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The
Networker:
The MN LGBTQA Therapist eNewsletter
promoting LGBTQA mental
health
10.1.10
Volume III,
Issue 8
www.LGBTtherapists.org
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Welcome new members! After a summer break
& a member survey, this enewsletter is
back!
We have exciting changes to share!
Read
more below.
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Changes
with THE NETWORK: Improving Our Visibility!
(1)
SURVEY:
THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN!
The Network* did a membership survey in June 2010 to assess
members' interests and needs about our organization.
Thank you to the 93 individuals who responded to the on-line
survey--that is 38% out of a possible 244 responses. That makes the
survey more that statistically valid: It gives us the information
we need to point our way into the future.
Details:
88% are in favor of maintaining the on-line directory of therapists
(a perk of paid membership).
77% are in favor of the eNewsletter.
73% are in favor of cosponsoring an LGBTQ Mental Health
Conference.
64% are in favor of having the CEU workshops 2-3 times a
year.
58% are in favor of sponsoring a booth at the annual Pride
Festival.
55% are in favor of networking with other LGBTQA
organizations.
Other Details:
72% indicated that the Network could increase practice-building and
networking opportunities amongst the membership.
91% indicated "The rest of life is too busy" and "Other" as reasons
for not being able to help/volunteer with the Network. *
One last set of Numbers:
Attendance figures from the last 4 CEU programs that we have
offered:
28 at Fall, 2008
22 at Spring, 2009
18 at Fall, 2009
10 at Spring, 2010
Oh, and 44 of you (or 18%) attended/participated in the Beyond the Boxes Conference.
(The LGBTQ Mental Health Issues conference co-organized by The
Network and the UM GLBT Program's Office; held at the UM in March
2010)
Compiled by Dennis Christian, Steering Committee
Member
*The Network is a
group of LGBTQA mental health providers who pay to be members and
thus, have an online presence on our website. The group's
educational and networking functions are maintained by volunteers
of the group. The Network has 95 paid members whose professional
profiles are listed online at our site www.LGBTThearpists.org and
248 eNewsletter recipients.
(2)
What this means for The Network:
At a July meeting of The Network, the Steering Committee, after
careful review of the survey results, made the following
decisions:
(a) keep the website and freshen it up. Plus, priority efforts and
energies will be focused on increasing The Network's current web
presence; as a result paying members will be able to have their
services even more visible to the public and more potential
consumers and referral agencies of LGBTQ-friendly psychotherapy
will have easier access to providers. (White Ash will continue to
be paid to maintain and update the web site and offer his guidance
and creativity! White Ash,
Web design, kiteatnite@White-Ash.com
www.White-Ash.com) (Thank
you!)
(b) increase publicity of The Network (on the web and via
advertising)
(c) increase networking and educational opportunities with other
LGBTQ-friendly organizations
(d) discontinue offering CEU programs (attendance and volunteers
have been minimal)
(e) continue the eNewsletter with monthly distribution to its 285+
recipients (verse its past bi-weekly distribution) (The eNewsletter
recipient list has grown by 200 members within the past
year.)
(f) hire and pay a person to coordinate the eNewsletter (verse
using the volunteer services of steering committee member, Irene
Greene. Welcome to Scott Schumacher - see below.)
(g) continue networking and having a presence at
relevant LGBTQA functions
(i.e., Twin Cities LGBT
Pride, Quorum Coming Out Luncheon, etc. as long as there are
volunteers who are interested in helping to make it happen).
(h) steering committee will continue. (Every paid member of The Network is
welcome to be a part of the steering committee. More help would be
greatly appreciated. ;) For
several years the steering committee has consisted of basically
three members. Thank you: Dennis
Christian, Mindy Benowitz, Irene Greene.)
(i)
Member Directory Fee Changes:
Every
time a member changes their information in the member online
directory it costs us money. This happens frequently and to date
has been free. However, after budget and cost review, the Steering
Committee has decided that members will now need to be charged for
this service - unless they do it with their annual membership
renewal.
Beginning 10/5/10, The Network
will charge $10.00 for each set of updates to a member's Directory
Listing. Please note ~ the $10.00 must be paid up front
before updates will be made. Upon payment, we will do our best to
make updates within 3 business days. To avoid this charge, submit
one set of changes to your listing at the time of annual renewals
(December 1 through January 31). Members who have a biannual
membership may use the same time period (December 1 through January
31) to make one set of changes to their listings without incurring
a $10.00 charge. Should you have any questions, please contact
Dennis Christian: support @dennischristian dot com
(j)
The Network Membership Drive and Renewal Season is coming in
December. More info to follow.
(k) The MN LGBT Therapists
Network is now a Quorum member!!! (so if you are a paid member of
The Network you can use the member price to register for Quorum
events, i.e, the October Coming Out Day Luncheon - where we will
have a table! Join us!)
