- Rokita expresses legal concern about Target’s ‘LGBTQIA+ Pride’ campaign Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW)
- Republican AGs warn Target: Pride campaign raises ‘concerns’ under child-protection laws Fox Business
- 7 Republican AGs threaten Target over Pride merchandise CBS News
- Republican AGs say Target’s Pride campaign may violate child-protection laws, ‘promote gender’ to kids WCTI12.com
- Attorney General Todd Rokita leads 7 states concerned about Target’s anti-child, anti-parent campaign for ‘LGBTQIA+ Pride’ WBIW.com
Tag Archives: lgbtqia+
Braunwyn Windham-Burke sparks engagement rumors with girlfriend
Braunwyn Windham-Burke began the new year with some bling and a “promise.”
The “Real Housewives of Orange County” alum and her girlfriend of less than five months, Jennifer Spinner, sported flashy diamond rings in Windham-Burke’s quickly deleted Instagram Story Monday, sparking engagement rumors.
“We started 2023 with a promise ❤️,” the former reality star wrote atop a photo of her left hand placed over Spinner’s right as the two were in a car, road-tripping from Wilmington, NC, to Charleston, SC.
While both women showed off silver eternity bands, Windham-Burke’s was notably on her left ring finger — where an engagement ring would normally go.
“You really never know. Braunwyn is Braunwyn!” a source close to the mother of seven — who came out as a lesbian in 2020 — tells Page Six exclusively regarding a potential proposal. “I do know that the two are madly in love.”
Our insider adds that Windham-Burke’s children — Bella, 22, Rowan, 20, Jacob, 17, twins Caden and Curren, 9, Koa, 7, and Hazel, 4 — as well as her estranged husband, Sean Burke, “love” Spinner.
Additionally, we’re told there is a significant reason behind the lovebirds’ road trip, as they are “searching for a forever home for the family.”
Our source says the couple are looking in the Southern states and also have plans to check out Tennessee.
They seemed to be particularly taken by Wilmington, though, calling the historic, riverfront city “pretty great” in Windham-Burke’s videos.
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“We are looking for a place to raise the little kids,” the ex-Bravolebrity, 45, said in one clip, adding, “The people have been so nice.”
Spinner, 38 — who splits her time between New York and Germany — pointed out that her family also lives in Wilmington.
Although Windham-Burke — who filed for divorce from Burke in October — previously said she most likely wouldn’t get married again, she admitted she might “change [her] mind” for Spinner — her first “mentally stable” partner.
“There would be something nice [about] walking down an aisle and see[ing her] waiting for me,” Windham-Burke told us last month. “That would be pretty beautiful.”
“I love her. I love her so much,” she added. “I just, I love her.”
Cameras caught Biden official Sam Brinton’s bag theft
The rainbow atomic symbol T-shirt should have been a clue.
Sam Brinton, the allegedly sticky-fingered Biden administration nuclear official, was captured on security footage making off with a woman’s bag worth more than $3,670 from a Las Vegas airport on July 6, KLAS News reported.
A surveillance snap from Harry Reid International Airport shows a stern-faced Brinton wearing the white T-shirt with the colorful symbol, a black backpack, and black jeans, rolling the suitcase in question through the airport.
The distinctive tee — which Brinton sported in a selfie posted to Instagram that same day — led the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to issue a warrant for Brinton’s arrest on grand larceny charges, according to a detective’s declaration.
Last month Brinton, the deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, was charged in the September theft of a woman’s suitcase from a Minneapolis airport.
The Las Vegas security footage from that showed the luggage — containing $1,700 worth of jewelry, clothing valued at $850, and $500 of makeup, police said — being removed from the airport’s baggage carousel by “a white male adult wearing a white T-shirt with a large rainbow-colored atomic nuclear symbol design,” the detective wrote.
The man “demonstrated several signs of abnormal behavior while taking the victim’s luggage which are cues suspects typically give off when committing luggage theft,” according to the declaration, then grabbed the bag off the carousel and walked away with it quickly.
The victim, who filed a police report on July 10, described her missing bag as a gray, hard-shell “Away” brand “Bigger Carry-On” valued at $320.
Police were initially unable to identify the thief from the footage and closed the case. But on Nov. 29, when the Las Vegas investigator saw media reports of the Minneapolis accusation against Brinton, the officer “immediately recognized” the Energy Department employee “as the suspect pertaining to this case.”
