Harvard Targeted for Kinky, Non-Monogomous Continuing Ed
An 8-year-old continuing education training for doctors who work with LGBTQ+ patients is being condemned in a right wing outlet because of a section that mentions BDSM.
by Evan Urquhart
The College Fix, a conservative culture war outrage website which focuses on higher ed and campus life, has a story today directing outrage towards a Harvard-sponsored training intended for doctors who work with the LGBTQ+ community. The training, called “Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health: A Course for the Whole Healthcare Team,” includes an hour-long session on BDSM, kink, and non-monogamy, and is offered by Boston LGBTQ+ health advocacy group the Fenway. It has been offered as a continuing ed course for practicing clinicians at Harvard for the past 8 years, according to this quote from a Harvard spokesperson included by the Fix:
screenshot from the College Fix
There are many ways in which a greater understanding of kink, BDSM, and ethical non-monogamy could help doctors who work with patients, particularly ones in the LGBTQ+ community. Many kinds can be practiced safely and consensually, but can be risky for novices who may not know what is and isn’t safe. Non-monogamy, which implies multiple partners, is safer when partners can speak openly about the risk of STDs, both with one another and with their medical providers. A patient who is unable to talk openly with their doctor may miss an opportunity to learn about safer practices, and a doctor who is unaware of kink or non-monogamy may lack the ability to share information about safety with a patient who needs it.
All of this makes common sense in a medical context where patient health and safety is the primary concern. By meeting patients where they are, doctors can help them make safer, healthier choices. Patients who feel excessive shame they may avoid doctors entirely, or leave out important information to avoid being lectured or judged, which in turn leads to worse health outcomes than they would otherwise have.
A conservative approach, however, encourages doctors to put safety and health second, and conservative moral judgements first. The article considers non-monogamy to be infidelity, and BDSM and kink to be morally wrong, and sees doctors’ only role as condemning these things in moral terms. To that end, the Fix includes statements by a member of a conservative think tank, Ethicist Nathanael Blake from the Ethics and Public Policy Center:
screenshot for the College Fix
Where does this approach lead? As mentioned above, patients who feel judged often avoid going to the doctor whenever possible, and don’t open up to doctors when they do. This leads to fewer doctors visits, less knowledge of safer sex and BDSM practices, and poorer health. This is, of course, exactly what conservatives want. Conservatives want people who they think are engaging in “immoral” practices to hide, avoid the doctor, experience shame, and have poorer health. They theorize that this punitive approach will lead fewer people to engage in these practices, but show no interest in the decades of research which show conversion-style practices and moral judgements don’t help, and only hurt.