Queer Undocumented Bodies – A reflection from the Oregon Queer Youth Summit

Posted: May 25, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Portland, Oregon

Oregon Queer Youth Summit

Portland State University

May 12, 2012

 

A Queer Undocumented Reflection

 

Queer, undocumented, Imagewomen, disabled, youth, community-we must always work to not forget that our collective and individual duty is to love and protect each other.  I was invited to speak at the OQYS 2012 on my activism experience as a Queer Undocumented organizer. My instinct was to prepare a speech that would address the urgency and importance of doing intersectional organizing between the LGBTQ and immigrant rights movements but a week prior to the summit the speech transformed, I need it to talk about love. Often times community organizing spaces are immediately about pushing for a political agenda, mobilizing and then moving on to the next issue on the to do list without first providing a space for community to come together to share their narratives and heal. So I decided that I need it to take this opportunity to remind the Queer youth that our social justice work and our lives must always be about self-love, love for someone else, love for our communities and about celebrating our identities.

 

The response from the youth was astounding and a reminder that we cannot demand of them to fight for their rights without sharing critical tools that will allow them to shed the shame and pain they carry in their Queer spirits. We must meet them where they’re at in order to have them begin to transform each other’s lives. The speech need it to be accessible in order for them to identify with my experiences and I need to poke fun at pop culture in order create a clear connection among all of us.  The connection was made, they laughed and listened with their hearts and not just their ears.

 

It was powerful to see and attend workshops that addressed issues about race, undocumented immigration status and disabled identities. Whether such workshops were intentional or not by the planning committee nonetheless provided a space for Queer youth to be transformed. Another powerful tool that was recurrent throughout workshops was the power of story telling. The two workshops I attended highlighted the ways story telling can helps us identify with each other, expose us to different issues and establish spaces of love and trust in our communities. I was glad to see that the other speakers were young and could easily connect with their counterparts in the audience. All of them touched on different issues, advocacy work and how their work has brought positive change to their lives. The youth need to see that they all have the opportunity to collectively bring change into their communities and their lives.

 

I take this with me-an affirmation that above all social justice movements must always be about love. Queer Undocumented/Queer people of color/Queer youth must know everyday that they are fierce and powerful.  The summit provided a critical space for Queer youth to say to be reaffirmed and acknowledged, “I am fierce, I am fierce, I am fierce and it’s our duty to love and to protect each other.” Queer youth lives were transformed.

 

Queer. Undocumented. Unafraid.

Jorge Gutierrez

Male Birth Control that may also kill HIV?

Posted: April 27, 2012 in Uncategorized
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risug_mechanism

risug_mechanism

Male Birth Control that can also kill HIV?

More often than not, the responsibility of preventing pregnancy falls on female-bodied individuals – birth control pills, the patch, IUDs, insertive condoms, etc. But what about guys who want to take responsibility too? Or women for whom a lot of the standard options don’t work?

Enter a new option: for years, researchers in India have been looking at a technique called RISUGTM (reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance). Basically, a doctor injects a gel into the vas deferens, which are the tubes that the sperm flows through on the way to ejaculation. The gel hardens as it coats the walls of the tubes, and tears apart the sperm as they pass by so that they can’t cause pregnancy. It’s a non-surgical procedure that can last for twenty or more years, and is easily reversible by injecting a solution that dissolves the gel. Within a few months of reversal, fertility should return to normal.

But it doesn’t stop there – now researchers are talking about ways to make the gel also prevent transmission of HIV. There are different

Penis Anatomy

Penis Anatomy

ideas about how it would work – like inactivating HIV in sperm or having the gel release drugs that would kill the HIV downstream (because some components of semen don’t pass through the vas deferens – they come from the seminal vesicles, prostate and bulbourethral glands).

Of course, it’s still in trials so we won’t be seeing it on the market any time soon, but if it works this could be huge! Not only would it be another option for preventing pregnancy, but it would also provide a new way for serodiscordant couples to prevent transmission of HIV to the negative partner.

What do you think? Would you try it? Would you trust your partner if they said they’d had it done?

Sources: http://www.newmalecontraception.org/risug.htm

http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877%2805%2900096-4/abstract

Male-Sperm

Male-Sperm

What does the Asian Pacific Islander National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day mean to me?

Posted: April 6, 2012 in Uncategorized
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What does the Asian Pacific Islander National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day mean to me?

