#lgbtqia+ resources

[therainbowwarrior4]

Why Transgender People Need Gender-Affirming Care (Essay I wrote for school)

According to the Human Rights Campaign, twenty-two states have passed laws that ban minors from receiving gender-affirming care. Gender-affirming care which includes, puberty blockers, synthetic hormones, and surgeries, are a safe and effective way to treat gender dysphoria, which is distress that results from having one’s gender identity not match their sex assigned at birth. The HRC states that, “Every single major medical organization, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, supports the provision of age-appropriate, gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary people.” It is essential for transgender people to receive gender-affirming care because it decreases the risk of substance abuse, improves mental health, and gives them the opportunity to be who they truly are. 

It is evident that transgender people are at a higher risk of substance abuse and mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. According to one study, the use of any type of drug was 3.6 times more likely in transgender people than in cisgender people. Additionally, 47% of transgender adults reported binge-drinking in the last three months compared to 17% of the general population (Shannonhouse). However, a study also shows that gender-affirming surgeries can decrease the risk of substance abuse. A 35% decrease of past year tobacco smoking was found in transgender people who had one or more gender-affirming surgeries and a significant decrease in the odds of past-month binge alcohol abuse was observed when patients got all the surgeries they desired (“New Study Shows”). According to Columbia Psychiatry, “It is well documented that TGNB adolescents and young adults experience anxiety and depression, as well as suicidal ideation, at a much higher rate than their cisgender peers.” In 2020, the Trevor Project found that 54% of young people who identified as transgender seriously considered suicide, and 29% made an attempt on their lives. Despite this, numerous research studies have shown that gender-affirming care leads to improved mental health for transgender youth (Matouk and Wald). In addition to the numerous mental health benefits of letting transgender people access gender-affirming care, this care also allows transgender people to be who they really are. For example, Jaime Raines started testosterone when he was 17 years old. He describes how life was like before and after he started transitioning. “The two are incomparable really, life before transitioning felt like a struggle and I was constantly feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed about how I looked and how people perceived me. Life after, life now, is just me actually living my life as me” (“This transgender man”). 

Opponents of gender-affirming care argue that sex change drugs, meaning synthetic versions of testosterone and estrogen, are radical and experimental treatments. They state that these treatments are mutilating people’s bodies and that teenagers are not capable of consenting to these treatments (Surgeons). Furthermore, they attest that hormones are given to minors too quickly without any formal procedures to make sure it is in the best interest of the patient and sometimes even surgeries, such as double mastectomies, are being performed (Denny). Challengers to gender-affirming care also allege that some patients have underlying mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression, which are not being treated (Denny). They claim being transgender is a social contagion because of the amount of people now identifying that way. They also claim that it is mostly teenage girls that want this type of medical intervention because identifying this way is a collective behavior that is commonly seen in people who do not feel comfortable with their bodies (Surgeons). Lastly, they argue that many people regret transitioning and go on to detransition.

Proponents of gender-affirming care argue that hormones have been given to transgender people for decades. The first gender clinic in America was opened in 1966 and these hormones have been given to cisgender people long before that to help with certain conditions, such as menopause (Rosenthal). These hormones are safe for adolescents and adults as long as they are being monitored by a medical professional. Hormones are not usually prescribed until a patient turns eighteen. If they are prescribed in adolescence, it is with parental permission and support after going through the informed consent process (HRC Foundation). Double mastectomies are rarely performed on minors. If these surgeries are performed on 16- or 17-year-olds it is with parental support after talking to therapists, and surgeons. Surgeries involving genitalia are never performed on those under 18 (HRC Foundation). Anyone who wants to receive gender-affirming care is required to speak to a mental health professional before and during their transition. Dysphoria can worsen existing mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression. After talking to the patient, a doctor will make the decision regarding transitioning and if it will help the patient’s mental health (HRC Foundation). The idea that being transgender is a “social contagion” is called “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.” GRD has been thoroughly debunked and over 120 medical associations have issued statements calling for the elimination of this term (HRC Foundation). A study done by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that youth assigned female at birth are no more likely to identify as transgender then those assigned male at birth. Lastly, several studies have shown that the percentage of someone de-transitioning is quite rare. The regret rate of transition is as low as 1 or 2 percent (HRC Foundation).

In conclusion, gender-affirming care is life-saving care for transgender individuals. This care is safe, effective, and can be life changing. It decreases the risk of substance abuse, suicide, anxiety, depression, and allows transgender people to be who they truly are. If “to shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are” (Bennett), then should not everyone have a chance to shine their brightest light?

