Homophobia | Jotup

Addressing anti-Black racism is key to improving well-being of Black Canadians

Retrieved on:

수요일, 2월 14, 2024

Anti-Black racism continues to be a major determinant of poor health and social outcomes for Black Canadians.

Key Points:

Anti-Black racism continues to be a major determinant of poor health and social outcomes for Black Canadians.
Addressing this racism within Canadian institutions — like the health-care system, justice system, the child welfare system and education — has far-reaching implications.
Moreover, in the early days of the pandemic, living in a Black community was strongly correlated with a diagnosis of COVID-19.

Contemporary and historical inequities

Black Canadians’ experiences are rooted in contemporary and historical inequities, including Canada’s history of slavery and racial discrimination.
Policy formulations still shape access to material resources and contribute to structural inequities in Canada, evident in the pervasive low incomes of Black Canadians.
While median annual wages generally increase for the Canadian population, Black men’s wages have remained stagnant.

Black youth mental health

Black youth spoke most about racism in our research on their mental health experiences.
Read more:
Black men's mental health concerns are going unnoticed and unaddressed
Income inequality and insufficient financial resources are complicating factors, impeding many young Black men from getting the counselling they need to improve their mental health.
LGBTQIA+ Black youth may face dire situations, experiencing racism within the LGBTQIA+ community and homophobia within the Black community.

Addressing inequities

Partnering with Black communities is a crucial component in effective efforts to mitigate inequities.
Indeed, it is essential that Black community members participate, to capitalize on their strengths and actively engage in improving their well-being.
Through my personal and professional experiences, I’ve had a unique glimpse into the brilliance and strengths of various Black communities, which are often untapped.
Institutions must do more than just provide education and develop anti-racist policies; they must also ensure accountability in addressing racism.

Looking ahead

However, anti-Black racism has consequences for population outcomes for all Canadians, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These moves will improve health and social outcomes for Black Canadians and generate stronger population outcomes in Canada.

Bukola Salami receives funding from Policywise for Children and Families for a project on mental health of Black youth named in this article

Violence prevention can transform Canadian hockey culture — but only if implemented properly

Retrieved on:

화요일, 2월 13, 2024

Violence, Adolescence, Research, News, Racism, Homophobia, Health, School, Hockey, Organization, Futures Without Violence, Hockey Canada, Vacuum, Male, Athlete, Environment, Hazing, Nursing

The recent charges against five members of Canada’s gold medal-winning 2018 world junior hockey team in connection with an alleged sexual assault has thrust Hockey Canada and its issues back into the public eye.

Key Points:

The recent charges against five members of Canada’s gold medal-winning 2018 world junior hockey team in connection with an alleged sexual assault has thrust Hockey Canada and its issues back into the public eye.
A woman sued Hockey Canada in 2022, alleging she had been sexually assaulted in a hotel room by eight Canadian Hockey League players, some of whom were members of the 2018 world junior team.
While coverage of this case continues to raise important questions about the systemic failures within Hockey Canada, many have been left wondering what can be done to prevent gender-based and sexual violence in the future.

Hockey Canada lacks accountability

But, as some critics have already articulated, their plans lack transparency, accountability and foresight in preventing violence.
In November 2023, Hockey Canada said they would not release their third-party report on the alleged 2018 sexual assault to the public.

The spectrum of violence

This Hockey Canada issue is not isolated; there have been many high-profile domestic and sexual violence cases in professional and competitive sports, including claims of hazing, harassment and sexual violence all the way down to the amateur level.
Gender-based violence doesn’t occur in a vacuum; it thrives in environments that facilitate it — particularly the normalization of hazing that is predicated on sexism, racism and homophobia.
Practices like hazing also create an environment where misogyny, homophobia and racism can escalate into tangible forms of violence outside the locker room.

Violence prevention programs

In my experience running gender-based violence prevention programs with young male athletes, many initially balk at violence prevention programs as they are seen as vilifying boys and men.
These findings contradict current models of violence prevention in professional or competitive sport, such as the OHL’s mandatory Onside training, which is a two-hour workshop for new players on sexual violence.

