Doctors should ditch the requirement for a mental health assessment of transgender teens and adults before prescribing them hormone treatment, argues an activist and bioethicist, drawing on their own personal experience in the Journal of Medical Ethics, MedicalXPress reports.
The practice is dehumanizing, unjustified and turns the process of transformation into the treatment of a mental illness, says Florence Ashley of McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
It should instead be replaced with informed consent, which respects a patient’s lived experience and autonomy, they insist, MedicalXPress reports.
The informed consent approach is becoming more common, they acknowledge. But many doctors still require an assessment and referral letter from a mental health professional in compliance with the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care, MedicalXPress reports.
The author says that their decision to take hormones was not made in haste, and they had socially transitioned months before opting for hormone treatment. Their university health clinic had adopted informed consent for transgender care, which allowed them to get a prescription for hormones without a referral letter, MedicalXPress reports.
But “many others are not so lucky,” they point out, adding that their own luck ran out when they had to get two referral letters for genital surgery.
The assessment of gender dysphoria — discomfort or distress caused by the mismatch between a person’s gender identity and his/her sex assigned at birth — left them “feeling exposed, naked and dehumanized,” because it was viewed as a mental flaw that needed fixing, MedicalXPress reports.
“Referral requirements for [hormone treatment] treat self-reports of gender dysphoria not as one would treat reports of normal mental experiences, but as one would treat reports of mental illnesses,” they write.
By requiring a mental health assessment instead of taking the transgender person’s word, doctors “deny the authority trans people have over their own mental health experiences,” they say.
“As being transgender is not a mental illness, treating gender dysphoria in this way is pathologizing and, because it pathologizes normal human variance, dehumanizing.”
A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms — where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it — has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus.
After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples.
The study proves, the researchers said, that using antiretroviral therapy to suppress the AIDS virus to undetectable levels also means it cannot be passed on via sex, the researchers said.
“Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero,” said Alison Rodger, a professor at University College London who co-led the research.
She said this “powerful message” could help end the HIV pandemic by preventing the virus’ transmission in high-risk populations. In this study alone, for example, the researchers estimate that the suppressive antiretrovial treatment prevented around 472 HIV transmissions during the eight years.
The study, published in the Lancet medical journal on Thursday, assessed the risk of HIV transmission between serodifferent gay male couples – where one partner is HIV-positive and one is HIV-negative – who do not use condoms.
Its findings add to an earlier phase of the study which looked at HIV transmission risk for serodifferent heterosexual couples in the same circumstances. It also found zero risk.
While 15 of the men among the 972 gay couples in this phase did become infected with HIV during the eight years of follow-up, genetic testing showed their infections were with strains of HIV acquired from another sexual partner.
Since the start of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, more than 77 million people have become infected with HIV. Almost half of them – 35.4 million – have died of AIDS.
Global health experts say the fight against HIV is at a precarious point, with the annual number of AIDS deaths falling and the number of people getting antiretroviral treatment rising, but the number of new infections is stubbornly high at around 1.8 million new cases a year worldwide.
Rachel Baggaley, the World Health Organization’s coordinator for HIV prevention and testing, said this latest study “adds to the clear and consistent evidence” that HIV transmission to sexual partners does not occur when someone with HIV is on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and their virus is suppressed.
“Increasing access to HIV testing (and) ART … remains critical for individuals and is central to the HIV public health response,” she said.
FIlmmaker CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN’S enchanting coming-of-age musical dramedy set in his homeland of South Africa takes a trope of extreme obstacles facing gay men in the 1980’s with such an inspired touch that makes this such a sheer joy of a movie.
It’s the tale of teenage Johan Niemand (SCHALK BEZUIDENHOUT) who although he lives in a remote one-horse country town where he is bullied by the local youth for his effeminacy, he is also encouraged by his gal pals to dress up in drag and dance to the music of his beloved Boy George.
When he gets drafted to do his compulsory two years Military Service, to avoid having to take part in the War he manages to get accepted into the Canaries which is an Army Church Choir (something of an oxymoron). Clutching his precious collection on New Wave records he boards the train to the camp and his horrified that the first other recruit he meets is the very flamboyant and very gay Ludolf (GERMANDT GELDENHUYS). His initial reaction is one of horror fueled by the thought that any association with Ludolf would also out him too.
They do become good friends as they bond over the bullying tactics by their sadistic Platoon corporal who believes that they have too easy a ride as a choir. A lot of the other members of the his Unit seem to have their own self image issues which manifests in considerable vitriol and hatred amongst them . Partly spurred on by them all being away from home for the first time, and their own personal securities and the sheer pressure of being part of an ultra-conservative racist society.
