Ohio’s House of Representatives is considering legislation that forces educators, therapists and social workers to out transgender minors to their parents or face fourth-degree felony charges. For those who display characteristics in opposition to their assigned gender at birth, or who openly question their gender, the stakes are nothing short of life and death.
When I was a kid, there was precious little out in pop culture about trans issues. Sure, there were movies like “The Christine Jorgensen Story,” where an actor named John Hansen played the title character, or “Dog Day Afternoon,” where Al Pacino’s character staged a robbery to pay for the surgery of his lover, portrayed by male actor Chris Sarandon.
Thirty-two years ago, Dr. Nanette Gartrell launched a project to follow the first wave of lesbian families created through donor insemination. Now, her National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) is the longest-running study on LGBTQ-parent families, and Gartrell and her team have just released a paper about the now-grown children at 25 years old.
There are moments in which the world seems like a dark and dangerous place. And for many among us, that feeling is very real. We’re seeing families ripped apart, rights threatened — life as we know it called into question. Is it any wonder why many people are experiencing higher-than-ever rates of depression and anxiety?
Q: I’m considering retirement in the next year or two. I think I’ve saved enough money, but I’m not sure how to think about my income and expenses in retirement.
Mental illness has long been a taboo subject and those with a mental-health diagnosis have long been stigmatized for their struggles. In recent years, though, we’ve begun to shift our ideas about the topic in a positive direction. As a society, we’re talking more about common mental-health concerns such as anxiety and depression, and we’re acknowledging just how prevalent they really are. We’re also talking about these topics with our friends and loved ones. We’re asking for recommendations for therapists, we’re comparing medications (for better or for worse, a substantial number of Americans are on antidepressants) and we’re opening up about our pain.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled narrowly in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips in his anti-LGBTQ discrimination case. In the 7-2 opinion, the court ruled Phillips had not received fair treatment for his religious beliefs by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The majority justices held that, based on the language used by the CCRC in formal public hearings, the Commission held animus against Phillips’ religious belief that he could not bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, calling his beliefs rhetorical and despicable, and comparing them to defenses against slavery and the Holocaust.
The World Health Organization is dropping transgender identities from its list of mental disorders in its newest edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.
With more public approval for holistic medicine and changing fitness trends, it can be difficult to keep up with the influx of information. In the last couple of years, one common word in both the media and research is “anti-inflammation.” We now have anti-inflammatory drinks, foods and so on.
Happy Pride Month, Philly. I hope everyone enjoyed the parade and festivities (and did so safely).
With that in mind, let’s talk about sex, again. Last month I addressed an important and rapidly increasing STI. Although syphilis is on the rise in Philadelphia, it is still much less common than several other infections. So today we will talk about the most common: chlamydia.
