On July 16-August 10, 2012, The Center for Population Research in LGBT Health at The Fenway Institute and the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health are hosting a Summer Institute in LGBT Population Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Institute will provide participants with foundational training in interdisciplinary theory, knowledge and methods for conducting population research in sexual and gender minority health. Current doctoral or Masters’ students and recent doctoral program graduates are eligible to apply for one of 18 spots in the program.
To be held over four weeks at Boston University and Fenway Health, the Summer Institute will include several components:
1. A dynamic Cornerstone Seminar in LGBT Health and Social Life that will overview key topics, methods, and perspectives in the interdisciplinary study of LGBT Health
2. Short-course instruction in statistics and quantitative data analysis at the intermediate and advanced-intermediate levels
3. Hands-on training in analysis of LGBT population health data in the Interactive Data Lab.
There is no cost for tuition and participants may apply for free housing* in Boston University dormitories during the Institute. The Summer Institute is funded by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant number R25HD064426).
Please visit www.lgbtpopcenter.org/training to download the Call for Applications. Applications will be accepted until April 16, 2012. For more information, please call 617-927-6348 or email summerinstitute@lgbtpopcenter.org.
*There are a limited number of slots for free housing available. Per grant funding guidelines, free housing is only available to U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals of the U.S., or those with legal permanent resident status. No temporary or student visas allowable. Non-citizens may apply for the program, but must cover their own housing and transportation costs.
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Cynthia Nixon Update: I Don’t Identify as Bi Because Nobody Likes Bisexuals
Posted by Kevin Farrell on Jan 24, 2012 in Real Talk
Perhaps sensing some frustration (and a twinge of outrage?) from the LGBT community over her comments about choosing to be gay, Cynthia Nixon spoke with The Daily Beast’s Kevin Sessums for a quickie follow-up interview.
Sessums, like the majority of our readers, posits that if Nixon truly possesses the ability to choose between being gay and being straight, then isn’t she really bisexual? And wouldn’t that then mean she didn’t actually have a choice in her sexuality after all?
KS: You’ve been very vocal and political about marriage equality and helped lead the successful fight for it in New York. So congratulations on your own marriage. But before you met and fell in love over seven years ago now with Christine—who, through a sperm donor, gave birth to your son Max Ellington almost a year ago—you were in a 15-year relationship with Danny Mozes, whom you first met in high school. You had two children with him—Samantha, who is now 15, and Charles Ezekiel, who is 9. You’ve been quoted as saying about these two relationships in your life: “In terms of sexual orientation, I don’t really feel I’ve changed … I’ve been with men all my life and I’d never fallen in love with a woman. But when I did, it didn’t seem so strange. I’m just a woman in love with another woman.” I’m a bit confused. Were you a lesbian in a heterosexual relationship? Or are you now a heterosexual in a lesbian relationship? That quote seemed like you were fudging a bit.
CN: It’s so not fudging. It’s so not. I think for gay people who feel 100 percent gay, it doesn’t make any sense. And for straight people who feel 100 percent straight, it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t pull out the “bisexual” word because nobody likes the bisexuals. Everybody likes to dump on the bisexuals.
KS: But it is the “B” in LGBT.
CN: I know. But we get no respect.
KS: You just said “we,” so you must self-identify as one.
CN: I just don’t like to pull out that word. But I do completely feel that when I was in relationships with men, I was in love and in lust with those men. And then I met Christine and I fell in love and lust with her. I am completely the same person and I was not walking around in some kind of fog. I just responded to the people in front of me the way I truly felt.
Yikes.
Honestly, we can empathize with Nixon and her feelings toward her own sexuality. But this interview just makes her come off worse than before.
Nobody has the right to judge anyone about who they are attracted to – it’s kind of what the LGBT community is fighting for, isn’t it? But we can’t imagine that saying “nobody likes bisexuals” is going to go over very well.
What do you think about Nixon’s comments? Does anybody like bisexuals? Are we all just twisting her words here?