Jonah soon develops a friendship with another choir member named Wolfgang (HANNES OTTO) as they have identical tastes in music. They spend a lot of time together and grow closer and eventually fall for each other. Rather than this be an exhilarating moment for Johan, it actually fills him with panic and guilt as his deeply religious background makes him feel so wretched about his sexuality which he really cannot deny now.
As well as struggling with his own thoughts about the situation, Johan is also petrified about the Army’s rampant homophobia and the drastic consequences that could ruin his future if he was discovered.
This all plays out against a background of a country that is fighting to retain its white supremacy, in which the Choir’s Reverend leader preaches from the pulpit is a war that God wants them to win.
Olwagen’s movie is however far from doom and gloom as he imbues his script with a real sense of humor, and thanks to his very talented three leading actors, develops characters that are not only extremely likable but ones that we really get engaged in. Bezuidenhout excels as the deeply introspective Johan but in real life is one of South Africa’s most famous stand up comics.
Kudos too for the soundtrack from the Boy George hits that allowed Johan to come out of his shell to the beautiful choral singing that the Canaries toured with whether the troops wanted to hear them or not.
The film is remarkable insight into how gay men struggled with their sexuality in a country that was desperately clinging on to its immoral past. Olwagen’s wonderfully entertaining tale however fills us with hope that love will in the very end conquer all.
Zeta Phi Beta, a historically black sorority founded at Howard University, says transgender women are not eligible for membership.
A “diversity statement” adopted by the Zeta Phi Beta International Executive Board on Jan. 12 states “an individual must be a cisgender woman” to join the organization. The statement at the same time says the sorority “values all people, regardless of race, age, gender, gender expression, ability, disability, creed, religion, or walk of life.”
A source earlier this month sent the Washington Blade a copy of the statement. Zeta Phi Beta has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Five women founded the sorority in 1920 to “directly affect positive change, chart a course of action for the 1920s and beyond, raise consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement, and foster a greater sense of unity among its members,” according the sorority’s website.
The organization says it prioritizes social work and has “given untotaled hours of voluntary service to educate the public, assist youth, provide scholarships, support organized charities, and promote legislation for social and civic change.”
It has more than 100,000 members and more than 800 chapters in the U.S., Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.
Zeta Phi Beta has drawn media attention before, but largely for hazing issues rather than gender discrimination.
Discrimination based on gender identity in Greek life is common.
Few sororities have policies that are explicitly inclusive of trans women. And nationally trans women of color face higher levels of discrimination than other LGBT people.
We are living in interesting times. We have a disgusting pig in the White House who constantly denigrates women as well as just about everyone else except white men. Then from all I am reading the press is currently swooning over a 37-year-old gay white mayor from South Bend, Ind., suggesting he could be elected president possibly before the many qualified women running. So you have to wonder: Do misogyny and sexism still rule the media and the Democratic political establishment? Are we mired in the past? It seems we just might be.
I want to be clear for the first time in decades I have no favorite candidate as we head into the Democratic primaries. I either was with the incumbent or in 1980 wanted Ted Kennedy to win. In 1984, Walter Mondale; in 1988, Gary Hart. In 1992, after Mario Cuomo decided not to run, and in 1996 it was Bill Clinton; in 2000, Al Gore and in 2004 Wesley Clark. Then in 2008, it was Hillary Clinton; in 2012 Barack Obama was the incumbent and in 2016 Hillary Clinton. Clearly my past choices show I am not always good at picking a winner.
Other women besides Hillary Clinton have run for the nomination including Shirley Chisholm and Pat Schroeder. None achieved what Hillary did becoming the candidate of the party and actually getting 66 million votes; nearly three million more than Trump but losing the Electoral College vote. One important question was answered — yes a woman can win the popular vote.
I grew up in a time when white men were running everything and it seems we have not moved all that far from those times. While polls at this time don’t mean much they show three white men leading for the Democratic nomination: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke. Two tired old men and one who is interesting but has a long way to go to show the nation he has what it takes to be president.
