An LGBTI rights organization in France is calling on the Minister of Equality to intervene in the case of a gynecologist who they are accusing of “transphobia.”
On September 8, SOS Homophobie, which describes itself as a “national association against LGBTIphobia” took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn a gynecologist for stating he only provided services to females. The comment from Dr. Victor Acharian, who operates in the Pau region, was made in reply to a Google review he received in which a trans-identified male’s partner complained that Acharian refused to provide services to him.
“It was my trans partner’s first appointment. He refused to see her, his secretary threw us away coldly. I advise against [visiting]. Never again,” the review stated.
In response, Acharian replied directly.
“SIR, I am a gynecologist, and I take care of real women. I have no skills to take care of MEN, even if they have shaved their beards and come to tell my secretary that they [have] become women. My GYNECOLOGICAL examination table is not suitable for examining men. You have specialized and very competent services to take care of men like you,” Acharian wrote, emphasizing his text with capitalized letters. “Thank you for informing TRANS people to never come for consultation with me.”
While the review and response appear to now have been removed from Acharian’s Google widget, another existing review shows Acharian made a similar comment to another reviewer in 2021.
The reviewer, a local political activist using the name Tuncay CILGI, gave Acharian a 1-star review with no additional context.
Acharian responded: “Dear Sir. I do not know you. You cannot know me, since I am a gynecologist, and I only treat women. As for your political militancy, that does not concern me.”
In their X post on Acharian, SOS Homophobie wrote: “We denounce the transphobes and discriminatory remarks of gynecologist Victor Acharian in Pau. Transphobia is a reality with serious consequences, particularly in access to health. It affects the entire territory.” The organization also tagged Bérangère Couillard, France’s Minister of Equality between Women and Men and the Fight against Discrimination, in an apparent effort to have Acharian investigated.
SOS Homophobie‘s post has been met with widespread mockery on social media, with many female users coming to Acharian’s defense.
“Gynecologists are for women and women, without exception, have at least two XX chromosomes,” journalist Hala Oukili wrote.
“When I need new glasses, I make an appointment with a dermatologist,” another joked.
While Acharian appears to be standing firm in his clinic catering exclusively for females, recent debacles show that many fields in women’s healthcare are now attempting to include males.
In May, the Canadian Cancer Society drew criticism after maintaining a recommendation that men who claim to identify as women should undergo pap smears as part of a cervical cancer screening process.
On a webpage titled “As a trans woman, do I need to get screened for cervical cancer?” Canada’s largest national cancer charity provides advice for males who identify as transgender curious about receiving a cervical cancer screening.
According to the Mayo Clinic, cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix. Various strains of the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in causing most cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is detected through semi-regular screenings called Pap smears, in which a small brush is used to gently remove cells from the surface of the cervix so they can be tested.
“If you’re a trans woman, you may not have given much thought to Pap tests and cervical cancer. And if you haven’t, that makes a fair amount of sense. After all, in order to get cervical cancer, you need to have a cervix — that is, the organ that connects the vagina to the uterus,” the Cancer Society’s official website read.
It goes on to state that “trans women” who have “had bottom surgery to create a vagina and possibly a cervix” should talk to a medical professional to “figure out specific cancer-screening needs.”