Police found that Brinton had traveled on the victim’s flight from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas on July 6, and uncovered the nuclear-rainbow selfie.
“Thank you to @americannuclear for selling such a great shirt for me to wear on my flight today,” Brinton wrote in the post. “My professional society continues to grow and learn and I’m proud of them. Goodness how we have changed since my service as a chapter president and then on the National Board of Directors. #NuclearPride.”
Brinton, who uses they/them pronouns, has been feted as one of the federal government’s first gender non-binary officials — but a group of House Republicans is clamoring for Brinton’s removal over the alleged thefts.
“We demand the resignation of Sam Brinton, and we implore you to set aside petty politics and appoint only the most qualified and dedicated individuals to influence America’s energy sector,” Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia and 15 other Republicans wrote to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Tuesday.
Brinton, who faces up to five years in prison for the Minnesota theft and up to 10 years jail time for the Las Vegas heist, was placed on leave when the first allegation came to light, according to an Energy Department spokesperson.
LGBTQIA+ Youth More Than Twice as Likely to Attempt Suicide Than Heterosexual Peers
Summary: Young people who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
Source: University of Georgia
New research from the University of Georgia suggests lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth experience disproportionately high rates of suicidal thoughts, planning and attempts compared to their heterosexual peers.
The study found that LGB adolescents are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide, plan a suicide attempt and endure suicidal thoughts than their heterosexual classmates.
They were also more likely to experience trauma, such as sexual violence or dating violence, the research showed. Previous research has drawn links between exposure to trauma and suicidal ideation and attempts, but the current study found a significant difference between how trauma affects heterosexual youth and its effects on LGB teens.
“The major message of this paper is that among a group of survivors of these types of violence, those who identify as a sexual minority are more likely to develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” said Émilie Ellis, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Public Health.
“We know that LGBTQ+ people are much more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and behaviors, but they’re also a lot more likely to have experienced trauma more frequently and to develop posttraumatic stress following those trauma exposures.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the most likely reasons that LGB youth experience more traumatic stress than heterosexuals is due to discrimination.
They’re more likely to experience rejection and childhood maltreatment due to their sexual orientation at home, and they’re also more likely to experience bullying and victimization at school.
The survey’s findings are concerning, and it’s likely an underrepresentation of the number of suicidal LGB youth due to underreporting and stigma surrounding suicide, Ellis said.
“There could be consequences to admitting that you have suicidal ideation,” said Ellis, who recently earned her doctorate in human development and family science with emphasis in marriage and family therapy from UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
“We have to think about how many more kids are out there who didn’t get this survey who have experienced trauma and suicidal ideation but answered no because they were worried someone was going to tell a parent.”
More than one in five students considered suicide
The researchers analyzed 14,690 responses to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that provides representative data from public and private high school students across the country.
The study dataset comprised responses from 2015 through 2019, focusing on students who identified their sexual orientation.
Overall, almost one out of every five students (20%) who responded to the survey reported seriously considering suicide in the last year. More than 7% of the students actually attempted to kill themselves.
More than one in every 10 students experienced sexual violence. Of those who said they dated, 7% reported at least one experience of sexual violence in their dating lives and 7.4% said they’d experienced physical violence at least once in a dating relationship.
The researchers found that exposure to sexual and dating violence was associated with an increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts, planning for suicide and attempting suicide across all sexualities. However, exposure to violence was significantly more predictive of suicidal thoughts and behaviors for sexual minority youth.
Previous research has shown that LGB individuals are more likely to experience childhood sexual abuse and dating violence than their heterosexual peers and more frequently suffer from traumatic stress after violent incidents. That puts them at a greater risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide, the researchers said.
Sexual abuse had the strongest influence on suicidal thoughts and attempts among gay and lesbian youth, while sexual dating violence had the biggest impact on bisexual adolescents. This finding suggests that the approach to dealing with suicide and violence among LGB youth shouldn’t be one size fits all, the researchers said.
School policies could strengthen suicide prevention efforts
See also
Gay-straight alliances, anti-homophobia policies and strengthening staff-student relationships have proven effective at reducing rates of suicidal ideation and attempts among sexual minority students. Building on those existing structures and educating teachers, school staff, nurses and counselors on heightened rates of dating and sexual violence among LGB youth could strengthen suicide prevention efforts.