I worked for a leader in the women’s movement, Bella S. Abzug. I marched with her and fought for the ideas of feminism along with Gloria Steinem and Bella in the ‘70s. I fought to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and nearly 50 years later we still can’t pass this simple amendment to the Constitution that reads: Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
Since we still can’t pass the ERA we are forced to look around and ask how far we have really come. The reaction to and the press coverage of Hillary Clinton’s campaign was a prime example of the misogyny and sexism that still exists in our country. I write this as an acknowledged cisgender gay white male of privilege and can only wonder what women must be thinking. I am dumbstruck when some don’t seem to care. How can they not care we elected an African-American man as president and are now talking about a gay white man as president and still no woman. Women are the majority in our country. For years they made up the volunteer forces that elected all the men. Don’t get me wrong, I have the greatest respect for Barack Obama and think he made a really good president. As a gay man my respect for Pete Buttigieg and his intelligence and drive is boundless. He represents my community well. Yet I have to question why the women in the race who are smart, with longer, more impressive careers, aren’t gaining the fawning press he is.
I haven’t endorsed a candidate and my only criteria is no one over 70 should be on the ticket. We must take the time to look at all the candidates over the next year. We are 10 months out from the first primary in Iowa. Much can happen between now and then and it seems we don’t even have the full field announced yet. But there are women like Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar who deserve real consideration.
Will misogyny and sexism rule like in 2016? Will we choose a candidate because in some people’s minds a woman has been ruled out as the head of the ticket? Will the comment, “I want a woman, just not this one” rule the day once again? We can only hope the answer to that is a resounding no.
57% of LGBTI people lose a friend or family member after coming out, Gay Star News has found.
This heartbreaking statistic adds to previous research about isolation and loneliness in the LGBTI community.
Also, three-quarters (72%) of GSN readers said they ‘always’ or ‘sometimes’ felt lonely.
In contrast, only 20% said they rarely or didn’t ever feel lonely.
GSN readers were polled before and during Digital Pride, the global online movement that takes place on 29 April to 5 May.
Unlike any other Pride event in the world, you can take part in Digital Pride whoever and wherever you are.
Even if you are from a country where being LGBTI is criminalized or leaves you in danger – it’s a Pride festival you can be a part of.H
Loneliness and isolation are serious issues in the LGBTI community | Photo: Flickr/Alachua County
Thousands of people voted in the straw poll available on social media and the website.
Many said they felt it was difficult to make LGBTI friends.
We also asked whether GSN readers have ever felt lonely in a relationship.
We also asked about their friendships.
Loneliness affects us all
Tris Reid-Smith, editor-in-chief of GSN, said: ‘You can be lonely if you live in an isolated place, where you are the only LGBTI person you know. But equally you can live in the world’s biggest city and still feel isolated as an LGBTI person.
‘Loneliness affects us all at some point in our lives.
‘That’s particularly important in a community like ours where people are also more likely to suffer from poor mental health.
‘But there is also something we can do about it.
‘We hope Digital Pride will spark a conversation about how to tackle loneliness and isolation in our community. And we hope it will inspire people to reach out to a friend or acquaintance they think may be lonely or isolated. Digital Pride is a Pride designed to inspire change and that change is something you can start to make happen today.’
These findings add to what we already know about LGBTI loneliness.
The need for support has remained the same across decades
Natasha Walker, the co-chair of Switchboard, said: ‘These statistics solidify a lot of what we already know working within the LGBTI support sector – that loneliness is a pressing issue for people who identify as LGBTI.
‘Looking back throughout our 45 years as a helpline, despite the changes in legislation, the changes in societal and cultural attitudes, the changes within the LGBTQ+ communities…the phone calls for support have remained constant.
‘Whether it was 1975, 1988 or 2003 we received calls from people questioning their identity, with themes of shame, confusion and loneliness. Themes which remain constant in the calls we take today in 2019.’
A Stonewall spokesperson also commented on the findings.
‘Simply being lesbian, gay, bi or trans, shouldn’t mean you’re more likely to experience poor mental health and loneliness,’ they said.
‘Unfortunately, these findings and our own research show this is the case for many in the community.
We know that half of LGBTI people (52%) have experienced depression. Three in five (61%) reported having episodes of anxiety in the last year.
‘The discrimination and rejection LGBTI people can experience from friends and family can lead to disproportionate feelings of loneliness and isolation. Across Britain and worldwide, we want to help create a world where every LGBTI person is supported to lead a happy, healthy life.’
Something has to change
Ian Howley, Chief Executive of LGBT HERO, the parent organisation of GMFA and OutLife, reacted to the findings.
He said: ‘These findings prove again and again that not enough is being done to tackle the high numbers of LGBTI people who are experiencing these issues.