(3) WELCOME
SCOTT! Scott Schumacher will take over
coordinating The Network's monthly eNewsletter. In addition to web
design, Scott is a massage therapist, and is increasing his
practice as a provider of Reiki, acupressure, and energy
bodywork!!! And a
member of The Network. Check out his info on our site.
He is also an all around nice
guy! So, watch for many improvements to this
eNewsletter.
Scott Schumacher
Your Personal Web Assistant
scotts@holisticgeek.com
http://www.holisticgeek.com/
(4) Next Steering Committee Meeting:
Friday, November 12, 2010 1215-115
Office of Mindy Benowitz, 100 West Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis,
MN 55404
RSVP to Irene Greene: irenegreene@earthlink.net All members
welcome!
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Join The
Network at The Quorum Coming Out
Luncheon!
17th Annual Minnesota National
Coming Out Day Luncheon!
Friday, October 15, 2010 11am-1pm
Resource fair and luncheon with several speakers
Minneapolis Convention Center
Let's sit together!!! Join The
Network table! Several of us had fun attending together last year
and decided to do it again this year!
Luncheon/Quorum Members: $35.00
Luncheon/Quorum Non-Members: $40.00
The MN LGBT Therapists Network is a recent Quorum member and so if
you are a paid member of The Network you can use the member
price!!!!
Visit their website at www.twincitiesquorum.com for more info and
to make reservations!
To ensure being seated at
our LGBT Therapist Network table, first register at their site and then
contact Irene Greene to get on our seating list!!!
irenegreene@earthlink.net 612.874.6442
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Groups
& Relationship Retreat Offered:
Group
notices list for two consecutive issues. (Do you have a
group you want to advertise here? Free. Contact us. Review past
archived eNewsletters on our website for more
groups.)
HEART-TO-HEART: A COUPLES' ENRICHMENT WEEKEND RETREAT
WHEN:
November
5-6-7,
2010
WHERE:
Koinonia Retreat Center, 80-minute drive northwest of the
TwinCities metro area (near South Haven, MN
WHAT: The
retreat is patterned on the well-known Marriage Encounter program
and,
although
our presentations come from a Unitarian-Universalist perspective,
the opportunities extend far
beyond any
boundaries of faith.
All
couples committed to their partners and to their relationships are
welcome -- same-sex and opposite-sex,
married
and unmarried.
Weekend
Cost: $385 per
couple ("scholarship" assistance is available)
Includes:
2 nights lodging; 5 meals
Scholarship:
Assistance is available
Registration:
Space is
limited to: 15 couples
Reservation
Deposit: $100
Visit our
website or call to check on available space.
Checks
payable to: Unity
Church-Unitarian
Mail to:
c/o E. Lein
361 Summit
Av #2
St Paul,
MN 55102
E-Mail:
heart@mn.cx
Website:
www.heart.mn.cx
LGBTQATEEN
PROGRAM:
Open Table, a GLBT Ministry
of Welcome (open and affirming) now has a LGBTQA teen program
component of Open Table. They are calling it You(th) Can Talk to
Us.
They are striving to provide a safe space for LGBTQ teens to be in
fellowship, have fun (and food!) and to discuss their issues,
including questions of faith if they so desire. (Besides being open
and affirming, our associate pastor is gay, not to mention some of
our other staff). Kick-off is October 8th at 6 pm at the church.
Build-your-own pizzas, games, conversation, etc.
Contact: Deb Murphy
Director of Spiritual Formation and Community Ministry
First Christian Church (DOC) Minneapolis
2201 First Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN. 55403
612-807-2287
Short-Term Sexual Abuse
Group for Men
<Time
Limited Group: 8 weeks / Beginning
Wednesday, 10-13-10 / 5:15-6:45
<Long-Term Sexual
Abuse Group for Men / Mondays 5:15 -
6:45
Provided on a
sliding fee scale. Most insurance accepted.
Neighborhood
Involvement Program
2431
Hennepin Avenue South
Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55405
For more
information:
Daniel Keefe
LICSW
Graduate Student Training Coordinator
Neighborhood Involvement Program
612 746-8537 dkeefe at neighborhoodinvolve.org
MindBody Skills Group
Starting in October:
Navigating life changes, transitions and losses
Managing chronic physical and mental health issues
Minimizing severe and chronic stress
Maximizing health and well-being
General Information:
Series length: weekly for 10 weeks
Date and time: Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30 pm beginning mid-October
or when there are enough people
Group size: 5-8 people
Fee: $395 for series including intake and all materials.
Insurance is not applicable.
Where: Grove Psychotherapy, 219 SE Main St, Ste 400
An intake interview is required for all prospective group
members.
Call Linda C. Nelson at 612.379.2640 x15 to schedule.
Linda C. Nelson, MA, Licensed
Psychologist
Has trained with the Center
for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC. She has been a
psychotherapist for over 25 years and has practiced with Grove
Psychotherapy since 1986. She has been leading MindBody Skills
groups since 2005.