“There are dating violence and suicide prevention programs happening, but we need more of them, and we need to include interventions that specifically address violence among LGB populations,” Ellis said. “We know these types of violence are associated with higher suicidality. Let’s go to where we’ve already got programs in place.”
About this psychology research news
Author: Cole Sosebee
Source: University of Georgia
Contact: Cole Sosebee – University of Georgia
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access.
“Is Trauma Exposure More Harmful for Sexual Minority Youth? Differences in Trauma-Suicide Associations in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Implications for Suicide Prevention” by Émilie Ellis et al. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
Abstract
Is Trauma Exposure More Harmful for Sexual Minority Youth? Differences in Trauma-Suicide Associations in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Implications for Suicide Prevention
Purpose
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth experience disproportionately high rates of suicidality and exposure to traumatic events, such as sexual violence and teen dating violence. Rates of suicidality and exposure to traumatic events also vary by sexual minority subgroup. The purpose of this study was to: (1) explore the impact of LGB identity on the relationship between violence exposure and suicide; and (2) to examine variations by sexual identity.
Method
A subsample of respondents who reported on their sexual identity in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 14,690) was used to examine if the associations between sexual and dating violence with suicide outcomes (suicidal ideation, planning, and suicide attempt) depended on the sexual identity of the respondent. Logistic regression models were fitted with an interaction effect to quantify heterogeneity of associations across identity strata.
Results
Overall interaction tests mostly indicated heterogeneity of associations between sexual violence and physical dating violence. Several contrast of strata associations suggested substantive probability differences between sexual minority respondents and their heterosexual peers.
Conclusion
While exposure to violence was broadly associated with increased probability of experiencing any type of suicidality, LGB and questioning youth were significantly more likely to experience suicidality compared to their heterosexual peers. Gay and lesbian youth demonstrated the strongest probability of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors among survivors of sexual violence, while bisexual youth may be more at risk following dating violence. Implications for future research and suicide prevention are discussed.
LGBTQIA+ Youth More Than Twice as Likely to Attempt Suicide Than Heterosexual Peers
Summary: Young people who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
Source: University of Georgia
New research from the University of Georgia suggests lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth experience disproportionately high rates of suicidal thoughts, planning and attempts compared to their heterosexual peers.
The study found that LGB adolescents are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide, plan a suicide attempt and endure suicidal thoughts than their heterosexual classmates.
They were also more likely to experience trauma, such as sexual violence or dating violence, the research showed. Previous research has drawn links between exposure to trauma and suicidal ideation and attempts, but the current study found a significant difference between how trauma affects heterosexual youth and its effects on LGB teens.
“The major message of this paper is that among a group of survivors of these types of violence, those who identify as a sexual minority are more likely to develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” said Émilie Ellis, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Public Health.
“We know that LGBTQ+ people are much more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and behaviors, but they’re also a lot more likely to have experienced trauma more frequently and to develop posttraumatic stress following those trauma exposures.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the most likely reasons that LGB youth experience more traumatic stress than heterosexuals is due to discrimination.
They’re more likely to experience rejection and childhood maltreatment due to their sexual orientation at home, and they’re also more likely to experience bullying and victimization at school.
The survey’s findings are concerning, and it’s likely an underrepresentation of the number of suicidal LGB youth due to underreporting and stigma surrounding suicide, Ellis said.
“There could be consequences to admitting that you have suicidal ideation,” said Ellis, who recently earned her doctorate in human development and family science with emphasis in marriage and family therapy from UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
“We have to think about how many more kids are out there who didn’t get this survey who have experienced trauma and suicidal ideation but answered no because they were worried someone was going to tell a parent.”
More than one in five students considered suicide
The researchers analyzed 14,690 responses to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that provides representative data from public and private high school students across the country.
The study dataset comprised responses from 2015 through 2019, focusing on students who identified their sexual orientation.
Overall, almost one out of every five students (20%) who responded to the survey reported seriously considering suicide in the last year. More than 7% of the students actually attempted to kill themselves.
