Author: Brett

Childhood Gender Nonconformity: A Risk Indicator for Childhood Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress in Youth

Brett

RESULTS: Exposure to childhood physical, psychological, and sexual
abuse, and probable PTSD were elevated in youth in the top decile
of childhood gender nonconformity compared with youth below median nonconformity. Abuse victimization disparities partly mediated
PTSD disparities by gender nonconformity. Gender nonconformity predicted increased risk of lifetime probable PTSD in youth after adjustment for sexual orientation.

CONCLUSIONS: We identify gender nonconformity as an indicator of
children at increased risk of abuse and probable PTSD. Pediatricians
and school health providers should consider abuse screening for this
vulnerable population. Further research to understand how gender
nonconformity might increase risk of abuse and to develop family interventions to reduce abuse risk is needed.

 

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/02/15/peds.2011-1804.full.pdf+html

Why the Gay and Transgender Population Experiences Higher Rates of Substance Use

Brett

In the movement for gay and transgender equality, issues like marriage and workplace discrimination dominate media headlines as well as the time and attention of most advocates. The focus on these headline issues has been successful on some fronts in recent years, with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a hate crimes law that is inclusive of gay and transgender people. Other issues that impact the overall equality and wellbeing of gay and transgender people, however, don’t always garner as much attention.

 

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/03/lgbt_substance_abuse.html

Dan Savage’s Fierce Tweets

Brett

http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/blogs/culturephile-portland-arts/dan-savages-tweets-march-2012/

Outspoken liberal sex columnist and radio persona Dan Savage, who famously brought us the “It Gets Better” campaign and the R-rated second definition of “Santorum,” will be in town this weekend, as the celebrity guest at an ACLU Dinner . Culturephile snoops on a few of his Tweets to see where his mind is lately.

Accosting Boys in Showers: LGBTQ Athletes and Homophobia

Brett

Homophobia in sports has been in the news quite a bit lately. Several sports players have been fined in recent months for making homophobic comments or posting homophobic tweets on Twitter, leading some players and others involved in sports to wonder why there are so few openly gay athletes and what can be done about this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bj-epstein/accosting-boys-in-showers_b_1298588.html

The necessary next step for You Can Play: A gay NHL player in ‘about two years’

Brett

Since the launch of the You Can Play Project during Sunday afternoon’s Bruins-Rangers game on NBC, Patrick Burke has received so much support and so many offers to help spread the message of tolerance, the Philadelphia Flyers scout said, “I think my Blackberry’s about to explode.”

So is the movement.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2012-03-07/you-can-play-project-video-patrick-burke-brendan-burke-lgbt-athletes#ixzz1oaFT40nO

Homeless youth: the next battle for gay equality

Brett

NEW YORK — Iro Uikka clutches his throat as he describes the violent clash that led to spending his nights sleeping in New York City subway cars.

“When I told my mother I was gay, she grabbed me by the neck and threw me out,” he says. “Then she threw my coat on top of me and shut the door.”

That was five years ago when he was 18, still living at home in Florida.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP792f48e4f5f14b378e368178e4cdd2cd.html#printMode

Lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin to Keynote HRC Atlanta Dinner

Brett

http://www.thegavoice.com/news/atlanta-news/4285-lesbian-us-rep-tammy-baldwin-to-keynote-hrc-atlanta-dinner

The Human Rights Campaign has announced its keynote speaker for the upcoming HRC Atlanta Dinner and Awards Gala.

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wi.), who represents the state’s 2nd Congressional District, will be the dinner’s featured keynote speaker. Baldwin, a candidate for one of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seats, is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and one of only four openly gay members to serve in the U.S. Congress. She was the first person to be openly gay when elected to Congress (others had come out while in office) and if successful in her current campaign, would be the first openly gay U.S. senator.

Vida/SIDA Opens LGBT Homeless Shelter

Brett

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Vida-SIDA-opens-LGBT-homeless-shelter/36476.html

It took years of revised plans and fundraising, but on March 3 Vida/SIDA cut the ribbon on its much-anticipated LGBT homeless youth shelter, the first of its kind in the Midwest.

More than 75 people packed into the Humboldt Park organization to celebrate the opening of El Rescate.

“This is about hope,” said Cook County Commissioner Edwin Reyes. “It’s about dignity, and it’s about saving lives.”

The transitional housing facility, located on the 4th floor of Vida/SIDA ( 2703 W. Division ) , will house up to 12 LGBT youths ages 18-24 and provide young people with social services like employment and education resources, skills training and case management.

The brightly-painted space contains bedrooms with bunk beds and desks, a lounge and a full kitchen/ dining area.

Plans to open the shelter have been in the works for more than three years. Vida/SIDA had announced the housing as a 2010 goal but struggled through fundraising and red tape to make it happen.

But on March 3, the doors finally opened.

Vida/SIDA, the only local HIV/AIDS organization that specifically serves Latino/as, was founded 1988 to address a lack of culturally competent healthcare for HIV-positive Puerto Ricans. Roberto Sanabria, a longtime activist with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center ( PRCC ) which oversees Vida/SIDA, said that the organization has grown to respond to other gaps in services in the Latino/a community.