Originially posted at http://unicornbooty.com/blog/2012/01/24/cynthia-nixon-update-i-dont-identify-as-bi-because-nobody-likes-bisexuals/
Reposted for thoughts at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Perhaps sensing some frustration (and a twinge of outrage?) from the LGBT community over her comments about choosing to be gay, Cynthia Nixon spoke with The Daily Beast’s Kevin Sessums for a quickie follow-up interview.
Sessums, like the majority of our readers, posits that if Nixon truly possesses the ability to choose between being gay and being straight, then isn’t she really bisexual? And wouldn’t that then mean she didn’t actually have a choice in her sexuality after all?
KS: You’ve been very vocal and political about marriage equality and helped lead the successful fight for it in New York. So congratulations on your own marriage. But before you met and fell in love over seven years ago now with Christine—who, through a sperm donor, gave birth to your son Max Ellington almost a year ago—you were in a 15-year relationship with Danny Mozes, whom you first met in high school. You had two children with him—Samantha, who is now 15, and Charles Ezekiel, who is 9. You’ve been quoted as saying about these two relationships in your life: “In terms of sexual orientation, I don’t really feel I’ve changed … I’ve been with men all my life and I’d never fallen in love with a woman. But when I did, it didn’t seem so strange. I’m just a woman in love with another woman.” I’m a bit confused. Were you a lesbian in a heterosexual relationship? Or are you now a heterosexual in a lesbian relationship? That quote seemed like you were fudging a bit.
CN: It’s so not fudging. It’s so not. I think for gay people who feel 100 percent gay, it doesn’t make any sense. And for straight people who feel 100 percent straight, it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t pull out the “bisexual” word because nobody likes the bisexuals. Everybody likes to dump on the bisexuals.
KS: But it is the “B” in LGBT.
CN: I know. But we get no respect.
KS: You just said “we,” so you must self-identify as one.
CN: I just don’t like to pull out that word. But I do completely feel that when I was in relationships with men, I was in love and in lust with those men. And then I met Christine and I fell in love and lust with her. I am completely the same person and I was not walking around in some kind of fog. I just responded to the people in front of me the way I truly felt.
Yikes.
Honestly, we can empathize with Nixon and her feelings toward her own sexuality. But this interview just makes her come off worse than before.
Nobody has the right to judge anyone about who they are attracted to – it’s kind of what the LGBT community is fighting for, isn’t it? But we can’t imagine that saying “nobody likes bisexuals” is going to go over very well.
What do you think about Nixon’s comments? Does anybody like bisexuals? Are we all just twisting her words here?
Originially posted at http://unicornbooty.com/blog/2012/01/24/cynthia-nixon-update-i-dont-identify-as-bi-because-nobody-likes-bisexuals/
Reposted for thoughts at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
New Study Shows Sexual Minority Stress Jeopardizes Older Gay Men’s Mental Health
In a new study released by the Williams Institute and published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers found that sexual minority stress jeopardizes the mental health of midlife and older gay men. The study also found that marriage equality for same-sex couples may provide a protective effect against poor mental health. “This study shines a light on the mental health of a generation of gay men who survived the early years of the AIDS crisis and came of age on the heels of the gay rights movement,” said lead author Richard G. Wight, MPH, PhD, Associate Researcher at the Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, and Visiting Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute at UCLA.
Reposted to http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Reposted to http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
LGBT Health Awareness Week
The National Coalition for LGBT Health is pleased to announce its 10th Annual LGBT Health Awareness Week, “Come Out for Health”. LGBT Health Awareness week is a call to action for community members, advocates, service providers and governmental officials to recognize health and wellness as an essential part of the social justice movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, families and the wider community.
There are many ways you can get involved in LGBT Health Awareness Week!
Reposted http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
There are many ways you can get involved in LGBT Health Awareness Week!
