Crystal Strait on de-stigmatizing Planned Parenthood and serving the Asian American Community
This interview was originally published in the November 9, 2018 issue of The Slant, a weekly newsletter featuring Asian American news, media and culture. Want more features like this? Subscribe today for free.
A seasoned Democratic political aide, strategist, and former President of the Young Democrats of America, Crystal Strait assumed leadership as Chief Executive Officer of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in 2017. Growing up as the daughter of a local union president and post-World War II Japanese-American, Strait says her childhood shaped every aspect of her progressive values and dedication to serving others.
Inspired by her background, story, and vision we spoke with Strait about where Planned Parenthood is heading, the obstacles it faces, and how it is serving the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community.
Former Baltimore Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen, was recently named the new President of Planned Parenthood. As a physician and Asian immigrant — how do you see her background influencing leadership and the direction of the organization?
Having a healthcare provider lead an organization that is based in healthcare makes sense for the times given the complex nature of healthcare. Planned Parenthood is the largest, strongest, if not one of the only, mission-driven grassroots organizations that actually provides a service. It does both of those at the same time, which makes it kind of unique. The idea of having a healthcare provider who is also a parent, an immigrant, and an advocate just makes so much sense because what we do here through advocacy and healthcare is just trying to provide for people, and make sure the world will be somewhere they can thrive in the future.
Dr. Wen and many other leaders of public service organizations have openly criticized a new proposed title of “Public Charge” — for those that aren’t aware of this term, can you help to explain what is it, and how can it impact those who may seek services at Planned Parenthood?
“Public Charge” is yet another “tactic” that the Trump Administration is trying to use to go after immigrants. What it means is that if you are an immigrant, will one day be an immigrant, or are seeking some sort of immigration status in the United States, the federal government is allowed to use against you the fact that you have utilized public services to deny your status or citizenship, which sounds complicated. It makes you step back and think, “Wait a minute — why did they give me this service if later they’re going to use it against me?” It is one of the worst bait and switch “operations,” or however you want to describe it.
Speaking of Dr. Wen, she has this incredible story coming to the United States at eight years old with her family, graduated from high school at the age of 13, went on to get her medical degree, and served as the Baltimore City Health Commissioner, making sure that the health of the entire community of Baltimore is taken care of. The truth of the matter is that if this rule had been in effect — because her family needed healthcare services that the federal government is now questioning whether immigrants should have — she wouldn’t have been able to immigrate to the United States. Her asylum probably wouldn’t have been granted.
We can look around the country, right now, and see immigrants who are heavily contributing in California. For example, we have our Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has been such a trailblazer and stalwart for immigrants, women, transgender people, the poor, the environment — you name it. He’s been there. He wouldn’t be here if the Public Charge had previously been in effect. Most of the API leaders in congress, innovators in Silicon Valley, and scientists would have also been affected. People who are titans and champions, as well as millions of everyday people who are contributing to society, would have just been sent away and gain a lawful status.
In particular, what are some challenges the Asian community faces when attempting to gain access to healthcare? (i.e. limited public data due to AAPI grouped into monolith, language barriers, shame and judgement associated with sexuality in Asian culture)
Taking a step back, there are many leaders within the Planned Parenthood Affiliate world, especially in California, that are Asian. This speaks a lot to the importance we place on making sure that our voices are heard. We tend to be the invisible minority, and through advocacy, we are really trying to make sure that the API community is represented within these organizations at large. This is hugely important, combined with the issues that the API community faces.
So thinking about healthcare, education, or any other social determinants of health, we constantly have to analyze data, the benefits of aggregating or disaggregating it, how do we classify groups within the API community…one of the complicating factors is, of course, language. Whether there is an overarching language in a community or different dialects to think about. And even within language, we know some Asian cultures have spoken language, whereas some are written. There are so many nuances. We’ve been working quite hard on translation services so that all health providers have access to translators.
However, language is just one piece of cultural competency. There is also the need to build trust in the system, and this looks different for different spaces within the API community, and also requires a lot of community work. In California we have over 100 health centers and it’s important for these facilities to really understand who their community is and how they can best serve them. A great example, we recently hired Mandarin-speaking physicians in the San Gabriel Valley — it really was one person from the Chinese community coming in, and the next day there were more people, and more people after that, all due to word-of-mouth. Being able to share a language and build that trust that can be passed along through the community is so important. We also have to de-stigmatize what goes on inside of Planned Parenthood.