More than one in every 10 students experienced sexual violence. Of those who said they dated, 7% reported at least one experience of sexual violence in their dating lives and 7.4% said they’d experienced physical violence at least once in a dating relationship.
The researchers found that exposure to sexual and dating violence was associated with an increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts, planning for suicide and attempting suicide across all sexualities. However, exposure to violence was significantly more predictive of suicidal thoughts and behaviors for sexual minority youth.
Previous research has shown that LGB individuals are more likely to experience childhood sexual abuse and dating violence than their heterosexual peers and more frequently suffer from traumatic stress after violent incidents. That puts them at a greater risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide, the researchers said.
Sexual abuse had the strongest influence on suicidal thoughts and attempts among gay and lesbian youth, while sexual dating violence had the biggest impact on bisexual adolescents. This finding suggests that the approach to dealing with suicide and violence among LGB youth shouldn’t be one size fits all, the researchers said.
School policies could strengthen suicide prevention efforts
See also
Gay-straight alliances, anti-homophobia policies and strengthening staff-student relationships have proven effective at reducing rates of suicidal ideation and attempts among sexual minority students. Building on those existing structures and educating teachers, school staff, nurses and counselors on heightened rates of dating and sexual violence among LGB youth could strengthen suicide prevention efforts.
“There are dating violence and suicide prevention programs happening, but we need more of them, and we need to include interventions that specifically address violence among LGB populations,” Ellis said. “We know these types of violence are associated with higher suicidality. Let’s go to where we’ve already got programs in place.”
About this psychology research news
Author: Cole Sosebee
Source: University of Georgia
Contact: Cole Sosebee – University of Georgia
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access.
“Is Trauma Exposure More Harmful for Sexual Minority Youth? Differences in Trauma-Suicide Associations in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Implications for Suicide Prevention” by Émilie Ellis et al. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
Abstract
Is Trauma Exposure More Harmful for Sexual Minority Youth? Differences in Trauma-Suicide Associations in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Implications for Suicide Prevention
Purpose
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth experience disproportionately high rates of suicidality and exposure to traumatic events, such as sexual violence and teen dating violence. Rates of suicidality and exposure to traumatic events also vary by sexual minority subgroup. The purpose of this study was to: (1) explore the impact of LGB identity on the relationship between violence exposure and suicide; and (2) to examine variations by sexual identity.
Method
A subsample of respondents who reported on their sexual identity in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 14,690) was used to examine if the associations between sexual and dating violence with suicide outcomes (suicidal ideation, planning, and suicide attempt) depended on the sexual identity of the respondent. Logistic regression models were fitted with an interaction effect to quantify heterogeneity of associations across identity strata.
Results
Overall interaction tests mostly indicated heterogeneity of associations between sexual violence and physical dating violence. Several contrast of strata associations suggested substantive probability differences between sexual minority respondents and their heterosexual peers.
Conclusion
While exposure to violence was broadly associated with increased probability of experiencing any type of suicidality, LGB and questioning youth were significantly more likely to experience suicidality compared to their heterosexual peers. Gay and lesbian youth demonstrated the strongest probability of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors among survivors of sexual violence, while bisexual youth may be more at risk following dating violence. Implications for future research and suicide prevention are discussed.
Jodie Sweetin shades Candace Cameron Bure after marriage remarks
Jodie Sweetin appeared to throw shade at her former “Full House” co-star Candace Cameron Bure for choosing to join a network that only focuses on showcasing “traditional marriage.”
After JoJo Siwa shared a screenshot of an article titled “Candace Cameron Bure’s Plan For New Cable Channel: No Gays,” on Instagram, Sweeten responded in the comments section, “You know I love you ❤️❤️.”
In her post, Siwa slammed Cameron Bure for being “rude and hurtful” to the LGBTQIA+ community.
“honestly, I can’t believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press,” Siwa, 19, wrote.
Sweetin’s comment garnered nearly 2,550 likes and inspired several fans to voice their own opinion on the controversy.
“@jodiesweetin I always liked Stephanie more than DJ anyway,” one person commented, referring to Sweetin and Cameron Bure’s respective “Full House” roles.
“@jodiesweetin the better Tanner sister ❤️,” a second agreed.
@jodiesweetin thank you for being the amazing human you are and being so loving/inclusive ❤️,” a third wrote.