Addressing violence in sport

To meaningfully address violence in sport, gender-based violence programs must be ongoing and dynamic instead of being treated like a mere checkbox.
Investing in violence prevention that is evidence-based and sustainable is the key to ensuring that this violence stops.

Maddie Brockbank works at Interval House of Hamilton in the MentorAction program. Maddie is a Vanier Scholar and received doctoral funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Showing love on Valentine’s Day by embracing disability

Retrieved on:

화요일, 2월 13, 2024

Dark, Taboo, Mental disability, Disability studies, Love, Affection, Intellectual, Disability, Infantilization, Human, Education, Developmental disability, Homophobia, Desire, University, Down syndrome, Clubbing, Research, Face

Valentine’s Day is a time when love and intimacy are celebrated with fervor.

Key Points:

Valentine’s Day is a time when love and intimacy are celebrated with fervor.
In particular, people with disabilities face discrimination and obstacles when seeking love, affection and sexual fulfillment.
Our team has undertaken a comprehensive series of interviews with individuals living with disabilities, delving into their personal journeys with love, romance and sexuality.

Stereotypes about disability and sexuality

Individuals with disabilities frequently confront a multitude of stereotypes that limit their opportunities to form intimate relationships and have sex.
These perceptions can deeply affect their experiences and how society treats the topic of disability and sexuality.
This view unfairly categorizes people with disability as a “danger” to the community, fostering unnecessary fear and discrimination.

Being told to wait

Infantilization often means people with disabilities are told to wait and delay their engagement in any romantic or sexual experiences.
For instance, Randy, a 39-year-old man with a mental disability, told us he was advised not to pursue intimate relationships.
Often, people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disabilities, are told to wait.

Sex education inaccessible and inadequate

In ensuring individuals are informed about their options in terms of sex, sexuality and gender, sex education is often where these conversations begin.
Unfortunately sex education is often delivered in inaccessible and ineffective ways to people with disabilities, particularly those who are 2SLGBTQ+.
Sex education is often delivered in ways that focus on heterosexual and cisgender experiences.

2SLGBTQ+ disabled people being left behind

Individuals with disabilities who are also 2SLGBTQ+ often find themselves facing multiple forms of discrimination, including ableism, homophobia and transphobia.
Yet, our interviews with 2SLGBTQ+ adults with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities reveal not just the barriers these individuals face but also their profound resilience and desire for love.
For instance Tracey, a 19-year-old gender fluid person, said:
“I just wish there were more like spaces where disabled people could also enter because you know, when you also think of like, people who are physically disabled, they can’t go out clubbing.

Disabled activists push back

It’s a fitting moment to reflect on how everyone desires to love and be loved.
The work of disabled activists like Andrew Gurza, host of the podcast Disability after Dark, and Eva Sweeney, creator of Cripping up Sex with Eva, is particularly illuminating.
Their efforts highlight a critical message: The more we talk about it, the less of a taboo topic it becomes.

Alan Santinele Martino receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Reality Bites at 30: why the Gen X classic still stands up today

Retrieved on:

일요일, 2월 11, 2024

“I was really going to be something by the age of 23,” says Lelaina Pierce, played by the radiant Winona Ryder in the 1994 Gen X classic Reality Bites.

Key Points:

“I was really going to be something by the age of 23,” says Lelaina Pierce, played by the radiant Winona Ryder in the 1994 Gen X classic Reality Bites.
Lelaina is a dissatisfied university graduate confronting the realities of life after graduation while making a documentary about her equally disaffected friend group.
Reality Bites continues to resonate with new generations of viewers.

A film for Gen X

Hawke’s brooding intellectual and Ryder’s luminous yet sardonic girl-next-door established personas for the duo that persisted throughout the decade.
Read more:
Nostalgia, VHS and Stranger Things' homage to 80s horror
The themes of the film are surprisingly relevant given the generational differences between audiences of the early 90s and today.
Despite clear generational differences in fashion, lifestyle and music, the response to the film by new audiences tends to be one of resonance and recognition.
Spoiler Alert: Lelaina forgives him for leaving, and their embrace and kiss is one of the final images of the film.

A worthy rewatch

Watching the film as an adult who is closer in age to Lelaina’s parents, the choice is less clear.
Whichever side you end up taking, the film’s rocking soundtrack, charming performances and snarky humour make it a worthy rewatch.
Read more:
Baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z labels: Necessary or nonsense?

