Why Birth Control Shouldl Not Be Covered by Health Insurance: A Pro-Women’s Rights Take

On Tumblr earlier today, I posted a short piece against health insurance coverage for birth control. Mind you, I was not opposing birth control as such, or the idea of women who can’t afford it, getting birth control paid for. What I was saying, was that birth control is not a health issue, and therefore [...]

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Sign the Petition Against Gay Death Penalty in Uganda

Tomorrow, the Ugandan Parliament will vote on a gay death penalty bill. This is horrible. Gay people are already in danger of the death penalty, but this bill could make it even worse. AVAAZ has created a petition to sign against this bill. The site is not very accessible, so don’t blame me for not [...]

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13-Year-Old Girl Latest Victim of “Corrective” Rape

In South Africa, a 13-year-old girl is the latest victim of “corrective” rape. “Corrective” rape involves the raping of lesbians in order to “cure” them of their sexual orientation. The goveornment condemns this crime, but I wonder whether they will genuinely act upon it. It is obviously at least as serious a crime as other [...]

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It’s Okay to Be Questioning

Questioning is in a sense a sexual orientation, although it may also not be one, since someone who is questioning is, for whatever reason, unsure of what gender(s) they are attracted to, if any. It can also mean being unsure of whether one is asexual or sexual. Being questioning is developmentally typical in early adolescence, [...]

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Ugandan Asylum Seeker Allowed to Stay in UK Awaiting Case Review

According to PinkNews.co.uk, Ugandan asylum seeker B.N. is allowed to stay in the UK to await her case review. Previously, she was denied asylum because a judge ruled she is not a lesbian. This was based on stereotypes about what a lesbian should be like, such as the fact that she did not read gay [...]

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GOP Knows Best Whether You Were Raped

Over at Feministe, there is an excellent post summarizing the anti-reproductive rights proposals made in H.R. 3, the so-called No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Most strikingly, the Republican Party, who obviosuly sponsors this bill, seeks to redefine rape for the purposes of abortion access. Only victims of “forcible” rape will be able to obtain [...]

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Suicide Among LGBT People: Review and Recommendations

There is a long report in the most recent Journal of Homosexuality on suicide, suicidal behavior and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. The report starts by defining the sexual orientation and gender identity minorities described in thsi paper. The authors are aware that gender identity and sexual orientation both run on [...]

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Prospective Study Finds Increased Psychopathology among Persons Sexually Abused as Children

When reading the study I’m going to review here, one would almost say “Oh, duh!”: it is logical and common sense that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) leads to psychiatric disorders. What is new about this study, however, is that it is prospective rather than retrospective. The presence of abuse was ascertained using a forensic medical [...]

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Family Environment Predicts Outcome in Women Physically Abused as Children

I started reading research articles again. In the most recent issue of Child Abuse & Neglect appeared an interesting article on the variables influencing adult outcome for women who experienced childhood physical abuse (CPA). The authors interviewed 290 women living in a community in the northeastern U.S., who had lived for at least ten years [...]

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Intellectually Disabled Man to Visit Sex Worker at Taxpayer Expense

In today’s Daily Mail, there appeared an interesting opinion piece on taxpayer-funded sex for a man with intellectual disabilities. The man apparently needs to visit a prostitute in order to enhance his independence or dignity, as the article words it. He will be traveling to Amsterdam to see the sex worker, because, according to the [...]

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