2023 Dr. Jonathan Alexander - “Queer and in Pain"

“Queer and in Pain: The Challenges of Being an LGBT Patient in the Contemporary Medical Establishment”
About: In the summer of 2019, Jonathan Alexander had a minor stroke, what his doctors called an “eye stroke.” A small bit of cholesterol came loose from an artery in his neck and instead of shooting into his brain and causing damage, it lodged itself in a branch artery of his retina, resulting in a permanent blindspot in his right eye.
A pressure that the queer ill contend with is feeling at fault for their condition, of having somehow chosen illness as punishment for their queerness, however subconsciously. Queer people often experience psychic and somatic pressures that not only decrease their overall quality of life but can also lead to shorter lifespans. Emerging out of a medical emergency and a need to think and feel that crisis through the author’s sexuality and changing sense of dis/ability, facing a health crisis while trying to understand how one’s sexual identity affects and is affected by that crisis.
In this presentation for the Summit, Alexander reflects on his experiences, of being subject to a medical establishment that doesn't always understand or address the needs of queer people, much less understand the complex social forces that make queer people more subject to illness and particular health challenges.
Jonathan Alexander is Chancellor's Professor of English and Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Irvine. Is the author, co-author, or co-editor of twenty-two books, and his research focuses primarily on the uses of storytelling to promote personal growth, political consciousness, and collective action. Jonathan also writes creative nonfiction and is the author of a series of books about growing up gay in the Deep South, called The Creep Trilogy, and the STROKE BOOK: THE DIARY OF A BLINDSPOT, which is about his encounter with a medical crisis and his use of writing to deal with it.