Element Mental Health
Services is pleased to announce a Group for Transgender/Transsexual
individuals - TRANSmetamorphosis:
metamorphosis - a profound change in form from one stage to the
next in the life history of an organism.
Transgender/Transsexual individuals often find themselves isolated
from family, friends, and co-workers because they have been
marginalized by society. In addition, they often lack reliable
role-models. Isolation, marginalization, and insufficient
connection to supports within their community often leads to
presenting problems that keep trans individuals in a cycle of
unhealthy emotional and cognitive processes.
TRANSmetamorphosis uses cognitive, narrative, and solution focused
approaches to help clients experience changes in behavior,
attitudes, mood, relationships with others, insight, energy level,
expectations of oneself, and functioning. Participants will
jointly develop goals that they will be incouraged to evaluate and
modify as treatment progresses. Participants will obtain their
goals while retaining maximum control in discussing needs which may
include the exploration of social, family, sexual orientation,
health, spirituality, and relevant gender oriented issues.
TRANSmetamorphosis is a 12 week program and is an open group.
Group meets Tuesdays from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Please call
320-492-4525 to schedule a group intake or to receive more
details.
Troy R Weber-Brown, MS, LMFT
Element Mental Health Services
1204 7th Street South, Ste. 105
Saint Cloud, MN 56301
Sexual
Abuse Therapy Group for Adult Women has openings:
Meets:
Tuesdays, 415-530. Ongoing.
Issues
addressed: sharing sexual abuse stories, self-esteem, sexuality,
personal development, family of origin, parenting,
relationships, assertiveness, self-care, healthy & unhealthy
coping skills, attachment, emotional containment strategies,
healing, & developing a stronger sense of self.
Intake
Session required. $150. Each group session: $68/session.
Most
insurance accepted
For
more information:
Mindy
Benowitz, PhD, LP 612.870.0398 & Irene Greene, MSED,
Psychotherapist.
100
West Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404
irenegreene@earthlink.net
Irene
& Mindy have been doing this group together for over 23
years.
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Presentations,
Workshops & Conferences:
23rd
National Creating Change Conference 2011 - Proposal Deadline
Extended to October 15 2010!
This national LGBT Equality conference is in Minneapolis - February
2011!
We want you to be part of our robust and exciting program. We are
pleased to extend the deadline for proposal submissions to October
15, 2010.
Creating Change 2011 attendees want and need your insightful,
thoughtful and educational sessions and so do we! Please submit
your session proposal to us no later than October 15, 2010.
Notifications of acceptance will begin around November 1,
2010.
You can submit your proposal at our wonderfully renovated Creating
Change website at www.CreatingChange.org.
The 23rd National Conference on
LGBT Equality: Creating Change is coming to beautiful Minneapolis,
Minnesota and the Hilton Minneapolis, February 2-6,
2011.
What's Creating Change? Only the premier annual organizing and
skills-building event for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community and their allies.
The conference is run by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
and attracts more than 2,500 people from all over the country every
year. Presenters and participants come from all walks of life and
include members of the business community, elected officials,
students, faith leaders and staff and volunteers of non-profit
organizations.
Our five-day program features over 250 workshops and training
sessions, four plenary sessions, and tons of networking
opportunities.
DEAF or HARD OF
HEARING TRAININGS FOR PROFESSIONALS:
Do you interact with deaf or
hard of hearing people in your personal or professional life? Could
you benefit from learning about different aspects of hearing
loss?
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services -
Metro office, of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, is
pleased to offer you and your staff an opportunity to attend our
FREE trainingseminars. Seminars are three
hours long (two topics offered per day) and will be
staggered/repeated throughout the season. These trainings are
available to anyone who is interested.
For further details, please see the schedule and informational
flyer on our website:
If you would like a copy of the flyer, please respondvia email to: dhhs.metro DOT
state.mn.us,
by voice phone at
651/431-5940, or by TTY at 1-888-206-6513
and we will be happy to mail you one. The flyer is also available
in large print format on our web site.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
Metro
85 East 7th Place, Suite
105
downtown St. Paul (between
Minnesota and Robert streets)
Mailing Address:
444 Lafayette Road N.
St. Paul, MN
55155-3814
651/431-5940 V
651/964-1514 VP
1-888-206-6513 TTY
651/431-7587 FAX
dhhs.metro at
state.mn.us
www. dhhsd dot
org
Subject:
Trans bike resources
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm writing on behalf of Sibley Bike Depot in St. Paul to inform
Minnesota School OUTreach Coalition about a resource and
opportunity available for self identified women, transgendered and
gender non-conforming people in the Twin Cities! As a community
bike shop, Sibley's mission is to empower people to use bicycles as
transportation and help them gain the skills necessary for regular
bike maintenance. Sibley is also working to promote gender equality
among bike riders, so we host a weekly Women and Transgender Open
Shop every Tuesday night from 6-9. The open shop is designed
specifically for women and gender minorities to work with a female
mechanic to fix up and repair their bikes.
