A man reads The Times newspaper as he rides the tube in London. (Robert Alexander/Getty) Media coverage of trans issues has been linked to an increase in the number of young people seeking support at specialist gender clinics, a landmark study has found. In the past 10 years there has been a significant increase in
Health
Gay and bisexual men are prohibited from donating their corneas due to a discriminatory policy (Pexels) Allowing gay and bisexual men to donate their corneas could help save the eyesight of thousands of people – but discriminatory, unscientific policies prohibit them from doing so. The cornea, the clear outer layer at the front of the
Spanking therapy does not have to be sexual, said the sex educators. (Anna Shvets/ Pexels) Two non-binary kink and sex educators have explained how “spanking therapy” can help you work through negative emotions and trauma. Non-binary sex worker and sex educator Corey More and non-binary queer-inclusive kink educator Lateef Taylor told Healthline exactly what spanking therapy
Gay and bisexual men still face outdated restrictions on blood donation. (Pexels) A study has revealed that when a lifetime ban on blood donation for queer men in the US was lifted, there was no “statistically significant” increase in HIV-positive blood. New research has revealed that there was “no increase in HIV incidence or HIV
A doctor holding a speculum, the instrument used in cervical-cancer screenings. (Envato/mstandret) New smear test information for trans men and non-binary people has been launched this week by leading cervical cancer charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust. People with cervixes between the ages of 25 and 64 are eligible for smear tests – which help prevent
Princess Diana visiting a patient at the London Lighthouse, a centre for people affected by HIV and AIDS, in 1996. (Jayne Fincher/Getty Images) 23 years ago today, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed. A photograph of a dented car shuddered throughout the news wires that night, leaving billions reeling and in a death that drew
Researchers found that, across two years, drag use and levels of sexual compulsivity decreased while using PrEP. (Stock photograph via Elements Envato) People who use PrEP, a daily pill which prevents HIV transmission, are less likely to take illicit drugs and engage in compulsive sexual thoughts and acts, researchers said. Researchers in the Netherlands found
Stephen Lim, also known as Nadia Business, had been on the waiting list for a kidney transplant for six years. (nadiabusinessqween/ Instagram) A drag queen fighting chronic kidney disease has become the first patient post-lockdown to receive a life-saving kidney transplant at a Manchester hospital. Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) was forced to stop performing transplant
70 percent of cis lesbians “worry that their genitalia is abnormal”. (Polina Zimmerman/ Pexels) Research has revealed a huge disparity in genital confidence between straight and gay cis women, with seven in 10 lesbians worrying that their genitalia is abnormal. Bespoke Surgical, a private proctological and anal surgery practice, conducted a survey of 1,155 cisgender
Health secretary Matt Hancock unveiled the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) while speaking at the Policy Exchange think tank on Tuesday, August 18. (MattHancock/ Twitter) Following the announcement that Public Health England is to be replaced by a new National Institute for Health Protection, leading HIV and sexual health organisations have warned that the
A gay lawmaker and coronavirus survivor tried to donate plasma to help others – but he was turned away because of his sexuality. Shevrin Jones, a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, went to a blood drive on August 7 with his mother Bloneva Jones and his father Eric Jones. The three decided
CCGSD/ The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon/ Mitchel Raphael courtesy of Christopher Karas A gay man in Canada has filed a human rights complaint with the United Nations over his country’s discriminatory blood donation ban on queer men. Christoper Karas, 24, from Brampton, Ontario, complained in 2016 to the Canadian Human Rights Commission over the
Black LGBT+ lives land in the intersection of racism and homophobia. (Getty/Hollie Adams) Queer Black American men suffer disproportionate levels of police discrimination, which in turn may contribute to increased risks of HIV, depression and anxiety, a study has found. Research by Rutgers University, published in Social Science & Medicine, asked over 1,100 queer Black
Intersex Justice activists protest non-consensual surgeries on intersex people. (IntersexJustice/ Twitter) A major children’s hospital in the US has become the first in the nation to apologise for performing unnecessary genital surgeries on intersex babies. After a years-long advocacy campaign backed by Indya Moore, Angelica Ross and Gabrielle Union, the Ann & Robert H Lurie
Madonna performs onstage during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. (Kevin Mazur/Getty) Madonna has been flagged for spreading “false information” on Instagram after she shared the same coronavirus conspiracy video that got Donald Trump Jr suspended from Twitter. The Queen of Pop shared a video of the controversial anti-LGBT+ doctor Stella Immanuel, whom she described as
Queer men are more likely to be living with HIV in African countries that criminalise gay sex than those that do not, researchers have said. Johns Hopkins University researchers found that men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub-Saharan African nations where gay sex with is severely criminalised are at up to five times
A trans man is taking legal action against a Catholic hospital in Mayland, US, after staff refused him healthcare because they found it “immoral”. Jesse Hammons is suing the University of Maryland Medical System and the Saint Joseph Medical Center in Towson for violation of his First and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights and his rights
Peter Sheward and his father, Peter Sheward Snr, who died of prostate cancer in 2017. (Supplied) Father’s Day will always be special for Peter Sheward-Himpson, a gay man who never dreamed he could have a child. But it is also a reminder of the father he’s lost, and the grandfather his son will never have.
