healthy by association

fyeahqueervintage: Gay pride, 1970, USA

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:04:57 -0800

Gay pride, 1970, USA

Oxford University changes dress code to meet needs of transgender students

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:26:02 -0700

Oxford University changes dress code to meet needs of transgender students:

Oxford University has rewritten the laws governing its strict academic dress code following concerns that they were unfair towards transgender students.

Under the new regulations, students taking exams or attending formal occasions will no longer have to wear ceremonial clothing that is specific to their gender.

- Well done Oxford.

likelyhealthy: This Is Your Life Expectancy as a Subway...

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:11:35 -0700

likelyhealthy:

This Is Your Life Expectancy as a Subway Map

Compared to those near stations in poorer areas, residents near some London Tube stops are likely to live 20 years longer.

The geography of health disparities. So. Striking.

10 Things the Affordable Health Care Act will do for LGBT health

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:06:33 -0700

There’s a great article over at the Center for American Progress on the Top 10 Things Health Care Reform Does for Gay and Transgender Americans. I’ll let the article speak for itself, but some of the major hits from how reform will work on closing the LGBT health disparity gap are:

*Including sexual orientation and gender identity in national data collection efforts. This is the first step in mapping the health and illness of LGBT communities in the United States, on the path to better understanding health disparities in our population and generating innovative and culturally appropriate interventions to decrease negative health outcomes and increase quality of life.

*Patient’s Bill of Rights. Ends insurance company abuses like discriminating against people based on HIV status or other health conditions. Also eventually prohibits annual limits on insurance payouts- this is especially crucial for those with chronic conditions requiring regular medication and follow-up care, such as those living with HIV.

*Expanded access to community health centers. Something I’ve written about before on this site, the Affordable Health Care Act also includes $11 billion to support new and existing community health centers, where much of the specialized LGBT healthcare knowledge and expertise is currently housed.

…there’s a lot more to be optimistic about, take a look at the full article here.

The Case for the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health to Address Sexual Orientation | Carmen Logie @ AJPH

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:30:47 -0700

The Case for the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health to Address Sexual Orientation | Carmen Logie @ AJPH:

The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) social determinants of health discussion underscores the need for health equity and social justice. Yet sexual orientation was not addressed within the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health final report Closing the Gap in a Generation.

This omission of sexual orientation as a social determinant of health stands in stark contrast with a body of evidence that demonstrates that sexual minorities are disproportionately affected by health problems associated with stigma and discrimination.

likelyhealthy: True that. And why is everyone getting sick...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:43:32 -0700

likelyhealthy:

True that. And why is everyone getting sick again? Oh, right.

harmreduction: “Using Philadelphia as an example, this graphic...

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:51:48 -0700

harmreduction:

“Using Philadelphia as an example, this graphic compares the cost, both financial and societal, of education and incarceration. Designed by Jason Killinger for Maskar Design”

Stunning, unacceptable statistics in this powerful graphic. And unfortunately, as we all know, Philly is hardly the exception.

New sexual health promotion campaign for queer men of color in NYC!

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:17:00 -0700

Kiss & Tell is a new sexual health promotion campaign aimed at gay and bisexual men of color in New York City. This awesome public health initiative was developed out of a community health partnership with Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) and adolescents ages 13 to 19 who are part of the GMHC’s youth leadership-development council. This is an great example of participatory action research with youth, particularly Latino and African-American queer youth.

In an effort to combat rising rates of new HIV infections among Latino and Black young gay, bi, and other men who have sex with men in New York City, the Kiss & Tell campaign seeks to leverage respect and commitment among members of the community and showcase community members as models for safer sex communication and negotiation. I think the idea of “kissing and telling”- which is a euphemism for dishing on a past sexual encounter- is a great metaphor for eroticizing the sometimes awkward and often avoided pre-sex safety conversation. Check out the press release at GMHC’s website here, or this article in the Huffington Post written by the project photographer Mike Ruiz.

Gay rights in the US, state by state

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:04:00 -0700

Gay rights in the US, state by state:

Check out this awesome interactive infographic over at the Guardian. The colorful interactive wheel breaks LGBT rights into categories such as Marriage, Employment, and Schools to give a state by state and region by region picture of the status of gay rights in the U.S. today. Obviously, even those lucky enough to live in safe havens like Vermont, Connecticut, Washington, Massachusetts, or DC- where all categories of LGBT rights are protected under the law- do not have access to the myriad federal rights denied to single and partnered LGBT folks by the federal government, including immigration rights and tax benefits.