In addition, Sibley is teaching a basic bike maintenance class
through the Experimental College of the Twin Cities www.EXCOTC
DOT org specifically for women, transgendered and gender queer
individuals. Women and Trans Night and the related EXCO class are
part of Sibley's greater vision to be a support system within the
University Avenue and greater Twin Cities communities for people to
access and ride bikes. We'd love for you to share this resource
with the people you work with and encourage them to use it!
Additionally, we are always looking for new opportunities and
partners.
Sibley would love to work with your organization if you are
interested in more extensive or customized programming surrounding
bicycling and bike maintenance. More information about our programs
can be found on our website, sibleybikedepot.org, or give us a call
at 651-222-2080.
28th
Upper Midwest Conference on Adolescents & Children In
Need
When: November 18 &
19, 2010
Where: Ramada Plaza Minneapolis www.ramadaplazampls
dot com
Website: www.
cedconference dot com
Email: craig st cedconference dot
com
Phone:
320-629-1307
Cost: $149/person or $119/person for groups of 2 or
more
The special sleeping room rate is $79. Make sure to
mention the
conference to get the
discounted rate.
To view the workshops and
presenters and register online, go to
www.cedconference.com
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Upcoming
Events:
Kevin Xiong Farewell
party:
Come
celebrate with Shades of Yellow (SOY), as we send off our Executive
Director, Kevin Xiong. Kevin is leaving the organization after 2
years and we want to show him our gratitude for all the work he has
done for SOY and the Hmong LGBTQ community.
Host: Shades of Yellow (SOY) http://www.myspace.com/shadesofyellow_hmong
Phone: 920-227-6847
When: Friday, October 08 from 05:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Where: Pagoda Restaurant 1417 4th St. SE Minneapolis, MN
55414
Please RSVP as space is limited and program starts promptly at
5:30pm
Brother
Circle of Minneapolis, Stand UP!!!
Men of color discussing GLBT History Month
Date: Saturday, October 16, 2010
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Pillsbury House 3501 Chicago Avenue South
What: Brother Circle of Minneapolis (BCM612) Presents...
Join us for food, fellowship and feedback @ The Brother Circle of
Minneapolis (BCM612) Men's Brunch. In recognizing October GLBT
History Month, get ready to do some introspection and recollection
as we discuss two important pieces of our culture.
October 16: brunch, join the brothers of all colors, as we
celebrate our rich and courageous history as the GLBT community,
during our Celebration of GLBT History Month. We encourage members
to come to brunch prepared to share the profile of at least one
person (living or dead) or group who has helped in the fight for
GLBT equality in America. This includes "allies" or heterosexual
activists who have walked the line with us. From James Baldwin to
Lady Gaga...tell us about someone who inspires you and has gone
against the grain for US.
****100% FREE BRUNCH SERVED - PLEASE RSVP!!!!
WE ASK THAT YOU RSVP if you plan to join us for brunch.
Kevin Moore (612) 787-3641
moorek@puc-mn.org
Earnest Simpkins (651) 787-3642
simpkinse@puc-mn.org
Bisexual/Fluid/Pansexual
Community Discussion
with Robyn Ochs
Thurs, Oct 7, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Coffman Union 324, UM
The GLBTA Programs Office and the Bisexual Organizing Project BOP)
welcome all interested students, staff, faculty and community
members to an open community discussion featuring
nationally-recognized Bi educator, author and activist Robyn Ochs.
Robyn will share her insights about what it means to work with and
for bisexual, pansexual and fluid sexual communities. Robyn will
facilitate an open discussion as we create a space to share our
experiences as those who identify as bi/pan/fluid and their allies.
We will brainstorm ways we can make the U of MN and the larger Twin
Cities community more open, accepting and responsive to people of
all sexual identities. Free pizza will be served! For more
information, contact Anne Phibbs at phib0001@umn.edu or Lauren
Beach at beach073@umn.edu.
17th Annual
Minnesota National Coming Out Day Luncheon!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Minneapolis Convention Center
The Quorum Business Equality Conference is a one-day learning
experience specifically designed to support GLBT and Allied
employee groups and their companies' work towards fully inclusive,
healthy and productive workplaces. all day
The inspirational National Coming Out Day Luncheon gives voice to
the power of living openly, honestly and with authenticity at work,
in our families and in our communities of faith. We all have many
layers of identity and we must work together to create a world
where an individual can bring their "whole self" to everything they
do. 11am - 1pm
Tickets, sponsorships, and exhibit opportunities are
available!
Luncheon/Quorum Members $35.00
Luncheon/Quorum Non-Members $40.00
See their site for prices for conference attendance.
