Archive
One Year Out: An Assessment of DADT Repeal’s Impact on Military Readiness
One Year Out: An Assessment of DADT Repeal’s Impact on Military Readiness (PDF)
Source: Palm Center
Prior to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) on September 20, 2011, many observers predicted that allowing lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) troops to serve openly would harm the military. This study is the first scholarly effort to assess the accuracy of such predictions about the impact of DADT repeal on military readiness. Our conclusions are based on a consideration of all of the evidence that was available to us at the time our research was conducted, the halfyear period starting six months after repeal and concluding at the one-year mark.
We sought to maximize the likelihood of identifying evidence of damage caused by repeal by pursuing ten separate research strategies, each of which was designed to uncover data indicating that repeal has undermined the military. Our research strategies included outreach to 553 generals and admirals who predicted that repeal would undermine the military, to all major activists and expert opponents of DADT repeal and to 18 watchdog organizations, including opponents and advocates of repeal, who are known for their ability to monitor Pentagon operations. In addition, we conducted in-depth interviews with 18 scholars and practitioners and 62 active-duty heterosexual, lesbian, gay and bisexual troops from every service branch, as well as on-site field observations of four military units. We analyzed relevant media articles published during the research period, administered two surveys and conducted secondary source analysis of surveys independently administered by outside organizations. Our vigorous effort to collect data from opponents of DADT repeal, including anti-repeal generals and admirals, activists, academic experts, service members and watchdog organizations, should sustain confidence in the validity and impartiality of our findings.
Our study team includes distinguished scholars from the US Military Academy, US Air Force Academy, US Naval Academy and US Marine Corps War College, as well as scholars with internationally recognized expertise on the issue of gays in the military. Several members advised the Pentagon’s 2010 DADT working group, and one member led the team that drafted the Defense Department’s plan for implementing DADT repeal.
Challenges for HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States
Challenges for HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States
Source: PLoS Medicine
Summary Points
+ Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with anti-retroviral (ARV) medications is partially efficacious for preventing HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexuals.
As PrEP becomes available and prescribed for use among MSM a better understanding of willingness to use PrEP and avoidance of condom use are needed so that behavioral programs and counseling may be enhanced for maximum benefit.
+ Targeted messaging will be needed about ARV prophylaxis for various at risk populations, but the general message should be that condoms continue to be the most effective way to prevent HIV transmission through sex and that PrEP is an additional biomedical intervention.
+ As new effective biomedical intervention methods, such as PrEP, become available language about “protected” and “unprotected” sex, which used to exclusively mean condom use, will need to adapt.
Healthcare Equality Index
Healthcare Equality Index
Source: Human Rights Campaign
From press release:
The number of American hospitals striving to treat lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients equally and respectfully is on the rise, according to a report released today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation at a press conference with U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC. Much work remains to be done to end discrimination in America’s healthcare system, but the once invisible issue of LGBT healthcare equity is gaining national prominence, with healthcare facilities committing themselves to offering unbiased care.
…
The report details the results of the most recent Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), an annual survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. This year’s survey found a 40 percent increase in rated facilities, which totaled 407 nationwide. It also found an impressive 162 percent increase in the number of facilities achieving the status of “Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality,” special recognition given to facilities earning a perfect rating by meeting four core criteria for LGBT patient-centered care laid out in the HEI.The HEI helps hospitals assess themselves against established best practices and ensure that they are complying with requirements for non-discrimination. These include a requirement issued last year by The Joint Commission, the largest accrediting body for U.S. hospitals, calling on all accredited facilities to extend non-discrimination protection to LGBT patients.
Over 90 percent of HEI 2012 participants explicitly prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual patients, and 76 percent ban discrimination against transgender patients. Additionally, about 75 percent of respondents have a written policy explicitly granting equal visitation rights to same-sex couples and same-sex parents. This represents a significant increase since the Department of Health and Human Services issued rules in 2011 requiring all hospitals that receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding – nearly every hospital in America – to protect the visitation rights of LGBT people.
Growing Up LGBT in America: Key Findings
The deck is stacked against young people growing up lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in America. Official government discrimination or indifference along with social ostracism leaves many teens disaffected and disconnected in their own homes and neighborhoods. With an increase in public awareness about anti-LGBT bullying and harassment and the strikingly high number of LGBT youth who are homeless, in foster care, or living in high-risk situations, it is critical that we get a better understanding of the experiences, needs, and concerns of LGBT youth.HRC’s report, Growing Up LGBT in America, is a groundbreaking survey of more than 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17. It provides a stark picture of the difficulties they face — the impact on their well-being is profound, however these youth are quite resilient. They find safe havens among their peers, online and in their schools. They remain optimistic and believe things will get better. Nevertheless, the findings are a call to action for all adults who want ensure that young people can thrive.