"In the place of an original identification which serves as a determining cause, gender identity..."

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:01:48 -0700

“In the place of an original identification which serves as a determining cause, gender identity might be reconceived as a personal/cultural history of received meanings subject to a set of imitative practices which refer laterally to other imitations and which, jointly, construct the illusion of a primary and interior gendered self or parody the mechanisms of that construction.”

- Judith Butler, Gender Trouble

Stop smoking. Start repairing. Great positive messaging health...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:01:00 -0700

Stop smoking. Start repairing.

Great positive messaging health promotion campaign from Australia! I think this is a really interesting way to get at ‘social smokers’.

So awesome! So important! It’s especially relevant to LGBT...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:49:00 -0700

So awesome! So important! It’s especially relevant to LGBT folks. As our increasingly out population ages and become more dependent on external supports, LGBT elders face extra barriers finding culturally competent support and healthcare workers. Thanks to likelyhealthy for the awesome post!

likelyhealthy:

Safe Sex For Seniors

In the past 5 years, the rate of STDs among active seniors
has risen over 70%. This public service announcement
promotes the importance of using condoms, illustrated by
mature adults in various poses of the Kama Sutra.

I’m so glad social marketers are targeting sexual health promotion in seniors! They’re such an often-overlooked group! And hey, I want to be sexually active when I’m older, too.

What if Jay-Z ran a healthy corner store?

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 10:11:41 -0700

What if Jay-Z ran a healthy corner store?:

unslicedbread:

Cool concept in Atlanta: The Boxcar Grocery. Making healthy food financially and culturally accessible:

We want the actual lifestyle associated with eating organic food andpreserving one’s health to be an accessible ideain the minds of all people. Right now it’s not. There are entire communities of people — Black and Latino people who look like my friends and I — wherein food-related illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and cancer are both expected and acceptable.

The Boxcar Grocer brand is a call, overall, to change these beliefs.

My brother and I grew up listening to hip-hop and watching MTV, so we’re aware of the power of the “lifestyle brand” to shape people’s behavior. “What if we used branding to treat organic sensibilities like an object in a Jay-Z rap?” we wondered. Would that help bridge the cultural gap that keeps people buying and eating unhealthy food? Because culture is a much bigger factor than income.

publichealthiseverybodyshealth: An initiative from the...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:56:27 -0700

publichealthiseverybodyshealth:

An initiative from the Prevention Insititute. This video was presented at the Society of Public Health Education’s Annual Meeting in Arlington, VA this past fall

harmreduction: Sex workers do harm reduction: II What is the...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:22:44 -0700

harmreduction:

Sex workers do harm reduction: II

What is the harm in sex work? Sex workers and allies explain that criminalization and wrong-headed policy approaches are the problem. Sex work is positive, it’s the policy framework that causes harm. What is “harm reduction” for sex workers then? Health services, needle exchange, distribution of condoms… along with fighting against the laws that oppress sex worker communities. These interviews were recorded in May 2008 at the International Harm Reduction Conference in Barcelona Spain.

- Great video addressing some of the biggest harms related to sex work - criminalization, stigma, isolation and discrimination.

What the Affordable Care Act means for LGBT communities

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:36:00 -0700

Take a look at this article over by Brad Jacklin at the Huffington Post summarizing how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will benefit LGBT individuals and families.

Some of my favorite highlights:

“there is a clear and unequivocal rule that you can’t discriminate against LGBT people and their families” - Having anti-discrimination wording explicitly on the books is one of the best first policy level measures that can be undertaken to combat health inequity
“greatly expands eligibility for Medicaid, ensuring that more low-income people from all segments of society can access…Medicaid health insurance coverage”- Economical access to healthcare/ coverage is incredibly important in LGBT communities that are often economically disadvantaged, whether due to employment, housing, or other discrimination, or even the gender wage gap (if a [white] woman makes 78 cents to the dollar that a [white] man makes, a household of two lesbians have a further wage gap when compared to heterosexual households).
“community health centers are getting an infusion of much-needed funding to expand coverage”- Community health centers have been at the forefront of developing and practicing queer health and need resources to continue their work and disseminate it to the larger healthcare system.
“Small employers and individuals can now search for insurance plans that offer domestic partner benefits by using tools available at http://finder.healthcare.gov ”- The government finally taking some responsibility in hooking people up to relevant coverage and care is essential to people actually accessing this care. This tool is a good start.