(Sit at the Therapist Network
Table - see above notice)
Visit their website at www.twincitiesquorum.com
VOGUE/TRASH: Costume Fashion
Ball Benefit
Saturday, October 16th 2010
Silent Auction - 7pm
Showtime - 8pm
$15 presale tickets; $20 tickets at the door
Come support
the Cabaret at our first ever Costume Fashion Ball!
Artists from the Cabaret's past and future will be strutting their
wildest, craziest, and most innovative costumes on our
runway.
Each artist
will wow you and give you a glimpse of fashion not found on any
ordinary runway. In addition, this event will be aired on the
Minneapolis Television Network, so be sure to come out, wear your
own crazy outfit and be on TV!
A sick dance
party will follow the fashion show with local breakers and funk
stylists throwin' down. With dirty electro and house beats bumpin'
throughout the entire night,
everyone will be in for a real treat!
$15
presale tickets by reservation only! Please call 612-724-6273 or
email info at patrickscabaret dot org to reserve your tickets.
Also, if you're interested in volunteering we will definitely need
volunteers to help with various tasks throughout the night. Contact
Sara Jo Lehrer at 612-724-6273 or sarajo at patrickscabaret dot org
for more information.
For more
information or inquiries about this event, please call
(612-724-6273) or email:
Event Coordinator - Arturo Miles - arturo at patrickscabaret dot
org
Event Promotion/Volunteer Coordinator - Sara Jo Lehrer - sarajo
at patrickscabaret dot org
Patrick's Cabaret
3010 Minnehaha
Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406
www.patrickscabaret dot org
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Job
Openings:
NATIONAL
ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS of MINNESOTA
Job Title: Program Director - 100%
Function:
� To implement and oversee the major programs of the
organization
� To oversee the information and referral work of the
organization
Reports to: Executive Director
Responsibilities:
1. Implements, reviews and reports on the quality of programs
by collecting data, preparing reports, designing and conducting
evaluations. Includes training and monitoring of teachers.
2. Develops, writes and carries out new curriculum and
programs.
3. Oversees support groups throughout the state.
4. Supervises program staff and volunteers, set performance
standards, conducts reviews.
5. Coordinates information and referral function of the agency
by managing and monitoring phones, providing training to staff and
volunteers, compiling data.
6. Lead Program Team.
Experience in developing curriculum, excellent writing skills,
ability to work with a diverse group of people, attention to
detail. Salary range is $40,000 with health care benefits.
Resumes and cover letters should be sent to:
NAMI Minnesota
800 Transfer Road, Suite 31
St. Paul, MN 55114
Position: Admin
Coordinator I (MN Urban Area Health Education
Center)
Location:
Minneapolis, MN
Job
Description:
The Minnesota Urban
Area Health Education Center (AHEC) was established in fall 2009 to
strengthen the connections between the health professions programs
at the University of Minnesota and underserved urban communities in
the Twin Cities. The AHEC works along a continuum to increase the
number of health professionals providing primary care in the
community. This includes supporting youth with an interest in
health careers and creating opportunities for current health
professionals to work in underserved areas throughout the Twin
Cities.
As a full-time Admin
Coordinator I within our Minnesota Urban Area Health Education
Center (AHEC), you will be primarily responsible for providing
administrative support to the center executive director. You will
manage calendars, schedule meetings, greet visitors as well as
handle administrative duties such as filing, copying, faxing, data
entry, and typing documents. Additionally, you will create a
positive and friendly environment for visitors over the phone and
in-person as well as engage in various community outreach events.
This position will be located in North Minneapolis.
In order to qualify for
this role, you must possess:
- A
high school diploma or G.E.D.
- 2
years of administrative or clerical experience in an office
environment
- Proficiency
with MS applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Superior
interpersonal, time management, organizational and customer service
skills
As an UMPhysicians
employee, we will provide you with a competitive salary and
excellent benefits. You will have the opportunity to enhance your
career in the exciting field of healthcare through rewarding and
challenging assignments and opportunities for
advancement.
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Announcements:
Vote for Element Mental
Health Services Pepsi Refresh projects!
Element has submitted two Pepsi Refresh grant proposals. One is to
provide a self-help LGBTQ resource library in rural Minnesota and
the other is for expanding a mental health/substance abuse center
for underserved LGBT. Recipients of grant monies are voted on by
the public. The most votes=getting the grant. Voting starts at
5:00am Central Time on October 1st and runs through the month of
October. You can cast 10 votes per day. Below are links to vote for
both projects online and by text. Please vote daily. Pass this on
to others and encourage all your friends and family to vote. Let's
make this happen for the LGBT community and allies in this area.
