Health

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A new strain of Shigella is disproportionately impacting queer men

Dr. Carlton Thomas, a gastroenterologist and host of the Butt Honestly podcast, knew something was wrong after having oral sex in the dark room play space of a Fort Lauderdale gay bar last year. Just a few days after returning home from the trip, he had developed diarrhea, dehydration, extreme fatigue, and a 104-degree fever.  As a gay GI doctor, Doctor Carlton, as his social media followers regard him, knew his symptoms could only be one thing: Shigella, an increasingly common bacterial infection that can spread through feces, usually via water contamination, unwashed hands, and, yes, certain types of sexual contact, especially […]

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For the Parents of Intersex Kids, Deciding how to Proceed Isn’t Easy

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In the fall of 2023, Cindy Howard was in a hospital bed recovering from a cesarean section. While the birth had gone smoothly, the pregnancy itself carried intense uncertainty. In the months leading up to the delivery, a technician had indicated she was expecting a girl. But during an ultrasound at around 30 weeks pregnant, she was told that while her baby had no visible penis, there were testicles. “We figured it was just a bad angle,” Howard told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES. “We went to a 3D ultrasound just for fun. And then we spent about 10 minutes […]

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The Unspoken LGBTQ Youth Mental Health Crisis in Canada

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Last year, at 17 years old, Jack Wonnacott remembers taking a work break in his car, tears streaming down his face as he clutched the steering wheel. He had been keeping his gay identity a secret, and the weight of staying closeted was destroying his mental health. As he sat in a Vancouver parking lot, he contemplated suicide. “My mindset that day was, ‘I’m probably not going to go back to my home after this. I’m probably not going to see my family again,’” Wonnacott, now 18, told Uncloseted Media. After making a phone call to the 988 crisis hotline—a mental […]

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San Francisco Department of Public Health Confirms First Clade I Mpox Case in San Francisco

On April 14, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) confirmed the first case of clade I mpox in a San Francisco resident. The case occurred in an unvaccinated adult who was hospitalized and is improving. The individual reported close contact with someone who traveled internationally.  SFDPH strongly encourages people at risk for mpox to receive both doses of the mpox vaccine. The vaccine provides the best protection against the mpox virus and protects against both clade I and clade II. At this time, mpox exposure risk is low for individuals who are not in higher‑risk groups.   The mpox vaccine is available through healthcare providers and local pharmacies. Those who do not have insurance or are having difficulty accessing care may visit the locations listed […]

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Former Biden HHS leaders hail syphilis breakthrough as Trump dismantles the system behind it

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A cheap antibiotic that has been sitting in medicine cabinets for decades is suddenly doing something remarkable: helping reverse one of America’s fastest-growing sexually transmitted infections, and offering one of the clearest measurable successes of a Joe Biden-era LGBTQ+ public health initiative just as President Donald Trump’s administration dismantles many of the federal systems that made it possible. A new University of Washington study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and highlighted recently by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy found that doxyPEP, short for doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is sharply reducing syphilis infections after federal health officials issued prescribing guidelines in 2023. Stay up to date with the latest […]

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Conversion Therapy Since 1886: A Dark History of the Discredited Practice

Throughout history, the belief that homosexuality is a disease that needs treatment has been pervasive. During the Cold War, the moral panic from the “lavender scare” caused many folks to view homosexuals as national security risks. And many still believe that homosexuality is a threat to the nuclear family. Since at least the 1800s, doctors and religious organizations have createdvarious types of conversion therapy in an effort to cure LGBTQ people. But over time, the practice has become widely condemned by major medical organizations, 24 states have banned it for minors and a United Nations expert has said it “may amount to torture.” Despite this, the Supreme Court appears set to […]

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New York jury finds psychologist and surgeon didn’t follow best practices in gender-affirming care case

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For the first time, a jury has ruled that a medical professionals who approved and performed gender-affirming surgery on a minor committed medical malpractice. The verdict came in a suit filed by Fox Varian, now 22, of Yorktown Heights, New York. At age 16, while identifying as a transgender male, Varian underwent a double mastectomy. Varian now regrets the surgery and identifies as female. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. She filed suit in 2023, saying her health care providers, psychologist Kenneth Einhorn and surgeon Simon […]

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Health insurance costs are up. Women and LGBTQ+ people are paying the price

Their health care premiums have skyrocketed. And now, women and LGBTQ+ people across the country are scrambling.  Some are pushing off paying for retirement, or dipping into their savings. Some are looking for extra work to afford plans that they aren’t sure will actually cover their health care bills. And some are planning to go without insurance, hoping they won’t get too sick to manage medical expenses on their own. The chaos and uncertainty are the result of a monthslong impasse, after Congress let subsidies lapse that would keep down the price of health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s […]

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Gay Men, Ketamine and Trauma. A Therapy or a Trap?

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This story was produced with the support of MISTR, a telehealth platform offering free online access to PrEP, DoxyPEP, STI testing, Hepatitis C testing and treatment and long-term HIV care across the U.S. MISTR did not have any editorial input into the content of this story. This story talks about addiction and substance use. If you or someone you know needs help, resources can be found here. In 2015, on the patio of Nowhere Bar, a queer nightclub in Louisville, Kentucky, music pulsed and bodies pressed as 23-year-old Lucas Pearson moved through the flashing lights and a blur of grinding limbs. “I […]

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‘Deeply concerning’: Drug and alcohol deaths significantly higher among queer people, study finds

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Drug and alcohol related deaths are significantly higher among queer people, a “deeply concerning” study has found.  The findings come from analysis by the Office for National Statistics in the UK, which cross-referenced 2021 census data with death registrations between March 2021 and November 2024.  Multiple studies have revealed that LGB+ people are disproportionately affected by addictions, including alcoholism and drug use. The study specifically used the definer LGB+. According to the study, suicide and drug and alcohol overdoses are among the most significant causes of death for members of the LGB+ community.  The study revealed that there were nearly three times as many “drug poisoning” […]

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