A call for submissions to an upcoming book focused on LGBTQI experiences relating to food, nutrition, and bodies.
We are seeking both authors and artists to submit proposals for a book called ‘Queering Nutrition and Dietetics: LGBTQ+ Reflections on Food Through Art’. The aim of the book is to bring the voices of LGBTQI+ people front and center through either written chapters and/or art submissions. Proposals are due June 15, 2021. Topics could include: cultural aspects of food for BIPOC and trans identities, body image, influences of social media and pop culture on food, bodies, social and political food movements, building relationships through food, celebrations of LGBTQ+ lives, bodies, communities, cultures. This is not a paid commission. For more information see https://pjoy07.wixsite.com/website or contact phillip.joy@msvu.ca
This page offers an biographies and references for a selection of notable lesbian and bisexual women poets publishing today.
Paula Gunn Allen
Paula Gunn Allen – 1939 – 2008
Paula, a novelist and poet, was born to Laguna-Sioux-Lebanese parents in New Mexico. She is an activist for Native American and women’s rights, and her political concerns transmit strongly through her poetry. Her work addresses the oppression of women in general and lesbians in particular. Paula has taught English and Native American Studies at many prominent universities, and is currently a professor of Native American Studies at University of California at Berkeley.
Becky Birtha
Becky Birtha – b. 1948
Becky defines herself as a black lesbian feminist Quaker from a middle-class background. She grew up primarily in Philadelphia, where she produced two collections of short stories and The Forbidden Poems (1991), a collection of her poetry. Her work has appeared in many anthologies. In 1985 she was awarded an Individual Fellowship in Literature from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, and in 1988 she received a Creative Writing Fellowship in literature from the National Endowment of the Arts. She teaches English and creative writing at Bryn Mawr and Haverford College.
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop – 1911-1979
Elizabeth Bishop was known for her mastery of poetic form and her attention to descriptive details. She befriended poet Marianne Moore while at Vassar and considered her a mentor. In 1951, she won a Lucy Martin Donelly Travelling Fellowship from Bryn Mawr College (on Moore’s recommendation) and she used this to travel to Brazil. While in Brazil, she met Lota de Macedo Soares, the woman she was to stayed with for sixteen years. While with Lota, she produced a great deal of work, including A Cold Spring, a collection that contained a number of lesbian love poems.
Elizabeth was honored with many awards. Her Complete Poems won the National Book Award in 1970, and Geography III won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1977. Elizabeth was the first woman to win the prestigious Books Abroad/Neustad Interational Prize for Literature. She taught at Harvard, University of Washington, and New York University.
She had strong feelings against anything that divided art by gender and refused to appear in all-women anthologies. Because of this, if you’re looking for her work, you’ll have the most luck searching out collections containing only her poetry, rather than looking in lesbian poetry collections.
Olga Broumas
Olga Broumas – b. 1949
Olga, a native of Greece, began her poetic career by winning the Yale series of Younger Poets award in 1977 for Beginning with O. Stanely Kunitz, judge for the 1977 award, described her work as “of letting go, of wild avowals, unabashed eroticism: at teh same time it is a work of integral imagination, steep in the light of Greek myth that is part of the poet’s heritage and imbued with an intuitive sense of dramatic conflicts and resolutions, high style, and musical form.” In 1978 she was awarded a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Her books include Soie Sauvage, Perpetua, and two books with T. Begley: Sappho’s Gymnasium and Helen Groves. Olga has taught at many colleges and universities; currently she is the poet-in-residence at Brandeis University.
Chrystos
Chrystos – b. 1946
Born off-reservation to a Menominee father and a Lithuanian/Alsace-Lorraine mother, Chrystos is a poet and a activist heavily involved supporting Native Rights and prisoners’ causes. She is self-educated as a writer and artist. Her work forthrightedly speaks on her experiences and concerns as a Native American lesbian; her work is both political and erotic. Her poetry collections include Not Vanishing, Dream On, In Her I Am, Fugutive Colors, and Fire Power. Among her many awards and honors, Chrystos received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts in 1990, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship for poetry in 1991, and the Sappho Award from the Aestrea Foundation in 1995.
Cheryl Clarke
Cheryl Clarke – b. 1947
Cheryl Clarke, an African-American lesbian-feminist poet, is the directory of the Office of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian-Gay Concerns, Rutgers University. She has published four books of poetry: Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women, Living as a Lesbian, Humid Pitch, and experimental love (a Lambda literary award finalist).
Clare Coss
Clare Coss – b. 1935
Clare is a playwright, poet, and psychotherapist. She is the editor of the recently published poetic anthology The Arc of Love.
Jewelle Gomez
Jewelle Gomez – b. 1948
Jewelle is an activist, essayist, novelist, and poet. She published Oral Tradition: poems old and new and her poetry appears in many anthologies. She lives in San Francisco where she teaches creative writing and popular culture.
