Friday November 6, 2009
Issues surrounding sex education are not only an American thing. In fact, countries around the world struggle with how to teach children and teens about sex.
This week, the British government unveiled a new plan for their schools. As the Lesbian and Gay Foundation reports,
"The government have announced that sex education will become compulsary for all schools, and that lessons will discuss gay issues and relationships and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV. Sex education will begin from the age of five. Primary school children will learn about their bodies and puberty, along with marriages, divorces and civil partnerships. Pupils in secondary education will be taught about contraception, gay and lesbian relationships and HIV."
This is welcome news in a country with the highest rate of teen pregnancy in Western Europe and which has seen a number of high profile hate crimes against gay men in recent months.
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Thursday November 5, 2009
If you have a penis and feel male, or if you have a vagina and feel female, then you might not have given your gender identity a lot of thought. But if you are a teen who doesn't feel like your body matches the gender that you were assigned, then you might be wondering if you are transgender or transsexual.
Transgender is an umbrella term that includes:
- drag kings and drag queens
- cross-dressers
- transvestites
- genderqueers
- transsexuals
Transgender individuals may have the genitals of one sex, but a gender identity usually associated with the other. For example, a person born with a penis who feels female may identify as transgender.
Transsexual individuals generally want to surgically or hormonally alter their bodies to match their identities. Pre-op transsexuals tend to have not had surgery and so have the genitalia and bodies of their birth sex. They will usually still live as the opposite sex. Post-op transsexuals have undergone surgery to change their genitals and / or other parts of their bodies.
Some teens know that they are transgender or transsexual from early childhood. For others, the question, "Am I transgender or transsexual?" is one they struggle with for a long time.
Read more about figuring out if you are trans...
Wednesday November 4, 2009
Yesterday was election day in the US, and much like the sad turn of events last year when Californian's voted against same-sex marriage, this year's voters Maine did the same thing.
As the New York Times says,
"Gay-rights advocates suffered a crushing loss in Maine when voters decided Tuesday to repeal the state's new law allowing gays and lesbians to wed, setting back a movement that had made remarkable progress nationally this year."
This has been an exciting year in many ways, with Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont all legalizing gay marriage. Yet a vote like this is definitely a sign that many people still aren't comfortable with the idea that all people, regardelss of their sexual orientation, should be entitled to the same rights.
Tuesday November 3, 2009
On Friday, President Obama lifted the 22 year HIV travel ban which prevented HIV positive individuals from visiting the United States. The ban was imposed in an era of great fear about HIV and AIDS, and was cited as being needed to prevent the spread of the infection. As the SF Chronicle reports,
"In 1987, the U.S. health officials added HIV/AIDS to the list of communicable diseases that could prevent a person from entering the country. Congress, in 1993, codified the ban into law, which was signed by President Bill Clinton."
But even in 1987, when the ban was imposed, scientists knew that the infections was not spread through casual contact. By 1993 when it was signed into law, this was public knowledge.
For years, AIDS activists have called to lift to the ban, which they felt was discriminatory, and which was seen as perpetuating fear and intolerance of people with HIV / AIDS. So when it was lifted on Friday, this was seen as a very positive step.
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