Gay and Bi Men Are Happier Than Straight Dudes

in: http://www.advocate.com/health/mental-wellness/2013/01/30/gay-and-bi-men-are-happier-straight-dudes

A new study shows that out gay and bisexual men have less depression than their straight peers — at least in Canada.

Gay and bisexual men are happier than straight men — as long as they're out, according to a new University of Montreal study published in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. According to USA Today, the study of 87 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual Canadians — some out, some still in the closet — found that queer folks who had come out to their family and friends "have less anxiety, depression, and burnout" than those who hadn't. Moreover, the study's lead author Robert-Paul Juster, said that, as a group, out gay and bi men "were less likely to be depressed than heterosexual men and had less physiological problems than heterosexual men."

"Our research suggests coming out of the closet has some health benefits," said Juster. "Coming out is no longer a matter of popular debate, but a matter of public health."

The study is a surprise since it comes on the heels of other studies that pointed to high levels of depression in LGBT folks, especially during the coming-out process. But, Juster said, "Something about coming out of the closet might make them more resilient — if you go through a major, stressful event like that you have to develop coping strategies that you might be able to use in the future. We also saw body mass index and inflammation were lower in gay and bisexual men, which fits with the idea that they're taking better care of their bodies than heterosexual men."

Juster said more studies are needed, especially those that focus on the mental health of gay and bisexual women and men who live in states that have approved marriage equality.

"I think in the United States we have a golden opportunity to look at states before and after gay marriage legalization and passage of other policies," Juster told Jason Koebler. "I'd like to do a similar study, using a lot of biological measures, to see if there's something about legalization [of same-sex marriage] that improves mental health."

http://www.advocate.com/health/mental-wellness/2013/01/30/gay-and-bi-men-are-happier-straight-dudes

LGB People Experience Domestic Violence at Same Rate as Heterosexuals

in: http://www.advocate.com/crime/2013/01/25/lgb-people-experience-domestic-violence-same-rate-heterosexuals

Gays lesbians, and bisexuals experience domestic violence and sexual violence over their lifetimes at rates equal to or greater than those of heterosexuals, and this data points up the need for services to this population, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, released today, is the first nationwide report to classify data on this phenomenon by the sexual orientation of the respondents. While it does not whether violence occurs more often in same-sex or opposite sex couples, it “suggests that lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals in this country suffer a heavy toll of sexual violence and stalking committed by an intimate partner,” said CDC director Tom Frieden in a press release. Frieden also commented on how to address the problem: “While intervening and providing services are important, prevention is equally critical.”

Among the findings: Bisexual women report a higher prevalence of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner, at 61.1 %, than either lesbians (43.8%) or straight women (35%). The majority of women, regardless of their sexual orientation, who reported experiencing sexual violence said the perpetrator was male. Of the bisexual women who experienced intimate partner violence, 90% reported having only male perpetrators, while two thirds of lesbians reported having only female perpetrators. The report is based on 2010 data.

Go here for the full report.

http://www.advocate.com/crime/2013/01/25/lgb-people-experience-domestic-violence-same-rate-heterosexuals

Scottish charity launches largest ever LGBT consultation

in: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/11/28/scottish-charity-launches-largest-ever-lgbt-consultation/

 

The Equality Network will also use the results of the consultation to set its priorities for the next few years

The Equality Network has launched a major consultation on the future priorities for LGBT people in Scotland.

The “Time for Change” consultation will be the biggest survey of LGBT people to date with thousands expected to take part.

Its results will be used to inform the Scottish Government and public bodies of the issues that matter to LGBT people, so that they can prioritise their work in tackling prejudice, discrimination and disadvantage.

The Equality Network will also use the results of the Time for Change consultation to set its priorities for the next few years.

Earlier this month, the charity won an award for its equal marriage campaign from Scotland’s Herald newspaper.

The Equality Network are also holding a series of 19 consultation events that are taking place in communities across every region of Scotland from Dumfries to Shetland, the Scottish Borders to the Western Isles.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/11/28/scottish-charity-launches-largest-ever-lgbt-consultation/

Study: Kids Of Lesbian Moms "Doing Very Well"

in: http://www.buzzfeed.com/

Last week, a sociologist wrote that children of moms in same-sex relationships had trouble later in life. But now, another research team says one common critique of lesbian parenting — the lack of male role models — actually doesn't hurt kids.