‘Tackling isolation and loneliness is important. It can lead to people making unhealthy choices such as drinking alcohol more, using hard drugs, engaging in chemsex and partaking in riskier sex.
‘But it can also lead to extreme cases of anxiety, depression, self-harm and even suicide. All the statistics also prove the longer someone feels isolated or lonely, the higher the rate they will experience mental illness issues or even consider taking their own life.
‘To me it’s unacceptable that just because we are LGBTI that this is something we have to experience.
‘We as a community need to come together and figure out what realistically can be done to challenge the issues raised here.
‘Nobody should feel isolated in the LGBTI community and there’s more we can all do to stop this.
‘But right now we need to find a way to support those who are currently feeling isolated or lonely while laying down the foundations to eradicate this for future generations.’
In a bid to reduce the number of younger viewers on porn sites, all internet users will have to prove that they are over 18 to prevent themselves being blocked from seeing adult content from July 15.
The new regulations will mean that porn websites will have to enforce a strict age verification process, which may include users entering their personal details onto the site.
“We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online.”
—Minister for Digital Margot James
If adult websites do not adhere to the new rules they may become completely inaccessible to UK users.
“Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online,” Minister for Digital Margot James said in a statement on the issue.
“We’ve taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content,” she added.
“We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.”
Access to pornography “corroding childhood”
Relaxed verification procedures for online adult content is an issue politicians have been fighting against for many years.
“I want to talk about the internet,” he said. “The impact it is having on the innocence of our children. How online pornography is corroding childhood. And how, in the darkest corners of the internet, there are things going on that are a direct danger to our children, and that must be stamped out.”
“Introducing age verification is a world-leading step forward to protect children,” a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) told PinkNews in March.
“Adult content is currently too easy to access on the internet, we’re making sure the protections that exist for children offline are provided online too.”
When the ban finally comes into full force, Britain will become the first country in the world to have an age verification for online porn.
Gay and bisexual men experience erectile dysfunction at a higher rate than their heterosexual counterparts.
New UK research found that 56% of gay or bi men experience erectile dysfunction, whereas only 46% of straight men do.
For one in four gay or bi men, it’s an issue most or every time they’re with a partner. Of those men, 21% have given up on sex altogether.
The research conducted by Intrinsic Insight also found that psychological factors often cause erectile dysfunction. The study surveyed 2,000 men in the UK, 150 of whom identified as gay or bisexual.
Gay and bi men feel that pressure to perform is the leading cause of it. So much so, they ranked it higher as a cause than drinking too much or side effects from medication.
Some men said ‘insecurities about my body’, work stress and mental health issues as other reasons causing erectile dysfunction.
The study also found that erectile dysfunction lead to the relationship breakdown of 14% of gay or bi men. That could be because those men are keeping their problems to themselves. Only 20% of men with erectile dysfunction told their partners, instead giving other excuses to avoid having sex such as, being tired from work.
Getting help
A third of men don’t tell anyone about it because they “don’t think there’s a solution”. Only one in five men actually seek help from a healthcare professional.
Dr Kathryn Basford a General Practitioner at Zava who commissioned the study, encouraged men to speak to a medical professional about their problems.
‘ED is traditionally seen as an older man’s condition but in reality men of any age can be affected and our recent study proves this,’ she said.
‘Men today are under rising pressure to “perform”.
‘Worry about living up to male stereotypes, insecurity about their bodies, and wider stresses can all play a part when it comes to sex. Whatever the potential causes, it’s always worth having a conversation with a healthcare professional, be that online or in person.’
Clothing giant Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) has expanded its relationship with a leading LGBTI youth organization.
For the next year A&F will broaden its relationship with The Trevor Project. It is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTI young people.
This year’s partnership will expand the relationship since A&F began supporting the Trevor Project in 2010.
The expanded partnership will include participation at events such as the Pride Parade in NYC, proceeds up to $100,000 of sales from select A&F collections, and a customer round-up campaign in all U.S. stores and online.
‘Abercrombie & Fitch is honored to grow our partnership with The Trevor Project, as it works to meet the needs of LGBTQ youth with its vital crisis intervention and suicide prevention services,’ said Kristin Scott, president, Global Brands at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
‘Trevor’s work touches many of our customers’ lives daily, and we are optimistic that by expanding our partnership, we can help increase the reach and impact of Trevor’s important work.’
Since the launch of the partnership A&F has raised more than $600,000. Last year, donations went to training digital crisis counselors. This allowed the Trevor Project more reach more than 1.5 million LGBTI youth.