Judy Grahn
Judy Grahn – b. 1940
Judy Grahn has published ten volumes of poetry (including The Queen of Swords and The Queen of Wands), is playwright, novelist, has contributed to many anthologies, and author of non-fiction. She is particularly known for her books Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds (1984) and The Highest Apple. The latter examines the work of nine major poets within a lesbian context. Judy is known for a political consciousness in her poetry, critiquing heterosexist and partriachal biases in our culture. She teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Marilyn Hacker
Marilyn Hacker – b. 1942
Marilyn, a teacher, poet, and editor, is the author of eight books. Her poetry collection Presentation Piece (1974) was a Lamont Poetry Selection and received the National Book Award in 1975. She received critical acclaim for Love, Death, and the Changing of the Seasons (1986) a book of sonnets that explore a lesbian relationship from inception through to end. Her talent with sonnets and sonnet sequences earn her a distinctive place among modern poets, where such forms are no longer as frequently explored. Mairlyn has received Lambda Literary Awards for Going Back to the River and Winter Numbers. She lives in New York City.
Joan Larkin
Joan Larkin – b. 1939
Joan is a poet and playwright who has been active in producing ground-breaking lesbian and gay poetic anthologies. With Elly Bulkin, she edited Amazon Poetry (the first lesbian poetic anthology) and Lesbian Poetry (1981). She co-edited Gay & Lesbian Poetry in Our Time (Lambda Literary Award winner for poetry in 1989) with Carl Morse. She has taught writing full-time since 1969. You can find Joan’s work in many anthologies, as well as in her two collections: Housework and A Long Sound.
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde – 1934-1992
Well-known essayist and poet, Audre Lorde described herself as black, lesbian, feminist, poet, mother, and warrior. Through her writing and activism, she fought for African-American rights. Her work is lyrical and socially aware, infused with lesbian consciousness. Her writing on the topic of poetry challenges that it should not be a sterile word play, but a “revelatory distillation of experience.” She produced ten volumes of poetry, five books of prosed, received numerous awards and honors, and was the New York State Poet Laureate from 1991-1993. Audre died after fighting a 14-year battle with breast cancer.
Cherríe Moraga
Cherríe Moraga – b. 1952
Cherríe is a Chicana essayist, poet, and playwright. Her volume of poetry, Loving in the War Years (1983) was the first was the collection published by an openly lesbian Chicana. She founded The Kitchen Table/Women of Color Press. She also co-edited the anthology, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, which won the 1986 Before Columbus American Book Award. Cherríe is a part-time lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, teaching Chicano/Chicana Studies. She lives in San Francisco.
Lesléa Newman
Lesléa Newman – b. 1955
Lesléa is perhaps one of the most widely-diversified and prolific lesbian writers today. She is the author and editor of over twenty books and produces a regular column (“Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear”). She has produced plays, children’s books (including the controversial Heather Has Two Mommies), novels, and poetry collections. Her work often addresses the unique issues faced by Jewish women, lesbians, and particularly, Jewish femme lesbians. She has also written extensively on eating disorders, body image, and incest. Lesléa’s own poetry volumes are Love Me Like You Mean It (1987) and Sweet Dark Places (1991). Her anthology The Femme Mystique includes poetry with prose, and her recent poetic anthology My Lover Is A Woman features the work of hundreds of popular and emerging lesbian poets. In 1989, Lesléa won the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship in Poetry.
Minnie Bruce Pratt
Minnie Bruce Pratt – b. 1946
Minnie, born in Selma, Alabama, is the author of stories, essays, and poetry. Her poetry collections include We Say We Love Each Other and Walking Back up Depot Street. Crime Against Nature, her second book of poetry, was the Lamont Poetry Selection for 1990 and was nominated for a Pulitzer Price. Minnie teaches at George Washington University and the University of Maryland at College Park.
Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich – b. 1929
Adrienne Rich is probably the most widely-read American lesbian poet. She is well-respected as a master of poetic craft and form. She began receiving praise early; her collection A Change of World (1952) won the Yale Younger Poets Award. She married in 1953, raised three sons, divorced her husband in 1970, and began sharing her life with her current female partner in 1976. Her poetry reflects her varied life journeys and elevated consciousness; she insists that poetry must be forceful enough to change lives, and works toward this goal. Her awards and honors would fill pages–among them she received the 1991 Common Wealth Award in Literature, the 1992 William Whitehead Award for lifetime achievement, and the Academy of American Poets’ 1992 fellowship for “distinguished poetic achievement.” Her sequence “Twenty-one Love Poems” (included in The Dream of a Common Language) has been quoted in many books and excerpted in a number of anthologies. To date, she has published twenty books of poetry and four books of prose.
Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser – 1913-1980
Muriel was a poet, literary translator, and political activist who spoke out passionately on topics of social justice. She began her poetic career by receiving the Yale Younger Poets Award (1935) for Theory of Flight. She published 19 volumes of poetry and four books of prose. Two newly available books are Out of Silence: Selected Poems and A Muriel Rukeyser Reader. In 1967 she was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. She did not speak openly about her sexual orientation. She had a short marriage in the forties and also had lesbian relationships. Just before she died, she indicated a desire to become more public about her lesbian identity by participating in a lesbian poetry conference, but was unable to follow through due to ill health.