Works Cited

Bennett, Roy T. “Be Who You Truly Are.” The Light in the Heart, 25 Nov. 2018, thelightintheheart.wordpress.com/2018/11/25/be-who-you-truly-are-2/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

Denny, Doreen. “Exposing the Lie of Gender-Affirming Care.” Restoring America, 13 Mar. 2023, www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/exposing-the-lie-of-gender-affirming-care?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Pmax_USA_High-Intent-Audience-Signals&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAmZGrBhAnEiwAo9qHiX8vNakZ_bQiz5rDsC-HxFlMyaTmQ2zs8cLde-oqFOfouZYQCoGxIxoCBo8QAvD_BwE. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

HRC Foundation. “Get the Facts on Gender-Affirming Care.” Human Rights Campaign, 22 Mar. 2023, www.hrc.org/resources/get-the-facts-on-gender-affirming-care. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Matouk, Kareen, and Melina Wald. “Gender-Affirming Care Saves Lives.” Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, 30 Mar. 2022, www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/gender-affirming-care-saves-lives. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

“New Study Shows Transgender People Who Receive Gender-Affirming Surgery Are Significantly Less Likely to Experience Psychological Distress or Suicidal Ideation - Fenway Health: Health Care Is a Right, Not a Privilege.” Fenway Health, 28 Apr. 2021, fenwayhealth.org/new-study-shows-transgender-people-who-receive-gender-affirming-surgery-are-significantly-less-likely-to-experience-psychological-distress-or-suicidal-ideation/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Rosenthal, G. Samantha. “Gender-Affirming Care Has a Long History in the US – and Not Just for Transgender People.” The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2023, theconversation.com/gender-affirming-care-has-a-long-history-in-the-us-and-not-just-for-transgender-people-201752. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Shannonhouse, Rebecca. “Substance Use Disorder in Transgender and Nonbinary People.” WebMD, 21 Apr. 2022, www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/substance-use-disorder-transgender-nonbinary. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

Surgeons, Association of American Physicians &. “Transgenderism: The New Medical Standard?” AAPS | Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, 25 Feb. 2023, aapsonline.org/transgenderism-the-new-medical-standard/. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

“The Trevor Project National Survey 2020.” Www.thetrevorproject.org, 2020, www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/?section=Suicide-Mental-Health. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

“This Transgender Man Documented His Amazing Journey on YouTube for over Five Years.” The Irish News, 8 July 2017, www.irishnews.com/magazine/daily/2017/07/08/news/this-transgender-man-documented-his-amazing-journey-on-youtube-for-over-five-years-1079578/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

“Youth Assigned Female at Birth Are No More Likely to Identify as Transgender or Gender Diverse than Those Assigned Male at Birth: Study.” Www.aap.org, 3 Aug. 2022, www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/pediatrics2/2022/youth-assigned-female-at-birth-are-no-more-likely-to-identify-as-transgender-or-gender-diverse-than-those-assigned-male-at-birth-study/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

#lgbtqia+ rights #lgbtqia+ community #lgbtqia+ #queer #queer community #transgender #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbt pride #lgbtq community #lgbtq rights #lgbtqia+ resources #lgbtqia rights #lgbtqiia+ #lgbtqi community #lgbt #lgbtqplus #lgbtq+

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) administration recently pulled resources for LGBTQ youth from the state’s Department of Health website, after receiving an inquiry from a conservative outlet, according to The Washington Post.

The online resources for LGBTQ youth were reportedly removed May 31, the same day that the administration received questions from The Daily Wire, an outlet co-founded by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.

The Virginia Department of Health website previously featured links to Q Chat Space, a national LGBTQ center where teens can join online support groups moderated by professionals, as well as the LGBTQ and social justice website Queer Kid Stuff, among other resources.

The state’s health commissioner, Karen Shelton, told colleagues in one of several messages obtained by the Post that she was directed to pull the webpage by Health and Human Resources.

Employees with the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Family Health — which was at the center of this and other recent cases in which public health resources were removed — expressed concerns about the removal of the LGBTQ resources without their prior consultation.

“I’m having a bad case of déjà vu,” Vanessa Walker Harris, the director of the Office of Family Health, said in one email, according to the Post.

Walker Harris went on to voice concerns that the division’s staff were being directed to remove the resources in response to “a politically motivated inquiry, yet again.”

“[H]ere we go again with removing things from the webpage without consulting OFHS,” another member of the Office of Family Health, Emily Yeatts, said.

Shelton later apologized for the way that the change was handled, saying that “there wasn’t much time to communicate about it,” the Post reported.

