Recent reports say that 0.7 percent of teens identify as transgender. At the same time, a recent study from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports that 50.8 percent of trans-masculine people attempt suicide, with gender-nonconforming people doing the same 41.8 percent of the time, and 29.9 percent of trans-masculine people also attempting to kill themselves.
In keeping with Jackson’s nursery theme, there’s a line from the final “Harry Potter” movie that has been running through my head the last few weeks: “When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!”
Jackson made his debut at 6:36 p.m. Aug. 7, born via C-section about three weeks early. If his entrance into this world is any indication of what’s to come, Ashlee and I are in for one hell of a ride — for which no amount of planning will ever prepare us.
One of the most important things for a trans person is their identity. We live in a world that is constantly, doggedly, trying to strip that away from us. We face pressure over this throughout our lives — and often end up losing that battle after death.
In 1993, a transgender woman named Lauren Diana Wilson took her life. Her family claimed her body, and later held a funeral. From what I was able to learn about it, she was buried in male clothing, with her hair clipped. Her parents listed her as male and under her birth name — known in trans circles as one’s “deadname.” They kept the event private, so that no one in her life could attend.
As they age, some 76 percent of LGBT adults are anxious about having adequate family and/or social supports to rely on, according to a 2018 AARP survey, because they are more likely to be estranged from family because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The end of a romantic relationship is a universally difficult experience. To state the obvious, a breakup means saying goodbye to someone you love and who you likely spent more of your time with than not. There is an acute sense of loss both on a day-to-day basis and in life overall. The end of a relationship also forces us to reflect on painful, more existential ideas such as: Will I be lonely? Am I going to end up alone?
Q: My spouse and I are considering buying our first home and we understand that our credit history and credit score can factor into the terms of our mortgage. Where can we start to learn more about our scores and how to make them better if needed?
If Beale Street Could Talk
James Baldwin
Fiction
To read James Baldwin and not be moved would be like jumping into a lake and not getting wet. Baldwin was a master wordsmith and an elegant storyteller who figuratively grabs us gently by the arm, steers us towards an idea and then leaves us to stand on its precipice looking for resolution. He does no less in “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
There is an irony: I have been an out trans woman for nearly 25 years at this point, having started on this path in 1993 and beginning my public transition in 1995. In all that time, so many around me viewed my transition — and, by extension, transgender people overall — as something new and previously unseen.
Empower healing by how we mindfully treat ourselves and others
People challenged by addiction ought to think about themselves more favorably.
Come again? (Did you just read a huge typo?) Nope, you didn’t — and, here’s why: Pain and punishment, unnecessary shame and guilt, almost never lead to a better, healthier, happier life. Research proves it; from my own life, I believe it.
Abuse against older adults is a public-health issue that impacts seniors, their families and communities across the United States. The size of the older-adult population is expected to nearly double in the next 30 years. These demographic shifts mean that the number of people potentially affected by elder abuse is ever-growing.
