The Care We Dream Of

1. Queer & Trans Health: Beyond the Doctor's Office

The most important things I know about queer and trans health and healing I learned from my community and through my queer femme body.

Redefining health. The book challenges the traditional, medicalized view of health, urging readers to consider health as wholeness, healing, happiness, safety, and sacredness. It emphasizes that true health extends far beyond the confines of a doctor's office or a clinical diagnosis. It's about reclaiming the word "health" to invoke wholeness, healing, happiness, safety, and sacredness.

Community-centered approach. The author underscores the importance of community knowledge, expertise, and action in LGBTQ+ health. The most valuable lessons are learned from, in, and with the community, not from medical professionals or textbooks. This approach validates lived experiences and challenges the traditional hierarchy of expertise.

Radical imagination. The book is an invitation to practice dreaming beyond the current system by imagining more liberatory and transformative approaches to LGBTQ+ health. It encourages readers to envision a future where queer and trans people love going to the doctor, where healthcare is accessible, affirming, and even pleasurable.

2. Perversion as a Tool for Systemic Change

I am learning to remember that “pervert” is a verb, too.

Reclaiming the term. The author reclaims the word "pervert" as a verb, emphasizing its potential for undoing, destroying, and subverting harmful systems. It suggests that perverting a system rooted in oppression is not only acceptable but necessary for liberation.

Taking action. The book encourages readers to actively challenge and disrupt oppressive systems, rather than passively accepting them. It calls for a shift from assimilation to transformation, urging readers to pervert the system in service of collective liberation.

Drawing inspiration from queer history. The author draws inspiration from queer and trans ancestors who fought for more liberated futures. It serves as a reminder of the importance of love, grief, and rage as motivators for change. It's a call to action to honor those ancestors by continuing their fight for justice and liberation.

3. Reclaiming Healing on Our Own Terms

Crip community, relationships, mutual aid, and pride are core things that create high qualities of life.

Cripping healing. The book introduces the concept of "cripping healing," which involves reclaiming and redefining healing on disabled terms. It challenges the medical industrial complex's narrow definition of health and emphasizes the importance of community, relationships, and mutual aid in creating high-quality lives for disabled people.

Challenging ableism. The author challenges ableist assumptions about what constitutes a "good" body and mind. It encourages readers to embrace the complexities of their bodies and to reject the idea that disability is a flaw to be fixed.

Centering disabled voices. The book emphasizes the importance of centering the voices and experiences of disabled people in discussions about health and healing. It calls for a shift in power dynamics, where disabled people are recognized as experts in their own lives and are given autonomy over their bodies and healthcare decisions.

4. The Medical Industrial Complex: A System of Control

Much of the MIC’s control is derived from the production and amplification of social division—that which is ‘normal’ and ‘valuable’ vs. that which is ‘deviant, sick, ill, or disposable.’

Defining the MIC. The book introduces the concept of the medical industrial complex (MIC) as a vast, interconnected system encompassing healthcare, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, and other institutions. It highlights how the MIC functions as a system of social control, perpetuating systemic oppression and reinforcing normative ideals of health and illness.

Challenging normative ideals. The author challenges the MIC's narrow definition of the "healthy" body, which is often wealthy, white, cisgender, heterosexual, nondisabled, and male. It exposes how bodies outside this ideal are often criminalized, pathologized, and deemed unworthy of care.

Mapping the MIC. The book encourages readers to map their own experiences with the health system and the MIC. It helps them understand the workings of the system and identify potential sites of change. It also serves as a protective measure against messages that tell them they're broken or not credible.

5. Decolonizing Death: Reclaiming Ritual and Remembrance

What is remembered, lives.

Death-avoidant culture. The book challenges the death-avoidant culture prevalent in North America, which denies death, silences grief, and imposes a rigid script for mourning. It encourages readers to confront their fears and anxieties about death and to embrace more authentic and meaningful ways of grieving.

Queering death. The author explores the concept of queering death, which involves reclaiming personal and group rituals around death and dying. It's a way to honor the identities and values of LGBTQ+ people and to create more liberatory and healing experiences of loss.

