HRC Foundation and Whitman-Walker Health Release Comprehensive Transgender Sexual Health Guide

Today, the HRC Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, and Whitman-Walker Health, a community health center with special expertise in LGBTQ and HIV-related care, released Safer Sex for Trans Bodies, a comprehensive sexual health guide for transgender and gender expansive people and their partners. The guide fills a significant gap in inclusive, publicly-available sexual health resources for transgender and gender expansive people.

“Transgender people are too often denied crucial and relevant guidance around sexual health that everyone needs to live healthy, safe and whole lives” said HRC Communications Director Jay Brown. “Transgender health issues, especially those related to sexual health, are all too often stigmatized or completely ignored. Safer Sex for Trans Bodies provides essential information that will help minimize health risks that can develop because of a lack of knowledge.”

This first-of-its kind resource was drafted by HRC and Whitman-Walker Health in consultation with Casa Ruby, Trans United Fund, and TransLatin@ Coalition. It was made possible with support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with HRC in creating this important resource for the community,” said Josh Riley, Director of Community Commitment at Whitman-Walker Health. “Too often in healthcare settings, if there is a focus on sexual health at all, it is only explored through the lens of pathology or dysfunction. Sexual health for trans bodies is even less recognized, rendered invisible because of ignorance or stigma.  This new guide emphasizes sexual health, wellness, and exploration, in addition to risk reduction, and will be a valuable tool for trans-identified individuals across the spectrum, as well as their healthcare providers and other allies.”

The guide is written by and for members of the transgender community and offers them a long-overdue resource on potentially life-saving and affirming practices, from respectful terminology and definitions to helpful practices for sexual health following transition-related care. It will be available online and at Whitman-Walker Health’s locations in Washington, D.C. A Spanish-language will be released in the coming months. HRC and Whitman-Walker Health will also host a Facebook Live conversation about transgender health on Wednesday, August 23rd at 1 PM Eastern on the HRC Facebook page.

Ruby Corado of Casa Ruby, a bilingual, multicultural organization providing life-saving services and programs to LGBT people in the DC-area, offered her support of the guide. “This publication is critical to support informed decision-making in trans communities that lack access to many resources. Through this guide, providers will have ready access to culturally competent guidance,” Corado said.

Transgender people frequently experience significant barriers to inclusive and competent care.  Last year, the HRC Foundation released a guide for transgender people navigating insurance plans, which often exclude coverage for medically necessary transition-related care. The annual Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), the HRC Foundation’s national benchmarking tool that evaluates health care facilities’ LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices, measures services and treatment of transgender patients.  

To learn more about how HRC’s work on transgender equality, visit www.hrc.org/transgender.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-foundation-and-whitman-walker-health-release-comprehensive-transge?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

24 Tubular Pictures of Ptown's '80s Themed Carnival

www.advocate.com/pride/2016/8/23/24-tubular-pictures-ptowns-80s-themed-carnival

Maisie Williams’ Reaction To ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7 Is Everything

It should come as no surprise that there are perks associated with staring in a hit TV show of epic proportions like Game of Thrones. Sure the stars of HBO’s fantasy drama could get killed off at any moment, but they also get read the scripts for the show’s upcoming season well ahead of the rest of us mere mortals.

Take Maisie Williams for instance. The 19-year-old actress’s reaction to Thrones’ seventh and penultimate season says it all: “Holy BALLS,” she tweeted yesterday.

holy BALLS

— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) August 22, 2016

“Shit gets REAL,” Williams, who is nominated for an Emmy for her role as Arya Stark, tweeted, “I’d start preparing yourselves now.”

“Scratch that,” she continued, “Nothing will prepare you for this.”

With fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series desperate for new material from the author—the next volume, The Winds of Winter, still doesn’t have a release date—Williams’s tweets are a tantalizing tease at where HBO is taking the show.

Game of Thrones killed off its longest surviving queer character—on Pride Sunday no less!—when Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) was blown sky high along with his sister Queen Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and most of the rest of the Kings Landing nobles in the season six finale. But with Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan) now allied with the Mother of Dragons herself there’s bound to be plenty of dragon-kraken shipping going on as the how speeds toward its eighth and final season.

H/T: E! News

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This Week In Leaks: Matt Smith, AKA Doctor Who, Gives An Eyeful

Matt Smith speaking at San Diego Comic-Con. Photo by Gage Skidmore, CC 2.0.

Summer 2016 has had a glut of male celebrities letting it all hang out on the Internet. First there was reality star Alex Bowen. Then came Orlando Bloom, Justin Bieber, followed by more Justin Bieber.

Related: Are These Model River Viiperi’s Long-Awaited Full Frontal Pics?

Now another celeb is joining their ranks: actor Matt Smith, most famous for having played Doctor Who in the BBC series of the same name.

A series of unabashed mirror selfies, some taken beside a woman in black bra and panties, have appeared online and they offer quite the view.

Related: Ass Appeal: Queerty’s 10 Favorite Male Nude Photo Leaks

The front half looks decidedly better than the back, however, as Smith appears to suffer from small butt syndrome on a scale rivaling Hank Hill.

