During my surgical training, whenever the conversation turned to relationships, one of my colleagues would always joke about his inability to get a date, then abruptly change the subject. I thought he might be gay but never asked him outright, because it didn’t seem important.

But one morning, while we working at the nurses’ station with several of the other doctors-in-training, I realized it was important, because at the hospital, he really couldn’t be himself.

That morning, one of the senior surgeons stormed over. He had found one of his patients feeling slightly short of breath, no doubt because of an insufficient dose of diuretic overnight.

“Which of you idiots,” he growled at us, “gave my patient a homosexual dose of diuretic?”

It took me a moment to understand what the surgeon was trying to say. But when I finally did, I couldn’t help but glance at my colleague. He stood mute, his face ghost white.

Later that day, the group of us would rant against the surgeon and even make fun of him. But none of us, including that colleague and me, ever confronted him directly or reported the egregious remark. We were too scared. Doing so, we felt, would have been tantamount to saying we were gay or lesbian ourselves. And it wasn’t hard to realize that in an environment where senior doctors felt free to equate homosexuality with incompetence, such an admission would have clearly been a career-ender.  Read More

As nearly 1,000 delegates from across the world gather in Tampa, Fla., for the United Methodist Church’s General Conference, gay and lesbian activists have printed pamphlets promoting their cause in five languages, including Portuguese and Swahili.

The UMC’s global reach, stretching from the Philippines to Philadelphia, compels the multilingual lobbying. Nearly 40 percent of the delegates, who meet through May 4, live outside the United States, according to church leaders.

“We see it as a challenge to deal with the cultural differences,” said Bishop Rosemarie Wenner of Germany, who will be installed in Tampa as president of the UMC’s Council of Bishops. “But we also see it as a gift.”

Convened every four years, General Conference legislates decisions on everything from pensions to prayer books. But few debates garner as much attention and acrimony as the role of gays and lesbians in the UMC.  Read More

We’re a week into National Masturbation Month, and I hope you’ve all be celebrating hard. Surprisingly, most people don’t even know this exists. We of course have to do our part to spread the word! So why should you masturbate? Here’s a few reasons:

• Because masturbation is immensely pleasurable, invigorating, rejuvenating and fun.
• Because sexual pleasure is each person’s birthright.
• Because masturbation is the ultimate safe sex.
• Because masturbation is a joyous expression of self love.
• Because masturbation offers numerous health benefits including menstrual cramp relief, stress reduction, endorphin release, stronger pelvic muscles, reduction of prostate gland infection for men and resistance to yeast infections for women.
• Because masturbation is an excellent cardiovascular workout.
• Because each person is their own best lover.
• Because masturbation with a partner can be educational and hot.
• Because masturbation increases sexual awareness.

National Masturbation Month began in 1995, in a very political fashion. U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was forced to resign from her position after she answered an audience question about masturbation being a potential way to delay early sexual activity at the World AIDS Day in 1994.

She was quoted saying “I think it is something that is part of human sexuality and a part of something that perhaps should be taught.”

The goal for National Masturbation Month is to get people talking about masturbation. With more people talking about masturbation, the hope is to decrease the shame and stigma attached to masturbation. There is also a need to provide people with advice and reassurance.

So give yourself some relaxation time, buy a new toy, explore masturbation with a partner, and become aware of what you like and want from future partners.

A US poll has found that 47 percent of people are in favour of allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, with 43 percent opposed, adding to a growing body of evidence that the country is increasingly moving towards the direction of equality.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (PRC), which conducted the polling, tested three contentious issues, gun rights, equal marriage, and abortion, ahead of the presidential campaigns, and compared the results to those conducted by the same organisation in 2004 and 2008.

While in 2004, the support for equal marriage stood at 31% and the opposition at 60%, in 2008, the division stood at 39% in favour and 51% opposed. Now, it stands at 47% in support and 43% opposed, marking the first time an admittedly slim majority favoured what the survey terms as ‘gay marriage.’  Read More

Though it’s pushing 45 itself, the Advocate. is toasting the youngin’s with its list of Forty under 40, young LGBT pioneers involved in activism, the arts, science, politics, the environment, education and other arenas.

Some of the names on the list are familiar—like 25-year-old performer Mike Munich (left), who we’ve lusted after in Andrew Christian videos and Gaga performances; Liz Feldman, 34-year-old writer for TV’s 2 Broke Girls; and Jazz, the 11-year-old co-founder of TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation and the subject of the documentary I am Jazz.  But many are just young people who are working hard to effect change in their own communities.  Read More

An employer who discriminates against an employee or applicant on the basis of the person’s gender identity is violating the prohibition on sex discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to an opinion issued on April 20 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The opinion, experts say, could dramatically alter the legal landscape for transgender workers across the nation.

The opinion came in a decision delivered on Monday, April 23, to lawyers for Mia Macy, a transgender woman who claims she was denied employment with the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after the agency learned of her transition. It also comes on the heels of a growing number of federal appellate and trial courts deciding that gender-identity discrimination constitutes sex discrimination, whether based on Title VII or the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws.

The EEOC decision, issued without objection by the five-member, bipartisan commission, will apply to all EEOC enforcement and litigation activities at the commission and in its 53 field offices throughout the country. It also will be binding on all federal agencies and departments.

In the decision, the EEOC states, ”[T]he Commission hereby clarifies that claims of discrimination based on transgender status, also referred to as claims of discrimination based on gender identity, are cognizable under Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition ….”  Read More

A new study by scientists at Stanford University suggests gay men who have five or more sex partners a year could benefit from taking a daily pill to ward off HIV.

The study, cost-benefit analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at the costs involved with prescribing Truvada (tenofovir-emtricitabine) to men who had sex with enough men to put them in a higher risk category for HIV.

In a 2010 trial, Truvada was shown to prevent HIV infections in almost 75% of men who have sex with men (MSM) who took it regularly. Though right now Truvada is only available as a treatment for people with HIV, its maker, made by Gilead Sciences Inc, is trying to get approval to market it as preventative care.  Read More