that is inclusive of gender-diverse persons in anatomical education as part of health professions programs. While sound medicine, procedure, science, and experienced professional skill were necessary, an essential positive aspect of the medical and gender transitions discussed was an intentionality around language by providers-including anatomical language.

Incorporating a structural vulnerability framework into the forensic anthropology curriculum

“…Additionally, reconceptualizing sex as broader than a binary makes the gender-diverse community more visible [ 34 ]. These efforts can begin in the classroom by teaching sex as a spectrum rather than a binary, using the most appropriate terminology, and learning the features of sex or gender affirming surgeries [ 42 , 43 ].…”

“…Reviewing the literature presented in this section is important for both undergraduate and graduate-level coursework. Additionally, adding readings such as Easterling and Byram [ 43 ] and including discussions on the incorporation of gender-neutral language when communicating with medicolegal personnel will help prepare students to discuss gender-variant individuals in forensic contexts. In general, forensic anthropology students often lack practice in presenting expert testimony in court, to the public, or to agencies involved in forensic investigations [ 44 ].…”

Evolution of a discipline—The changing face of anatomy

“…The article ends with a call for reform of the language we use to describe reproductive anatomy. Easterling and Byram ( 2022 ) also discuss anatomical language, emphasizing the intersection with gender identity, from two different perspectives: the perspective of a transgender patient and the perspective of an anatomy educator. They share recommendations for how to use anatomical language that is inclusive of gender‐diverse people in the context of health professional education.…”

The Core Concepts, Competencies, and Grand Challenges of Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy and Morphology

“… Cooper et al. (2020) , Štrkalj and Pather (2021) , and Easterling and Byram (2022) give a wonderful set of recommendations for making academic Biology and Anatomy more inclusive for LGBTQ + individuals. In particular, Cooper et al.…”

“…In particular, Cooper et al. (2020) and Easterling and Byram (2022) recommend that instructors dissociate the language of gender identity (e.g., boy and girl) from those of anatomy (e.g., penis and vagina). They also recommend that instructors highlight that the same natural variation we see in other traits is also present in sexual characteristics.…”