Features

/ /

CDC says vaccination could protect the U.S. from more dangerous mpox virus

As concerns mount about a large outbreak of an especially virulent form of mpox in central Africa and an uptick in U.S. cases since early last year, the mpox vaccine appears to give long-term protection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. In a separate report, the CDC indicated that overall new mpox infections across the U.S. have remained at a steady, low level —–  about 60 cases weekly, compared with 3,000 cases a week at the outbreak’s summer 2022 peak —– in recent months. However, cases so far this year are elevated nationally compared with the same period in 2023 […]

/ /

Democrats introduce bill to aid older LGBTQ+ Americans in rural areas

,

Two out U.S. representatives and an ally have introduced a bill aimed at improving services for older LGBTQ+ adults living in rural areas. Seniors who are LGBTQ+ or living with HIV and live in rural communities often face barriers to support and resources because of geography, costs, insufficient broadband infrastructure, lack of specialized providers, or stigma, notes a press release from Reps. Mark Pocan, Sharice Davids, and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats. Their Elder Pride Act would update the Older Americans Act and provide funding to help rural Area Agencies on Aging offer specific services for these populations. The act would establish a grant […]

/ /

South Carolina governor signs ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Tuesday signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. When the ink dried, South Carolina became the 25th state to restrict or ban such care for minors. The governor announced the signing on social media and said he would hold a ceremonial bill signing next week. The law bars health professionals from performing gender-transition surgeries, prescribing puberty blockers and overseeing hormone treatments for patients under 18. School principals or vice principals would have to notify parents or guardians if a child wanted to use a name other than their legal one, or a nickname or pronouns that […]

/ /

Neurodiversity Pride isn’t centered on LGBTQ+ people, but perhaps it should be

,

Neurodiversity Pride Day will be observed internationally on June 18, 2024 as a way to celebrate people who have neurologically atypical ways of thinking, learning, and behaving, and to reduce stigma against these people. The neurodiversity (ND) movement often uses a rainbow infinity symbol — one that’s also used by autism awareness advocates. But while neither movements are specifically centered on LGBTQ+ people, perhaps it’s time to re-think that, especially since LGBTQ+ identities have long been stigmatized as forms of mental illness and numerous studies have linked queerness with autism. Below is a quick look at the slippery concept of […]

/ /

CDC warns of new mpox outbreak, urges vaccination

,

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 […]

/ /

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

,

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% […]

/ /

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

,

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 […]

/ /

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 […]

/ /

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

,

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 […]

/ /

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 […]

«‹ 66 67 68 69›»