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To Be Young, Transgender, and Healthy [Saturday January 16, 2010]

presents. To Be Young, Transgender, and Healthy [Saturday January 16, 2010]. To Be Transgender. Anyone whose gender identity or expression does not conform to what is socially expected for their biological sex.

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To Be Young, Transgender, and Healthy [Saturday January 16, 2010]

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  1. presents To Be Young, Transgender, and Healthy [Saturday January 16, 2010]

  2. To Be Transgender Anyone whose gender identity or expression does not conform to what is socially expected for their biological sex. Anyone who is not comfortable with the gender that was declared for them at birth.

  3. To Be Healthy Being transgender and healthy means being free of … • Physical and emotional pain • Transphobia(especially as it exists among health care professionals) • Invalid assumptions • Substance abuse and addictions • Illness resulting from Tobacco Use, poor nutrition, weight, STDs, HIV, and Cancer

  4. FREEDOM FROM PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN • 9 out of 10 LGBTQ and allied youth are bullied and harassed at school • 73% report hearing the words “fag” and “dyke” everyday • Bullying and harassment doesn’t just affect the people being bullied and harassed; it affects the entire school community

  5. “Don’t schools already protect LGBTQ youth?” • Only 11 states have laws that specifically protect on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity • 82.9% of students report that faculty or staff never intervene or intervene only some of the time if present when remarks are made • In New York State, teachers are not trained in how to respond to harassment and bullying

  6. Transgender students are24%more likely to suffer physical harassment than LGB students. 65% of Transgender students report physical harassment 41% of LGB students report physical harassment

  7. LGBT students are more than twice as likely to consider suicide. (Some studies indicate that the rate of attempted suicide for transgender youth is higher than 50% .)

  8. Students are generally one of these three types: • Fencesitters • “It doesn’t bother me as long as they leave me alone” • Bigots • “I don’t really like gay people” • Allies • “I respect and admire gay people”

  9. WHAT ALLIES CAN DO • Stand up for your friends • Come to LGBT Equality and Justice Day, April 2010 • Write a letter to the editor • Write an article for the school paper • Talk to your family and friends • Volunteer and get more people involved • Support the Dignity for All Students Act

  10. The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) • Would protect on the basis of “sex, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ability, and religion.” • Would train teachers and administrators on how to respond to bias harassment • Passed by NYS Assembly for 8 years, but stalled in the Senate

  11. FREEDOM FROM TRANSPHOBIA Health providers need to know the terms used to describe sex, gender identity, gender roles, and sexual orientation • SEX = Genes, hormones, biology, chemistry and anatomy • GENDER IDENTITY = our sense of our own gender • GENDER ROLE = the expression of one's masculinity and femininity • SEXUAL ORIENTATION = the direction of one's sexual desire

  12. FREEDOM FROM INVALID ASSUMPTIONS • A person is either male or female • Sexual orientation and gender identity are the same thing • Gender identity is not predetermined • All transgender people want to have SRS • People have either xx or xy chromosomes

  13. FREEDOM FROMSUBSTANCE ABUSE & ADDICTIONS • Enter treatment for substance abuse with more severe problems than heterosexuals • Are easy victims for unscrupulous "practitioners“ • Often have feelings of shame, disgust, and guilt which undermine decision-making Transgendered people…

  14. FREEDOM FROM ILLNESS RESULTING FROM TOBACCO USE • LGBT youth have a 40%-70% higher smoking rate than the general population • Smoking is often an unhealthy response to the stresses of transphobia • Tobacco companies created ads especially designed for the LGBT community “Tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease kill about 30,000 gays, lesbians and bisexuals each year.”[American Cancer Society]

  15. FREEDOM FROM ILLNESS RESULTING FROM POOR NUTRITION AND WEGHT PROBLEMS Eating disorders among Transgendered; victims of unrealistic gender role models Use of hormones (often obtained through illegal sources and without medical care)

  16. EATING DISORDERS AMONG M2F: Dieting to look more “feminine;” compulsive exercise If Barbie was a real person: • She would be 5’9” • She would have a neck twice the length of a normal human's • She would weigh 110 pounds (that’s 76% of her healthy weight) • She would not be able to menstruate due to being underweight. • Her feet would be too small to support her when she walks.

  17. EATING DISORDERS AMONG F2M: “Bulking up”to increase muscle; compulsive exercise If GI Joe Extreme were life- size: He would have a 55 inch chest and a 27 inch bicep. (Average male has a 38 inch chest and 13 inch biceps.) In other words, his bicep would be almost as big as his waist and bigger than most competitive body builders. (Mark McGwire’s biceps measure only about 20 inches.)

  18. FREEDOM FROM ILLNESS RESULTING FROM STDS • No Trans-specific medical resources • Greater likelihood that medical problems may be improperly diagnosed • More likely to take risks • Unaware of the lesser known STDs: • Chlamydia • Genital warts • Hepatitis B • Genital herpes • Public Lice (Crabs)

  19. FREEDOM FROM ILLNESS RESULTING FROM HIV • Trans people are at an extremely high risk: some experts put the HIV infection rate as high as 60 percent • Prevention messages are often biased according to gender • Transpeople often experiment with their sexual orientations and attractions. • Finding a medical provider who is sensitive and aware of transgender issues is difficult • Finding safe ways to get hormones and clean needles is difficult

  20. FREEDOM FROM ILLNESS RESULTING FROM CANCER • A disproportionate number of these individuals are people of color, are HIV-positive, and are young • Past negative experiences and mistrust of doctors • Lung Cancer • Anal Cancer • Failure to test (Pap Smear, Prostate Exam) • Hormone therapy over an extended period of time might increase the risk of certain hormone-related cancers

  21. SOME ONLINE RESOURCES: • WWW.CANCER-NETWORK.ORG • WWW.LGBTTOBACCO.ORG • WWW.SOMETHING-FISHY.ORG • WWW.PLANNEDPARENTHOOD.ORG/TEEN-TALK/ • WWW.GLSEN.ORG • WWW.SEXETC.ORG • WWW.HEATPROGRAM.ORG • WWW.RAINBOWACCESS.ORG

  22. DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS What’s the sub-text?

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