Head over to OMGblog to get an eyeful of the good doctor yourself.

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Seth Meyers Just Went After Trump’s Inner Circle – WATCH

On Monday night, Seth Meyers dug into the staff shake-ups within the Donald Trump campaign and went after Trump’s new campaign CEO, Steve Bannon, and his new adviser and debate prep-er in chief, Roger Ailes.

Said Meyers of Trump’s new team, “I actually think this new Trump inner circle makes perfect sense. Trump is surrounding himself with the very people who created the right-wing media bubble—a bubble built on paranoia, conspiracy theories, and white identity politics which allowed Trump to thrive in the first place.”

PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump’s New Campaign Leaders Have Long History of Anti-LGBT Hate

Talking about former Breitbart News editor Bannon, Meyers pointed out that he has “run headlines, among other things, accusing President Obama of shedding ‘phony fascist tears’ and calling a conservative Trump critic a ‘renegade Jew.’” He added,

“And then there was this classic Breitbart headline: ‘Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy,’ and if anyone should be the judge of who’s unattractive and crazy, it’s pin-up model Steve Bannon. He looks like Jabba the Hutt’s deadbeat son.”

As for Ailes, Meyers quipped,

“Then there’s former Fox News chairman and current Jabba the Hutt Roger Ailes, who was forced out after an alleged pattern of sexual harassment and is reportedly advising Trump,” Meyers continued. “Ailes essentially shaped the modern conservative movement, so it’s no surprise that Trump is now using many of Ailes’s tactics.”

RELATED: Roger Ailes Loves Using the Word ‘Faggot’

Meyers also joked about Trump counsel Michael Cohen who became a viral sensation after denying that Donald Trump was being schlonged by Hillary Clinton with his now infamous line “Says who?”:

“‘Says who’ isn’t just a dumb Trump supporter’s response to a few polls, it’s the right’s reaction to everything—from climate change to unemployment numbers to healthcare. ‘Says who’ is the product of decades of work by Ailes and others to dismiss facts that don’t align with their worldview,” offered Meyers. “And now, with members of the alt-right conservative media advising Trump, they’ve latched on to yet another conspiracy theory: this time questioning Hillary Clinton’s physical health, despite zero evidence and repeated assurances from her doctor that she’s fit to serve as president.”

Watch Meyers take ‘A Closer Look’ at Trump’s new inner circle, below.

The post Seth Meyers Just Went After Trump’s Inner Circle – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Insane Couple Climbs to the Top of the Highest Crane in the World: WATCH

If you’re a fan of videos that make your hands sweat or cause you to double over with vertigo, check this daredevil couple out. Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau scaled the world’s highest construction site in China, Goldin Finance and had someone shoot them atop it with a drone.

Writes Highsnobiety:

In partnership with Travel Ticker, the Russian couple recently set out for Tianjin, China in order to climb the highest construction site in the world. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention that hey did so without harnesses or any type of safety equipment.

Strapped with GoPro cameras, Ivan and Angela in turn scaled to the summit of the Goldin Finance 117 structure, which is over 2,000-feet high, with ease. Also thanks to drone operator Alex DeLarge, they got some incredibly sick footage of the climb.

Watch:

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WikiLeaks Outed Gay Men in Saudi Arabia, Where Homosexuality is Punishable by Death

A new report out Tuesday has found that hacktivist group WikiLeaks has on more than one occasion outed gay men in Saudi Arabia, a country where homosexuality is punishable by death.

WikiLeaks has increasingly shown little discretion when it comes to withholding private details about individuals named in documents it leaks online, even those of individuals who have nothing to do with the organization’s raison d’être: “We open governments.” Rather, it seems that WikiLeaks has no interest in taking the time to redact personal information that, if revealed, could endanger the lives of private citizens who have played no role in the Machiavellian machinations of statecraft it seeks to expose.

In the report, the AP found a staggering amount of “collateral damage to the privacy of hundreds of innocent people, including survivors of sexual abuse, sick children and the mentally ill” in WikiLeaks’ leaked documents. Among a trove of cables from Saudi Arabia, for instance, medical records and other personal information was revealed that effectively outs closeted gay men in that country. As the AP notes, “the site published the name of a Saudi citizen arrested for being gay, an extraordinary move given that homosexuality is punishable by death in the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom.”

RELATED – Straight Journalist Cruises Grindr at the Olympics, Outs Athletes From Anti-Gay Countries

The AP was able to get in touch with that man who said, “[WikiLeaks] published everything: my phone, address, name, details. If the family of my wife saw this … Publishing personal stuff like that could destroy people.” That individual is also in the midst of a custody dispute with a former partner.

PREVIOUSLY – Julian Assange Tells Bill Maher Wikileaks is ‘Working On’ Hacking Trump’s Tax Returns: WATCH

WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange weren’t always as aggressive in their disclosure of personal data. In 2010 Assange said, “We have a harm minimization policy,” adding that “There are legitimate secrets. Your records with your doctor, that’s a legitimate secret.” Apparently, in 2016, medical records are no longer a legitimate secret, even if you’re gay and/or a victim of rape.