Adam Daniel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Lack of access to health care is partly to blame for skyrocketing HIV rates among gay Black men

Retrieved on:

금요일, 2월 9, 2024

But the medical achievements that have made those lives better and created longer life expectancies have not benefited all communities.

Key Points:

But the medical achievements that have made those lives better and created longer life expectancies have not benefited all communities.
In fact, some communities still have higher rates of new cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Black queer men are six times more likely to die as a result of HIV-related complications when compared with queer men of different races.
Finally, data released in 2016 revealed that if the rates then of new HIV cases persisted, an estimated 1 in 2 Black queer men would acquire HIV in their lifetime.

The question of risky behavior

The wide reach of HIV in the Black queer community is not due to members of that community having more sex, or using protection less, or having more partners than queer people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds.
In fact, long-standing studies have shown that when Black queer men have access to appropriate health care, they use condoms more often, and test themselves for HIV more often, than queer men of other races.

According to those studies, Black queer people have a higher risk of contracting HIV than those others because their communities are more tightly knit – despite behaving more safely than others.
As a result of social stigma and discrimination, Black queer men are more likely to have sexual relationships within their own racial group.

A perfect storm of racism and homophobia

But in order to receive PrEP, for instance, one must first locate a provider who is willing to prescribe the medicine.
There are examples of doctors simply refusing to prescribe it out of fear of “increased promisciuty.” This sentiment is often rooted in racism and homophobia.
Though HIV care and PrEP are broadly covered under the Affordable Care Act, that often means only the cost of the prescriptions.

Lowering the risks

My research typically uses interviews of Black queer men to better understand how Black gay men experience and face structural barriers such as access to testing and adequate housing.
Most men I interview are living with HIV and offer insights on their lived experiences and professional expertise with great vulnerability and power.
Another man I interviewed lives in Los Angeles and pointed out that the younger generation has had limited education about the risks of Black gay life.

Deion Scott Hawkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Rethinking masculinity: Teaching men how to love and be loved

Retrieved on:

금요일, 2월 9, 2024

Many masculinity critics speak of the dangers of traditional gender ideologies, rape culture or toxic ways of being male.

Key Points:

Many masculinity critics speak of the dangers of traditional gender ideologies, rape culture or toxic ways of being male.
I live in a world that shows more than enough hatred to Black and Indigenous men.
I want to focus more on how Black and Indigenous men can love and be loved.

Patriarchy, ‘interlocking’ oppressions

Many of the ways of being male that are under scrutiny or that some men are trying to reclaim are connected to patriarchy. The late Black feminist philosopher bell hooks defines patriarchy as:
…"a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence"
…"a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence"

As hooks and other Black feminists have also noted, patriarchy, racism, sexism and homophobia can be interlocking systems of domination.
For these reasons, my work on masculinity also comes out of an anti-racist teaching practice.

Lesser-discussed forms of masculinity

As Cherokee scholar Daniel Heath Justice notes in Why Indigenous Literatures Matters, the stories settlers tell about Indigenous communities often amplify toxic stories of lack and deficit.
Too often, such stories presume the perverse success of colonialism.
Carrying the Burden of Peace: Reimagining Indigenous Masculinities Through Story by white settler scholar Sam McKegney explores “Indigenous literary art for understandings of masculinity that exceed the impoverished inheritance of colonialism.” Likewise, Black feminist scholars like hooks have encouraged men to be better and suggested a central task of feminist criticism ought to be articulating less dominating ways for men to preform their masculinity.

Contempt and politics

While I take the point of writers like Pauline Harmange or Blythe Roberson
that misandry (contempt or dislike) can be politically useful, I fear the language of “hating men” is unproductive — even when meant humourously — and can turn men away from the very feminist work that aims to help them become better lovers, fathers, friends and brothers.
Stories we tell about Black and Indigenous men can create fear of them, and this can serve as a justification for racism.

Love and tender feelings

Love can be a tool of anti-racist and decolonial education, but only if we encourage men (and women and non-binary people) to take the risk of expressing tender feelings for others.
In these books, the characters Michael and French are imperfect men who struggle to show tender emotions.
Through trying to process their feelings within found families, these men are healing themselves.