May Sarton
May Sarton – 1912-1993
May was an active journal writer, essayist, novelist, and poet. She preferred the form of meter and rhyme to free verse. She won numerous awards and honors during her long literary career, during which she produced 54 volumes of poetry, novels, journals, essays, and children’s books. Her work was not obviously lesbian-identified until later years. Her later journals speak more openly of her relationships. She remembers her long-term relationships with Judith Matlock in her poetry book Honey in the Hive (1988). The film: May Sarton: A Self Portrait (1982) explores her life.
Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton – 1928-1974
Anne Sexton was a poet, an author of children’s books, and a lecturer. She led a troubled life during which she battled mental illness, making many suicide attempts and spending time in hospitals. Despite her struggles, she created poetry that was critically acclaimed, often seen as both gifted and disturbing. All My Pretty Ones (1964) her second volume of poetry, was nominated for a National Book Award. Live or Die (1966) won the Puliter Prize. Her work often expresses great pain, and also explores topics of women’s lives that were not as commonly written about before her publishing (issues such as abuse, abortion, menstruation, and rage). While, for a period of time, Anne had an intense friendship with another woman that may or may not have been sexual in nature, she did not identify as a lesbian. However, at least one of the poems she wrote during that time (“Song to A Lady” from Love Poems, 1967) has distinct lesbian appeal.
May Swenson
May Swenson – 1919-1989
May, a journalist and editor, was also a gifted and inventive poet who wrote on topics such as nature, scientific research, and eroticism. She possessed a distinctive skill for expressing sexuality through descriptions of nature, as well as for creating detailed descriptions of an environment that then led to profound observations on the human physical or spiritual condition. She published 10 collections of her own poetry and one book of translated poems (translated from Swedish, her first language). Her book Another Animal (1954) was chosen by John Wheelock as the first of his Scribner Series Poets of Today. She held the Bollingen Prize in Poetry and a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, as well. For a glimse of some particularly beautiful lesbian love poems, see The Love Poems of May Swenson (1991).
No issue generates more controversy or passionate debate than the battle over whether gay and lesbian families should have the same protections as other families. It’s important to look beyond the rhetoric to examine reality. Gay and lesbian families deserve and need the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as all other families.
It is important to differentiate between a civil marriage and a religious marriage. Let us be very clear, we are fighting only for civil protections, nothing more, nothing less. We do not want to infringe on a religion’s imperative and traditions. Any religion should be able to define marriage however it wishes. Enacting civil marriage for gays and lesbians will not force the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Orthodox Jewish religion or any other denomination to recognize gay and lesbian relationships. Some religions undoubtedly will choose to bless and recognize these loving unions. However, i respect the importance of religious freedom and believe each church should be able to decide this issue without government interference.
Gay and lesbians will not achieve total equality until we our families have the same protections as every other family. As long as the government can discriminate against our relationships, we are not equal. Many heterosexual couples take these things for granted, but gay and lesbian families live everyday without these basic guarantees.
Here are some of the more than 1,100 rights and benefits not given to gay and lesbian families.
We do not have the right to visit a sick partner in the hospital.
We do not have the right to make medical decisions for our partners should they become incapacitated.
We do not have the right to take time off from work to deal with our partner’s personal or medial emergency.
In many countries, joint adoptions are not allowed. That means only one parent has official custody of a child. What happens to that child if their “official parent” gets sick or dies? The child’s ability to remain with their other parent becomes jeopardized.
Social security benefits are not passed from one partner to another. In a heterosexual marriage, when someone dies, the surviving spouse receives their social security benefits. Not so for gay and lesbian couples. They pay into a system that does not protect their partner if they die.
If a gay or lesbian person gets health insurance benefits from their partner’s job, they must pay income tax on those benefits. For a married couple, there is no such tax.
If a gay or lesbian person unexpectedly dies without a will, their partner has no inheritance rights.
This list could go on and on. By itself, each item might not seem like a big deal. But taken together, the list of benefits and responsibilities provide important protection for families. Failing to provide gay and lesbian families with those same guarantees is unjust and unwise—creating instability and worry for many families.
Some interesting revelations become clear when you examine the poll numbers associated with this issue. No matter what the numbers say about support or opposition to gay marriage, ask the questions more precisely and you get consistent support for fairness and equality. Should gay and lesbians have the right to visit their partner in the hospital? Should they receive a partner’s social security benefits? Should a gay couple get the same tax benefits as a married couple? Overwhelmingly, polls show answer, “Yes!” to these questions. They understand this is an issue of fairness.
In recent years, public opinion polls have demonstrated steady and increasing support to recognize and protect our families. I confident, over time, more will understand why our families need the same protections and support as their families. As more of us come out to our families and friends, people are able to put a face with an abstract issue. They ask, why shouldn’t my brother be able to marry the man he loves? Why shouldn’t my daughter be able to adopt her child? Why shouldn’t my friend be able to visit his partner in the hospital? As more see their loved ones facing discrimination, they understand the importance of providing civil marriage equality. People are promised the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That phrase loses its meaning if a person does not have a right to marry the one they love.
Thriving gay and lesbian communities had developed in Germany from 1900 to the early 1930s. This changed when the Nazis came into power in 1933.