It is unclear at this point if WikiLeaks has outed gay individuals in other anti-LGBT countries besides Saudi Arabia.

The post WikiLeaks Outed Gay Men in Saudi Arabia, Where Homosexuality is Punishable by Death appeared first on Towleroad.

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Gulf Coast Diversity Conference

On August 16, Ingalls Shipbuilding hosted the first annual Gulf Coast Diversity Conference. Participants included representatives from Ingalls, Chevron Refinery, Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, Mississippi Power and many others. For its first ever event, Ingalls invited the Human Rights Campaign to participate in this important gathering.

During the day-long meeting, I was honored to present HRC’s the Cost of the Closet and the Rewards of Inclusion. This presentation includes recent data regarding the workplace experiences of LGBTQ people while also offering tools and best practices for creating an inclusive atmosphere for LGBTQ employees.

“We want to make sure that our employees bring their authentic selves to work each day,” remarked one representative present from Chevron.

This was especially important to hear since survey data indicates that despite recent gains in acceptance, more than half of LGBTQ employees nationwide hide who they are at work.

It’s clear from our research that the workplace environment matters.  Creating inclusive work spaces is not only good for LGBTQ employees, but it’s good for employers as productivity is higher among employees who are able to be themselves.  It also helps when recruiting top talent and retaining top talent.

I’m grateful to Ingalls Shipbuilding and their commitment to providing a safe work environment for all of their workers, and I’m grateful to each company present who share that same commitment. 

www.hrc.org/blog/gulf-coast-diversity-conference?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: August 23, 2016

MAT STAVER & NC GOV. PAT MCCRORY PRAISE DANGEROUS DECISION PUTTING 1000s OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AT RISK: Yesterday, a federal judge issued an injunction against guidance provided to school districts by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice regarding the civil rights of transgender students. In his latest harmful remarks, notoriously anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel Founder Mat Staver praised the decision while once again peddling the myth that transgender people are somehow a threat to public safety. NC Governor Pat McCrory also released a statement pronouncing himself “pleased” with the decision. Unsurprisingly Staver and McCrory — who signed into law the state’s discriminatory HB2 that targets transgender people — are aligning themselves with the same judge who also sought to block Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights for legally married same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in United States v. Windsor (2013). The company you keep. More from Towleroad.

NO SURPRISE — MORE HATEFUL RHETORIC OUT OF A HATEFUL CAMPAIGN: Last week, reports emerged that Trump’s new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway had ties to the National Organization for Marriage, while new Trump CEO Steve Bannon has a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, including smearing transgender people. Now The AP reports more troubling rhetoric from rank and file Trump staff: “Donald Trump’s paid campaign staffers have declared on their personal social media that Muslims are unfit to be U.S. citizens, ridiculed Mexican accents, called for Secretary of State John Kerry to be hanged and stated their readiness for a possible civil war, according to a review by The Associated Press of their postings.” More on the ugly rhetoric from Team Trump here.

GO JUNEAU! LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSED: Late last night, the Juneau Assembly voted 8 to 1 to pass a non-discrimination ordinance covering employment, housing, and public accommodations. The measure prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, as well as race, color, age, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin. Juneau joins Anchorage and more than 100 cities nationwide and 19 states with similar protections. HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse said, “All Alaskans, including LGBTQ people, deserve to be able to live their lives and raise their families free from unjust and unfair discrimination. We are incredibly proud to have worked side-by-side with local advocates in Juneau to pass these crucially important non-discrimination protections into law.”  More from HRC.

LESBIAN METHODIST MINISTER FORCED TO RESIGN: After bravely coming out to her congregation earlier this year, openly lesbian Methodist Minister Cynthia Meyer is resigning to avoid a church trial. The Methodist Church officially condemns homosexuality. Read more at The Huffington Post and get faith positions on LGBTQ issues here.

ALMOST HALF OF OUT OLYMPIANS MEDAL AT OLYMPICS: The Washington Blade reports that, of the 53 out Olympians competing in Rio, nearly half took home a medal in their event. More from OutSports.

• Out Olympian Tom Daley got a magical shout out on Twitter when “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling called out a homophobic tweet by a so-called “Christian” group targeting the British diver.

THE FIFTEEN MOST LGBTQ-FRIENDLY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: Just in time for college application season, Campus Pride has published its annual index of the most LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. Cornell, Rutgers, UCLA and Tufts lead the list. See them all here.

• Back to school tips: BuzzFeed polled members of the LGBTQ community about tips for LGBTQ high schoolers (get out your tissues). More here.

READING RAINBOW

Towleroad profiles Ellen Page’s LGBTQ advocacy on and off screen… The Times of Northwest Indiana reports on a new coalition in Indiana devoted to LGBTQ rights and reducing gun violence… Erasing 76 Crimes shares a podcast featuring three musicians fighting for LGBTQ rights in Africa… Houstonia Magazine interviews the first openly transgender candidate to win a primary in Texas… and The Advocate gives a brief LGBTQ history of Saturday Night Live…

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

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