Thanks for your help
Expand mental health/substance abuse center for underserved
LGBT:
http://pep.si/cITIfj
Text 103472 to Pepsi (73774)
Provide a self-help LGBTQ resource library in rural
Minnesota:
http://pep.si/b5VHck
Text 103099 to Pepsi (73774)
Element Mental Health Services
1204 7th Street South, Ste. 105
Saint Cloud, MN 56301
320-492-4525
Fax: 320-259-0791
elementmentalhealth@elementmentalhealth.vpweb.com
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Research
Help
Subject: Announcement
from LGBTQ Therapists in New York City
An admired colleague, Darrell Greene, PhD, a psychologist in
private practice in NYC, is doing a study of gay men's views about
relationships. If you are a gay guy in a relationship or have
clients who are, would you consider completing this survey or
telling them about it? SUPERTHANKS!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H8879
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Tidbits
& Newsbits:
Suicide
and Children in Our Schools: As the saying
goes: 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'....Look at
this blatently 'anti-LGBTQ children in the schools' website....As
we continue to hear about children committing suicide, this is
scary, and important for all of us to be aware of:
http://www.parentsactionleague.org/
A pretty decent
article on bisexual men
(from BOP listserv - Bisexual Organizing Project-Twin
Cities)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/06/28/bisexual.male.last.closet/
Researchers
unveil biggest survey on sex in US since 1994; details orgasm gap,
condom usage
DAVID CRARY, Associated Press 10/4/10 Star Tribune
NEW YORK - The male-female orgasm gap. The sex lives of
14-year-olds. An intriguing breakdown of condom usage rates, by age
and ethnicity, with teens emerging as more safe-sex-conscious than
boomers.
That's just a tiny sampling of the data being unveiled Monday in
what the researchers say is the largest, most comprehensive
national survey of Americans' sexual behavior since 1994.
Filling 130 pages of a special issue of the Journal of Sexual
Medicine, the study offers detailed findings on how often Americans
have sex, with whom, and how they respond. In all, 5,865 people,
ranging in age from 14 to 94, participated in the survey.
The lead researchers, from Indiana University's Center for Sexual
Health Promotion, said the study fills a void that has grown since
the last comparable endeavor - the National Health and Social Life
Survey - was published 16 years ago. Major changes since then
include the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the types o! f
sex education available to young people, the advent of same-sex
marriage, and the emergence of the Internet as a tool for social
interaction.
Dr. Dennis Fortenberry, a pediatrics professor who was lead author
of the study's section about teen sex, said the overall findings of
such a huge survey should provide reassurance to Americans who are
curious about how their sex lives compare with others.
"Unless, like al-Qaida, you feel there's something abnormal about
the American people, what these data say is, 'This is normal -
everything in there is normal.'"
The researchers said they were struck by the variety of ways in
which the subjects engaged in sex - 41 different combinations of
sexual acts were tallied, encompassing vaginal and anal
intercourse, oral sex, and partnered masturbation.
Men are more likely to experience orgasm when vaginal intercourse
is involved, while women are more likely to reach orgasm when they
engage in variety ! of acts, including oral sex, said researcher
Debra Herbenick, ! lead aut hor of the section about women's sex
lives.
She noted there was a gap in perceptions - 85 percent of the men
said their latest sexual partner had an orgasm, while only 64
percent of the women reported having an orgasm in their most recent
sexual event.
One-third of women experienced genital pain during their most
recent sex, compared to 5 percent of men, said Herbenick, citing
this as an area warranting further study.
The study, which began taking shape in 2007, was funded by Church
& Dwight Co., the manufacturer of Trojan condoms. Questions
about condom usage figured prominently in the study, but the
researchers - during a teleconference - insisted the integrity of
their findings was not affected by the corporate tie.
Among the findings was a high rate of condom usage among 14- to
17-year-olds. Of the surveyed boys who had sexual intercourse, 79
percent reported using a condom on the most recent occasion,
compared to 25 percent f! or all the men in the survey.
However, the sample for that particular question involved only 57
teens in the 14-to-17 age range. That's far smaller than the
thousands involved in latest federal Youth Risk Behavior Survey
last year which calculated condom use among sexually active high
school students at 61 percent
Fortenberry nonetheless found the new findings encouraging.
"There's been a major shift among young people in the role condoms
have in their sexual lives," he said. "Condoms have become
normative."
Another intriguing finding - rates of condom usage among black and
Hispanic men were significantly higher than for whites. The
researchers said this suggested that HIV-AIDS awareness programs
were now making headway in those communities, which have relatively
high rates of the disease.
The lowest condom usage rates were for men over 50 - and the
researchers said this was worrisome. Although men in that age group
are more likel! y to be married than males in their teens and 20s,
other surve! ys have shown 50s-and-over to be far more open to
multiple sexual partners than in the past, raising the risk for
disease.
Other notable findings:
_While about 7 percent of adult women and 8 percent of men
identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the proportion of individuals
who have had same-gender sex at some point in their lives is
higher. For example, 15 percent of the men aged 50-59 said they had
received oral sex from another man at some point.