Reposted http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
HealthCare.gov Helps Same-Sex Partners Find Health Insurance Coverage
The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that Americans are now able to use HealthCare.gov to search specifically for insurance plans that include coverage for same-sex domestic partners, according to the Washington Blade. The Health Plan Finder tool on HealthCare.gov allows consumers to compare the cost sharing and benefit choices of health plans and choose the best option to meet their needs. As a part of the plan finder refresh, domestic partners, including same-sex couples, can now filter plans that offer coverage for all members of their family.
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Friday, February 3, 2012
Miss Representation- FREE documentary film showing Feb. 26
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 4 pm at the Gateway Theater
King Avenue United Methodist Church; OSU Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; The Women's Place; and OSU Outreach & Engagement are proud to present Miss Representation, a documentary film by Jennifer Seibel Newsom. Followed by a talk back panel discussion with Barbara Riley, Mary Jo Hudson and Sen. Charleta B. Tavares. ADMISSION IS
FREE.
Rev. Linda Middelberg
King Avenue United Methodist Church
299 King Ave
Columbus, OH 43201
614-424-6050
www.kingave.org
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
King Avenue United Methodist Church; OSU Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; The Women's Place; and OSU Outreach & Engagement are proud to present Miss Representation, a documentary film by Jennifer Seibel Newsom. Followed by a talk back panel discussion with Barbara Riley, Mary Jo Hudson and Sen. Charleta B. Tavares. ADMISSION IS
FREE.
Rev. Linda Middelberg
King Avenue United Methodist Church
299 King Ave
Columbus, OH 43201
614-424-6050
www.kingave.org
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Ending Housing Discrimination Against LGBT Americans
Written by: Secretary Shaun Donovan
On Saturday, I was proud to speak before the 24th National Gay and Lesbian Task Force “Creating Change” Conference, where I announced the publication of a new Equal Access to Housing Rules that says clearly and unequivocally that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose.
The need for this rule is clear, particularly when it comes to housing. According to one recent report, not only are 40 percent of homeless youth LGBT, half of them report experiencing homelessness as a result of their gender identity or expression. Even more troubling, the majority of them report harassment, difficulty, or even sexual assault when trying to access homeless shelters. That’s not just wrong – it’s not who we are as Americans. And as the Injustice at Every Turn report put out by the Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality last year found, these challenges are all too common.
That’s why HUD is working to ensure that our housing programs are open to all – the rule will open access to housing for LGBT individuals and families in four important ways:
First, an equal access provision making clear that housing that is financed or insured by HUD must be made available without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
Second, by prohibiting owners and operators of HUD-funded housing, or housing whose financing we insure, from inquiring about an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity or denying housing on that basis.
Third, the new rule makes clear that the term “family” includes LGBT individuals and couples as eligible beneficiaries of HUD’s public housing and voucher programs – programs that collectively serve 5.5 million people.
Finally, the rule makes clear that sexual orientation and gender identity should not and cannot be part of any lending decision when it comes to getting an FHA-insured mortgage. Particularly with FHA playing an elevated role in the housing market today, this represents a critical step in ensuring that LGBT Americans have fair access to the dream of responsible, sustainable homeownership.
Of course, publishing HUD’s new rule won’t be the end of the process. HUD and its fair housing partners will work to provide guidance and training, to ensure that communities across the country are following the rules.
It’s clear that as critical as this new rule is, this work is just beginning. But with the rule’s publication, the Obama Administration is reaffirming that the state of our union is strongest when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. And by ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to live where they choose, raise their families, and contribute to their communities, that’s the commitment I was so proud to represent on Saturday.
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
On Saturday, I was proud to speak before the 24th National Gay and Lesbian Task Force “Creating Change” Conference, where I announced the publication of a new Equal Access to Housing Rules that says clearly and unequivocally that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose.
The need for this rule is clear, particularly when it comes to housing. According to one recent report, not only are 40 percent of homeless youth LGBT, half of them report experiencing homelessness as a result of their gender identity or expression. Even more troubling, the majority of them report harassment, difficulty, or even sexual assault when trying to access homeless shelters. That’s not just wrong – it’s not who we are as Americans. And as the Injustice at Every Turn report put out by the Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality last year found, these challenges are all too common.
