Trans, Alphabet Democrats and Gay Health
Respectability politics and neglecting Gay men's health needs in the Alphabet Soup.
UPDATE AT END. Canadian group recognizes STDs as a Gay issue and are doing something about it. I provide a link to the article at the end of this post.
A lot of the focus on trans aggressions against Gays has been regarding transmen and specifically has been about transmen’s complaints of Gay men not wanting to have sex with them. However, for most Gay men this isn’t that much of an issue. You can avoid them in most venues.
How LGBTQXYZ politics impacts Gay men isn’t going to be the same as with Lesbians and women. Transmen are largely not going to compete in men’s sports for obvious reasons. I don’t think the ratio of transmen to Gays is as high as transwomen to Lesbians, so the intensity of being pestered is going to be less. Also, men, on average, are taller and larger than women, so the issues of physical intimidation are less likely to be present.
But that doesn’t mean that adding in these extra letters into an initialism (LGBTQXYZ) doesn’t have an impact on Gay men. Gay men’s health is a critical issue for Gay men as it is for any group of people. One of the major developments in medical science is to realize that subgroups in the population might have different medical care needs and that medicine should realize that what might be the medical needs of the majority may not meet the needs of specific subgroups. There has been a major policy change to require that drug testing for FDA approval include a population that is racially representative.
I have joined a local LGBT Democratic Club to have insight into what LGBT Democrats think. One of the things I did was to ask on the Facebook group what was:
ME: What is the advocacy for LGBT health in general and for Gay men’s particular needs by Gay Democratic clubs?
I got a lecturing and antagonistic response from another member which I will call RG for “Respectability Gay.” This was the following exchange; I will put my commentary in parentheses ( ) and boldface critical statements.:
RG: I think a better question would be what health needs to you identity that need to be worked on at a government level.
(I knew what question what I wanted to ask. Already he is lecturing and presuming.)
ME: RG I am research what the Lesbian & Gay Democratic advocacy is. What health needs to [do] they see as needing government support? Hopefully I will not only get rank and file opinions, but links to policy statements by leading LGBT Democratic organizations. I want to know what others think on this question, I am not advocating here.
RG: EHS the big push at the moment is for fully inclusive trans healthcare benefits. Stonewall has consistently made this a point of emphasis in both their endorsement questionnaires and during the screenings themselves. Outside of HIV treatment I’m not sure there are other needs applicable exclusively to gay men. I’d be interested to see any specific issues outside of that which anyone identifies exclusive to gay men though. I’m always down for a good fight to advance healthcare in a positive direction.
(Notice the use of the word “exclusive,” this is a strategic step by RG. A disease might not be exclusive to a group, but its incidence might be much higher for a specific group. Sometimes as a result of occupation. Some genetic diseases tend to be much more prevalent in some groups than another. Location can be a factor where one group is impacted. Diet can be a factor in which one group is more likely to suffer a medical problem. The different activities of different groups can mean there are different medical needs.)
EHS: RG In the scientific periodicals it comes up occasionally that little progress is made on STDs like gonorrhea or syphilis because of relig[i]ous attitudes that people deserve these infections. I think I have read such articles for at least 40 years now. Yet there aren't vaccines for either one.
Also, there was a lag between when it was obvious that Gay men should get HPV vaccination and the time in which it was officially listed as advisable for homosexual men and so covered by health insurance.
Gay men in major cities started to die of meningitis a few years back, and the CDC did move on it, and it took a while before vaccination for that was recommended. Do we have a department or office in the CDC looking out for illnesses that tend to strike Gay men? HPV is one of them and meningitis is another.
Is there support for research on genital herpes? I don't believe there is a vaccine.
It has been a big issue in the scientific press that medical studies include minorities whether in reviewing the pathologies of diseases or in testing of new medicines or phase I,II, and IIl trials. I don't know that there is any discussions to make sure that LGBT are included.
These are a few of the issues.
(This is where RG loses it. I add in paragraph breaks so it is readable.)
RG: EHS a number of those STDs you listed (gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis) are bacterial and vaccines to the best of my understanding are only effective against viruses and as such would do no good against those infections.
(Vaccines are effective against bacteria and several of the vaccines that are given to children and required for public school attendance are for bacteria. Where RG got this idea I have no idea, it is the first time I have ever heard anyone state that. I think though as we review the rest of RG’s response, we will see that this is an assertion born out of panic because I am suggesting that treatment of STD’s is a Gay issue.)