The Nazis declared aim was the eradication of homosexuality. During 12 years in power they implemented a broad range of persecutory measures. An estimated 50,000 gay men were sentenced and imprisoned, some of whom faced the death penalty. Up to 15,000 gay men were deported to concentration camps and made to wear the pink triangle symbol which identified them as homosexual men. Many of these Pink Triangle detainees were subjected to starvation and hard labour, castration, medical experiments and collective murder actions.
Lesbianism was not illegal in Germany, so lesbians did not suffer the same level of persecution as gay men. However, there is historical evidence of police records being collected on lesbians and of lesbians being sent to concentration camps on the grounds of their sexual orientation. They were known as Green Triangle detainees. New research shows that in Austria lesbians were criminalised and liable for prosecution and persecution.
After the war, neither the Allies nor the German or Austrian States recognised gay men or lesbians as victims alongside other groups, so they were not considered eligible for compensation. Only in 2001 was the German and Swiss Bank compensation programme extended to include gay victims.
Nazi laws against homosexuality remained in place in Germany until 1967. Unsurprisingly, very few victims of wartime persecution came forward to fight for recognition. Those that did were often further victimised.
The impact of an HIV diagnosis can feel overwhelming. Some feel as though their life is ending. Luckily, with advanced therapies, living with HIV isn’t a death sentence like it used to be. In fact, those living with HIV can live relatively normal lives for years and even decades after first becoming infected. In addition, there is a large community of those living with HIV and plenty of available resources to get information, proper care, and support.
Here is some advice for those newly diagnosed with HIV:
First, take a deep breath. Now is the time to reach out for the support of friends, family, your partner, and those around you who care about you.
It’s important to start forming a strong relationship with your primary care doctor. Get all the blood tests and run whatever other tests your physician suggests. Luckily there are anti-viral drugs, known as a cocktail, that can bring your viral load down to undetectable levels.
You may have to change your lifestyle, incorporating more healthful practices such as eating right, getting more sleep, and exercising. Make sure you stick with it. This is your health we are talking about. t give up.
Get informed. There are lots of resources out there, including in your area. It can feel really scary, so get as much information and support as you need. If you are having trouble finding those who understand where you are coming from, find a support group in your area.
Remember that HIV is only an aspect of who you are. Don’t let it define you. Remember to take part in all the other aspects of your life such as your job/career, passions, hobbies, love, life, friendships and more.
HIV may get in the way some times and some people get overwhelmed by the fear and sadness. It’s important to allow yourself to grieve and work through all of the emotions. It really is a life changing event, but if you learn to manage it as just an aspect of your multi-faceted and fulfilling life than it becomes not such a big deal anymore. This isn’t a terminal diagnosis. You don’t have to die of HIV anymore. It takes work and effort. So you have to realize that this is going to change your life in some pretty significant ways.
If you have been rejected by your family, make your own new support group of friends. Support from those who understand and care about you is so important in this trying time. Developing and maintaining a positive attitude is really important.
Life doesn’t end at diagnosis. It’s just the beginning for some tremendous changes in your life. Don’t feel as though this is only an experience for you to learn from. Volunteer in organizations, donate to HIV/AIDS research, go to rallies and inform youth and peers of your struggles and how they can avoid contracting HIV. Remember that you aren’t dying of HIV. You are learning to live with it.
The CDC defines sexual health as “…a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality.”
Researchs show that people who identify as LGBTI tend to report lower satisfaction rates in regards to sexual health. In large part this is due to a lack of discussion about LGBTI relationships and sexuality. While many people get such information on dating, relationships, and sexuality during their developmental years from parents, teachers, and other community establishments, LGBTI youth generally get their information online. This can be a great resource, but it can also be full of misleading or inaccurate information.
It is important for LGBTI youth to have access to sexual health resources. A significant factor in establishing sexual health is for both partners to feel safe and satisfied in their relations. Exploring questions pertaining to sexuality and safe practices with adults will help develop self-confidence and eliminate some fears.
Unfortunately, research continues to show that Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexualyouth are at an increased risk for being victims of violence, bullying, and suicidal thoughts. It is understandable then that youth who live under constant fear and harassment also encounter greater difficulty in maintaining sexual health within their personal relationships.
In addition to discussing such issues individually, communities can support youth by facilitating open discussions and youth organizations. Creating a safe place for youth to explore questions, raise concerns, and meet with people who share similar thoughts and feelings can go a long way in supporting LGBTI sexual health well into adulthood.
Needless to say, having open and honest conversations about sexuality within the LGBTIcommunity is instrumental to achieving sexual health. The first step in achieving sexual health is to discuss concerns with a healthcare practitioner. Research also shows that people LGBTI youth and adults visit healthcare practitioners less frequently – reach out to a professional today and make an appointment.
For many, lack of light can result in Seasonal Affective Disorder known as SAD a type of depression that is associated with the changing seasons. SAD can make it difficult to weather the winter months, and for those in the LGBTI+ community, SAD can be an especially difficult, possibly compounding problem.