What Does Bristol Palin Have to Do with Same-Sex Marriage?
What Does Bristol Palin Have to Do with Same-Sex Marriage?
This article considers how anxiety about the economy, class standing, and the family effect the same-sex marriage debate. It starts with the nature of family change. The middle class, in urban areas and the coasts, has adjusted to the long-term change in family roles and is doing well financially and culturally, with divorce and non-marital birth rates comparable to those of the mid-1960s — before the sexual revolution. Family conditions for America’s poor have stabilized with high non-marital birth rates. For the middle group, divorce rates continued to climb through the nineties while falling for the college educated and high school dropouts. The most recent changes indicate that non-marital birth rates are increasing for Latinas and whites without college degrees, transforming what had been marriage-centered communities.Second, this article examines the relationship between anxiety about family change, values preferences, and the culture divide about how to discuss and manage family change.Third, this article examines the political manipulation of the anxieties underlying family change and the exacerbation of cultural differences.Finally, the article considers a dilemma for advocates of same-sex marriage. Opponents have used the issue to solidify a broad conservative coalition. Does same-sex marriage depend on an equally broad liberal coalition or does it stand on its own? One of the ironies in the debate is that more tolerant attitudes toward sexual orientation are winning even as the opposition to abortion is strengthening. The article maintains that fairness to gays is compelling in ways that stand apart from family values, and the two components of the fight — fairness for gays and general opposition to rigid traditionalism – should operate independently. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage is used to obstruct what should be the true family debate; the remaking of family relationships in an era of economic insecurity and growing inequality.
The Relationship between the EEOC’s Decision that Title VII Prohibits Discrimination Based on Gender Identity and the Enforcement of Executive Order 11246
New analysis finds that a recent ruling from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that gender identity discrimination is unlawful will likely be extended to federal contractors. The EEOC opinion held that gender identity or expression discrimination violates the prohibition on sex discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. By executive order (EO 11246), federal contractors are similarly prohibited from sex discrimination.Sex discrimination complaints against federal contractors filed pursuant to the existing executive order are enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), an agency within the Department of Labor. The OFCCP has an explicit policy of interpreting the executive order in a manner consistent with Title VII, and has followed the EEOC’s regulations and guidance in enforcing the order. Further, complaints filed with the OFCCP are either directly enforced by the EEOC or enforced by OFCCP officers acting as agents of the EEOC.
+ Full Report (PDF)
Gay Men Report High Rates of Hate-Motivated Physical Violence
According to a new study from the Williams Institute, gay men face higher rates of hate-motivated physical violence than lesbians, bisexuals or other federally protected groups with high rates of hate crimes. This finding is especially troubling given prior research has shown that sexual orientation-motivated hate crimes tend to be more violent.…Among the research findings, 26 in 100,000 gay men reported being victims of hate-motivated crimes against persons, compared to 10 in 100,000 lesbians, 5 in 100,000 African Americans, and 5 in 100,000 Jewish Americans. Gay men also face the second highest risk of being victims of hate-motivated property crime (9 in 100,000 gay men). Further, reporting of such hate crimes is likely under represented since data reflect only those who report such crimes to local law enforcement, who then choose whether to report the data to the FBI.Although prior research has suggested that lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, Jews, and African Americans experience similar levels of overall victimization, this study is the first to demonstrate that when lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals are considered separately, gay men experience more hate crimes.
CRS — Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues
Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in seven states. Other states allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant all or part of state-level rights, benefits, and/or responsibilities of marriage. Some states have statutes or constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. These variations raise questions about the validity of such unions outside the contracted jurisdiction and have bearing on the distribution of federal benefits.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), P.L. 104-199, prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows individual states to refuse to recognize such marriages performed in other states. Section 3 of DOMA requires that marriage, for purposes of federal benefit programs, be defined as the union of one man and one woman. Lower courts are starting to address DOMA’s constitutionality. On July 8, 2010, a U.S. district court in Massachusetts found Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional in two companion cases brought by same-sex couples married in Massachusetts. In one case, the court found that DOMA exceeded Congress’s power under the Spending Clause and violated the Tenth Amendment. In the other, the court held that Congress’s goal of preserving the status quo did not bear a rational relationship to DOMA, and thus violated the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. While the government filed a notice of appeal in these cases, it is unclear whether the cases will continue. In February 2011, the U.S. Attorney General submitted a letter to congressional leadership stating that the government will not defend DOMA’s constitutionality under certain conditions. The Assistant Attorney General subsequently submitted a letter to the First Circuit stating that the government will cease its defense of Section 3 of DOMA. However, the United States will remain a party to the cases presumably to “provide Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation.”