Secondly as far as all STDs go, I think that's a problem that afflicts all of humanity and not just gay men. I do think there is a cultural competency component of it though where doctors will just have men (who are bottoms) and report an exposure to an STD simply pee in a cup or only take a urethral swab (and not an anal one), are missing diagnoses of infections because with the exception of syphilis most bacterial STDs don't travel to other parts of the body (where they'd be detected in tests). So, there is some education for doctors that needs to occur and stigma busting so that gay men feel that they can freely discuss their sexuality and sex roles openly with their doctors.
(Yes, STD’s do affect all of humanity it is true, however, being that Gay men are generally more sexually active with more partners than let’s say, married straight couples, I think that the relative impact to Gay men is much more, and particularly for single Gay men. Here you can see how the word “exclusive” is being used to side track the issue. )
As far as HPV and meningitis goes there are vaccines and everyone, gay/straight, man/woman/non-binary should be encouraged to take them, and we definitely need vaccines for HIV and HSV (they think they're getting close on HIV). This is just my opinion, but it seems like those are issues better addressed by healthcare advocacy orgs given their competency in those fields and a lack of a political angle there and also the fact that none of those are exclusive to gay men.
(Here the word “exclusive” is again used to side track the issue. This is what the CDC has to say about HPV in its webpage, “HPV and Men – Fact Sheet.”
“How common are HPV-related cancers in men?
Although HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, HPV-related cancers are not common in men.
Certain men are more likely to develop HPV-related cancers:
· Men with weak immune systems (including those with HIV) who get infected with HPV are more likely to develop HPV-related health problems.
· Men who receive anal sex are more likely to get anal HPV and develop anal cancer.
(No HPV cancers aren’t exclusively in Gay men, women, a class of individuals who have penises inserted in vaginas are also at higher risk. So no it isn’t exclusive to just Gay men, it is a higher risk for those individuals, primarily two groups, who have penises inserted into them as part of sexual practice, and Gay men run a significantly higher risk. RG is also ignoring the issue I brought up. The issue was that insurance originally was only covering the cost for young women even though I was reading in the media about Gay men were getting HPV both anally and orally. I PAID FULL PRICE FOR MY VACCINATION. Now insurance is covering the full cost for Gay men because the CDC began to recognize that it was an issue for homosexual men. I had brought up the issue of the lag time, in which gay men didn’t have coverage but were exposed to HPV, which RG is ignoring.
As a working engineer at the time, I could afford to easily pay for the treatment. For working class people and people being paid the minimum wage the cost would be a real hardship.
Similarly, I was reading about Gay men dying from meningitis, but I had to pay full price for the vaccination, and it was only later recommended by the CDC for coverage. Again, I didn’t claim that only Gay men got it, but there was a lag in coverage, and that was the issue I brought up.
Insurance policies cover what is recommended by the CDC and you have to have a reasonable need to get the vaccination. If you travel to some places overseas you need to get a variety of vaccinations, but your insurance isn’t going to cover it.
RG is just throwing up a lot of chaff to avoid these real issues of Gay men’s health, which can be life and death. Continuing with RG’s comments.)
One political angle that did just come to mind is the gay blood donation ban though. While they've relaxed it now to where a gay man only has to be celibate for a year in order to donate blood (versus being celibate for almost 40 years previously), that is a huge policy issue that falls squarely in the wheelhouse of elected officials.
Some of your other points are pretty good though and definitely warrant further study.
Omar Jimenez perhaps there is some good material for Federal office questionnaires here, or at least worthy of consideration in those discussions.
(I won’t die or suffer if I can’t give blood, a Gay man with limited funds, could die because he can’t afford a vaccine, and blood donation isn’t an issue of health coverage.)
(I called him out on this)
EHS: RG Vaccines are used to prevent numerous bacterial infections and have been for generations. Some of the common vaccinations require for school attendance are vaccines against bacterial infections. Vaccines are used to prime the immune system to respond to foreign antigens. This includes viruses, bacteria, and multicellur organisms such as some tropical parasites. Current research is looking at vaccines as therapeutics against cancer, not to prevent but to treat.
Lacking a basic understanding of vaccines, you then decide to give me a medical lecture.
As for Meningitis and HPV, current medical coverage isn't there as part of insurance coverage unless it is designated to be a certain risk. For both vaccines it wasn't covered by insurance for homosexual men for some time after it was recognized in the Gay press for a risk. This meant that working class Gay men would face financial hardship in getting the proper vaccinations they need. This is a very real basic Gay issue. Your comments about HPV and meningitis are disconnected from Gay reality.