The 2019 expanded partnership comes as the LGBTI community prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
‘We are grateful for Abercrombie & Fitch’s dedication to The Trevor Project’s mission to end suicide among LGBTQ youth,’ said Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project.
‘Abercrombie & Fitch understands the need to help LGBTQ youth in crisis is year-round. We look forward to working together to engage the brand and its loyal customers in support of our life-saving mission.’
In his debut collection Company, Sam Ross focuses on what lingers, exploring the idiosyncratic and at times seemingly indiscriminate nature of memory. When suffering takes many shapes and sizes yet appears as persistent fact, how may we forge memories that shimmer, so that love matches the loss? The answer often appears in the company we keep. Ross captures how delicate and dangerous connection can be—especially sexual connections and the truths they reveal—yet Company offers testimony for not turning one’s back on those intimate ties that bind.
Ross’s poetry is refreshingly crisp and unaffected, taking the quotidian and the extraordinary as part and parcel. His tone frequently turns conversational, providing glimpses of vernacular familiarity perhaps reminiscent of James Schuyler. In “Time Expanding the Air Forcibly” Ross asks, “About the picture, you said that’s how it felt, /but not how it looked. How could that be?” Ross fascinates over visual limits, playing games by covering his eyes in “Struck” (“so the sun becomes another thing sewn up / tied inside. I am making a mystery / where none exists”) and yearning to be seen differently in “Tableau Vivant”:
_____What I want you to see
what is backlit, behind me. _____Not the silhouette— but the negative space I make blocking light.
These poems bookend “After Assault,” a striking piece where violence extinguishes the visual (“Quick to flee— // dark swam on a path no one else could see.”) Here Ross’s lines approach the ephemeral, as readers work alongside Ross to piece together what has happened: “Less the blood than the timing // Running till my mouth unlatched in the street.” The poem offers harrowing insistence that what remains is not event but feeling, enigmatic clues toward recreation.
This is not to say Ross keeps his eyes closed; much of Company finds Ross making sense of what certain visuals reveal. From shooting a heron trapped by a fishing line to lawn mowing around a snake in seizing throes, Ross can sound detached from the suffering he encounters. Indifference, however, emanates not from Ross but the world we share (“clouds coiling through a mountain pass // revealing the landscape’s real form— / indifference.”) Referencing the Elizabeth Bishop line “The War was on,” Ross notes, “one can end // any poem like that and still / tell the truth.” The poems in Company don’t avert their gaze from the suffering of the natural world, nor do they ignore the suffering we do onto each other. Blood is a frequent motif in this collection, and it receives particularly careful consideration in “Recommendation (Number 9)”:
_____Blood resists form, handful of mercury. After the hurricane, I tried to offer mine. After every
_____disaster, deferred—in spite of a red sign that says We are always in need.
From bureaucratic discrimination to physical assault, the queer subject in Company knows its proximity to human violence. Within this landscape, even jokes from a cashier taking credit card information ring ominously (“And the last four digits, she said. And a fingerprint, she laughed. And your / blood, she laughed.”) As a result, when a narrator in one of Ross’ poems details the night they said love for the first time, it is a shock but not a surprise when the narrator notes awaking the next day with blood filling their eyes.
Ultimately, Company attempts a reclaiming of the past despite the violence enshrined therein. As Ross notes in the collection’s concluding piece, “I began // to call something like the past mine / only recently.” This past is comprised of small moments of intimacy and joy, often in the face of hostility. “Bowers v. Hardwick” derives an air of intolerance from its title yet depicts remarkable quotidian joy (“Or we can just spend the day / drawing dirty pictures of each other. / There’s time.”) While “Still Animals” begins again with the sight of animal death, it ends with the sweetness of two bodies intertwined at night (“arranged in the position you called your favorite: / my mouth at your neck, barely, and you feigning sleep.) If fleeting, these moments feel especially meaningful, fragments toward a useable past. The final words in Company offer as much: “Little history— / sweep it from the floor— // put the light in me.”
The poetry of Company displays a clear care for precision and a delicate approach to sentiment. Ross’s stanzas often break quickly, and his concision brings a gentle musicality to many of the poems here. Ross’s style allows his images—the terrible and precious alike—to emerge vividly. Company is a promising first collection, one that passionately offers argument for pursuing certain connections—perilous as they may be—and never loses sight of the work such connection requires: “I would learn rare // and love and want and wait, / I had to start at the beginning.”
Company By Sam Ross Four Way Books Paperback, 9781945588334, 112 pp. February 2019