Take a look at the full article for more interesting information on how the ACA is affecting and will continue to impact LGBT communities in the U.S.

A Hubbub About a Food Hub

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:50:25 -0700

A Hubbub About a Food Hub:

Great post from unslicedbread about an exciting new plan to get at local food markets in Vancouver!

unslicedbread:

from Spacing Vancouver. A plan for a local food hub in Vancouver. Sounds great:

Vancouver’s food hub is being realized in the form of New City Market, an indoor space with a year-round weekly farmers’ market, a chefs’ market, and a commercial kitchen. A farmer will be able to bring her truckload of produce from the Fraser Valley or beyond, sell wholesale to stores and restaurants in the morning and directly to the public later in the day, and then sell any surplus for on-site processing, returning to the farm with an empty truck.

Putting so much under one roof will provide multiple sales avenues for producers, thus reducing waste and saving time. “And at the end of the day, this puts more money in the pockets of BC’s small farmers,” says Tara McDonald, NCM project lead. Loren Taves, who grows a variety of crops on his 40-acre family farm in Abbotsford, agrees. “I think they’ve got the right concept,” he says. “I can grow one crop for Costco as all we do, but we’ve elected to stay selling into the farmers’ markets and doing a variety of diﬀerent products.” Taves thinks it makes smart business sense to pay attention to what the local market asks for, and to prepare for a future that is less reliant on the global food system. “I think as time goes on, we as a people will start to look at what we have locally at our disposal—and those things need to be developed and nurtured today.” For Taves, that includes facilities like New City Market.

"A critique is not a matter of saying that things are not right as they are. It is a matter of..."

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:50:45 -0700

“A critique is not a matter of saying that things are not right as they are. It is a matter of pointing out on what kinds of assumptions, what kinds of familiar, unchallenged, unconsidered modes of thought the practices that we accept rest.”

- Foucault, in “Practicing criticism, or, is it really important to think?”, interview by Didier Eribon, May 30-31, 1981, in Politics, Philosophy, Culture, ed. L. Kriztman (1988), p. 155

International Aid Woah of the Day

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:44:00 -0700

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to use smarter language about global public health work I’ve been involved in and also how to more productively engage my colleagues who are actively engaged in this work in conversation. This article is contributing to my thoughts on the subject today. A key excerpt regarding the increasingly popular ‘buy one-donate one’ fashion trend:

“Further, though, the TOMS campaign — like the million shirts — misses the fundamental point that not having a pair of shoes (or a shirt, christmas toy, etc.) is not a problem about not having shoes. It’s a problem of poverty. Shoelessness, such as it is, is a symptom of a much bigger and more complex problem. And while donating a pair of shoes helps shoelessness, it does not help poverty.

Things like jobs help poverty. Jobs making things like shoes, for example. But TOMS doesn’t make its shoes in Africa, it makes them in China where it’s presumably cheaper to make two pairs of shoes and give one away than it is to get people in a needier community to make one pair of shoes.

Biggest woah: There’s a map to track which celebrities have ‘dibs’ on which countries in ‘Africa’- is it time to coin Celebrity activism in ‘Africa’ industrial complex???

NYC's First LGBT Senior Center opens!

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:25:00 -0700

I’ve been a bit remiss in posting lately, this is one of the important things that has been going on since I’ve been MIA. Check out the full Huffington Post article here.

New York City celebrated the opening Thursday of what city officials say is the nation’s first full-service senior center designed specifically for the gay community.

A standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the SAGE Innovative Senior Center in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

Housing is an essential structural determinant of health. This is especially relevant in the LGBT community where as many as a third of LGBTQ youth are kicked out when they come out to their families and up to 50% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. There’s an awesome study going on right now in Vancouver and four other Canadian studies, actually doing a Randomized-Controlled Trial to attempt to quantify the effectiveness of access to adequate housing on the health of homeless adults with mental health issues as compared to treatment as usual. Here’s a link to an article about the study.