Kampala, Uganda – Amy Fallon writes in Global Health that the new anti-gay bill in Uganda, labeled as “among the worst in the world” by the United Nations would “devastate” the HIV response in the east African country, activists warn. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which was passed by the nation’s Parliament on March 21st, prescribes life imprisonment for homosexual acts and the death penalty for “aggravated offences” such as those involving minors or people with disabilities. The bill also includes a duty to report same-sex acts and imposes up to six months in prison for the failure to do so. Activists […]
US Right Wing activists support Uganda’s ‘Kill the Gays’ bill
San Francisco – Greg Owen writes in LGBTQ Nation that a remarkable collection of well-known U.S. conservatives are openly supporting Uganda’s latest “Kill the Gays” law, claiming LGBTQ+ rights in Africa are just another form of “neo-colonialism.” Media Matters reports the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh mocked those condemning the draconian legislation passed by Uganda’s Assembly in March as “cultural colonialists” whining over “protecting so-called LGBTQ rights” and claimed opponents of the bill “don’t think that Uganda has any particular right to govern itself and have its own culture and its own way of life.” (See also: Matt Walsh: Transphobe of […]
All About Pronouns: A guide to the perplexed
What are pronouns? Pronouns are words we use to refer to someone in the third person. Examples include they / them, she / her, and he / him. What does gender have to do with pronouns? In the English language, pronouns have historically been gendered, meaning they convey information about the person’s gender, whether that information is accurate or not. For many of us whose identity sits outside the binary or whose gender does not align with sex assigned at birth, being called by the wrong pronoun is uncomfortable and sometimes hurtful or traumatic. It’s important to not make assumptions about […]
Growing Attacks On Transgender Medical Care
Bills to ban best-practice medical care for transgender people are growing in number, growing in scope, and growing more extreme, according to a report released today by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), entitled “Bans on Medical Care for Transgender People.” The report looks at the sweeping attempts to ban and restrict medical care for not only transgender youth – but also transgender adults. Just last week, Missouri became the first state to effectively ban medically necessary care for both youth and adults. MAP analyzed the more than 250 bills introduced in recent years that attack access to medical care for […]
Confronting Bias – Shoulders of Giants
It’s been a minute! It’s thrilling to be back with the rest of the squad at Baltimore OUTloud. Which brings me to the whole point of today’s column. We don’t do anything in a vacuum. We literally stand on the shoulders of giants. We can be proud of that and remember this fact when the winds of change rock us around. We can be proud instead of scared. I get it, the crazy stuff that is being proposed these days in the name of “protection” is not just putting lipstick on a pig (how do you like that metaphor?) – […]
LGBTQ Health Equity at Chase Brexton Health Care
This March we celebrated the 21st Annual National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week. This campaign hosted by the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health, encouraged us to speak openly about our LGBTQ identities and how healthcare systems interact with our community. Throughout this week, people around the country shared their stories, had conversations about barriers to healthcare, minority stress, intersectionality, inequity… as well as experiences of euphoria, affirmation, and care. Having a dedicated time to reflect on LGBTQ health incites a range of emotions for us at the Center for LGBTQ Health Equity at Chase Brexton. Every day we witness the profound […]
Resilience or Perseverance?
As I look forward to resuming this column and thought about the last five years, I wanted to ask: Think back to 2018, or even early, 2019 – what was your life like? What kind of changes do you see, now, in how you handle relationships, work, or mundane everyday routines? This does not mean we dismiss changes over time, in whatever context they may appear. Getting older, accumulating different experiences, making new connections, losing others, are all what passage of time brings. But we all lived through an unexpected period of illness, quarantine, working “remotely,” isolating, masking, or vaccines, […]
Chubby Love
I recently received a note on my “Ask the Doc” blog from a gay man who wrote: “I became fascinated with fat people at a very young age, and after I discovered masturbation at 13 years old, I realized those feelings were sexual.” He was angry because his friends think his sexual attraction is crazy. Society has a prejudice against fat people. The idealized male body is one with 10% body fat, V-shaped, and muscular. Our culture sees fat people as lazy, unmotivated, and undisciplined. Because we are all exposed to that culture, everyone incorporates these stereotypes. Because society adopts […]
Strategies for Tax Season
Upcoming community session dives into the details By Aaron Cahall Chase Brexton Health Care Tax preparation can be a challenging, confusing, and even dreaded obstacle for many, but help is available! Individuals seeking some simple strategies for tax season, or looking for resources to get help, can find the answers they need at the next LGBTQ Community Connection session. The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, March 9th from 1 to 2:30 pm and will be hosted by the CASH (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) Campaign of Maryland. Learn more about the session and how to join at Chasebrexton.org/LGBTQCommunityMar2023. We asked […]
Time’s Up for Tik Tok Diet Trends
By Dr. Terri Griffith Picture this: You’re scrolling Tik Tok when you find a “What I eat in a day” video. A 20-something-year-old influencer, clad in fluffy white Skims and perfectly coiffed hair to match the never-lived-in aesthetic of her home, shows you everything she eats in a day to maintain her “healthy” lifestyle. She also shares a workout routine that she swears by to maintain her physique. She is thin, gorgeous, and seems to have it all – and she promises that if you follow her diet and fitness routine, you too will be thin, gorgeous, and have it […]