Lavender Health – LGBTQ Resource Center

As the U.S. enters another frenetic and prolonged presidential election, it is worth taking note of the positions that elected officials, and those seeking office at every level of government hold related to LGBTQ health and well-being.  Regardless of your location in the U.S. or perhaps another country that is also embroiled in ongoing political struggle to secure the rights of LGBGQ people and families, it is time to reflect on what actions are possible to participate in bringing about full human rights for everyone in our communities.

A recent example of such action came gained broad public attention, and provides an excellent and inspiring instance that is worth noting.  Early in the Obama administration, they set up a web-based portal called “We the People” for anyone to submit a petition to draw attention issues that the U.S. government should notice. Of course there are many petitions that never gain traction, or that deserve to be ignored.  Others are quite noteworthy, such as the petition to enact “Leelah’s Law.”  This petition was published on January 3, 2015, seeking help from the Administration to ban the devastatingly harmful “therapies” known as conversion, or reparative approaches that claim to “cure” people of sexual and gender identities that do not fall within the traditional binary, heterosexual expectations.  The petition was titled “Enact Leelah’s Law to Ban All LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy.” The law commemorates the life and death of Leelah Alcorn, a 17 year old transgender youth who wrote a suicide note, posted it on Tumblr and then walked in front of a semi-truck to end her life. Leelah’s parents had forced her to attend conversion therapy in an attempt to change her gender identity. The petition was signed by over 120,000 people. The administration responded supporting this ban, and expressed their position that resources for LGBTQ+ youth , their family and friends are a priority.  Click here to see the petition and the administration’s response.

This petition, and the administration’s response has given rise to a growing movement in the U.S. to take this kind of legislative action.  The list of current actions, even though most are in the very early stages of the political process, is quite impressive.  You can follow these actions on the NCLR web site here, and follow the #BornPerfect campaign to end conversion therapies.

We may feel discouraged and frustrated with what seems to be “little we can do,” but this is not an excuse for taking the cowardly path to do nothing.  It is time to make a commitment to be well-informed of the issues that affect the well-being of our LGBTQ communities, know the public officials at every level who support us, and take every action possible to make sure they act on our behalf.  Choose an issue that you care about, find an organization and other individuals to join in taking action, and seek the changes you envision!

Tobacco smoking is the LGBTQ Community’s biggest health burden.  In 1964 the US Surgeon General issued the first report on smoking and health – a landmark report that began a process of heightened awareness and action, about the health consequences of smoking tobacco.  But it was not until 2001 that the annual report mentioned LGB smoking disparities, and in 2014 the report finally clearly delineated what many LGBTQ researchers and health care professionals already knew — that smoking disproportionally affects all LGBT communities.The American Lung Association has also recognized the urgent health risks of smoking for LGBT people, identifying the LGBT community as a priority population for tobacco control.

In addition, we now know that there are many intersecting identities that add to the burden of stress for LGBT people and families, multiplying the health risks associated with smoking. Within our own community, youth, people of color, and people who are economically disadvantaged have a much higher rate of smoking and smoking-related health problems. As a community, we spend more on tobacco every year than is spent on programs to benefit LGBTQ people and famlies.  The smoking rate in the LGBT population is 68% higher than the rest of the population.  So it is time for all us – smokers and non-smokers alike, to speak out and reach out to raise awareness and participate in positive action.

Here is a typical story:

My smoking history is closely tied to my coming out as a lesbian – I smoked for about 10 years, off and on, during the early years of my lesbian life.  I cannot tell you which of these experiences was supposedly more closeted for most of those years – being a lesbian or smoking!  Some part of me felt that both were bad and struggled to come to terms with both, not ever realizing how closely related the two actually were although of course only one of them was “bad!”  Eventually, I began to realize that my sexual orientation was a part of me that I valued, I began to connect with a group of lesbian friends who were out and proud, and finally managed to stop smoking!

This story holds a key to understanding how we can all address this issue — we can live out and proud, and support those around us who may be ready to take the really difficult steps to stop smoking!  There are effective programs for smoking cessation, but they are sadly underused.  In the San Francisco Bay area, “The Last Drag” program offers free smoking cessation course 4 times a year .. the next session starts on April 1!  If you can’t find a local LGBT-focused cessation program, the American Lung Association offers help for all!  If you know of something that might help other LavenderHealth readers, share your comments and ideas here!  We welcome any and all suggestions!

Click image to download this Infographic from LGBT Healthlink!