Questions regarding same-sex marriages figure prominently in California. After the state supreme court’s decision finding that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the state constitution, voters approved a constitutional amendment (“Proposition 8”) limiting the validity and recognition of “marriages” to heterosexual couples. Subsequent court challenges ensued. On February 7, 2012, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision finding that Proposition 8 violates both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, inasmuch as voters took away a right from a minority group without justification when they approved Proposition 8. In a matter of first impression, the lower court found that Proposition 8 (1) deprived same-sex couples of the fundamental right to marry under the Due Process Clause and (2) excluded such couples from state-sponsored marriage while allowing heterosexual couples access in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. While the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision, it did so on much narrower grounds based on historical facts specific to California. As such, it appears that this decision will have little, if any, impact on other jurisdictions. However, the case will likely be appealed to the full Ninth Circuit or directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is unclear whether the Court would accept the case for review on the merits, as it pertains to an interpretation of a state constitutional amendment.
This report discusses DOMA and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA.
High-Interest CRS Report — Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues (May 9, 2012)
Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues (PDF)Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in seven states. Other states allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant all or part of state-level rights, benefits, and/or responsibilities of marriage. Some states have statutes or constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. These variations raise questions about the validity of such unions outside the contracted jurisdiction and have bearing on the distribution of federal benefits.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), P.L. 104-199, prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows individual states to refuse to recognize such marriages performed in other states. Section 3 of DOMA requires that marriage, for purposes of federal benefit programs, be defined as the union of one man and one woman. Lower courts are starting to address DOMA’s constitutionality. On July 8, 2010, a U.S. district court in Massachusetts found Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional in two companion cases brought by same-sex couples married in Massachusetts. In one case, the court found that DOMA exceeded Congress’s power under the Spending Clause and violated the Tenth Amendment. In the other, the court held that Congress’s goal of preserving the status quo did not bear a rational relationship to DOMA, and thus violated the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. While the government filed a notice of appeal in these cases, it is unclear whether the cases will continue. In February 2011, the U.S. Attorney General submitted a letter to congressional leadership stating that the government will not defend DOMA’s constitutionality under certain conditions. The Assistant Attorney General subsequently submitted a letter to the First Circuit stating that the government will cease its defense of Section 3 of DOMA. However, the United States will remain a party to the cases presumably to “provide Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation.”
Questions regarding same-sex marriages figure prominently in California. After the state supreme court’s decision finding that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the state constitution, voters approved a constitutional amendment (“Proposition 8”) limiting the validity and recognition of “marriages” to heterosexual couples. Subsequent court challenges ensued. On February 7, 2012, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision finding that Proposition 8 violates both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, inasmuch as voters took away a right from a minority group without justification when they approved Proposition 8. In a matter of first impression, the lower court found that Proposition 8 (1) deprived same-sex couples of the fundamental right to marry under the Due Process Clause and (2) excluded such couples from state-sponsored marriage while allowing heterosexual couples access in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. While the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision, it did so on much narrower grounds based on historical facts specific to California. As such, it appears that this decision will have little, if any, impact on other jurisdictions. However, the case will likely be appealed to the full Ninth Circuit or directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is unclear whether the Court would accept the case for review on the merits, as it pertains to an interpretation of a state constitutional amendment.
This report discusses DOMA and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA.
Strategies For Recruiting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families
Strategies For Recruiting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families (PDF)
Source: National Resource Center for Adoption, the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, and the National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids
Recruiting and retaining enough qualified foster, adoptive, and kinship parents is a challenge facing nearly every jurisdiction in the United States. States, Tribes, and Territories constantly seek resources and creative strategies for recruiting prospective parents who can meet the needs of children and youth in foster care. They continually look for ways to improve the placement stability for children who need foster care placements and to achieve permanence for children who cannot return to their birth families.
