Lesbian News

Female to Male Breast Reconstruction

The great challenge in reconstructing a male- appearing chest from a female breast is the management of the overlying breast skin. There is always a “skin excess” when the underlying glandular and fatty breast tissue is surgically removed. One goal in gender reassignment surgery is to manage this skin excess with a minimal amount ofContinue reading “Female to Male Breast Reconstruction”

Transgender Pride

A person I shall call “G.” wrote: Dear Gender Gifted Brothers and Sisters Last thursday I visited a friend of mine who had her surgery two months ago. It was somewhat frustrating trying to communicate with her as she appeared rather depressed, or aggressive, or whatever, I don’t know how to describe that kind ofContinue reading “Transgender Pride”

Transgender Employment and Job Seeking

Transgender people comprise 0.3 % of American adults, or about 700,000 people, according to a 2011 study by the Williams Institute. And their unemployment is 2X the rate of the general population, with athema also 4X more likely to live in poverty (according to the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, (n=6,450.) The challenge then isContinue reading “Transgender Employment and Job Seeking”

A Gay Track Coach Tells His Story

In the spring of 1993, Eric “Gumby” Anderson was scared. He was a closeted gay man behind the “Orange Curtain” – the term commonly used to refer to the politically ultra-conservative Orange County in California. He didn’t know a single other gay man. And, he was also in the homophobic world of high school sports-trackContinue reading “A Gay Track Coach Tells His Story”

My Teenage Son Wants to be a Woman

Beth Thomas always knew her son Adam was different she just couldn’t put her finger on it. At times she grew despondent at his mood swings. Adam was spending more and more time alone in his bedroom and when Beth asked what was wrong he wouldn’t answer properly. “I’d always wondered if Adam was gay,”Continue reading “My Teenage Son Wants to be a Woman”

Gender Benders

Little boys in high heels, jewellery and make-up seem cute at three, less so at school age. And what if your little girl would rather play footie than dress her dolls? Denise Thornton has some sound advice All societies treat boys and girls differently and expect different things from them, so understanding about gender isContinue reading “Gender Benders”

Male on Male Sexual Violence

Male Survivors of Incest or other Sexual Assault It is estimated that 5-10% of reported cases of rape or sexual assault each year involve male victims (Scarce, 1997) . Some rape crisis centers see nearly equal numbers of girls and boys up to age 12. Researchers report one out of six boys will have beenContinue reading “Male on Male Sexual Violence”

What Are Young Gay Men’s HIV Prevention Needs?

Are young gay men at risk? Unfortunately, yes. Accumulating research shows alarmingly high HIV prevalence rates among young gay men and high rates of sexual risk-taking, suggesting that young gay men in their 20’s are forging a “second wave” of the AIDS epidemic. During the 1980s, the median age at HIV infection was older thanContinue reading “What Are Young Gay Men’s HIV Prevention Needs?”

Making Colleges and Universities Safe for Gay & Lesbian Students

The following is a summary from Making Colleges and Universities Safe for Gay and Lesbian Students: Report and Recommendations of the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Warren J. Blumenfeld, Principal Author. (For a free copy of the report, write to: The Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Room 111, State House, Boston,Continue reading “Making Colleges and Universities Safe for Gay & Lesbian Students”

Intersex and Gender Identity

There is a growing tendency to assume that all the varieties of phenotype (apparent physical sex), gender identification and sexual orientation are all merely different shades in one large rainbow. It is becoming increasingly common to hear people lump together transsexual, intersexual, transgender, gay and lesbian in the one sentence with the implication that allContinue reading “Intersex and Gender Identity”