SAD is thought to result from a decrease in exposure to sunlight. This decrease may disrupt your internal clock (i.e., circadian rhythm) and can also lead to a drop in serotonin levels. SAD can manifest in a variety of ways. The most common symptoms include tiredness, lack of energy, irritability, changes in appetite, weight gain, and social withdrawal.
Why should LGBTI+ be concerned about SAD?
According to the American Psychological Association, when compared to their heterosexual counterparts, gay men have “higher rates of recurrent major depression,” and individuals between the ages of 15 to 54 with same-sex partners had “higher rates of anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders and suicidal thoughts.” Because they are susceptible to depression, it is important that those in the LGBT+ population be aware of the effects brought on by SAD because “symptoms of depression may worsen seasonally.”
To combat the effects of SAD, many physicians recommend light therapy, also called phototherapy. During light therapy, the patient sits near a special light therapy box that is designed to mimic natural sunlight exposure. Antidepressant medications and psychotherapy are also often recommended.
Being aware of SAD and not simply dismissing the symptoms as the “winter blues” is the first step toward coping. Those in the LGBTI+ community, as well as others who may be susceptible to or have a history of depression, should be aware of the symptoms and the recommended treatment options.
HPV, Human Papilloma Virus, has been known as a silent killer.
Fortunately, there is now a vaccination for some of the most common strains of HPV. Still, many remain unaware that they have the virus until symptoms become severe. Most strains of the virus do not cause any visible symptoms in those who are infected, and the strains that do develop symptoms don’t necessarily do so in everyone. Symptoms include genital warts and cancer. For some time now research has linked cervical cancer to HPV. A more recent discovery is that anal cancer is also linked to HPV, as are many head and neck malignancies.
HPV is spread and contracted regardless of the use of condoms or other forms of protection. Thus the virus is easily spread through oral sex as well – causing cancers of the mouth, head, and neck. While there is no cure for HPV, the body usually fights off the virus within a few years. People with weakened immune systems, such as HIV positive individuals, aren’t usually able to fight off the virus. Many people who otherwise have strong immune systems may have the virus dormant only to have it flare up and change cells, causing dysplasia, during times of stress.
So why does HPV seem to disproportionately affect the LGBTI community?
It’s not that our bodies are any different. It’s that our habits are. Many people in the LGBTI community are less likely to go in for check-ups or follow-ups, increasing their chance of developing cancer. Cell changes can actually be treated if caught early enough. Men who have sex with men are also more frequently infected with HPV because it is more easily contracted through irritated skin, which is often the case with penetrative sex.
Speak to a professional today and go in for a check-up, even if you only have one sexual partner – it’s always better to be aware of what’s going on in your body.
What is commonly known is that HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. However HPV can also cause an genital (anal) cancer, for which gay, bisexual… men are at the greatest risk. Genital HPV is transmitted through skin to skin contact, the likelihood of transition is greater in the presence of irritated skin often present as a result of penetrative sex. Studies have consistently found that only 25% of men who have sex with men are familiar with HPV or the benefits of the HPV vaccination.
There are more than 60 forms of HPV, many of which are transferred by sex, and primarily infect the genitals frequently causing genital warts, and less frequently causing cervical, or anal cancers.
HPV is viewed as the most common sexually transmitted disease, at any time between 20 to 40 million persons are infected with the virus, and infections have been on a rise over the past decade. In adition, those infected with HIV are at a greater chance of complications from forms of HPV.
There exist two forms of vaccination against the forms of HPV which can lead to cancer—Cervarix and Gardasil. The United States approved Gardasil for use in men in 2010, and is particularly advised for gay, bisexual… men.
Youth and young adults between the ages of 13 and 24 in the United States are among the highest risk groups of being infected with HIV. The CDC reports that the greatest number of new HIV infections within this age group are among gay and bisexualmales, with African-American and Latino males who have sex with other men being at even greater risk.
Why is this population increasingly at risk? There are a myriad of reasons, including a lack of sexual education and information promoting abstinence and delaying initial sexual encounters. These groups are also among the highest populations suffering from substance abuse, homelessness, and sexually transmitted infections.
Looking at global numbers, a young person becomes HIV-positive every 30 seconds. Studies have shown that the majority of youth and young adults in the U.S. are not afraid of contracting HIV, which equates to low testing rates and low rates of condom use. While there are an increasing number of HIV and AIDS awareness promotion programs, youth advocacy, and health counseling, the data translates to a dire need for greater outreach efforts.
The best way to prevent infection with HIV is abstinence. Secondly, reducing the number of sexual partners, avoiding unprotected sexual encounters, and being tested regularly are the most important steps you can take to prevent infection or spreading the virus. More than half of the percentage of youth infected with HIV/AIDS were not aware that they had the virus.
While many young adults are not concerned with contracting HIV, a large number are still in denial of the increasing risk of contracting and spreading the virus. Even if you think you are not at risk, it is recommended that you get tested regularly. Speak to a professional today, there are a number free test sites available as well as youth programs and counseling services .
Making a decision about coming out is a difficult one. If you’re lucky, you already know you’ll have needed support from your family and friends. The decision about whether to come out at work can be especially risky for some. There’s no right or wrong answer for everyone in general, but it might be helpful to weigh the pros and cons.