Source: Dubova  /  via: shutterstock.com

Authors and politicians have long voiced concern that children — especially sons — of lesbian parents might be damaged by the lack of male role models in their lives. So researchers from the 

Authors and politicians have long voiced concern that children — especially sons — of lesbian parents might be damaged by the lack of male role models in their lives. So researchers from the University of Amsterdam and UCLA's Williams Institute decided to investigate whether the absence of a man to look up to actually harmed lesbian couples' kids. They found it actually had very little effect — and their work may call into question recent research that showed children of lesbians struggling later in life.

Study author Henny Bos and her team looked at 78 adolescent children of lesbian parents. They asked the teens if they had a close male role model in their lives. Then, because some psychologists have speculated that boys without men around fail to learn masculine behavior, they asked the kids how much they identified with stereotypically masculine traits (like competitiveness) and stereotypically feminine ones (like being understanding). Finally, they gave both the teenagers and their mothers standard questionnaires designed to measure the teens' psychological adjustment.

They found that having a male role model didn't affect whether girls or boys identified with traits stereotypically assigned to their gender — girls were more likely to identify with feminine traits than boys were, and both genders were actually equally likely to identify with masculine ones, regardless of whether they'd grown up with a man around. Male role models didn't seem to affect psychological adjustment, either — teens without them were no more likely to be anxious, depressed, or angry than teens who did have them.

The study authors note that this matters because the lack of a male role model has been used as a justification for barring lesbian couples from adopting. And lesbian parents have come in for criticism lately in the wake of last week's paper by sociologist Mark Regnerus, which found psychological and social problems among adult children of moms who had same-sex relationships. That paper was held up by some conservatives as an argument against gay marriage — Maggie Gallagher, founder of the National Organization for Marriage, said it showed that "the intact, married biological family, a mom and a dad" was the "gold standard" for raising kids. But if the male-role-model study is accurate, a mom and a mom may be just as good.

Study co-author Nanette Gartrell told BuzzFeed Shift that her team's research took a very different approach than Regerus did. Her team's was, she said, "the only study of its kind" that began at conception and followed families in real time throughout their children's lives, asking about experiences as they happened. This structure, she says, gives her research "an entirely different level of validity" than Regnerus's.

She was hesitant to make a direct comparison between her team's results and his, because her study looked exclusively at lesbian parents who were out before they had children, while Regnerus didn't study sexual orientation per se — his research looked at parents who had ever had a same-sex relationship, regardless of whether they currently or ever identified as gay. What Gartrell could say was that in her team's work over the years, which has been the subject of numerous papers before the most recent one, they'd found "the adolescents are doing very well."

She added that this wasn't only the case for children from intact lesbian families. About half the couples who were together at the beginning of the study have now separated. But, she noted, three quarters of the separated lesbian parents have continued to co-parent, which likely will result in more stability and better outcomes for their kids than if they failed to share parenting duties.

Regnerus himself was doubtful about whether Bos and Gartrell's team had really found anything about children of lesbian parents in general. He told BuzzFeed Shift that their study could help scholars "learn more about these 78 people," but "whether we have learned more about the experience of children from all lesbian parents or households [...] is much less likely." He also doubted whether a "sample of largely well-educated, mostly-white women" could be representative of lesbian parents nationwide — the team's sample was 87% white and about 57% middle-class, with 18% of families identifying as working-class and about 25% identifying as upper or upper-middle.

Gartrell, meanwhile, argues that her team's sample size isn't small for such a long-term study. Data collection began in 1986, before computer technology and the internet made data from large samples easier to gather. Now that such technology is available, she says there are many larger studies in the works — her team looks forward to more data on same-sex parents very soon.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/

Gay teens less likely to be happy, U.S. survey says

in: http://www.twincities.com/

It's not easy growing up gay in America, despite the nation's increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage and other issues of gay equality.

Gay and lesbian teenagers across the United States are less likely to be happy, more likely to report harassment and more inclined to experiment with drugs and alcohol than the nation's straight teens, according to a new nationwide survey of more than 10,000 gay and lesbian young people.