Approximately 408,000 children are currently in foster care in the United States. These children have diverse needs; therefore, child welfare agencies need to have a diverse pool of foster parents who can provide temporary, loving care for the children as they await permanency. Of those 408,000 children in foster care, 107,000 are waiting to be adopted. These children have been in foster care for an average of 37 months. In addition to the children still waiting for a permanent family, nearly 28,000 youth aged out of foster care in 2010 without a permanent family connection. All of these children—and the children who will enter foster care in the years to come—deserve our best efforts to recruit and retain prospective foster and adoptive parents who will provide them with the love, stability, and safety that they need.
For jurisdictions that continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining enough qualified foster and adoptive parents, looking to previously untapped or underutilized groups of prospective parents—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults—may be a key step in providing placement stability and permanency to children in foster care.
The Removal of Homosexuality from the DSM: Its Impact on Today’s Marriage Equality Debate
The Removal of Homosexuality from the DSM: Its Impact on Today’s Marriage Equality Debate
Source: Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), leading to changes in the broader cultural beliefs about homosexuality and culminating in the contemporary civil rights quest for marriage equality. This paper reviews the history of theories about human sexuality that led up to that event and outlines the current sociopolitical environment in which marriage equality debates are taking place as well as the current state of marriage equality in the United States and elsewhere.
+ Full Report (PDF)
Psychological Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination among Canadian Gay Men and Lesbian Women
Psychological Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination among Canadian Gay Men and Lesbian Women
Despite the growing number of studies investigating the association between perceived discrimination and psychological health, research of this kind is scarce in Canada. To begin addressing this omission, the present study documents the frequency of discriminatory events experienced by sexual minorities and their linkage with indicants of psychological well-being. Responding to an online survey, 348 self-identifying gay men (n = 177) and lesbian women (n = 169) completed measures of perceived discrimination, depression, psychological distress, life optimism, and self-esteem. Perceiving verbal insults and verbal threats were the most frequently cited incidents, and several statistically significant correlates of depression and psychological distress emerged. Exploratory analyses revealed that: (a) the association between depression and internalized homonegativity was greater in magnitude for lesbian women than for gay men; and (b) the associations between being the recipient of verbal insults and depression and psychological distress were greater for gay men than lesbian women. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are outlined.
+ Full Paper (PDF)
Family Formation and Raising Children Among Same-Sex Couples
Family Formation and Raising Children Among Same-Sex Couples (PDF)
Source: Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law
Among self-identified lesbians and gay men in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, one third of lesbians and one in six gay men say they have had children. Analyses of the 2008 General Social Survey suggest that 19% of gay and bisexual men and 49% of lesbians and bisexual women say they have had a child.
Quality of Life of Adolescents Raised from Birth by Lesbian Mothers: The US National Longitudinal Family Study
Quality of Life of Adolescents Raised from Birth by Lesbian Mothers: The US National Longitudinal Family Study (PDF)
Source: Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Objective: To compare the quality of life (QoL), a measure of psychological well-being, of adolescents reared in lesbian-mother families with that of a matched comparison group of adolescents with heterosexual parents. The adolescents in the comparison group were derived from a representative sample of adolescents in Washington state. The second aim of the study was to assess among teens with lesbian mothers whether donor status, maternal relationship continuity, and self-reported stigmatization are associated with QoL.
Methods: In 1986, prospective lesbian mothers were recruited in Boston, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. Currently, 93% of the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) families are still participating in the study. This report is based on an online questionnaire completed by 78 NLLFS adolescent offspring—39 girls and 39 boys. Six items of the Youth Quality of Life Instrument were used to assess QoL. Also, the NLLFS adolescents were asked whether they had experienced stigmatization, and if so, to describe these experiences (e.g., teasing and ridicule). Mothers were queried about donor status and maternal relationship continuity.
Results: The results revealed that the NLLFS adolescents rated their QoL comparably to their counterparts in heterosexual-parent families. Donor status, maternal relationship continuity, and experienced stigmatization were not related to QoL. Conclusion: Adolescent offspring in planned lesbian families do not show differences in QoL when compared with a matched group of adolescents reared in heterosexual families. By investigating QoL, this study provides insight into positive aspects of mental health of adolescents with lesbian mothers.
GLSEN Releases Groundbreaking Study of Bias, Bullying and Homophobia in Grades K-6
The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) today released a new report on school climate, biased remarks and bullying, Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United States. The report, based on national surveys of 1,065 elementary school students in 3rd to 6th grade and 1,099 elementary school teachers of K-6th grade, examines students’ and teachers’ experiences with biased remarks and bullying, and their attitudes about gender expression and family diversity. The surveys were conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of GLSEN during November and December 2010.“School climate and victimization can affect students’ educational outcomes and personal development at every grade level,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “Playgrounds and Prejudice offers invaluable insights into biased remarks and bullying in America’s elementary schools. The report also shows the need for elementary schools to do more to address issues of homophobia, gender expression and family diversity.”