Pros
You might become more relaxed It takes up a lot of our mental energy to try to ‘pass’ in any way at work. We have to be vigilant about using gender neutral pronouns and possibly feel as if we need to behave in a more feminine or masculine way than we actually feel. Coming out could be just what’s needed to take the load off of our shoulders. Without all of that worry and pretense, other things can be focused on, such as building professional relationships.
You’ll know who’s not on your side Those who knew of your capabilities before you came out will have no choice but to acknowledge it, even if not out loud. It can also stop any hate speech that might have occurred before because bigoted co-workers will know that it’s now personal.
You’ll find out who supports you You never know, you might find out you have a fellow co-worker in the LGBT community in the next cubicle over! Plus, you might inspire someone to come out if they haven’t already.
Cons
You might get attention you don’t want You might not want everyone to know. Some co-workers may think that your coming out is an invitation for them to ask personal questions about your sex life. They won’t care or even understand that it’s inappropriate. You might be working with some seriously hateful (even threatening) bigots. Of course you should be able to rely on HR to have your back, but that might not actually happen.
It could turn out to be dangerous There’s a chance you might lose your job after coming out, even if it is against company policy. There are always cases of people making up false reasons for ‘letting you go’ or cutting down hours until there aren’t any left. Try to understand the atmosphere of your workplace first. There are countries where you can be fired after coming out. Check out the laws first. It’s ultimately your decision to come out, or not.
First, it’s helpful to know what the term “cisgender” means. This means that a person’s gender matches the sex they were assigned at birth and then a person’s gender matches the gender by which others perceive them. The term has been around for over 25 years and is used a lot in educational settings, particularly when discussing gender identity and expression in trans and queer communities.
Cisgender privilege shows how gender/sex alignment means being free from having to think about or address things that those who are not cisgender do quite frequently.
The following are some examples of privileges you might have if you are cisgender:
You are not misgendered. People refer to you by the correct pronouns every day.
People do not ask you nosy questions about you are genitalia, what type of medical procedures you’ve had, and your real gender is not in question, or connected with the genitalia another assumes you have.
You are able to get into sex segregated facilities such as bathrooms and events that are in alignment with your gender identity without being questioned, refused, or at risk of harassment or even physical violence.
When you search for employment, housing, banks, go to vote or receive medical treatment, you don’t have to worry about your gender or what others perceive your gender to be.
In the unfortunate event that you are a victim of physical and/or sexual assault, you don’t have to fear being blamed because of your gender expression or identity and you don’t have to fear that the attacker will be allowed a reduced sentence due to what is called “trans panic defense.” Some in the law profession still believe this argument is viable and that it partially excuses violent assault or even homicide.
Cisgender privilege is incredibly wide-ranging. It’s a lot for the non-privileged person to have to deal with on a daily basis and leaves little else for them to think about. This includes those who were incorrectly sex-assigned at birth and those who make a choice to present as a different gender, as they are distinct from each other.
Don’t be mistaken, many gay, bisexual, and lesbian folks have cisgender privilege. For example, it’s very possible for a gay man to be gender-conforming. The fact he presents physically as a man means that he won’t be challenged when attempting to use male designated facilities or attend events for men. On the other hand, if a heterosexual man was sex-assigned female at birth, he may face his life being challenged or harassed for not being “man enough.”
If you recognize yourself as cisgender, perhaps you’ll understand privileges you’ve previously taken for granted and try to help those you know who are gender non-conforming or transgender.
The biggest myth about non-binary people is that they’re non-existent.
What does it mean to be non-binary?
Non-binary gender identities cannot be fit into the male/female, accepted binary. It’s more simple to imagine an entire spectrum of gender and know that everyone fits somewhere on it and they don’t always necessarily remain in the exact same place. Yet, let’s remember that “male” and “female” do not begin and end this spectrum. “Genderqueer” (GQ) is another word some use instead of non-binary. Here are six common ones that need debunking:
It’s just a fad It is not an option to choose between male and female for gender identity for a non-binary person. It’s not a game that anyone’s playing for attention…it’s very real. Gender expression (the type of clothes you might choose to wear, for example) is not the same as gender identity. This is where a lot of people seem to get confused and think of non-binary people as if they’re folks trying to fit in with a trend.
Non-binary people are just confused Confusion is natural for a lot of people and there’s nothing wrong with being confused. It is part of the process of many trans people. However, the fact that someone is non-binary doesn’t mean they’re confused. It just means that they’re not male or female…or they are genderless (agender).
This is a new concept The fact that non-binary folks haven’t received much recognition in the US until recently doesn’t mean it’s a new concept. There are many cultures in the world who use words for genders that aren’t “male” or “female”.
Non-binary people want to destroy gender Just because non-binary people want more options than “male” and “female” for gender doesn’t mean they’re trying to destroy gender. This assumption doesn’t observe the fact that many non-binary people do have genders.
Non-binary is the same as intersex Of course, this is untrue. Being non-binary means you have a gender identity that doesn’t fit into the male or female genders. When one is intersex, it means they’re born with a physical sex that isn’t classified as male or female.
