Dear Queenie,
I went to the pharmacy to pick up medication for a yeast infection. Simple. Medical. Uncomfortable, but normal. Except it didn’t stay private. The pharmacist spoke loudly while giving instructions. Loud enough that everyone in the waiting area could hear exactly what I was being treated for. I could feel the shift immediately. People looking. Whispering. Judging. And then, to make it worse, an older church lady who was there started quoting scripture, something about Jezebel, loud enough for me to hear. At that point, I just wanted to disappear. I left feeling embarrassed and honestly a bit ashamed, even though I know this is a common medical issue. Queenie, how do you handle being publicly judged for something that is completely normal? Because right now I feel like I was put on display for no reason.—Humiliated at the Pharmacy
Dear Humiliated at the Pharmacy,
Let us start with the facts. A yeast infection is a common medical condition. It is not a moral failure, a character flaw, or a public announcement. What happened to you was not about your condition. It was about a lack of discretion. Healthcare interactions are supposed to be handled with basic privacy and professionalism. Speaking loudly about a patient’s condition in a public space is not acceptable, regardless of how “routine” the issue may seem. Now, the second part. The looks. The whispering. The scripture. That is not medicine. That is judgment. And in small communities like Sint Maarten, where people often feel entitled to comment on what they observe, that judgment can become very public, very quickly. But let us be clear. Someone quoting scripture at you in a pharmacy says far more about them than it does about you. Compassion and humility are also in that same scripture. They simply chose not to use them. You did nothing wrong. You sought care for a health issue. That is what responsible adults do. The discomfort you feel is real, but it does not belong to you. It belongs to the environment you were placed in. If anything, this is a reminder that we still have work to do around how we treat each other when it comes to health, privacy, and basic respect. Next time, if you feel comfortable, you are within your right to ask the pharmacist to lower their voice or speak more discreetly. Your health is not public entertainment. And your dignity does not need anyone’s approval. —Queenie
