LGBTI News – news.lgbti.org

Advice for those Newly Diagnosed with HIV

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.

LGBTI Youth & Sexual Health

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 Bisexual youth 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 LGBTI community 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.

Seasonal Affective Disorder & The LGBTI Community

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 Vaccine & Benefits for The LGBTI Community

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.

HIV And AIDS Among Youth And Young Adults

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 bisexual males, 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 .

Is Coming Out At Work The Right Choice?

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.

What is Cisgender Privilege?

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.

6 Damaging Myths About Non-binary People

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 transgender communities. 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.

LGBTQ Teens Engaged in Sex Work for Survival

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.

Pansexual is a more Accurate Label for Many

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.”