Trans oppression is not experienced by non-binary people Non-binary people experience more discrimination and violence in some circumstances, as they would have negativity coming from both cisgender and binary transgendercommunities. This means less of a support system for non-binary folks as well as fewer safe places. You can become a better ally to non-binary people by insisting on including them whenever the topic of gender arises. You can be a part of the change that needs to happen in order for everyone to realize they matter just as much as anyone else.
There’s a difference between sex work that is legal and that which is criminalized, as far as protection and health-regulation goes, but it’s all work. People are doing this work for many different reasons, very rarely because they want to. It can be incredibly dangerous.
What appears to be a study that is the first of its kind, was released by an Urban Institute report on survival sex and LGBTQ youth in NYC. The study took interviews from 300 participants between 13 and 21 years of age and was done in collaboration with the organization Streetwise and Safe. The study was conducted with participants speaking to their peers, which likely made it much more effective.
This approach seems to have been a good move, resulting in straightforward and complex responses from LGBTQ teens who have taken part in survival sex. To say they choose to do this is misleading and damaging–it’s for survival; they’ve often run out of options. The main reason LGBTQ teens turn to survival sex is homelessness. As many as 50 percent of youth who are homeless or runaway, trade sex for money to care for themselves or for shelter. Forty-eight percent of transgender people who engage in sex work report that they’re homeless.
A 2007 study of LGBTQ teens in New York showed that transgender teens were eight times more likely to have traded sex for shelter than heterosexual teens and that LGBTQ youth in general were seven times more likely. More than half of the respondents of the study said they used the money from survival sex to buy food first.
Often, LGBTQ youth are introduced to this way of survival by a friend. Meredith Dank, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute believes these are relationships and circumstances too fraught to be labeled as “good” or “bad”. These teens have little control over meeting their own needs for survival and don’t have support systems, so they turn to each other as family and protection. Dank said, “They’ll say, ‘I needed a parent and I didn’t have them.’ Peers are serving that role of support they really need.”
The community ties these teens have built make it difficult for them to leave survival sex, even when they are presented with other employment opportunities. And, almost all of the youth interviewed in the study said they wanted to be able to support themselves differently. They reported they did not want to be engaged in survival sex, not even in a year and that, “They wanted a job. This wasn’t a job to them, it was just how they were surviving.”
Dank says, “What we knew was mostly anecdotal, and now we have data to share. LGBT youth are having these experiences all over the country. Whoever is passing the laws about this, we need them to know all of this.”
The end of the report includes a list of recommendations that is intended to reach social service agencies serving LGBTQ youth beyond NYC.
Most of the time, the LGBTI+ community focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Intersex people in conversation, etc. Often, though, pansexuals are completely misidentified as bisexual. Are you confused at all? Well, maybe you are if you’re unfamiliar with the term.
A pansexual is a person who may be attracted to females, males, transgender people and non-binary individuals.
To them, biological sex (one’s physical gender at birth) and gender identity are not relevant as far as attraction goes. The prefix means “all” or “every” in Greek.
Just like bisexuality, pansexuality is often dismissed as being a greedy or indecisive. This is not true, though. A pansexual is open to loving the person, no matter their sexuality or gender identification. As bisexuals are attracted to two sexes based on gender, pansexuals are effectively blind to gender and are attracted to others for reasons beyond it, such as emotions, personality and ideals. This is not to say that everyone else doesn’t find different qualities important, but pansexuals have a wider range of people with whom they may become attracted.
The term ‘pansexuality’ first came into use in the mid 90’s, but hasn’t been significantly searched for (on Google, for example) until about five years ago. This might be due to more recent generations being more in touch with themselves.
It can be difficult for pansexuals to know how to clearly define themselves. Some may choose ‘queer’ as a term that seems more inclusive, but it’s not exactly descriptive. It can be helpful if a celebrity decides to come out, but are they really practicing their assertion that they’re attracted to personality and not gender? It seems to be a more politically correct thing to say these days, but it’s damaging if it’s untrue. There are actually people (pansexuals) who feel this way. So, if a pansexual celebrity comes out as such, that’s great–if it’s true and not a publicity tactic.
Many pansexuals know how they differ from bisexuals; this can be a sore subject. It doesn’t seem appropriate for them to identify as bisexual when that means only including cisgender people. Rapper, Angel Haze (who has dated model Ireland Baldwin) says that for her: “love is boundary-less. If you can make me feel, if you can make me laugh… then I can be with you. I don’t care if you’re a hermaphrodite or whatever.” She says, “I’m not gay, I’m not straight, I’m not bisexual – I don’t care,” she says. “At the end of the day, I just want someone to connect with.”
Same-sex couples are very much like heterosexual married couples. Once the hoopla of the wedding is over and the honeymoon phase has shifted away, they also have to work and invest a lot into keeping the spark alive.
