ELSIcon2022 Panel: Beyond the Binary: A Panel Discussion About Gender, Genomics, and Justice

ELSIcon2022 • Panel Session 3 • May 31, 2022

Leila Jamal, Tala Berro, Kellan Baker, Kimberly Zayhowski

The term gender diversity refers to a spectrum of identities that exist on a continuum independent from physiological characteristics or sex assigned at birth. Only recently has gender diversity been recognized as an important consideration in research and healthcare delivery. In genomics specifically, the implications of bioessentialist and cis/heteronormative assumptions about gender identity are only just beginning to be studied. Exploratory genetic counseling research suggests that traditional, binary frameworks for classifying gender identity are exclusionary, disrespectful, and potentially harmful to gender diverse people seeking genomic healthcare or enrolled in genomic research. This series of complementary talks will share perspectives on the experiences of gender diverse individuals in clinical genomics and research, with the goal of advancing dialogue about how to shift the tools and processes of genomics to be more inclusive and just for all. Speaker 1 will provide an overview of how gender diverse individuals bodies and identities have been pathologized throughout history and will demonstrate how this past shapes the institution of genomics today. Speaker 2 will review research evidence and examples of how the status quo negatively impacts gender diverse patients who seek genomic healthcare in cancer, pediatric, and reproductive settings. Speaker 3 will adopt a macroscopic view of the issue, demonstrating the relationship between concepts in genomic medicine and the law and outlining an ELSI research agenda that has the potential to shed further light on, and point to remedies for, the systematic injustices that improper applications of genomics may exacerbate for gender diverse people.