Features

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Year after Trans Military Ban, Legal Battle Rages on

In the year since the Trump administration banned transgender individuals from serving in the military, a number of advocacy groups have challenged the policy and many active service members say they’ve been forced to choose between continued service and their dignity and basic health care needs. When the administration implemented the ban on April 12, 2019, it ended an Obama-era policy that allowed trans men and women to serve openly and to receive transition-related medical care while enlisted. “The Trump-Pence administration has shamefully told thousands of qualified transgender military members that we aren’t good enough and our service doesn’t matter.” ARMY […]

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Supportive Adults Key to Reducing HIV among Trans Youth, Study Finds

Support from parents and other adults plays a key role in reducing rates of HIV among transgender youth, according to a study published this month in the journal Pediatrics. The study’s authors found that transgender and nonbinary youth often lack access to critical support systems to educate them about safer sex practices. The research team conducted three-day focus groups with 30 young people ages 13 to 24 and found that respondents widely lacked “affirmative and culturally competent” resources to understand their sexual health needs. These resources ranged from a lack of LGBTQ-inclusive sexual education courses to parents who did not affirm […]

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Trans Groups Push for Urgent Government Funding

Multiple transgender organisations have joined calls for the US government to provide urgent funding to support trans people through the coronavirus pandemic. The California-based groups have written to governor Gavin Newsom proposing the creation of an Emergency Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund to address the urgent and long-term needs of the trans community. Trans people are among the most marginalised groups in the country, the open letter explains, and face significant barriers in society which have have only been exacerbated by the coronavirus. “The structural and institutional change that must occur to counter these barriers means an investment in trans-led organisations and services, […]

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Remembering Lorena Borjas, the Mother of a Trans Latinx Community

Lorena Borjas had a wheelie bag, and in the bag she had the world. The first time Lynly Egyes met her, Borjas pulled a birth certificate out of the bag. Egyes was then a lawyer with the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center and had recently taken the case of a young immigrant transgender woman who was in jail, facing felony assault charges for defending herself against an attacker—an exceedingly common predicament. “Lorena came into my office and said, ‘I hear you need the birth certificate for one of the girls,’ ” Egyes told me on the phone. “I […]

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Gender-affirming IDs Linked to lower Suicidal Thoughts, Study Finds

A report published in the medical journal The Lancet has found that access to identity documents that align with an individual’s gender identity correlate with lower rates of suicidal thoughts. The research highlights the significance of such gender-congruent IDs, even as Idaho enacts a first-of-its-kind law preventing transgender people from updating their birth certificates. Those who had the ability to change their name and gender marker on birth certificates, driver’s licenses or other forms of identification were 25 percent less likely to experience psychological distress or consider taking their own lives. The research, led by Drexel University’s Dr. Ayden Scheim and […]

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FDA Eases Ban on Gay Blood Donations amid Coronavirus Crisis

Faced with tremendous pressure during the coronavirus crisis to lift its policy barring gay men from donating blood, the Food & Drug Administration announced on Thursday it has eased the restrictions. While the previous policy, established in 2015, barred men who have had sex with men in the 12 months from making a donation, the new policy would shorten the deferral period, requiring abstinence for only three months. The FDA indicated it would make a change in a notice to stakeholders on Thursday, indicating the decision was based on “evaluation of the totality of the scientific evidence available.” “To help […]

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Transgender Legal Group Releases Coronavirus Guide

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund has prepared a free online guide, available in both English and Spanish, for transgender and non-binary individuals attempting to navigate life during the coronavirus pandemic. “A Know Your Rights Guide for Transgender People Navigating COVID-19,” which contains information that was accurate as of March 22, explores both trans-specific concerns and equity concerns that disproportionately impact trans and non-binary individuals, such as issues involving employment, housing and health care. It also features a national appendix of health and advocacy resources. The guide stresses the existence of a pandemic does not void the fact that trans and non-binary […]

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International AIDS Conference to Happen Virtually because of Coronavirus

Organizers of the 2020 International AIDS Conference on Friday announced the event will be held virtually because of the coronavirus. The conference was scheduled to take place in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., from July 6-10. International AIDS Society President Anton Pozniak and the conference’s two U.S. co-chairs, Cynthia Carey-Grant and Monica Gandhi, in a statement said the virtual conference “will enable delegates to access and engage with the latest HIV science, advocacy and knowledge traditionally presented at the conference.” “It will be a compelling combination of virtual sessions and community networking, including exhibitions, workshops, the Global Village, satellites and […]

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Burning or Pain when you Pee? It Might be the STI Mycoplasma Genitalium

Without causing alarm, we’d like you to know about a sexually transmitted infection (STI) you probably haven’t heard about but that we’re seeing in people who visit our sexual health clinic Magnet at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Although the infection Mycoplasma genitalium itself isn’t new, awareness about and testing for this infection is recently on our radar. Here’s what to know.   What is Mycoplasma Genitalium?   Mycoplasma genitalium (we’ll shorten it to MG) is a bacterial infection that can cause symptoms similar to chlamydia. You can get an MG infection in your urethra (penis), vagina and front hole, rectum (butt), and likely in […]

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Trans Surgeries Postponed indefinitely amid Coronavirus Pandemic

For as long as he can remember, Jaceon Cornado has dreamed of having a flat chest. When he turned 18 in the spring of 2017, the transgender teen eagerly started planning his surgical transition. ”This surgery is something I need to continue to get up in the mornings every day,” Cornado told NBC News. Just six months after his 18th birthday — and a year after the Obama administration lifted the transgender military ban (which would later be reversed by the Trump administration) — Cornado joined the U.S. Army in a combat role. He decided to surgically transition while in […]

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