That’s why HUD is working to ensure that our housing programs are open to all – the rule will open access to housing for LGBT individuals and families in four important ways:
First, an equal access provision making clear that housing that is financed or insured by HUD must be made available without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
Second, by prohibiting owners and operators of HUD-funded housing, or housing whose financing we insure, from inquiring about an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity or denying housing on that basis.
Third, the new rule makes clear that the term “family” includes LGBT individuals and couples as eligible beneficiaries of HUD’s public housing and voucher programs – programs that collectively serve 5.5 million people.
Finally, the rule makes clear that sexual orientation and gender identity should not and cannot be part of any lending decision when it comes to getting an FHA-insured mortgage. Particularly with FHA playing an elevated role in the housing market today, this represents a critical step in ensuring that LGBT Americans have fair access to the dream of responsible, sustainable homeownership.
Of course, publishing HUD’s new rule won’t be the end of the process. HUD and its fair housing partners will work to provide guidance and training, to ensure that communities across the country are following the rules.
It’s clear that as critical as this new rule is, this work is just beginning. But with the rule’s publication, the Obama Administration is reaffirming that the state of our union is strongest when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. And by ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to live where they choose, raise their families, and contribute to their communities, that’s the commitment I was so proud to represent on Saturday.
Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
How to Support Planned Parenthood in Light of Susan G Komen Betrayal
Yesterday, cancer survivors, their loved ones, and loved ones of those who succumbed to the disease, reeled to learn that Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the charity synonymous with breast cancer research, halted grants to Planned Parenthood.
The charity caved to pressure from anti-abortion activists who have the nationwide clinics under investigation at the behest of an anti-abortion politician (more about that here). Another factor is surely the hiring of Komen’s senior VP for Public Policy, Karen Handel, an ex-politician who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia in 2010 on an anti-abortion platform and was endorsed by Sarah Palin (more on that here).
Despite the fact Susan G. Komen’s grants to Planned Parenthood mainly were used for breast exams for women who otherwise could not afford them, anti-abortion groups have targeted those charitable donations because some Planned Parenthood clinics also perform abortions.
But enough about ideology trumping ethics. What are we going to do about it?
• Donate to Planned Parenthood. Yup, go right to the source. [Planned Parenthood Action]
• Give your money to another worthy breast cancer organization — Susan G. Komen for the Cure is hardly the only one. Blogger Nona Willis Aronowitz at GOOD magazine recommends sending your donations to charities that don’t let ideology trump their mission, such as Breast Cancer Action, the National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the Women’s Community Center Project. You can check out her other recommendations at the link. [GOOD]
• Contribute your story to a new Tumblr called Planned Parenthood Saved Me, which is collecting images and stories from women whose lives were saved and improved from a Planned Parenthood cancer screening. It could be a breast screening, a cervical screening, an ovarian screening, anything. Putting a face, name or story to an issue really does help. [Planned Parenthood Saved Me]
• Donate to Susan G. Komen affiliates that are still providing funding to Planned Parenthood. This morning, I learned on Facebook that Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut, the affiliate in my home state, is an individual nonprofit that reports to a local board of directors — not the national org. Therefore, my local affiliate is still partnered with Planned Parenthood and is still funding Planned Parenthood of New England.
It is frustrating to see a leading national provider of women’s healthcare being dicked around, especially given how breast cancer screenings are preventative care which save lives in the long run. Yet at the same time it is heartening to see — in my Twitter feed, on Facebook, in emails that have been lining my inbox since yesterday — so many outraged in response and doing something about it.
