Cisgendered Gay Model and Influencer Uses Platform to Advocate for Trans Health Rights
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sundeep Boparai, human rights, social justice, and trans activist Operations Manager of Northwell Health Physician Partners LGBTQ Transgender Program at New Hyde Park. We talked about how important it is for the LGBTQ+ community to have comprehensive health care, how broken our overall system is, and how affirming health centers, like his, are having a huge impact.
Although I don’t live a trans experience, as a gender expansive, queer woman, I’ve had my share of medical traumas including being molested by a doctor at 19. Partially because of internalized homophobia I did not seek a court case. After fleeing the doctor’s office with my pants still unzipped, I remember asking myself if I was blowing the situation out of proportion. Did what just happened to me really happen? Was I a Man Hating Lesbian? If not, would I still be seen that way if I made this public?
As a solo parent, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve walked into a doctor’s office and been asked for my husbands’ information or had my child misgendered even after I’ve corrected them. I am not alone in the number of queer and trans people who would rather Google their symptoms and solve their medical problems at home than be faced with bias and ignorance at a health practice covered by their insurance, if lucky enough to have insurance.
Reopening the New Hyde Park center at the height of the pandemic, in a brand new position, was incredibly difficult and rewarding for Sundeep. The program is a multidisciplinary one stop shop for trans care on Long Island that offers telehealth appointments in addition to in person visits for anything from primary care to hormone replacement and hormone therapy, confirmation surgeries, and mental health services.
During the pandemic the center’s seen a lot of individuals, especially young people who are quarantined with family members who may not support their trans journey. The demand for mental health services is so great, they started to refer out clients, while they adjust to accommodate the influx. Young LGBTQ people face disproportionately high rates of suicide, depression, physical threats, discrimination, and exposure to conversion therapy.
Sundeep, as a South Asian Sikh-American, cis gay man, is not siloed to provide care strictly to those who match his intersecting identity, but feels a deep call to action to use his administrative healthcare experience and social media influence to impact individuals self esteem and create a safe haven with transparency for our young LGBTQ, trans, and gender queer siblings. United we are a stronger movement than all of us fighting similar fights from fractured identities. One day, he sees himself in Washington DC helping change policy at the federal level.
Sundeep is adamant, “We need more centers like this across the country. We’ve already lost 7 trans people to violence this year. The life expectancy of a transwoman of color is 35. That’s an epidemic.”
He doesn’t need to have lived a trans experience to fight for what’s at stake on behalf of our trans siblings. Trans healthcare right now seems like a low hanging fruit, it’s in high demand, but needs to be navigated by professionals who have a relationship to the community and a commitment to tune into things like legal vs. dead names, chosen pronouns, and immerse oneself like Sundeep Boparai has, to learn from and honor the community.
Sundeep’s work is a great example of leading a cause close to home, while stepping outside the bounds of what’s immediately self-serving, in order to support a community in need of one’s expertise.
