Title : Endometriosis: Gendered pain
Abstract:
The central research question of the current study was, “How does gender identity affect the experience of living with endometriosis?” An often-incapacitating chronic condition with limited treatments, endometriosis causes the lining of the uterus to grow outside of the uterus causing symptoms including pain during intercourse, disruption of bodily functions, increased likelihood of infertility, and chronic pain. Almost all research on endometriosis addresses the condition as a “women’s issue,” assuming the homogeny of gender identity of people with uteruses. Endometriosis is under-researched, and there have been few significant explorations of the unique experiences of transgender people who have endometriosis.
The current study utilized 10 semi-structured interviews with 10 individuals with endometriosis from the author's college campus, 6 participants of whom openly discussed their experiences specifically as transmasculine and trans nonbinary people with endometriosis. The author of this study, also a disabled transgender person with endometriosis, served as the interviewer. In addition to the development of a paper, the interviews were filmed and integrated into a 40-minute documentary addressing the experience of living with endometriosis, and a shorter 9-minute documentary focusing only on trans experiences of endometriosis. Dialogue from interviews was transcribed and coded to extract common themes in patient-perceived feedback about the current medical treatment of the condition.
The most common themes from interviews with trans participants included frustration with the cissexism prevalent in most gynecological care, and psychological distress from gender dysphoria or mistreatment at the hands of medical professionals that added to stress from the physical pain. This study unearthed a wealth of qualitative data supporting that the way that gynecological care is most often administered these days to treat the physical health conditions of trans people can also have a negative impact on the mental health of a trans person living with chronic pain.
The finding that people with compounding marginalized identities may experience more distress as a result of intersecting identities is congruent with previous research findings in the realm of minority stress. The findings of this study have implications for improvements to the offering of gynecological care in a way that is trans-affirming. More research is needed to better understand the unique experiences of trans people living with traditionally gendered medical conditions.
Keywords: Endometriosis, chronic pain, transgender, health services for transgender persons, gynecology