Along that same vein, a recent study by the Center for American Progress showed that 37% of Asian American adults report poor mental health status. How is PP working to not only increase reproductive healthcare access, but also create an integrated care includes mental and social support?
This is a great question on the forefront of a lot of people’s minds. Our next governor, Gavin Newsom has openly stated that he hopes to see more integration of behavioral health. Planned Parenthood has been working closely with the California Hospital Association and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to really talk about what this could like, not just for appointments with providers who specialize in mental health such as psychiatrists and psychologists, but for appointments with organizations like Planned Parenthood, where mental health may not be the primary reason why you come in.
We want to make sure that we’re making good use of their time, and doing our best to help them in any way that we can, going back to thinking about the social determinants of health. So we want to make sure that we’re building in time for screening for possible behavioral health issues, and trying to hire licensed behavioral health providers in every center.
For example, such a high percentage of women have post-partum depression, we should be making more of an effort when women come into Planned Parenthood after childbirth to screen them and working in tandem with primary care providers.
What are some stigmas about Planned Parenthood that you hope to dispel?
Oh. Well. The biggest thing is that we are proud of the abortion services we provide, however, there is such a variety of services. We’re really there for the entire continuum or nexus of care when it comes to sexual or reproductive healthcare. From learning about sex and your reproductive system, to making sure that if you want to be intimate that you understand the different types of contraception and protection to guard yourself from sexually transmitted diseases. That you have opportunities for screening, or that we can help to think about fertility options. It runs the whole gamut.
Particularly for the Asian American community: I think back to friends’ stories and the stigma that comes with “Oh, what will my family or parents think if they hear that I went to Planned Parenthood?” There is this belief that if you go to Planned Parenthood, then you are active in risky behavior, or are promiscuous, just from the fact that you walked through the doors. That’s probably a worry that a lot of people have. If I have anything to tell our Asian moms or family members out there is that it’s actually the opposite — your children are preparing themselves. They’re doing their best to “study” and gain full knowledge, arming themselves for whatever is to come. I wish there was a way to help think through, with the API community and their families, what they should be celebrating and encouraging. I don’t want to dismiss that we do have a lot of Asian parents who support and promote their children accessing services, but I wish it was more.
If you really think about it, this is where you want your kids to start. You want your kids to understand healthy relationships. In the New England Journal of Medicine, it was found that 70% of boys learned about sex from pornography. That is the LAST place we want young men to be learning about sex — it’s completely fake and not real. We shouldn’t be shocked when we see toxic relationships, domestic violence, harassment, and assault because young people aren’t even learning. One of the things that Planned Parenthood has done, and is really proud of, is how active we’ve been in legislation around the “California Healthy Youth Act.” A lot of Planned Parenthood Affiliates around the country are also actively working with our education system to provide curriculum and frameworks to teach healthy relationships, which yes, includes the proverbial “putting the condom on the banana,” but also teaches “What is intimacy? What is not?” We are trying to empower and prepare our young people to make complicated decisions. We shouldn’t be a provider of last resort — we really should be the first provider that you go to when you want to learn about your body and make decisions that will affect you for many decades to come.
Many members of the API community are eager to get involved with advocacy and outreach, but may not know where to begin. What advice do you have for them?
It’s simple advice that is hard to put into practice sometimes, but just start! Everyone has a gift, everyone has something to contribute. It could be something as simple as making a post on social media, or talking about your feelings or views on politics. There are a lot of us in “politics” that are Asian. The number is growing, but we are still proportionally a minority in comparison to where we should be because there is still this stigma that we aren’t supposed to be vocal. I’m a post WWII Japanese American, I grew up in a very big assimilation culture. We have to remember that we came here and we’ve been here for a long time, so we can partake in the “American Dream” just as much as everyone else. That is founded in our right to free speech and the right to speak up. If there is something that you want to speak up about, it’s really important just to do so.
There are so many organizations out there — we just joined forces with the Texas Civil Rights Project to help separated families at the border. We have a broad coalition at Planned Parenthood working on the Public Charge. There are also volunteer opportunities at Planned Parenthood Centers all around the country, and we’d love to have you come. Show up. Make sure that an Asian face is there. Remember the power of your voice. It is countercultural, and I don’t think people understand how many of us are raised with a certain structure of how to speak up, and we don’t really give ourselves a lot of room to make mistakes. I just hope that we can get to a stronger place, and voice our opinions without worry.
To learn more about Planned Parenthood and its affiliates visit https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