_Among adolescent boys, only about 2 percent of the 14-year-olds -
but 40 percent of the 17-year-olds - said they had engaged in
sexual intercourse in the past year.
The survey was conducted from March through May of 2009, with the
assistance of Knowledge Networks, among a nationally representative
sample of adolescents and adults. Once people were selected to
participate, they were interviewed online; participants without
Internet access were provided it for free.
The researchers said the 1994 ! survey was compiled through
in-person interviews, while the new method - collecting data over
the Internet - may help make respondents more comfortable about
discussing sexual behaviors.
Dr. Irwin Goldstein, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sexual
Medicine, noted that the new study came more than 60 years after
Alfred Kinsey - also based at Indiana University - published his
groundbreaking report, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male."
"Just like then, these papers contain material that is avant garde
and often considered off-limits," Goldstein wrote in a forward to
the study. "At a time when we can have nudity on HBO but cannot use
the names of our genitals on the evening news, there remains a need
to continue research on sexual health."
http://www.nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu
Medical
treatment carries possible side effect of limiting
homosexuality
A prenatal pill for congenital adrenal hyperplasia to prevent
ambiguous genitalia may reduce the chance that a female with the
disorder will be gay. Critics call it engineering for sexual
orientation.
By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times August 15, 2010
Each year in the United States, perhaps a few dozen pregnant women
learn they are carrying a fetus at risk for a rare disorder known
as congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The condition causes an
accumulation of male hormones and can, in females, lead to genitals
so masculinized that it can be difficult at birth to determine the
baby's gender.
A hormonal treatment to prevent ambiguous genitalia can now be
offered to women who may be carrying such infants. It's not without
health risks, but to its critics those are of small consequence
compared with this notable side effect: The treatment might reduce
the likelihood that a female with the condition will be homosexual.
Further, it seems to increase the chances that she will have what
are considered more feminine behavioral traits.
That such a treatment would ever be considered, even to prevent
genital abnormalities, has outraged gay and lesbian groups,
troubled some doctors and fueled bioethicists' debate about the
nature of human sexuality.
The treatment is a step toward "engineering in the womb for sexual
orientation," said Alice Dreger, a professor of clinical medical
humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University and an
outspoken opponent of the treatment.
The ability to chemically steer a child's sexual orientation has
become increasingly possible in recent years, with evidence
building that homosexuality has biological roots and with advances
in the treatment of babies in utero. Prenatal treatment for
congenital adrenal hyperplasia is the first to test -
unintentionally or not - that potential.
The hormonal treatment "theoretically can influence postnatal
behavior, not just genital differentiation," said Ken Zucker,
psychologist in chief of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health
in Toronto, who studies gender identity. "Some people refer to
girls with CAH as experiments of nature because you've got this
condition and you can take advantage of studying it."
Complicating the situation is the fact that the daily hormone pill
does nothing to treat or cure the underlying condition, caused in
this case by a defective enzyme in the adrenal gland.
Dreger and critics - which include the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, Advocates for Informed Choice (an organization that works
to protect the rights of people with intersex conditions), and some
pediatric endocrinologists and parents of children with the
condition - say far too little is known about the safety of the
hormone, the steroid dexamethasone, when used prenatally. They say
it should be used sparingly, in closely monitored clinical trials,
or not at all. They're even more concerned that some doctors might
tell parents that a reduced chance of homosexuality is one of the
therapy's benefits.
"Most clinicians speak about this treatment as ambiguous-genitalia
prevention," said Dreger, who co-wrote an editorial about the
treatment in a July publication of the Hastings Center, a bioethics
organization. "Others suggest that you should prevent homosexuality
if you can. But being gay or lesbian is not a disease and should
not be treated as such."
To that end, in September, a consortium of medical groups led by
the Endocrine Society will release updated guidelines on treatment
of congenital adrenal hyperplasia that acknowledge the controversy.
The guidelines are expected to describe prenatal dexamethasone
therapy - first used about 20 years ago, but now with increasing
frequency - as experimental and reiterate that the standard
approach for cases of ambiguous genitalia is to perform corrective
surgery.
But they're not expected to discourage research on the
treatment.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, caused by a defect in an enzyme
called 21-hydroxylase, affects about 1 in 15,000 infants, and
almost all newborns are screened for it. Undetected, the
abnormality can make both male and female infants critically ill
within a few weeks of birth because of an associated salt loss
through the urine. The defective enzyme also causes a deficiency of
the hormone cortisol, which can affect heart function, and an
increase in androgens produced by the adrenal glands.
The excess presence of the male hormone testosterone in the womb
has little effect on a male fetus' genitalia. Even in females, the
anatomical defect may be mild, involving nothing more obvious than
a slightly enlarged clitoris. However, in severe cases, girls are
born with male-like sexual organs although they usually have
ovaries and a uterus.