Different demographics get STDs more than others, and there are sub-demographics among Gay men that suffer from higher incidents of STD. Having vaccines against STD's would be a significant material benefit.
I think the issue here is that you are uncomfortable with the idea of Gay men and STDs and just threw this up making claims like no vaccines for bacteria.
This article provides basic information on vaccines and their history. Nature magazine is one of the two most credible scientific publications on the planet.
(I provided a link to Nature magazines article on vaccines. RG however, continues to deny that Gay men might have specific medical needs to STD’s.)
RG: I'm happy to expand my knowledge, and if I'm wrong in my previous comments I'm happy to acknowledge such.
If there are health insurance plans that aren't covering an individual because they are male or female then that is bull 💩. It's one thing for vaccine coverage to face limits because certain diseases are only present in certain continents, but if it's sexually transmissible that doesn't know any boundaries between sexes so that lack of coverage is a valid concern from a policy standpoint. Also, vaccines should be covered generally by all insurance (that's my stance anyways) regardless of risk profiles.
My comments regarding HPV and Meningitis was that everyone should take the vaccines, if there are insurance policies that deny coverage for gay men then that is a legit policy issue that should be addressed because those should be covered for everyone. Not sure how you interpreted my stance to be on the contrary.
I'm not going to broadcast my personal medical history, but I'm fairly well versed in a number of the topics you've brought up (but I'm always willing to learn more), but you interestingly ignored my remarks on the blood ban.
Also, it would seem that your initial question and response to me were a bit disingenuous as you stated initially that you didn't have any issues top of mind to be addressed, yet you rapidly responded with a laundry list of issues that you see as issues to be addressed. So, let's just be upfront and put the issues on the table, as I mentioned earlier, I'm always down for a good fight that improves healthcare. I'm going to review the info you sent, but in the meantime let's lay our cards on the table instead of trolling for responses with vague posts when you clearly have ideas on your mind.
(Caught out you can see that he re-iterates his position and then starts attacking me. Also, he is misrepresenting the issue. There aren’t insurance policies that deny Gay men anything as Gay men. Insurance coverage is for recognized health needs. Gay people have different health needs. When it was recognized by the CDC that Gay men had medical risks, it was covered, the issue I raised was the delay in reports that Gay men were getting HPV and the CDC recommending the vaccination for Gay men and for meningitis reading in the Gay media that Gay men were dying and the delay in the CDC recommending the vaccination for Gay men.)
*******
I restated a summary of what I had said and again stated that RG was now engaging in personal attacks. The result was more personal attacks.
What was interesting was another response by another individual who stated, “Health issues do not specifically encompass the Mission Statement of XXXX Democrats. With that said there are numerous other established LGBT Health related organizations that we can and do refer people to.” He provided a link to the mission statement of the club which didn’t have health issues.
Where as RG said that the big push of the XXXX Democrats was health care for trans, this other member is saying that health isn’t an issue for XXXX Democrats.
However, as I had pointed out the problem with gonorrhea and syphilis was a government issue of underfunded research, it was a political issue. Also, the CDC is a part of the federal government. The FDA is part of the government. Health coverage and medical research are political issues. What was happening here is that the XXXX Democratic club didn’t want to be bring up STD’s. RG and the other person weren’t just any members of the XXXX Democrats. They have been office holders in that club. I am sure the XXXX Democrats were a big supporter of the Affordable Health Care Act that President Obama got passed.
So, some fundamental basis needs, which can be a matter of life and death for Gays, are declared not to be an issue for the XXXX Democrats.
This shows how LGBTQXYZ neoliberal Democratic respectability politics regard Gay needs, it is lost in the Alphabet Soup in which trans needs are important but Gay needs are to be ignored.
When you throw in all those letters the G becomes a little g and then overlooked.
Also, it should be noted that for all the radical positioning of RG, when it came to STD it was a matter of respectability politics. It is an instance of radical posturing covering a non-radical reality.
Gay men are not very likely to have a problem with transmen demanding sex, but they do have on a regular basis real health issues related to Gay men in general being much more sexually active that affect them very personally. Organizations that show a real lack of concern over Gay men’s health needs regarding STDs but at the same time make it clear that trans health needs are a priority agenda item, will also make it clear how initialism ignores Gay needs.
If we want to shatter the initialism, the LGBTQXYZ, I suggest that these are the type of issues that the Alphabet Soup Democrats will not be able to address and by which the initialism could be shattered and with that shattering the T, Q, I, A, etc. etc. will be thrown out.
CANADIAN GAYS DOING RESEARCH ON STDS.