Homophobia

• “We are excited to bring football fans of the FENIX Trophy teams to Lake Garda for a Champions League-like tournament brought to you by Brera,” said Brera Holdings CEO Pierre Galoppi.
• The third v. fourth place final will start at 2.00pm, and the decisive first v. second place final will kick off at 4.30 p.m.
• Along with hotel accommodations, the packages include tickets for all the Final Four matches, a commemorative FENIX ​​Trophy scarf, and admission at the FENIX ​​Trophy Beer & Food Village and to an exclusive Saturday night party.
• Fans can also follow the Final Four live on the FENIX ​​Trophy TV channel.

• If you have been following recent coverage about gender-affirming health care, detransition will not be an unfamiliar topic.
• From mainstream journalists to transgender authors, many have taken an interest in people who underwent a medical gender transition and chose to return to their former identity.

Detransition is not new, but we are seeing new gender-diverse experiences

• Providers of gender-affirming medicine have long been aware of adults who medically transitioned and later returned to live in their former “gender role” or showed signs of regret.
• Dr. Harry Benjamin, the endocrinologist who was among the first to offer gender-affirming medical interventions in the United States, wrote about one such case in his 1966 book, The Transsexual Phenomenon.
• Using strict measurement criteria, they estimated that detransition was rare: around one to two per cent.

Understanding detransition can help us to enrich gender care

We have long known that sexuality can be fluid for some LGBTQ+ people. New research shows that it is not uncommon for trans and gender-diverse young people to report shifts in gender identity over time — dynamically moving between binary trans girls or trans boys, to non-binary, or to cisgender. In some cases, these identity-shift patterns can influence changes in desires for gender-affirming interventions.

• However, when a person’s gender identity or their desire for how they want to express their gender changes after already completing medical or surgical interventions, this may contribute to feelings of decisional regret.
• But because detransition and regret are being instrumentalized in debates about trans people and gender-affirming health care, organizations and care providers serving sexual minorities and gender-diverse communities may feel that offering outward support for detransitioners is politically risky.
• But if organizations and care systems fail to offer formal recognition and support, where can detransitioners turn to for help?

Detransitioners’ voices

• As social scientists who study gender-affirming health care, we understand what motivates these pursuits: a desire to be understood, and to seek validation and justice.
• Detransitioners’ voices, though, may be strategically positioned toward gender-affirming care restrictions, rather than to improve research or to develop comprehensive detransition-related care services.

Identity evolution and detransition are LGBTQ+ experiences

• Some might only detransition temporarily due to lack of support, external pressures and transphobia, and re-affirm a trans identity in the future.
• Regardless, detransition can bring about loss of community supports, stigma, shame and health care avoidance.
• Gender fluidity and detransition deserve further understanding and formal care services, not controversy.

• Kinnon R. MacKinnon receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
• Annie Pullen Sansfaçon receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canada Research Chair Program.

• 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

• 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.