Speaking of these men in terms of the struggle to love is, in itself, an anti-racist practice. Almost all of the young men I work with struggle to express tender emotions, and seeing these characters struggle helps them see Black and Indigenous men as emotional role models.

Encouraging flourishing

Love cannot come from places of domination or abuse, nor can it be maintained through cultures of power and control.
As analytic philosopher Harry Frankfurt argues in The Reasons of Love, love is an orientation to the beloved, whereby I care about doing thinks that encourage their flourishing as human beings.

Taking responsibility for thinking, loving

In poet Adrienne Rich’s essay “Claiming an Education,” she distinguishes between the passive act of receiving an education and the active act of thinking of education as a responsibility to oneself.
This works best, I have found, when it comes from a loving disposition.

Jamie Paris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Grindr Presents: Who's The Asshole?, A New Sex-Positive Podcast Hosted by Katya

Retrieved on:

수요일, 2월 7, 2024

Love, Emotion, Communication, Asshole, Homophobia, Enema, Humour, Hook-up

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ever wondered, "Am I the asshole?" Well… we've got answers. Today, Grindr launched Who's The Asshole?, a provocative and sex-positive series hosted by beloved drag legend, Katya Zamolodchikova. With a guest lineup of icons and trailblazers, the world's most popular networking app for the LGBTQ+ community is providing an unfiltered and judgment-free space to explore the messy gray areas of lust, love, and everything in between…the cheeks.

Key Points:

Today, Grindr launched Who's The Asshole?, a provocative and sex-positive series hosted by beloved drag legend, Katya Zamolodchikova.
"I love diving deep into the dirty, juicy, filthy tea, so when Grindr said I could be paid to do it?!
There are so many topics people are too embarrassed to discuss, but I have no shame to go there," says Katya.
premieres on February 15, 2024 and can be viewed on YouTube and streamed wherever you get your podcasts.

All of Us Strangers: coming to terms with the grief and trauma of being gay in the 1980s

Retrieved on:

수요일, 2월 7, 2024

The Favourite, Parent, Grief, Claire Foy, History, Noise, Walking, Vita, Human, LGBT, Love, Homophobia, HBO, Favourite, Trauma, Death, Queer, Ambiguity, Movement, Film industry

LGBTQ+ representations in British film-making manage to cross over different styles and genres.

Key Points:

LGBTQ+ representations in British film-making manage to cross over different styles and genres.
However, such wide visibility risks compromising the potential of LGBTQ+ films as a political force of collective dissent against homophobia and transphobia.
Reclaiming LGBT heritage and history – including films such as Vita and Virginia (2018), The Favourite (2018), and Ammonite (2020).
Rather than leading to a politically and aesthetically distinct trend or wave, these films relay queerness in significantly different ways.

Ghosts of the past

Most characters in Haigh’s films yearn for connection and intimacy and drift in and out of relationships.
The film starts with Adam (Andrew Scott) working in his flat, located in a near-empty tower block in London.
As their relationship develops, Adam is preoccupied with the memories of his past.
From a near-empty tower block to a suburban house of ghosts, the unpopulated cityscape in the film feels like a parallel, dream-like universe that we are invited to experience through Adam’s navigation of loss and grief.
As a gay man in his late 40s, carrying the generational trauma of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Adam talks to the ghosts of his “younger” parents about his childhood and his sexuality.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.
Cüneyt Çakırlar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Why Heartstopper is Gen Z’s defining publishing phenomenon

Retrieved on:

화요일, 2월 6, 2024

To every generation a publishing phenomenon is born – and for Generation Z, it’s Heartstopper, which Oseman started writing aged 22 (she’s still just 29).

Key Points:

To every generation a publishing phenomenon is born – and for Generation Z, it’s Heartstopper, which Oseman started writing aged 22 (she’s still just 29).
The rise of Heartstopper reads like a history of the last ten years in publishing tools and platforms.
Hachette Children’s Group picked up world rights for the series, publishing Volume One in 2019.

Heartstopper follows the sweet friends-to-lovers arc of Charlie and Nick, whom we first meet in Year 10 and Year 11.
It depicts the giddying highs and dizzying lows of being young, queer and in love.