+ Full Report (PDF)
The Few, the Proud, the Gays: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Trap of Tolerance
The Few, the Proud, the Gays: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Trap of Tolerance (PDF)
The symbolic and iconic value of victories such as the two “m’s” of the military and marriage are heady indeed but, I would argue, not singularly or unambiguously “positive.” Surely removing structural barriers and challenging legalized discrimination are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for full civic inclusion. But, by framing these gains in a discourse of tolerance, we set the bar too low. By avoiding thornier and more contentious and more challenging questions (e.g., how might full inclusion undermine the heteromasculinity at the heart of military culture? What can queer kinship say to bourgeois familialism? How can we detach acts from identities and still embrace egalitarian struggles?) we allow animus new tributaries and byways through our cultural waterways. Repeal, enjoin, sign up, and pledge your troth to God and country and legally wedded spouse. But do not imagine that this is all that we can imagine. It just might be that an army of lovers can only make war, not the queer new world that our electric bodies demand.
Decade of Progress in Workplace Equality Chronicled in HRC’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index
Decade of Progress in Workplace Equality Chronicled in HRC’s 2012 Corporate Equality Index
Source: Human Rights Campaign
With no federal nondiscrimination law and limited state protections, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) has helped transform the American workplace for the better over the past ten years. Released today, the 2012 CEI chronicles the remarkable advances that have taken place on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality (LGBT) in the workplace since 2002. In the first year of the CEI, only 13 businesses achieved a top score. This year, 190 corporations, across industries, geographies and size, will receive a 100 percent score on significantly more stringent criteria, including 10 of the top 20 Fortune-ranked companies. As companies compete to recruit and retain the best employees and influence consumer choices, CEI ratings have redefined the norm for how all companies treat LGBT workers and their families. The result is that the lives of millions of LGBT Americans have been made exponentially better, public acceptance of issues important to LGBT people has soared and both public and private employers of all sizes have voluntarily adopted inclusive policies.
Inequities in Educational and Psychological Outcomes Between LGBTQ and Straight Students in Middle and High School
Inequities in Educational and Psychological Outcomes Between LGBTQ and Straight Students in Middle and High School
Source: Educational Researcher
This study finds that, compared with straight-identified youth, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, victimization by peers, and elevated levels of unexcused absences from school. Results disaggregated by LGBTQ subgroups reveal heterogeneity within the broad LGBTQ group, with bisexual youth appearing to be particularly at risk. Also, although the risk gaps in school belongingness and unexcused absences are significant in high school, we find that these gaps are significantly greater in middle school, suggesting heightened early risk for LGBTQ-identified students. By raising awareness of educational inequities related to LGBTQ identification, this study lays the descriptive groundwork for interventions aimed at improving psychological and educational outcomes for these students.
LGBT Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities: Stories from the Field
LGBT Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities: Stories from the Field
Source: National Senior Citizens Law Center
Until now, there has been little information available about the opinions and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults in long-term care settings.
While most LGBT elders would prefer to receive long term services and supports at home, traditional support systems may be limited or unavailable and alternatives such as assisted living or nursing homes may be necessary
Here you will find video stories and dozens of personal comments capturing varied experiences with long-term care of LGBT older adults, their loved ones, advocates, and the providers who care for them.
You will also find an overview of legal rights, a list of helpful resources as well as a place to share your own story.
Eating Disorders in Diverse Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations
Eating Disorders in Diverse Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations (PDF)
Source: International Journal of Eating Disorders
Objective— This study estimates the prevalence of eating disorders in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) men and women, and examines the association between participation in the gay community and eating disorder prevalence in gay and bisexual men.
Method— One hundred and twenty six white heterosexuals and 388 white, black, Latino LGB men and women were sampled from community venues. DSM-IV diagnoses of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder were assessed using the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview.
Results— Gay and bisexual men had significantly higher prevalence estimates of eating disorders than heterosexual men. There were no differences in eating disorder prevalence between lesbian and bisexual women and heterosexual women, or across gender or racial groups. Attending a gay recreational group was significantly related to eating disorder prevalence in gay and bisexual men.
Conclusion— Researchers should study the causes of the high prevalence of eating disorders among gay and bisexual men.
