| Abstract: | According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 28% of trans respondents reported postponing medical care due to discrimination, and 28% reported being harassed by providers when they did seek out care. Scholars have proposed that what is taught (or not) in medical schools might play a role in the unequal health care experienced by many trans people. As medical education becomes a site of intervention for reducing transgender health disparities, it presents opportunities for sociologists to study and explain the processes by which medical training creates, reinforces, and potentially challenges stigma‐related health disparities. In this paper, we propose three areas of inquiry that might help explain this situation: the hidden curriculum, patient health movements and consumerism, and medical competency. By employing these concepts, we argue that sociologists can develop more comprehensive explanations for the relationship between medical education and transgender health inequalities and offer solutions to address this disparity. |
