Features

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CDC warns of new mpox outbreak, urges vaccination

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With a severe version of mpox breaking out in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning that it could spread and that people at risk should be vaccinated as soon as possible. High-risk populations include men who have sex with men, although anyone can contract the disease, which is largely spread by skin-to-skin contact — sexual relations, for instance, but also in crowds at outdoor festivals. Thousands of gay and bisexual men developed mpox in a 2022 outbreak. People with compromised immune systems, such as those living with HIV, are at high risk for […]

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Most brands are holding the line when it comes to their Pride season strategies

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Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light. Target and “tuck-friendly” bathing suits. “Satanic Pride propaganda.” Those were just some of the flash points in last year’s Pride merch madness that tested consumer brands’ relationships with the LGBTQ+ community. After all the boycotts and right-wing outrage, where do companies stand when it comes to this year’s Pride merch offerings and allyship? Pretty much where they’ve always been, according to a new survey. Data from corporate executives and Fortune 500 leaders gathered by Gravity Research and reported by PR Daily indicates that 78% of companies are not planning any change in their Pride strategy in 2024. Thirteen percent were unsure, while 9% […]

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Donald Trump says he’ll revoke Joe Biden’s protections for trans people ‘on day one’

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If Donald Trump wins the presidency in November, he will reverse President Joe Biden’s transgender protections “on day one” of a new Trump administration, the Republican nominee said Friday. Trump made the remark on Kayal & Company, a right-wing radio talk show in Philadelphia. “The world is like a cuckoo’s nest right now,” he said, referring to “men playing in women’s sports,” among other transphobicthings. Cohost Dawn Stensland raised the issue of “biological boys” in girls’ locker rooms as a result of the Biden administration’s recent rule on the enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law banning sex discrimination in federally funded educational […]

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Lesbian and bisexual women die earlier than straight women, decades long study finds

Lesbian and bisexual women die significantly earlier than heterosexual women, according to a new study, and it’s likely due in part to discrimination. The role sexuality plays in overall health is a subject that’s attracted researchers for decades, resulting in a large body of evidence of how LGBTQ people experience a variety of negative outcomes, from mental health issues to chronic disease, at elevated rates. But what hadn’t been widely studied is how these outcomes actually affect mortality rates. The paper, published last month in JAMA, reviewed decades’ worth of data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, which began in 1989 as part of […]

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How a trans sex worker from Paraguay became friends with the Pope

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On Thursday, Pope Francis presided over a ceremony that laid out his vision for the coming 2025 Jubilee, a once-every-quarter-century event that will bring tens of millions of Catholic pilgrims to Rome. The papal bull, delivered in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica, laid out a vision of hope for the coming Holy Year, asking for gestures of solidarity with the poor, prisoners, migrants and Mother Nature. Since he rose to the papacy in 2013 and famously declared, “Who am I to judge,” hope for those neglected, disenfranchised, and ostracized people has been central to his tenure. Lately, those people […]

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Mississippi enacts transgender bathroom ban in public schools

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill into law Monday that would bar transgender people from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities in the state’s public schools.  The legislation, titled the Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly Act, or the “SAFER Act,” mandates that the state’s schools have single-sex restrooms, changing rooms and dormitories. Its text defines someone’s sex as “‘determined solely by a birth,’ without regard to the fluidity of how someone acts or feels.” Reeves, a Republican, wrote in a statement on X that the law — which takes effect immediately — is intended to “keep Mississippi’s daughters […]

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Gay couple files first-of-its-kind class action against NYC for IVF benefits

A gay couple filed a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit against New York City on Thursday alleging that the city’s health insurance plan is discriminatory because it doesn’t cover in vitro fertilization, or IVF, for male couples.  The lawsuit is the latest development in what has become a yearslong effort by the couple to get the city to change its IVF benefits, which the couple argues makes accommodations for heterosexual and lesbian couples, and for single women. Corey Briskin and Nicholas Maggipinto said they have been talking about having children since 2014, ahead of their engagement. They planned to use a […]

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South Carolina will soon ban gender-affirming care & out trans kids to their parents

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The South Carolina legislature has just passed a ban on gender-affirming care, making it the 25th state to do so. The ban also requires educators to out trans students to their potentially unsupportive parents. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) has signaled that he’s likely to sign it into law. If he does, the law will take effect immediately. House Bill 4624 will prohibit healthcare professionals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries to people under the age of 18, even though such surgeries are rarely ever performed on minors. Any professional who provides these to a minor can risk being disciplined […]

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Target Won’t Sell Pride Month Merch In Some Stores

Bloomberg News reports: Target Corp. won’t sell LGBTQ-themed merchandise in some stores during Pride Month in June, after a backlash dented revenue last year. Target faced threats from some customers last year over its Pride merchandise. The Minneapolis-based retailer plans to offer the full assortment online but is considering store-level data to decide which physical locations will carry the products, people familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified discussing private information. Target is likely to stock the products in about half of its nearly 2,000 stores in the US, the people said. The company has typically sold the Pride […]

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The FDA grants trans-inclusive at-home cervical screening device a priority review

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a priority review for a trans-inclusive cervical screening at-home test to become approved in the US, and we think it’s high time for a change. For women, trans and non-binary people with uteruses, undergoing a regular cervical smear to prevent and detect cervical cancer can be an unpleasant experience due to the cold and down-right uncomfortable speculum used. Some gender-diverse people also experience gender-based discrimination in such appointments. The outdated device used in pelvic appointments to separate the vaginal walls can be cold and uncomfortable. The clamp-like instrument was invented in […]

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