A gay doctor from Australia has hit out at the “old prejudice” that still prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood. In Australia – as is the case in many countries – gay and bisexual men must remain celibate for a three month period before they can give blood. This week, 70 medical professionals
PrEP. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) A life-saving trial of the preventative HIV drug PrEP will be rolled out across Northern Ireland in a two-year pilot programme. PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) is the most effective protection against HIV transmission. It is provided on the NHS in Scotland and in Wales but has not been as easily accessible in England and Northern
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) Joe Biden spearheaded a blistering backlash against the Trump administration that on Friday (June 12) “cruelly” erased precious healthcare protections for trans patients less than two weeks into Pride Month. The Department of Health and Human Services finalised a rule that effectively means gender identity
Donald Trump holds an LGBT+ Pride flag given to him by supporter. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty) On the four year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting – when a man laid siege onto a queer Latinx club killing 49 people, many LGBT+ – the Trump administration Friday evening (June 12) brutally rolled-back healthcare protections for trans patients. …Happy
The playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer had died (Photo by Melanie Burford For The Washington Post via Getty Images.) Legendary AIDS activist and playwright Larry Kramer has died, aged 84. The former activist, who founded both Gay Men’s Health Crisis and ACT UP during the AIDS crisis, passed away from pneumonia on Wednesday. Known
Pakistan’s transgender community, already forced to the fringes of society, are being deprived of crucial support during the country’s coronavirus lockdown. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images) Existing inequalities that mean trans people are more likely to have mental and physical health problems are being exacerbated by coronavirus, according to scientists who are urging governments to act. The
Mike Schultz, a gay nurse, saw his life change after attending a circuit party in March. Weeks later, he was hospitalised with coronavirus. (Instagram) Mike Schultz, a gay nurse hospitalised with COVID-19, has shared startling before and after photographs of the impact of the deadly but delicate virus. Smiling in a throng of tattooed, toned
Mizz June eventually recovered from COVID-19 but she is still scared she could contract it again. (Mizz June/ Facebook) A trans woman who contracted coronavirus has described how she was told to stay home by first responders while coughing up blood, highlighting healthcare barriers for LGBT+ people, especially queer people of colour. Singer and actress Mizz
Franklin Graham has claimed the media and “liberal politicians” are using the coronavirus pandemic to “destroy” Donald Trump. Graham, the notorious anti-LGBT+ evangelist, made the comments in a Facebook post shortly after he was told to close a New York tent hospital set up by his charity Samaritan’s Purse. The Central Park tent hospital was
LGBT+ people are likely to be more vulnerable to coronavirus (Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty) State lawmakers are urging US officials to record the sexuality of coronavirus victims, as the data could be critical to the LGBT+ community’s safety amid the pandemic. The CDC currently breaks down coronavirus cases publicly by location, race, gender and age, but not
HIV transmission has dropped significantly with lockdown breaking the chain of new cases, a leading sexual health clinic has claimed. 56 Dean Street, a London-based sexual health clinic, is urging people to order free home test kits online in an effort to keep the number of new HIV cases down when the pandemic is over.
There have been more than a million coronavirus cases in the US and more than 60,000 deaths, with LGBT+ people disproportionately affected, but the White House gift shop is busy selling commemorative COVID-19 coins. No, really. The coin, which costs $125 to pre-order, has a graphic of coronavirus on one side and on the other