In the wake of the decision to remove the LGBTQ resources, Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement to the Post that the government “should not facilitate anonymous conversations between adults and children without a parent’s approval.”

“In Virginia, the Governor will always reaffirm a parent’s role in their child’s life,” she added. “Children belong to their parents, not the state.”

#us politics #news #the hill #2023 #Virginia #gov. glenn youngkin #lgbtqia+ rights #lgbtqia+ #lgbtqia+ representation #lgbtqia+ resources #The Washington Post #The Daily Wire #ben shapiro #Virginia Department of Health #Q Chat Space #Queer Kid Stuff #Karen Shelton #Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Family Health #Emily Yeatts #Vanessa Walker Harris #Macaulay Porter #republicans #conservatives

[gwydionmisha]

Biden Rolls Out New LGBTQ+ Resources on Day of Historic White House Pride Celebration

#Joe Biden #LGBTQIA+ Resources #LGBTQIA+ #News

[action]

Resources for LGBTQIA+

Reblog to share with your network ❤️

#lgbtqia+ #action #signal boost #lgbtqia+ resources

[itgetsbetterproject]

Queer youth getting out there and creating the community they need like :')

These GSA students in Washington won one of our 50 States, 50 Grants last year! They used the funds to form a whole network of events and field trips for their GSA club and local LGBTQ+ community groups, so queer youth can meet and learn from one another, learn queer history, and see what IRL queer life and acceptance can look like. 💜

Applications for this year's round of grants are open now until April 1, 2024! If you have an idea for how you might use $10,000 for your own school to support LGBTQ+ students, apply at 50states50grants.org - can't wait to see all your ideas!

#itgetsbetter #50states50grants #studyblr #queer youth #trans youth #gsa #gsa club #lgbtqia #teacher resources

[genderqueerdykes]

i hope what people take away from nex benedict's brutal murder is that transphobia affects all trans people, which heavily includes nonbinary people and especially non binary people of color. while people argue over whether or not nonbinary people are trans, we are being targeted by cishets. we are actively being targeted by transphobia. we are in danger of trans panic. we are still trans, and we need our binary trans siblings to stand beside us.

rest in power nex. you deserved better. please fight like hell for them. please fight like hell for the safety of trans folk in Oklahoma. please fight like hell for all nonbinary people. we are trans. we are your siblings, too.

you can help support queer folk living in oklahoma by supporting Freedom Oklahoma, a native-based organization for trans & queer rights in Nex's home state:

#nex benedict #nonbinary #non binary #trans #transgender #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbt #genderfluid #genderqueer #agender #bigender #multigender #our writing #oklahoma #resources #freedom oklahoma

[justdavina]

Very sexy transgender girl wearing a HOT yellow mini skirt very shear top and bra! Very nice!

#trans #transgirl #queer #lgbtqia #transgender #trans community #cisgender #transgenderwoman #pronouns #trans resources #intersex #sissy cd #siss #feminine sissy #nsft trans #trans are beautiful #cute trans #trans joy #trans positivity #mtf trans #trans are women #trans beauty #trans femme #trans goddess #trans girl #trans feminine #trans fem #trans is sexy #trans is beautiful #trans mtf

[zero-templates]

𝒞 。 Pride flag graphics﹒001

gay﹒lesbian﹒bi﹒trans﹒enby﹒pan﹒genderfluid﹒agender﹒genderqueer﹒intersex﹒rainbow﹒queer

like and reblog to use, no credit needed : read my pinned before interacting or using

reposts allowed with permission and credit﹒don't claim as yours﹒don't repost on tumblr﹒25 x 16 pixels

other flags : 001 / 002 / 003 / 004 / 005﹒pixel flags

#💤 – graphics #gay #lesbian #bisexual #trans #transgender #nonbinary #enby #pansexual #genderfluid #agender #genderqueer #intersex #queer #lgbtq #lgbtqia #neocities #carrd #rentry #graphics #pixels #favicons #rentry pixels #web graphics #carrd resources #rentry graphics #neocities resources #carrd graphics #simply plural #pluralkit

[hellyeahscarleteen]

It’s our 25th birthday! We’ve been doing all we do for a quarter century, for somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 million people in total.

You heard us right: 25 years of actually groundbreaking, original, smart, brave, pleasure-forward, caring, inclusive, shame-free, body-loving, learner-led, holistic, progressive, feminist, wholly independent and for-real and FOR FREE comprehensive queer sex ed for around 90,000,000 people around the world and counting under our belt now. That's a helluva thing for a scrappy grassroots sex education resource that started completely from scratch.