Centering marginalized voices. The book emphasizes the importance of centering the voices and experiences of marginalized communities in discussions about death and dying. It calls for a decolonization of death, which involves recognizing and honoring the diverse cultural and spiritual traditions of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color.

6. Pleasure as a Radical Act of Liberation

Pleasure is literally the experience of your body, so it becomes really complicated when you don’t feel like your body is yours or when the people around you don’t understand your body, or they want to control it.

Reclaiming pleasure. The book invites readers to reclaim pleasure as a radical act of liberation. It challenges the notion that pleasure is a luxury or a reward to be earned, and instead positions it as a fundamental human right.

Pleasure-centered healthcare. The author explores what pleasure-centered healthcare could look like, emphasizing the importance of creating safe, welcoming, and affirming spaces where people can connect with their bodies and experience joy. It's about shifting the focus from eliminating pain to cultivating pleasure and vitality.

Challenging dominant narratives. The book challenges dominant cultural narratives that dictate who is deserving of pleasure. It encourages readers to reject internalized messages of shame and unworthiness and to embrace their bodies and desires fully.

7. Interdependence: The Key to Collective Survival

We move together, with no body left behind.

Defining interdependence. The book emphasizes the importance of interdependence as a core value in LGBTQ+ communities. It challenges the myth of independence and highlights the power of mutual aid, community care, and collective action.

Building webs of support. The author encourages readers to build and sustain webs of support and care in their own lives and communities. It involves creating relationships grounded in reciprocity, trust, and a commitment to mutual survival.

Challenging exclusionary hierarchies. The book challenges exclusionary hierarchies and limiting constructions of expertise that characterize our health and medical education systems. It calls for a more inclusive and equitable approach to care, where everyone's needs are met and no one is left behind.

8. The Power of Community Knowledge and Mutual Aid

I didn’t get this knowledge from doctors or pamphlets or public service announcements.

Valuing lived experience. The book emphasizes the importance of community knowledge and lived experience in LGBTQ+ health. It challenges the notion that medical professionals are the sole experts and encourages readers to trust in their own bodies and experiences.

Sharing knowledge and resources. The author highlights the power of mutual aid in creating what we need because no one else is going to do it for us. It involves sharing knowledge, information, and resources that don't exist in medical textbooks, clinics, or doctors' offices.

Creating alternatives. The book encourages readers to create their own radical alternatives to the existing health system. It involves building community-led, peer-based healing, care, and mutual aid networks that are responsive to the unique needs of LGBTQ+ people.

9. The Importance of Intergenerational Connections

What tools, strategies, ideas, and possibilities will we leave behind for the queer and trans people who come after us?

Bridging the generation gap. The book addresses the age segmentation that often exists within LGBTQ+ communities. It encourages readers to build more intergenerational connections and to learn from the wisdom and experiences of older queer and trans people.

Honoring elders. The author emphasizes the importance of honoring and valuing LGBTQ+ elders. It involves recognizing their contributions to the community and creating spaces where they can share their stories, knowledge, and expertise.

Creating a legacy. The book encourages readers to think about the legacy they want to leave behind for future generations of queer and trans people. It involves creating tools, strategies, ideas, and possibilities that will help them survive, thrive, and build a more liberated future.

10. Health Care Providers: Allies in the Fight for Liberation

To do the work of liberation means to leave no one behind.

Challenging the status quo. The book calls on health care providers to challenge the status quo and to become allies in the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation. It involves questioning their own assumptions, biases, and positionality and working to dismantle oppressive systems within the health system.

Practicing humility and respect. The author encourages health care providers to approach their work with humility and respect for their patients' experiences. It involves listening to their stories, honoring their identities, and working collaboratively to create care plans that meet their unique needs.

Putting themselves on the line. The book challenges health care providers to put themselves on the line in service of liberation. It involves advocating for policy changes, challenging discriminatory practices, and creating more inclusive and affirming healthcare environments.

Last updated: February 14, 2025