After undergoing ankle surgery in 2014, Lore Graham noticed something zir’s surgeon hadn’t. Graham’s gender identity and name were indicated on the last page of zir’s medical records.1
“I got deadnamed2 all throughout my surgery. They didn’t have any note anywhere else in my file,” said Graham, a 29-year-old who works as an administrative coordinator at a Boston, Massachusetts university. “I’m glad they had something, but I’m upset that it wasn’t more prominent.”
Graham’s unsure, but ze thinks the information came from Fenway Health. Ze’s been a patient at one of Fenway’s three Boston-based community health centers for seven years. There, ze receives transition-related care as well as treatment for more mundane ailments like colds and the common flu. For something more serious, like the ankle surgery Graham needed after ze was hit by a car, Fenway generally refers patients to Beth Israel Deaconess Memorial Hospital.
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- Throughout this story, Fenix uses the pronouns ze and zir to refer to Lore Graham. Ze and zir are alternative, neutral pronouns used by some transgender people.
- Deadname is a term used by the transgender community to refer to the name they were given at birth. The names are considered dead once a transgender person has selected a new name.