However, others slammed Sweetin, 40, for throwing Cameron Bure under the bus after years of apparent friendship.
“@jodiesweetin thought you a candace were friends. grew up together. but you still take the side of someone you barely know just because they have the same viewpoint as you,” one critic said.
“if there was a dislike button i’d press it on your comment,” another jabbed.
Sweetin and Cameron Bure both starred in “Full House” from 1987 to 1995. They then reunited for the Netflix reboot, “Fuller House,” from 2016 to 2020.
Cameron Bure was faced with backlash when she shared that she was joining the Great American Family network, which does not feature same-sex couples at the forefront of its projects.
She had announced that she was exiting Hallmark in April after more than 10 years and 30 movies, subsequently transitioning to Great American Family.
“I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” Cameron Bure said in a statement at the time. “GAC fits my brand perfectly; we share a vision of creating compelling wholesome content.”
She furthered in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the network aligned more with her own beliefs.
“I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment,” she said.
“One Tree Hill” alum Hilarie Burton responded to Bure’s comments by calling her a “bigot.
“I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy. But sure. Make your money, honey,” Burton tweeted, adding, “You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank.
Despite her decision, Cameron Bure had claimed in the past that she had no problem working on projects about the queer community.
“I support all things that we go through as human beings and would love all our characters to explore whatever issues that are current in our culture and our society,” she said during a 2016 panel.
She also had to defend herself on Instagram, claiming that she wasn’t homophobic a year later.
“Loving Jesus doesn’t mean I hate gay people or anyone,” she shared at the time.
Anne Heche memoir to reveal ‘truths’ of dating Ellen DeGeneres
Before Anne Heche died, the 53-year-old actress was ready to tell the world the whole story of the Hollywood hate she endured during her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in the late 1990s.
Heche, who passed away in Los Angeles on Aug. 11 following a tragic car crash, detailed the discriminatory backlash she faced as half of Tinseltown’s first publicly gay couple in her forthcoming memoir “Call Me Anne,” the Associated Press reported.
In the book, to be released in January by independent publisher Start, Heche grapples with the uncertainty of how to label her sexuality at the time, when she felt she didn’t identify as a lesbian or a straight woman.
“I was labeled ‘outrageous’ because I fell in love with a woman. I had never been with a woman before I dated Ellen,” Heche wrote in the memoir.
The “Donnie Brasco” actress wrote about being blacklisted because of her relationship with DeGeneres, who went on to make history as the first gay sitcom host.
Heche describes feeling like she was being shamed by the world.
“I did not, personally, identify as a lesbian. I simply fell in love! It was, to be clear, as odd to me as anyone else. There were no words to describe how I felt,” Heche wrote, describing how she didn’t know how to label her sexuality at the time, and didn’t think it was fair for the world to either.
“Gay didn’t feel right, and neither did straight. Alien might be the best fit, I sometimes thought. What, why, and how I fell in love with a person instead of their gender, I would have loved to have answered if anyone had asked, but as I said earlier, no one ever did. I am happy that I was able to tell you in this book — once and for all,” the former actress wrote in the forthcoming book.
Before her death, Heche had offered up hints about her latest project on a podcast, dishing that “some of the truths” about her relationship with DeGeneres would be mentioned.
“Call Me Anne” follows Heche’s 2001 memoir “Call Me Crazy,” which sparked renewed interest after her death as a “collectible” on Amazon with a price tag of nearly $750.
Heche’s book also details her experience with having Harrison Ford as a mentor and shares stories about Alec Baldwin, Oliver Stone and Ivan Reitman, including others.
In the wake of her passing, law enforcement sources told TMZ that Heche was under the influence of cocaine when she slammed her car into a home that set a fire and left her in a coma. She leaves behind two sons.
Stars mourned the late mother of two, including ex-girlfriend DeGeneres taking to social media to express her emotional condolences.
“This is a sad day,” she wrote. “I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all my love,” she wrote on Twitter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Health officials walk fine line as monkeypox swells within LGBT community
State and city governments are walking a fine line as they move to confront the monkeypox outbreak, trying to spread awareness of the disease — which has thus far predominantly affected men who have sex with men — while avoiding stigmas.