Our work is as essential now as ever. We’ve been experiencing a growing wave of legislation designed to cut young people off from vital and wanted information, support and community, especially young queer and trans people. In the last several years, we’ve also seen many sources of independent, feminist and queer, media shutter or give up their independence, some at the cost of their ingenuity or integrity. Scarleteen is and has always been fully independent, feminist, queer media. We don’t de-fang our content in order to appeal to advertisers or other sponsors. We offer unapologetically queer, pro-abortion, feminist, justice-minded and pleasure-forward sex education, and we have since we were a 🦄 in all that.

To help sustain Scarleteen through 2024 and the coming years, we need about 750 new people to sign up as recurring donors (you can see our progress towards that goal in the second graphic on this post). If we were there for you when you were younger; if you use us in your class, your curriculum, your counseling or healthcare office; if you refer young people to us; if you share our content on your social media, pass it to friends, or as a resource for your own research or writing; if our work has helped or does helps you in any way? We hope that if you're able, you'll consider becoming a recurring donor today, and will let others know about both the value of our resource, and our need for some help to keep on doing everything we do. 💗 🎉

Check out a 25 year timeline of our work and learn how to help with a donation or by hosting an online fundraiser

#sex ed #support scarleteen #fundraising #lgbtqia #queer #queer sex ed #feminist resources

[therainbowwarrior4]

Link to the Trevor Project in case anyone ever needs it.

Video about gender-affirming care and transgender people in general. The sources at the end of the video are good to get more information.

2023 - 2024 transphobic bills from every state and nationally. Erin Reed who is an activist made it.

#lgbtqia #lgbt+ community #Queer #queer community #lgbtq rights #transgender rights #transgender #lgbtq issues #lgbtq #lgbtq community #lgbt #lgbtqplus #lgbtqiia+ #lgbtqi community #lgbtqia+ community #lgbt community #lgbtqia+ rights #lgbtqia rights #lgbtqia+ resources

[queerwelsh]

Pride in Wales! Balchder yng Nghymru!

Here’s a list of the Pride events happening in Wales this year, in 2023. (click the links for more information)

Dyma rhestr o ddigwyddiadau Balchder yng Nghymru blwyddyn yma, yn 2023.

22 April/Ebrill - Aberystwyth Pride / Balchder yn Aberystwyth

29 April/Ebrill - Swansea Pride / Balchder Abertawe

30 April/Ebrill - Mini Pride and Swansea Anti-Capitalist Pride (1pm Singleton Park)  / Balchder Bach a Balchder Gwrthgyfalafol Abertawe (1yp Parc Singleton)

14 May/Mai - Colwyn Bay Pride / Balchder Bae Colwyn

17 June/Mehefin - Hay Pride

17 June/Mehefin - The Big Queer Picnic

17-18 June/Mehefin - Cardiff Pride / Balchder Caerdydd (Pride Cymru)

19 June/Mehefin - Cowbridge Pride / Balchder y Bontfaen

24 June/Mehefin - Caerphilly Pride / Balchder Caerffili

24 June/Mehefin - Abergavenny Pride

24 June/Mefefin - Balchder Gogledd Cymru / North Wales Pride Caernarfon

29 June/Mehefin - 2 July/Gorffennaf - Balchder Neath Port Talbot Pride

8 July/Gorffennaf - Llandeilo Pride / Balchder Llandeilo

15 July/Gorffennaf - Llanelli Pride / Balchder Llaneilli

29 July/Gorffennaf - Llandovery Pride / Balchder Llanymddyfri

12 August/Awst - Barry Pride / Balchder y Barri

12 August/Awst - Balchder Glitter Pride Cardiff

26 August/Awst - Merthyr Tydfil Pride / Balchder Merthyr Tudful

2 September/Medi - Pride in the Port Newport / Balchder Casnewydd

9-10 September/Medi - RCT Pride

15-17 September/Medi - Trans Pride Cardiff

16 September/Medi - Carmarthen Pride/Balchder Caerfyrddin

#pride #wales #cymru #lgbt #lgbt pride #lgbtq #lgbtqia #queer wales #cymraeg #lgbtqia pride #links #resource list #will add more details on some when there are more details on them

[textk4kira]

what lgbt specific resource do cisgender, straight peopel who do not feel sexual attraction need that they cannot safely get elsewhere?

Hello,

I assume you asked this question in good faith, so as an AroAce trans person I will happily respond!

I would like to start off by saying cisheteromantic asexuals and cisheterosexual aromantics have always been a part of the queer community, period.

To answer your question, asexual and aromantic people need:

1. A community that accepts and affirms their non-cisheteronormative identities.

2. Many asexual/aromantic people have experienced conversion therapy for their sexual/romantic identity and need access to therapies and other treatments to heal from their trauma.