[The Atlantic Monthly][Jezebel][GOOD]
Contact the author of this post at Jessica@TheFrisky.com. Follow me on Twitter at @JessicaWakeman.
http://www.thefrisky.com/2012-02-01/how-to-support-planned-parenthood-in-light-of-susan-g-komen-halting-its-grants/#.Tymqmj85mMU.facebook
Reposted at www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
The charity caved to pressure from anti-abortion activists who have the nationwide clinics under investigation at the behest of an anti-abortion politician (more about that here). Another factor is surely the hiring of Komen’s senior VP for Public Policy, Karen Handel, an ex-politician who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia in 2010 on an anti-abortion platform and was endorsed by Sarah Palin (more on that here).
Despite the fact Susan G. Komen’s grants to Planned Parenthood mainly were used for breast exams for women who otherwise could not afford them, anti-abortion groups have targeted those charitable donations because some Planned Parenthood clinics also perform abortions.
But enough about ideology trumping ethics. What are we going to do about it?
• Donate to Planned Parenthood. Yup, go right to the source. [Planned Parenthood Action]
• Give your money to another worthy breast cancer organization — Susan G. Komen for the Cure is hardly the only one. Blogger Nona Willis Aronowitz at GOOD magazine recommends sending your donations to charities that don’t let ideology trump their mission, such as Breast Cancer Action, the National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the Women’s Community Center Project. You can check out her other recommendations at the link. [GOOD]
• Contribute your story to a new Tumblr called Planned Parenthood Saved Me, which is collecting images and stories from women whose lives were saved and improved from a Planned Parenthood cancer screening. It could be a breast screening, a cervical screening, an ovarian screening, anything. Putting a face, name or story to an issue really does help. [Planned Parenthood Saved Me]
• Donate to Susan G. Komen affiliates that are still providing funding to Planned Parenthood. This morning, I learned on Facebook that Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut, the affiliate in my home state, is an individual nonprofit that reports to a local board of directors — not the national org. Therefore, my local affiliate is still partnered with Planned Parenthood and is still funding Planned Parenthood of New England.
It is frustrating to see a leading national provider of women’s healthcare being dicked around, especially given how breast cancer screenings are preventative care which save lives in the long run. Yet at the same time it is heartening to see — in my Twitter feed, on Facebook, in emails that have been lining my inbox since yesterday — so many outraged in response and doing something about it.
[The Atlantic Monthly][Jezebel][GOOD]
Contact the author of this post at Jessica@TheFrisky.com. Follow me on Twitter at @JessicaWakeman.
http://www.thefrisky.com/2012-02-01/how-to-support-planned-parenthood-in-light-of-susan-g-komen-halting-its-grants/#.Tymqmj85mMU.facebook
Reposted at www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Gen Silent Showing
Miss it the first time?
Know someone who would appreciate seeing it?
The critically-acclaimed LGBT aging documentary,
Gen Silent (63 min) is streaming again for home viewing now through Sunday, February 5th.
Simply visit our website to watch now
The first 30 screenings each day are free! $2.99 after
NEWS:
Our initial, free home screening event was wildly successful with more than 8,000 viewings in 56 different countries.
Unfortunately, donations were far fewer than needed to cover the costs of streaming for free.
We are continuing to give away free screenings at the beginning of each day but then must charge $2.99.
We will keep you posted about upcoming "Home Screening Events"!
-The Gen Silent Team
"The generation that fought hardest to come out,
is going back in- to survive."
Know someone who would appreciate seeing it?
The critically-acclaimed LGBT aging documentary,
Gen Silent (63 min) is streaming again for home viewing now through Sunday, February 5th.
Simply visit our website to watch now
The first 30 screenings each day are free! $2.99 after
NEWS:
Our initial, free home screening event was wildly successful with more than 8,000 viewings in 56 different countries.
Unfortunately, donations were far fewer than needed to cover the costs of streaming for free.
We are continuing to give away free screenings at the beginning of each day but then must charge $2.99.
We will keep you posted about upcoming "Home Screening Events"!
-The Gen Silent Team
"The generation that fought hardest to come out,
is going back in- to survive."
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