“The tightrope you’re trying to walk is making sure that people don’t see it as just a gay men’s illness, but not alarming people so that they use up resources that need to go to the people who need the most right now,” Will Goedel, a professor at the Brown University School of Public Health, told The Hill.
The first American cases of monkeypox were detected in Massachusetts nearly three months ago, and, on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra officially declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency in the United States.
The number of total monkeypox cases in the U.S. has reached more than 7,000, with concentrations in the states of New York, California and Illinois. Each of these states has issued their own emergency orders to distribute resources such as vaccines and testing more efficiently amid growing demand.
But even in tandem with emergency declarations, officials have been cautious in their messaging.
A nuanced approach
“We know that this virus impacts everyone equally — but we also know that those in our LGBTQ community are at greater risk right now. Many people in our LGBTQ community are scared and frustrated,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) said in a statement last week, after declaring a public health emergency for the city.
San Francisco public health officer Susan Philip told The Hill in an interview that it is crucial to bring awareness and education to vulnerable communities most at risk.
“… We have not had confirmed cases yet in children under eight or people who are pregnant; the health of men, gay men, and others and LGBTQ communities is extremely important. And that was — that was a key point that we wanted to message alongside the importance of understanding about monkeypox,” Philip said.
She added that, in San Francisco, the virus is disproportionately impacting Latinos, making it crucial to strengthen relationships between those communities and the Department of Public Health.
“It’s really important for us not to stigmatize any groups so that they feel comfortable getting information from us or from community partners, that they understand how they can access services, including vaccine and treatment and testing.”
Massimo Pacilli, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, who is leading the city’s monkeypox strategy, said his focus is on awareness, education and intervention.
Pacilli said his department’s messaging is based around “ensuring that we don’t blame those who are affected by the virus” and instead make it so “the focus is about protecting and intervening, to kind of interrupt transmission.”
No more abstinence-only
Part of the effort not to perpetuate social stigma has been a messaging strategy that doesn’t ask members of the LGBT community to limit their sexual partners. This strategy was commonly used by government officials during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and ’90s, when the virus was referred to as the “gay plague.”
“It’s very easy for a government to want to want to very quickly police same-sex sexual behavior. It’s very — it’s second nature to them,” Brown University’s Goedel said.
Monkeypox is spread through prolonged contact with its characteristic lesions. While sexual contact is believed to have preceded many infections, authorities have repeatedly stressed that the virus is not a sexually transmitted disease, and contact with sexual fluids is not necessary for it to spread.
Philip noted that adopting abstinence as a public health strategy doesn’t work, and can often be counterproductive because community members will stop listening to other guidance from officials.
Philip said the Department of Public Health’s outreach includes information how the disease is transmitted, what the virus is and what the symptoms are, how to best protect against transmission, and “the importance of a vaccine.”
CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation Tyler TerMeer said that his organization has been working with the city’s Department of Public Health closely on messaging that encourages sex positivity.
“We have a perspective that [it] isn’t our role to tell people what they should or shouldn’t be doing or to tell them to stop having sex with the threat of monkeypox,” TerMeer said, adding his organization is working on messaging that “gives people some concrete tips” on how to stay safe.
By contrast, the head of the World Health Organization last week recommended that men who have sex with men reduce the number of sexual partners they have “for the moment,” and reconsider having sex with new partners.
A community primed for viral preparedness
The LGBT community’s history with the HIV/AIDS epidemic was ugly. As TerMeer puts it, a generation was wiped out because of a lack of response by the federal government.
“The initial response to HIV in our country is a very complicated and tragic story, one that deserves its own memoir and is truly a stain on American history,” he said.
The legacy of HIV has led to generations of LGBT community members who are actively engaged in health interventions and preventative care, though experts acknowledge that the community is not “monolithic,” and there are members who may still be apprehensive about vaccines and treatments.
Public health departments across the country have partnered with organizations such as TerMeer’s to reach members of the community.
Pacilli says these STI and HIV partners are in turn “naturally connected to many community-based organizations and venues that have reached this community as well.”
“The experiences and learnings from the HIV/AIDS epidemic are many and deep, and they have fundamentally shaped public health, the careers of people who serve in the field, including my own, and the entire approach to how we engage with communities and provide affirming, dignified care,” Ashwin Vasan, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said in a statement to The Hill.