The survey, released Thursday, June 7, by the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group, is described as one of the largest ever to focus on the nation's gay youth. It was conducted online and involved 10,030 participants aged 13 to 17 who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. It also included interviews with about 500 13- to 17-year-olds who composed the poll's "straight" population.

The study paints an often stark picture of the challenges of growing up gay in this country, even as same-sex marriage gains support among many Americans and other legal and cultural barriers to gay equality begin to fall.

The survey showed, for example, that half of all gay and lesbian teens reported being verbally harassed or called names at school, compared with a quarter of non-LGBT kids. About twice as many gay and lesbian respondents as straight teens also said they had been shoved, kicked or otherwise assaulted at their schools, with 17 percent of LGBT teens and 10 percent of straight youths reporting such assaults.

Fewer than half of gay teenagers said they believe their community is accepting of people like them, and 63 percent said they would need to move to another town or part of the country to find acceptance. Just 4 in 10 gay teens reported being happy, compared with nearly 7 in 10 of their straight peers.

And more than twice as many gay (52 percent) as non-gay (22 percent) respondents said they had experimented with drugs or alcohol.

Child welfare advocates praised the study for shedding light on a population that is difficult to reach and in need of help, from government agencies and others.

Linda Spears, vice president of policy for the Child Welfare League of America, said the study bears out "our worst fears about LBGT kids. These kids are often so vulnerable in the way their lives are being led because of the lack of support they have. They need what all young people need -- parents and others who are there for them and nurture their development."

Chad Griffin, the new president of the Human Rights Campaign and an advocate for same-sex marriage, said the survey "is yet another reminder that we still have a lot to do in this country so that young people can grow up healthy."

Griffin, who helped organize the legal fight against Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, said he hopes the report will inform policymakers and serve as a reminder to parents, schools and elected officials about the challenges facing a vulnerable population.

"These are young people," he said. "They worry about which hall they can walk down at school, which table they have to avoid in the lunchroom, what happens at church on Sunday and whether they need to hide their identity from their family."

But the survey also showed that many gay teens find safe havens among their peers, on the Internet and in their schools. Nearly 3 in 4 gay teenagers said they were more honest about themselves online than elsewhere and 67 percent said their schools were "generally accepting" of gay people.

In interviews at Los Angeles' Gay and Lesbian Center, several young people spoke about the survey's findings and their own experiences coming to terms with their LGBT identity.

Jonathan McClain, a 22-year-old from Altadena, said he identified strongly with part of the study showing that many young gays and lesbians feel forced to change their identities almost hour by hour, depending on where they are and who's around. Many LGBT kids are more likely to be "out" at school than they are with their families.

"Sometimes you're out of the closet, sometimes you have to put yourself back in and watch what you say and how you act," said McClain, who volunteers at the center.

McClain, who came out after he graduated from high school, said he had never directly experienced harassment.

That was not the case with others interviewed, including Edwin Chuc, from Los Angeles, who said he had been beaten up in middle school and ended up with broken ribs. Chuc said he had lived on the streets for several years and abused drugs and alcohol before turning his life around.

Now a confident 19-year-old who will attend USC in the fall, Chuc said his parents are much more supportive now than they were when he first came out. "I'm happy and I have people I can turn to," he said.

Logan Woods, 18, of Manhattan Beach, said middle school was tough for him too, but high school, at the private Vistamar School in El Segundo, has been much better, with good friends and a strong gay support group among the students.

"It's getting easier for me to live spontaneously and not feel like I have to plan everything out for fear of being hurt," he said.

The survey was conducted online from April 16 through May 20. It was advertised through social media, as well as through LGBT youth centers across the country. The researchers said the survey method is not unusual for targeting hard-to-reach populations but may not represent a truly random sample.

http://www.twincities.com/

Ser surdo e gay é ser alvo maior do preconceito revela estudo

http://www.athosgls.com.br/noticias_visualiza.php?contcod=31559

Se para um adolescente, ser gay já é motivo para conflito na família e na escola, ser surdo e gay é ser alvo maior do preconceito. A conclusão está na tese do estudante André Gonçalves da Silva, aluno da Pós-Graduação em Educação Especial da FUNESO, em Olinda.