3. Similarly, they may have also experienced religious trauma due to a cultural upbringing that pushed a heteronormative, puritanical view of relationships.

4. Aromantic men in particular are demonized as sexual predators and need the love and support of our community to help them.

5. Asexual women and women-aligned/feminine-aligned people such as myself have experienced fetishization due to our sexuality orientation. Corrective rape has been used to correct people's asexual identities.

In summary, cisheteromantic asexuals and cisheterosexuals aromantics face many of the same issues as the rest of the queer community.

The rest of the LGBTQIA+ community must support their asexual and aromantic siblings.

I hope this was helpful! 💗

#ask #anon ask #asexual #asexuality #aromantic #aromanticism #cisheteroromantic asexual #cisheterosexual aromantic #queer education #queer resources #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #lgbtqia #queer #queer community #aromantic men #cishet aro men #aro men

[dizzy-lights]

another batch of pride flags! I'm open to doing requests for these aswell! free to use for anything, meant to be viewed small, tags in order of flags.

#bigender #pangender #progress pride flag #demigender #lgbtqia ally #demiboy #demigirl #demisexual #demiromantic #genderpunk #genderfuck #genderfluid #moth's original content #moth's shiny flags #rentry resources #carrd resources #pride pixels #pride badges #pixels #web graphics

[audhdnight]

⚠️PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️

The Queer Liberation Library is, as the name suggests, a digital library centered around queer literature. They offer library cards to anyone in any place, all you need in order to sign up is an email address. Then you can access their catalog online or through apps like Libby.

When I signed up I received an email that said there’s sometimes a waitlist, but I should have my card within a week or else someone would get back to me within that timeframe to explain if I had to wait longer. I ended up getting my card after only a couple of days.

Their website is very accessible and easy to use. My favorite features are the button at the bottom of the screen which lets you switch between light and dark mode, and the Quick Exit banner along the top of the page that doesn’t go away regardless of where you navigate on the site.

This is such an incredible resource and I can’t believe I didn’t know about it until very recently. I want every queer person to know about it! They have accounts on most of the major social media sites (such as tiktok, Instagram, even here on tumblr at @queerliblib). There’s also a place on their website where you can suggest books they should add to their catalog.

After you get your card, I’d suggest the first book you read to be Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon. It is a short but powerful little book that I think is an incredibly concise analysis of societal gender-based discrimination, and a great place to start a lot of really important discussions. I listened to the audiobook this morning (it was only an hour long, which is a win for my trash attention span) and I couldn’t believe how good it was for so little page time.

I will absolutely be reading the rest of the Pocket Change Collective (the series which Beyond the Gender Binary is part of) and I can’t wait to see what I’ll learn from them.

#I can’t even describe how much I love this book #queer liberation #queer lit #queer resources #beyond the gender binary #social studies #queer books #nonfiction books #nonbinary author #lgbtq community #lgbtqia #gender discourse #gender equality #gender expression #gender exploration

[itgetsbetterproject]

National Coming Out Day Round-up!

This is your reminder that you don't have to come out today.

If you don't feel ready, if you're not in a supportive environment, or you just plain don't want to, you don't have to come out.

We're fighting for a world where, in the future, we won't even have to HAVE National Coming Out Day because various sexual and romantic orientations and gender identity will just be expected and accepted.

^ Our 17-year-old Youth Voice Mia wrote this amazing piece for Teen Vogue: "Being a Black-American, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ teen in Texas has been incredibly hard."

^ And LGBTQ+ teacher Sarah wrote up some advice for when you can't be out at home: "Time you can spend in safe situations without hiding who you are will make the moments when you must protect yourself more bearable."

^ Don't forget we've got an entire Coming Out playlist on TikTok with lots of tips, stories, and advice here.

^ And an entire guide to the coming out process here!

#it gets better #national coming out day #coming out #coming out advice #coming out tips #lgbtq resources #queer #lgbtqia

[genderqueerdykes]

please don't forget to check out our queer resources page if you are in need of help

sometimes you don't want to send an ask or look through tags and that's totally cool! we've compiled a queer resources page on our blog where you can easily look for what you need. please feel free to use the find in page option in your browser to find what you're looking for

we will continue to add resources as time goes on!

#resources #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbt #queer #gay #lesbian #bisexual #pansexual #trans #transgender #transmasc #transfem #transfemme #transmasculine #trans man #trans woman #trans women #hrt #hormone replacement therapy #top surgery #bottom surgery #butch lesbian #dyke #our writing