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Trans Symposium Forwards Mission of Educating Medical FieldTrans Symposium Forwards Mission of Educating Medical... Fort Lauderdale Trans Symposium Forwards Mission of Educating Medical Fieldby Christiana Lilly, SFGayNews It’s pouring rain outside, but those inside the conference rooms at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale are too engrossed in their seminars to care. During the second day of the third annual Transgender Symposium,...

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Trans Kids Jazz and Coy Honored at GLAAD AwardsTrans Kids Jazz and Coy Honored at GLAAD Awards GLAAD President Herndon Graddick focuses on Trans issues at the GLADD Awards At the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York this past weekend, GLAAD President Herndon Graddick spoke about the evolving mission of the organization, and the importance of the transgender community in his vision for the future of equality....

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TLDEF Files Complaint to Protect Transgender Child From School DiscriminationTLDEF Files Complaint to Protect Transgender Child... Complaint Alleges Six-Year-Old Transgender Girl Denied Access to Girls' Bathrooms at School TLDEF today announced that it has filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of a 6-year-old girl who has been barred from using the girls' bathrooms at her elementary school. For the past year, Coy Mathis,...

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Transgender Tween Jazz Talks Dating With Barbara WaltersTransgender Tween Jazz Talks Dating With Barbara Walters A Special Edition of “20/20 Saturday” Airing Saturday, January 19 at 8pm on ABC. Jazz is a typical 11-year-old girl except for one thing — she was born as a boy. From the moment she could speak, Jazz sensed that she was trapped in the wrong body and decided to dress and live as a little girl. Her parents made...

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Generation LGBTQIAGeneration LGBTQIA By Michael Schulman STEPHEN IRA, a junior at Sarah Lawrence College, uploaded a video last March on We Happy Trans, a site that shares “positive perspectives” on being transgender In the breakneck six-and-a-half-minute monologue — hair tousled, sitting in a wood-paneled dorm room — Stephen exuberantly declared...

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Substance Abuse

Substance Abuse in the Gay and Lesbian Community

Alcoholism is a fatal chronic illness affecting the lives of 20 to 30% of the homosexual population (Ziebold & Mongeon, 1982). Studies have found that 35% of lesbians had a history of excessive drinking, compared to only 5% of the heterosexual women in the sample (Saghir, 1970; Lewis, 1982). Approximately 30% of lesbians and gay men are addicted to drugs (Rofes, 1983). The facts show that the homosexual community constitutes …read more

Why is addiction such a problem?

It is important not to assume that homosexuality causes drug or alcohol abuse. When gays, lesbians and bisexuals internalize society’s homophobic attitudes and beliefs, the results can be devastating. Society’s hatred becomes self-hatred. As a minority group; gays, lesbians and bisexuals are victims of systemic and ongoing oppression. It can lead to feelings of alienation, despair, low self-esteem, self-destructive behaviour, and substance abuse (Nicoloff & Stiglitz, 1987). Some gays, lesbians …read more

Getting Help For Yourself or For Someone You Know

The first step toward getting help is recognizing that your substance abuse is a problem. This is rarely easy. The following is a list of questions, though not inclusive, that you should ask yourself. Do you feel irritated when other people comment on how much you drink/use drugs? Do you ever drink or use drugs when you are alone? Have you had periods of time while you were drinking or …read more

A Wide Selection of Helpful Resources Regarding Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs

It is commonly believed that factors such as stigma, denial, alienation, discrimination, and the cultural importance of bars place lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals at higher risk of developing problems with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD). Although we need much more research before we can substantiate this belief, we do know one thing: many issues need to be understood and addressed by prevention professionals working with lesbian, gay, and …read more