One study looked at professionals' reactions when told by their patients that they were lesbian. Eighty nine percent of all professionals' reactions were negative, 12 percent were cool to the news, 30 percent acted embarrassed, 25 percent responded in an inappropriate way ranging from mental health referrals to voyeuristic questions, and 22 percent rejected their lesbian clients overtly by leaving the examination room and having their nurses finish the health histories.

It is clear that homophobia (irrational fear of homosexuals) and heterosexism (believing that heterosexuality is the only way to be) are problems affecting the health care of lesbians. The heath care risk for lesbians in this context is that we avoid the system.

How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Better Health Care

1. Spend some time and effort finding a doctor you trust. If you don't know where to start, then call the Status of Women office in the nearest city, or the Lesbian Information Lines, if there is one. Most cities have a womens' health collective as well. Usually, these numbers are available from directory assistance and the alternative press.

2. Don't be afraid to interview your doctor to make sure you feel comfortable with her (him, if there are no other choices).

3. Educate your physician about what your needs are; be clear and concise.

4. If you do not trust a physician and you feel that the patient-physician relationship is not respected, then leave and find other heath care.

Health Differences Between Lesbian And Heterosexual Women

1. Lesbians are at the lowest risk for contracting AIDS than any other group including children.

2. Lesbians have fewer gynecological problems than heterosexual women.

3. Lesbians are generally healthier than heterosexual women.

4. There are no medical problems specific to lesbians.

Differences In Experiencing The Health Care System

The most significant health risk for lesbians is the fact that we avoid seeking routine health care. Forty percent of lesbians surveyed reported they feared that if they told their doctor they were lesbians, they would receive inferior care. Eighty four percent of lesbians surveyed had experienced a general reluctance to seek health care, finding it non-empathic. And ninety-six percent of lesbians "anticipated situations in which it could be harmful to them if their health care provider knew they were lesbians."

The implications of lesbians avoiding the health care system can be serious. Lesbians may not receive early warning of abnormal pap smears, endometrial cancer or breast cancer. All of these can be screened for easily, but women who feel ill served by a heterosexist system may not seek that screening. A 1981 study in the US showed the average time between pap smears for heterosexual women was eight months and for lesbians, 21 months.

The result of all this is that lesbians are more likely to orient health care around a specific crisis rather than a routine evaluation. One study showed that 58 percent of lesbians sought gyne care only when a problem occurred.

Lesbian health issues have been left to the attention of lesbians ourselves. A woman called her local women's health clinic to ask about lesbian services and was told that "the woman who deals with that stuff" was away. She asked: "Shouldn't everyone there deal with it?" Another lesbian went to Planned Parenthood to investigate a suspicious lump in her breast and was told that choosing some type of birth control method was a mandatory part of the visit. Yet another woman's experience: "After I knew for sure that I was a lesbian, I went to a doctor to get my IUD taken out. He told me I was just going through a phase and refused to take it out."