Gay couples have an added incentive that can also bring more weight down on the shoulders of the relationship. The need to prove to the world that same-sex marriages are just as valid and can work just as well as straight ones. Still, one famous same-sex relationship has shed light on something completely different, that domestic violence occurs with same-sex couples, too (Denver Post.com). Enter Johnny Weir, ice skating Olympian, and TV commentator at the Sochi Olympics winter Olympics. To no one’s surprise, Weir came out as gay in 2011 and only one year later married his boyfriend, Victor Voronov. Weir had filed for divorce secretly. He returned home to find Voronov furious. The two engaged in a fight where Weir bit Voronov, who in turn filed criminal charges. Voronov decided to drop the charges and Weir and he tried to reconcile. Still, they could not make it work. TMZ and other tabloids followed the case and made a laughing stock of them.
But this case did bring to light that there is a lot we don’t know, and not a lot of research has been done regarding same-sex marriages.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated in a 2013 report that, “little is known about the national prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking among lesbian, gay, and bisexual women and men in the United States.” We do know that gay men have a 50% higher chance of being a victim of gay violence than straight men. Gay on gay violence is often portrayed as a joke in the media. Lots of silly movies and TV shows show gay men chasing each other about. But when it comes to actual cases of gay on gay violence, will the criminal justice system, the media and the general public stand up and take notice, or will it as the famous figure skating Olympian and his ex-spouse become the joke of the day?
Co-counsel on a landmark Adams County lawsuit challenging Colorado’s statutory and constitutional bans on gay marriage and University of Denver law professor, Tom Russell, says “Our conversation about marriage equality is incomplete unless we equally protect the rights of gay spouses once they enter a marriage.”
The London Gay Teachers Group, known as Schools’ Out, was co founded by the late Paul Patrick, who came out in 1969, before he became a teacher, and some colleagues. The organisation became an effective campaigning organisation which published a series of ground breaking discussions and booklets, including “Aids Hysteria” in 1987 and “Schools Out” in 1989.
In 2004 Paul Patrick and Sue Sanders of Schools Out founded the UK Gay History Month.
Paul Patrick was born on July 23rd, 1950 and died on May 22, 2008.
The Hall-Carpenter Archives at the LSE hold some archive material for the London Gay Teachers Group.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a colourful and distinctive charity, protest, and street performance organization of QueerNuns who fight sexual intolerance with drag and religious imagery. They also satirize gender and morality issues.
The movement started in 1979 when a group of gaymen in San Francisco began wearing habits in visible situations to draw attention to social conflicts and problems in the Castro District. The original three men procured habits from a convent in Iowa pretending to be putting on a a performance of The Sound of Music!
They are an international organisation, and there are around 600 Nuns in Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Scotland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
It was a time when religious participation in politics was growing, and Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell were crusading against the acceptance of the gay life style. The Castro District as a major gay neighborhood was targeted by several dozen church members who took to its streets to preach about the immorality of homosexuality.
The name of the group became familiar in 1980. The nuns held their first fundraiser, and a write-up in The San Francisco Chronicle by Herb Caen printed their organization name, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The benefit was for San Francisco’s Metropolitan Community Church Cuban Refugee Program.
The community was then hit with the AIDS crisis and the Nuns played a major part in organising awareness, and are thought to have produced the world’s very first Aids awareness literature.
Members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence who have died are referred by the Sisters as “Nuns of the Above”.
LGBT Denmark is the Danish National Organisation for Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Trans people and was founded in 1948, originally becoming known as “The Circle of 1948”. It was founded by Axel Axgil, who was Chair until 1952.
Male homosexuality was a crime in Denmark until 1933, under the 1683 law which stated: “Relations against nature is punishable by execution”. By a law of 1866, the death penalty was replaced by a sentence of prison labour. In 1933 sex between adult men aged over 18/21 was de-criminalised.
LGBT Danmark is a co-founder of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
Axgil exchanged vows with partner in 1989 as Denmark became the first country to allow gay people to enter into civil unions.
COC Nederland is a Dutch organization for LGBT+ men and women which was founded in 1946, and it is understood to be the longest established continuing gay organisation in the world. It was founded in Amsterdam on 7 December 1946 under its original name of “Shakespeareclub”, then in 1949 the organisation was renamed Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum (Center for Culture and Leisure).
Its history goes back to before the second world war, however. The founders were a number of gay men who were active in producing a magazine called “Levensrecht” (Right To Live), which was founded a few months before the German invasion in 1940. The first edition of the magazine was published in March 1940 (pictured). The magazine re-appeared after the war and continued until 1947. when they could not get a permit for the paper to print it on. The magazine was written by Jaap van Leeuwen under the pseudonym Arent Santhorst and Niek Engelschman under the pseudonym Bob Angelo. The magazine was backed by Han Diekmann.
From its beginning in 1946 until 1962, the chairman was Niek Engelschman. In 1962 Benno Premsela took over and in 1964 the organisation “came out” by changing its name to “Nederlandse Vereniging voor Homofielen COC” (Dutch Association for Homophiles COC).
One of COC’s first objectives was to get article 248-bis in the Wetboek van Strafrecht (the main code for Dutch criminal law) revoked. This 1911 law made sexual contact with someone of the same sex between 16 and 21 years old punishable by up to one year imprisonment. For heterosexuals, the age of consent was 16. Article 248-bis was revoked in 1971.
COC is one of the few LGBT+ organisations that has a special consultative status with the United Nations.
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