Volume 8, Issue 3 e70010
REVIEW ARTICLE

Sexual and Gender Diversity in Universities: The Role of Medical Schools in Building a More Inclusive Society

Liliana Arias-Castillo

Liliana Arias-Castillo

Distinguished Professor. Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine. Academic Vice President Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

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Daniel Andrés Nieva-Posso

Daniel Andrés Nieva-Posso

UROGIV Research Group, School of Medicine. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

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Herney Andrés García-Perdomo

Corresponding Author

Herney Andrés García-Perdomo

UROGIV Research Group, School of Medicine. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

Division of Urology/Urooncology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

Correspondence:

Herney Andrés García-Perdomo ([email protected])

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First published: 25 June 2025

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

ABSTRACT

en

The medical community must understand that diversity is a role inherent to human nature. Sexual diversity is one of the main topics of discussion in modern society, and grouping and increasing the visibility of LGBTIQ+ collectives allowed the consolidation of rights for historically marginalized people. It is worrying how 77% of already graduated doctors confuse vital concepts that allow us to understand sexual diversity, such as gender identity and sex—leading to think about what medical schools do as entities for the construction of knowledge and training of professionals to improve the quality of life of this group. These projects, such as diverse campuses, allow us to help rebuild concepts of medicine for a more just and inclusive society.

摘要

zh

医学界必须承认, 多样性是人性的固有属性。性别多样性是现代社会讨论的主要话题之一, 而LGBTIQ+群体的集聚和知名度的提升则有助于巩固历史上被边缘化的群体权利。令人担忧的是, 77%的已毕业医生混淆了一系列用于理解性别多样性的重要概念, 例如性别认同和性行为——这促使我们思考医学院 (作为知识构建和专业人才培养的实体) 在改善这一群体的生活质量方面发挥了怎样的作用。多元化校园等项目使我们能够重建医学理念, 从而构建一个更加公正和包容的社会。

Resumen

es

La comunidad médica debe comprender que la diversidad es un rol inherente a la naturaleza humana. La diversidad sexual es uno de los principales temas de debate en la sociedad moderna, y la agrupación y visibilización de los colectivos LGBTIQ+ permitió la consolidación de los derechos de las personas históricamente marginadas. Es preocupante cómo el 77% de los médicos ya graduados confunde conceptos vitales que permiten comprender la diversidad sexual, como la identidad de género y el sexo. Esto nos lleva a reflexionar sobre la función de las facultades de medicina como instancias para la construcción de conocimiento y la formación de profesionales que mejoren la calidad de vida de este grupo. Estos proyectos, como los campus diversos, nos permiten contribuir a la reconstrucción de la medicina para una sociedad más justa e inclusiva.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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