O estudo chamado de "Desejos e afetividades que não querem calar: o grupo LGBT Surdos de Pernambuco" identificou qual o grau de preconceito que sofrem os surdos gays e apontou soluções em políticas públicas, para que, a partir da escola, e da ação dos professores, essas pessoas sejam respeitadas.

"A partir dos dados analisados, observamos que os discursos homofóbicos dão sustentatibilidade para a existência dos discursos surdofóbicos no contexto familiar e escolar, provocando assim a exclusão do surdo" explica André.

A pesquisa identificou também outro tipo de preconceito, aquele que parte de homossexuais contra os surdos gays. "Igualmente, foi observado que a surdez tem sido fator condicionante para existir homofobia por parte de LGBTs ouvintes contra os LGBTs surdos, o que implica numa guetização mais ampliada desses sujeitos" alerta o pesquisador.

O resultado do trabalho será apresentado no dia 5 de julho, às 9 horas, na Funeso, em Olinda.

da Redação do Toda Forma de Amor

http://www.athosgls.com.br/noticias_visualiza.php?contcod=31559

Pesquisa revela que 21% dos jovens gays já tentaram o suicídio e que situação é pior em meios conservadores

http://www.revistaladoa.com.br

O estudo “The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth” (O ambiente Social e tentativas de suicídios na Juventude Lésbica Gay e Bissexual, realizado com 32 mil alunos do ensino secundário no estado de Oregon, nos EUA, entre os anos de 2006 e 2008, revelou que gays e crianças em ambientes mais conservadores tem mais propensão ao suicídio. O estudo foi conduzido pelo pesquisador Mark Hatzenbuehler, psicólogo da Universidade Columbia, e apontou que as áreas politicamente republicanas (mais conservadores) ou com menos apoio às questões LGB tem maiores índices de tentativas de suicídios de adolescentes.

Segundo o estudo, entre os jovens que não sofriam por depressão ou tivessem sofrido opressão violenta, 21,5% dos jovens LGBT tinham tentado o suicídio, enquanto apenas 4% da comunidade geral estudantil teriam tentado se matar. Apenas nas áreas conservadoras, separando os que se consideram Democratas e Republicanos, os números disparam e o risco de suicídio é 20% maior em jovens LGBTs e 9% maior no restante dos jovens da população Republicana. O estudo concluiu que "ambientes que são bons para jovens LGB também são bons para os jovens heterossexuais" e foi publicado hoje no jornal Pediatrics da Academia de Pediatria dos EUA.

http://www.revistaladoa.com.br

UFMG faz estudo sobre homofobia

http://www.inclusive.org.br/

De maneira explícita ou velada, a homofobia está presente nas relações sociais. Pesquisa do Núcleo de Direitos Humanos e Cidadania LGBT (Nuh) da Fafich pretende aprofundar o conhecimento sobre os mecanismos que estão por trás do preconceito contra as não heterossexualidades, por meio de relatos de jovens homossexuais e pela observação da rotina de escolas públicas, microcosmo onde as relações sociais são reproduzidas e institucionalizadas.

O trabalho, coordenado pelo professor Marco Aurélio Prado, do Departamento de Psicologia da Fafich, é dividido em duas etapas e tem previsão de conclusão no primeiro semestre de 2012. A primeira fase, que aborda a relação entre os jovens gays e lésbicas e suas famílias, começou em 2010 e já está concluída. As conclusões dessa etapa estão sistematizadas na dissertação de mestrado de Daniel Arruda Martins, que se baseou em entrevistas qualitativas realizadas com jovens, alguns deles vitimados por agressões após assumirem sua homossexualidade.

O próximo passo é a finalização do estudo das interações efetuadas em âmbito institucional – no caso, as escolas públicas. Segundo Prado, o objetivo é compreender a conexão entre as práticas de preconceito consideradas normais pela sociedade e os atos de violência. “A homofobia deve ser pensada como resultado de um sistema complexo de humilhação, por meio do qual atos heterogêneos de violência estão muito conectados. Uma violência contra um homossexual que aparece na mídia não pode ser separada das formas cotidianas de humilhação”, analisa Marco Prado.

