Rebecca Allison

Becky Allison
Born December 21, 1946
Greenwood, Mississippi
Residence Phoenix, Arizona
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Mississippi Medical Center
Occupation Cardiologist
Employer CIGNA
Known for Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
transgender activism
Religion Christian
Website
drbecky.com

Rebecca Anne "Becky" Allison (born December 21, 1946) is an American cardiologist and past President of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA).[1] In 2008 she was elected Chair of the American Medical Association Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues.[2] Allison is known for her work advocating on behalf of transgender people.

Career

Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, to Errol Ward Atkinson and Mabel Blackwell Atkinson, Allison graduated magna cum laude from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1971. After practicing primary care/internal medicine, in 1985 she returned to school to study cardiology, working in that field beginning in 1987. Allison transitioned in 1993, while living in Jackson, Mississippi, but lost her practice within a year of transition.[3] She then moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for a position with CIGNA and served as their chief of cardiology from 1998 to 2012, when she entered private practice. Phoenix Magazine named Allison one of the "Top Doctors" in Phoenix for 2006, 2007, and 2008.[4]

Activism

In 1998, Allison created drbecky.com, a resource site focusing on the medical, legal, and spiritual needs of transgender people. The website includes a compilation of statutes for amending sex on a birth certificate,[5] a brochure on facial feminization surgery by Douglas Ousterhout,[6] criticism of the controversial 2003 book The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey,[7] and a section on spirituality. Allison's website is frequently cited in guidelines for LGBT health care.[8][9][10][11] In addition to the GLMA, she is Chair of the American Medical Association Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues,[12] and assisted in passage of AMA Resolution 22, "Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients."[13] Allison is also active in Soulforce and organizes the Phoenix Transgender Day of Remembrance annually with her partner Margaux Schaffer.

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ Rochman, Sue (November 20, 2007). What's up, doc? Would removing transgender from the list of mental disorders do more harm than good? The Advocate
  2. ↑ Proulx, Marie-Jo (July 19, 2006). AMA Growing Receptive to LGBT Needs.
  3. ↑ Staff report (October 8, 2007). Gay And Lesbian Medical Association Urges Inclusion Of Transgender People In Federal Workplace Discrimination Bill. Medical News Today
  4. ↑ Staff report (April 2008). Top Doctors: Cardiovascular Disease. Phoenix Magazine
  5. ↑ Dotinga, Randy (November 29, 2006). Sex Change, No Surgery Required. Wired News
  6. ↑ Van Marle, Karin (2006). Sex, Gender, Becoming: Post-Apartheid Reflections. PULP, ISBN 978-0-9585097-5-6
  7. ↑ Staff report (June 25, 2003). Trans Group Attacks New Book on 'Queens.' Windy City Times
  8. ↑ Lev, Arlene Istar (2004). Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families. Haworth Press, ISBN 978-0-7890-2117-5
  9. ↑ Makadon HJ, Mayer KH, Potter J, Goldhammer H (2007). The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health. ISBN 978-1-930513-95-2
  10. ↑ Hunter ND, Joslin CG, McGowan SM (2004). The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People. Southern Illinois University Press, ISBN 978-0-8093-2518-4
  11. ↑ Sember, Brette McWhorter (2006). Gay & Lesbian Rights: A Guide for GLBT Singles, Couples and Families. Sphinx Publishing, ISBN 978-1-57248-550-1
  12. ↑ Nielsen, Nancy H., ed. (June 19, 2008). Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender physician issues. AMA eVoice
  13. ↑ American Medical Association (2008). AMA Resolution 122: Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients.

External links