“A human rights-based approach that honors people’s dignity is essential and these lessons are hardwired into our planning and execution of the monkeypox response, whatever the operational or logistical challenges,” Vasan said.
Where the U.S. stands on the monkeypox response now
The federal government’s response to monkeypox has been fraught as local health departments wait for more vaccines and treatments to become available through the federal government.
The Biden administration has been hit with criticism from advocates and lawmakers who say that the federal response to the outbreak has been inadequate as the number of cases increase and demand for vaccines and testing soared.
Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) are among those who’ve voiced concerns. Padilla encouraged top officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health and Human Services to increase the flow of monkeypox vaccines to his state.
Thus far, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of an additional 800,000 Jynneos vaccines, a smallpox shot made in Denmark by company Bavarian Nordic that is also used to prevent monkeypox. The FDA has also proposed a way of splitting the Jynneos vaccine into fifths to increase supply of the shot.
But TerMeer said the damage that has resulted from a slow federal response has already been done.
“What can’t be overstated in this moment is that monkeypox is causing extreme distress and fear, anxiety and real pain to our community, and that there will be unfortunate lasting consequences to the communities that it’s impacting the most right now because of the federal government’s slow response to the outbreak,” he said.
Becerra said Thursday as he declared a public health emergency that the White House is prepared to take the U.S. response “to the next level.” With the declaration officially made, resources to combat the spread of monkeypox are expected to become more easily accessible.
The difference that this makes will have to be seen.
Man likely spread monkeypox at Texas bathhouse
An out-of-state man visiting Dallas likely spread monkeypox when he visited a gay bathhouse, health officials said.
The unidentified man visited Club Dallas, a private men’s sauna where according to the club’s website patrons can “socialize in one of our lounges or enjoy a video in your private dressing room” from June 22 through 25.
The man was infectious during that time and has a confirmed case of monkeypox, the Dallas Health Department said.
During his stay, the man had sex with multiple partners, the health department said.
Monkeypox is spread through contact with bodily fluids, monkeypox sores and shared clothing and bedding. It can also be spread through respiratory droplets in close settings.
Dallas health officials are warning anyone who visited Club Dallas that they may have been exposed to monkeypox and should be monitoring themselves for symptoms. Fever, swollen lymph nodes and body aches are common before a rash appears.
“Nationally, many monkeypox cases are occurring within sexual networks,” said Dallas County Health and Human Services. “(Those) at high risk for monkeypox exposure — including men who have sex with men, people who use social media applications to find sex partners, and those who have had skin to skin contact with people with sores or other symptoms of monkeypox — should be aware of their risk and seek medical attention if they develop symptoms of monkeypox.”
Club Dallas did not respond to The Post’s request for comment about whether it had notified patrons they may have been exposed to the disease.
The only other four cases of monkeypox reported in Dallas County have been men who have sex with other men and who traveled recently, the health department said.
Rebel Wilson comes out, introduces fans to new girlfriend
Rebel Wilson has come out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community by introducing fans to her new girlfriend.
“I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess 💗🌈💗#loveislove,” the “Pitch Perfect” actress captioned a selfie on Instagram Thursday with new flame Ramona Agruma.
In May, Wilson teased that she was “happily” in a relationship but did not reveal the identity of her partner.
“I am now happily in a relationship,” she said on Jordana Abraham and Jared Freid’s podcast “U Up.” “I met them at a friend’s setup.”
Wilson, 42, added that she had been looking for love on dating apps, but she was ultimately introduced to her new significant other through a pal.
“I was on and off on the Raya app, but this was a friend setup,” she said. “He had known both of us for at least five years and he thought we would hit it off — and then we did!”
The pair has been hiding in plain sight, as the “Senior Year” star actually took Agruma as her plus-one to the Vanity Fair Oscars party in March. They also took a long-weekend trip to Park City, Utah, in April, where they attended an event together on behalf of Operation Smile.
Wilson and the Lemon Ve Limon founder have posed for tons of photos together on the comedian’s Instagram, though it initially appeared they were simply friends. Agruma’s account is private, so it’s unknown what is being presented there or if she shared Wilson’s announcement.
The “Isn’t It Romantic” star, who has lost a tremendous amount of weight over the past year, last dated Jacob Busch, but the pair split in early 2021. She was then linked to tennis player Matt Reid.