Queer joy

Queer joy is defined by Oxfam as a positive feeling we get from encountering signs of progress in gender equality and gender diversity. In the Heartstopper series, the narrative engine runs on themes of love, identity, first times, self-discovery, friendship and allyship.

He mentions past bullying and there are moments of homophobia, but largely Charlie is accepted at school.
Charlie’s friend Elle has transitioned their gender and has been enrolled into the girls’ school across the road.
The shadow side of the themes of love, connection and community includes mental ill-health, body dysmorphia, trauma, family conflict and bullying.
Read more:
Heartstopper depicts queer joy - here's why that can bring about complicated feelings for those in the LGBTIQ community

‘Felt gaps’: the magic of comics

In 1953, in his book Seduction of the Innocent, Frederic Wertham argued comics inhibit literacy, and called them “death on reading”.
Comics and graphic novels are, for some kids at least, the gateway to a passion for books.
Some of the magic of comics occurs in the gutter: the space between panels.

Because comics can show and tell two things at once, they are particularly good at representing the way identities are formed in relation to society and culture.
An examination of Google trends from 2004 to 2023 highlights a steep rise in queries about sexuality, with such searches surging over 1,300%.

Heartstopper Volume 5

By Heartstopper Volume 5, Nick is out to family and friends and Charlie is home and in therapy, but generally well. Charlie and Nick are in an established relationship, thinking about taking things to the next level.

(We’ll have to read Volume 6 to find out if he’s successful!)
Heartstopper Volume 5 focuses a lot on Nick who, as a final-year student, needs to make a decision about university.
The conversations demonstrate nuances of active consent and communication, and stand in stark contrast to Ben’s entitlement and aggression in Volume 1.

Normalising queer love

In Heartstopper, the representations of mental illness, trans identities and queer love are destigmatising and normalising.
Charlie’s queer and quirky friendship group reminds me of the young people who trail in and out of my house on a regular basis.
(My oldest daughter ran the queer club at her school, my middle child is non-binary.)
Oseman uses the comic form to alleviate the intensity, avoiding details about self-harm and restrictive eating, and never showing anything graphic.

For me, though, this is the queer joy of reading Heartstopper.
In its focus on the love and community that surrounds Charlie and Nick, the Heartstopper graphic novels create a space for the reader, who becomes an intimate confidante – another member of Charlie and Nick’s tight-knit friendship group.

Penni Russon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

All of Us Strangers: heartbreaking film speaks to real experiences of gay men in UK and Ireland

Retrieved on:

월요일, 2월 5, 2024

Parent, BeLonG To, Homosexuality, Language, Fear, Noise, Government, Section 28, Child, Love, Crime, Homophobia, Disease, Heart, AIDS, Hope, Crash, Forgiveness, Death, Queer

One evening, Harry (Paul Mescal), a younger man from downstairs, appears at his door.

Key Points:

One evening, Harry (Paul Mescal), a younger man from downstairs, appears at his door.
These crimes don’t belong to the past: in 2022, two gay men in Sligo were murdered by a man they met through a dating app.
It speaks to many of the real and heartbreaking experiences gay men in the UK and Ireland have had to navigate.
It also highlights the progress and more hopeful world that has been carved for younger generations of queer men.

Open to love

There is a spark between them; Adam reaches out to Harry and we see a relationship develop from an initial hook-up to long-lasting companionship and love.
This connection allows Adam to revisit two painful relationships he had left in the past.
Spurred on by a photograph of his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy), he returns to the suburbs where he was born, and meets them again.

Embracing the word ‘queer’

In the film, twentysomething Harry refers to continuing homophobia when he asks Adam if he is queer; it seems a more polite word than gay, he says, recalling children using the word as a slur.
In the 1980s, “gay” was the most positive word used to describe LGBTQ+ people, and “queer” was used by homophobes as a vicious insult.
“Queer-bashing” was the term used by the five youths who killed Declan Flynn in Dublin in 1982: a notorious Irish hate-crime.
But today’s Ireland is also a place where “queer” is no longer a hateful word: it’s used by many LGBT+ people to celebrate their identities.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.
Diarmuid Scully does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.