The treatment of such disorders has long been the subject of
debate. Early surgery to assign a child's gender is controversial,
but prenatal treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia is even
more alarming, said Anne Tamar-Mattis, executive director of
Advocates for Informed Choice. She adds that the complicated
surgery carries risks, including infection and nerve damage, and
that parents may not be adequately counseled beforehand. The group
favors allowing children born with intersex conditions to
participate in decisions about their gender identity, including
delaying a decision until adolescence.
Most couples don't know their offspring are at risk for the
condition until one child is born with it; prenatal dexamethasone
treatment is offered in subsequent pregnancies. The drug is an
anti-inflammatory medication used most often for arthritis.
Prenatal use is considered off-label.
In animal studies, the treatment appears to cause an increased
risk of high blood pressure, plus changes in glucose metabolism,
brain structure and brain function, leading to memory problems, for
example. Long-term studies in humans are lacking.
"There is not a lot of information on its long-term safety," said
Dr. Phyllis Speiser, a pediatric endocrinologist with the Cohen
Children's Medical Center in New York who chaired the Endocrine
Society task force writing the new treatment guidelines. "The
efficacy has been demonstrated in case reports - a fairly sizable
number of cases that used untreated siblings for comparison - but
not in randomized, controlled clinical trials."
Carriers of the gene mutation that causes this form of hyperplasia
have roughly a 12.5% chance of having a daughter with the
condition. The hormone treatment must be started as soon as
possible, before the gender of the child is determined, for it to
have an effect on genital development.
"It would be much less of a controversy if the treatment was just
given to CAH girls," said Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, professor of
clinical psychology at Columbia University Medical Center and a
prominent researcher on disorders of sexual development in
children. But, he says, "to effectively treat one fetus, you have
to treat seven others."
There have been only a few hundred cases of prenatal dexamethasone
treatment in the world. But the emerging data on those cases have
captured researchers' and activists' attention.
Dr. Maria New, a highly regarded pediatric endocrinologist at
Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, is among a handful of
physicians worldwide who have studied the treatment. New does not
offer the treatment in her position at Mount Sinai, but follows
children she treated previously or who have had the treatment
provided by other doctors. She declined to be interviewed for this
report, but on her website and in publications, New says the data
so far show that the treatment is safe and effective in preventing
ambiguous genitalia.
However, New's more recent studies have caused more consternation,
because - as she describes it - treated girls behave in ways that
are considered more traditionally girlish.
In a 2008 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, New and her
colleagues administered a sexual behavior assessment questionnaire
to 143 women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia who were not
treated prenatally. They found that most were heterosexual, but the
rates of homosexual and bisexual women were markedly higher in
women with the condition - especially those with the most severe
conditions - compared with a control group of 24 female relatives
without congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
And, in a paper published earlier this year in the Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences, New and her colleagues reported on
data from 685 pregnancies in which the condition was diagnosed
prenatally, acknowledging the potential effects of the treatment
for reducing traditionally masculine behavior in girls. Prenatally
treated girls were more likely to be shy, they wrote, while
untreated girls were "more aggressive."
Moreover, the authors said, failure to provide prenatal therapy
seems to lead to traditionally masculine gender-related preferences
in childhood play, peer association and career and leisure
choices.
"The majority, no matter how severe, are heterosexual," said
Meyer-Bahlburg, who has collaborated with New on some of the
studies. "But the rate of CAH women attracted to females increases
with their degree of androgen exposure during prenatal life."
Studies have not yet been conducted to examine whether the hormone
treatment would reduce the rate of lesbianism, Meyer-Bahlburg
said.
"I would never recommend treatment in order to take lesbianism
away if that is someone's predisposition," he said. "Any treatment
can be misused. That could happen here. But this is not the focus
of the treatment. The focus is to make surgery
unnecessary."
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Quote of
the Day: "...intersex...
"What is at stake when
it comes to intersex clearly goes deeper than language. Intersex is about
culture, human rights, and quite literally, saving
lives. No matter who you talk to, the
intentions on all sides of the intersex/DSD controversy are good:
to end unnecessary medical treatments or to disallow discrimination
based on physical variation or to prevent "normalization" of people
who, for whatever reason, don't meet the narrow confines of
acceptable male-female and boy-girl. Everyone is just trying to
find the right word, the strongest way to say stop. The challenge
is to make sure no one is hurt along the way."
by
Thea Hillman
from On The Issues Magazine 8/5/09
Thea Hillman is an activist and
author. Her book, "Intersex (for lack of a better word)" won a
Lambda Book Award. For Thea's performance
and appearance schedule, visit www.theahillman.com.
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Welcome
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The Network is a MN based
grass-roots group of queer & allied mental health therapists,
students in mental health related fields, and community
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and that is unique to the particular needs of the LGBTQ communities
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