Como exemplos de preconceitos triviais, destaca o professor, estão as piadas que depreciam gays, lésbicas e travestis e a coerção imposta a jovens que se comportam ou gostam de atividades socialmente convencionadas como próprias do sexo oposto. “A maior parte desses preconceitos expressa situações de humilhação cotidiana, como brincadeiras, exemplos de professores em sala de aula e formas de controle social entre os alunos que buscam submeter os indivíduos às normas de gênero”, diz.

Saindo do armário

A revelação da homossexualidade para a família é um processo que pode ter como resposta não apenas a aceitação ou a rejeição do jovem gay. “Sair do armário não é um ato em linha reta. Nesse processo ocorre de tudo: famílias que expulsam filhos e filhas de casa, que tratam a questão como um problema psicológico e até as que lidam de forma carinhosa desde que não se fale muito em relações sexuais e que não se explicitem comportamentos de afeto entre pessoas do mesmo sexo”, afirma.

Com base na análise dos depoimentos dos jovens, o professor Marco Prado afirma que assumir a homossexualidade envolve uma complexa negociação entre o jovem e a família, resultando em acordo tácito ou manifesto associado aos modos de conduta estipulados pela família para que haja a aceitação. “A negociação, às vezes, implica não se assumir, outras assumir e não demonstrar. É algo muito particular de cada família”, destaca.

As narrativas dos garotos sobre suas negociações, de acordo com Marco Aurélio Prado, contribuíram para que os pesquisadores discutissem a importância das políticas de afirmação da homossexualidade. Essas políticas, que pregam a importância de assumir a orientação sexual, são bastante defendidas pelos movimentos LGBT. O estudo, no entanto, indica que elas nem sempre são o melhor caminho. “Temos depoimentos de jovens que saíram do armário e a relação deles com a família piorou a ponto de sofrerem violência cotidiana”, justifica.

Escolas

A observação do fenômeno nas escolas públicas é a próxima etapa. Para isso, foram selecionadas instituições da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte que desenvolvem projetos de combate à homofobia. Porém, o estudo já conta com informações a respeito das interações desenvolvidas no meio, pois outros programas do Núcleo trabalham há algum tempo com esse público.

Por meio dessa experiência prévia e de pesquisas realizadas anteriormente por órgãos governamentais e universidades, já se sabe que o ambiente escolar é bastante discriminatório em relação à diversidade, não só a sexual. Além da violência explícita, existem outros mecanismos, inclusive pedagógicos, que, segundo Prado, segregam gays, lésbicas e travestis. Um exemplo está nas disciplinas de educação sexual que abordam as questões apenas pelo viés heterossexual, sem contemplar as dúvidas comuns à vida dos jovens homossexuais ou daqueles que iniciam seu processo de transexualização.

A discriminação tem relação direta com o aproveitamento escolar. Essa constatação é corroborada pela pesquisa Discriminação e preconceito nas escolas, realizada pela Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas (Fipe), a pedido do Ministério da Educação. “Alunos gays e lésbicas ficam, muitas vezes, menos tempo na escola ou desenvolvem mecanismos de defesa contra sua própria orientação sexual. Em alguns casos, transformam-se nos melhores estudantes, pois precisam ser reconhecidos no ambiente escolar. E aí podem acabar neutralizando qualquer tipo de desejo sexual”, conclui Marco Prado.

http://www.inclusive.org.br/

LGBT: Confidenciam orientação sexual à mãe, mas não ao pai

http://diariodigital.sapo.pt/

É com a mãe, amigos e colegas de trabalho que as pessoas LGBT têm mais facilidade em falar sobre a sua orientação sexual, enquanto o «pai» é visto como tendo pouca abertura, revela um estudo nacional.

Esta é uma das conclusões do relatório «LGBT - Identidades e Discriminação» feito com base nas respostas de 443 gays, 260 lésbicas, 179 mulheres bissexuais, 75 homens bissexuais e 15 «queer» ou pansexuais. No total, responderam 972 pessoas.

Segundo os inquiridos, ainda existe discriminação em Portugal e, por isso, no momento de assumir a sua orientação sexual, a comunidade LGBT escolhe os amigos para o fazer, mesmo quando os «confidentes» são heterossexuais.

http://diariodigital.sapo.pt/