Kara Sievewright: Queer in Common Country
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you in this piece? How does the use of a graphic medium add to the story?
How does Brady’s trans identity influence the way he experienced breast cancer treatment? What role does his community play in this treatment?
How can we support and encourage more connection, rather than disconnection, of our patients’ communities (LGBTQ+ or otherwise) during their healthcare experiences?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“The graphic is phenomenal! It tells us a a life story through the lens of one scnenario. What stood out to me is the rigidity of the rules versus the fluidity of the human experience.” —@jro_joe
“It was devastatingly real to see physicians here being both so uninformed about trans competent care, and not caring much about how uninformed they were. Truly heartbreaking. It’s always beautiful though to see communities come together in the face of this kind of adversity.” —@jack_turban
This immediately made me think of @AlisonBechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home. The images allowed me to absorb non-written cues of the author, facial expressions of disappointment and frustration with the system.” —@cjstreed
“Implying that his cancer was because of hormones is so common and also such bad medicine. It has always made me feel that cis people imagine that we somehow deserve punishment for our transness. The bright side? Queer community helps to heal us.” —@em_gee_ess
“A wonderful update to @makerofnets & Brady's story is that Brady is doing super well & they're now the proud parents of baby twins born this summer! Kara's actually participating in this chat (kinda) during baby bath + bedtime. (Hi, Kara! You are a parent superhero!)” —@zenasharman
About this #MedHumChat
“Queer in Common Country” was paired with “Healing Exchanges,” an essay by Ariel Estrella for a #MedHumChat December 4, 2019 exploring LGBTQ+ Connection and Disconnection in Healthcare.
We were honored to be joined by two special guests for this discussion. Zena Sharman (@zenasharman) is editor of The Remedy as well as a public speaker, LGBTQ+ health advocate, and director of strategy at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Ariel Estrella (@arielmestrella) is a queer Latine scholar at Cornell University who is pursing a doctoral English degree with a focus on queer of color lyricism.
The pieces for this chat, along with the discussion questions, were selected by Maggie Hulbert and Grace Oliver.
About the Author
Kara Sievewright is an artist, graphic designer, comic creator, graphic recorder, and member of @GHC_Comics.