I have never heard of the Banyan Tree Project nor National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which falls next month on May 19. Each year A&PI Awareness day is sponsored by Banyan Tree Project. National Asian Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day goal is too highlight the negative stigma, lack of communication and general awareness of HIV/AIDS in the API community. The theme for 2012 is “Saving face can’t make you safe. Talk about HIV–for me, for you, for everyone.” An idea that is very important to highlight in our community.
Growing up as a Queer Chinese Asian American; I have seen the hush, hush of just talking about the queer community. It’s something you don’t acknowledge nor talk about subject. Heck, I didn’t even know that there are community groups out there dedicating themselves to informing and educating the Asian Pacific Islander Queer community. Over the years, I have to learn to embrace myself, my community and all those that are a part of it. It was recently that I became even deeper part of the queer community and making myself part of the local API group, Asian Pacific Islander Pride, which had made me aware locally of the Asian Pacific Islander community and events. This is step one of many steps in my life to make myself a more engaging part of the API community. I’m proud for simply reaching out and help to increase awareness, decrease negative stereotypes and providing information that helps keep people informed.
Just like the other National HIV/AIDS Awareness Days, it is very important to embrace awareness into the ethnic groups of all backgrounds as those are the ones who generally are looked over and forgotten. I am glad that we, the Queer Asian community, are standing up and putting a voice to bring education and awareness to help make HIV/AIDS less of an impact while ending the stigma of being Queer in API community. The motto this year is for you to make our issue, your issue. Go and simply Speak Up! Get yourself involved in an organization, like Asian Pacific Pride, that you feel strongly with. It’s all starts with YOU.
What does A&PI HIV/AIDS Awareness Day mean to you?

The desexualization of bullying – A deeper look at bullying’s sexual undertones

Posted: February 29, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Posted on February 16, 2012

by: Kris Gowen, originally posted on Kris Gowens Blog

 

Kids Bullying

You Can Stop Bullying

I was going to try to come up with a fancier more accessible title, but I can’t right now. But I sure better by May! I’ve been invited to speak at an bullying awareness event in Austin Texas this May. While I jumped at this opportunity to share my work (and support my friend who is organizing the event), I quickly realized that I am no bullying expert. But, for better or for worse, not being a total expert on a topic as not stopped me before…

I am an expert on adolescent sexuality and sexual development. I also have a pretty good handle on youth and technology and how that impacts their development (hence, this blog). So, how to use my strengths in the context of this upcoming event? Tie all of these issues together — sexuality, technology, and bullying. I have found my comfort zone!

What’s odd is that while so much of bullying has a sexual undertone or is blatantly about sex or sexuality or at least gender, most bullying curricula, anti-bullying campaigns, etc., do not acknowledge this important association. Bullying is seen as harassment, teasing, isolation, and assault. But under no circumstances should one put the word “sexual” in front of any of those terms and call it bullying.

Why this separation? Why not discuss sexual harassment while discussing bullying? Where is the conversation about sexual respect and self-worth in curricula that addresses the need to be nice to others? Are (anti) bullying experts afraid to talk about sex? Does it complicate things too much? Does it narrow their message?

Whatever the reason, I think it’s important to accept the fact that a lot of bullying has to do with sexuality. An obvious example is about name-calling due to sexual orientation and/or gender expression (and the “Think Before You Speak” campaign does a good job of calling this out). But what about sexting under pressure? Spreading rumors? Calling someone a ho or slut? These are unfortunately very common ways to bullying another, but where’s the conversation about the sexual components?

I hope to be able to speak more eloquently about this topic in the future. For now, I will continue to explore this rift and see if I can’t begin to bridge the gap between my interests and the important work done to decrease bullying among youth.

 

It’s your turn, what do you think we should do to change this? How has society removed Sexuality from bullying? Is this a bad thing? Comment and share your thoughts and then share this blog with someone you know.

Bully Victim Bystander

Stand Up Against Bullying

 

How Breast Milk Can Transmit HIV and Why We Should Inform Women

Posted: February 15, 2012 in Uncategorized
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As one of the last fluids we think about when we think about HIV, I thought it might be helpful for us to learn a little more about the 4th fluid that transmits HIV. Since blood, semen and vaginal secretions have gotten all the attention, why not take a moment and learn a little more about how breast milk can transmit HIV.

What a brief review of the research shows:

  • Infant feeding is estimated to be responsible for anywhere from 5-20% of mother to child transmission. If a child is born HIV-negative to a positive mother who is not on antiretroviral treatment, the risk associated with prolonged breastfeeding is estimated at 10-20%.
  • HIV RNA is found in breast milk and the risk of transmission is directly related to the viral load in the mother’s milk.  Some mothers may have a specific gene (SDF1 3’A allele) that causes increased viral replication in breast milk and therefore increases transmission risk.
  • Although breastfeeding from an HIV-positive mother poses a risk of HIV transmission to the infant, there is also evidence that it provides better health outcomes for the child than formula feeding (protective against other infectious diseases)
  • The World Health Organization promotes alternative (formula feeding) only when it is  “affordable, feasible, acceptable, sustainable and safe.” When ARVs are widely available and breastfeeding is a social norm, they recommend that HIV-positive mothers breastfeed until 12 months of age.
  • Women who are on antiretroviral treatment while breastfeeding have a lower risk of transmitting HIV to their infant. (about 3.5% in one study in Kenya)
  • Exclusive breastfeeding has been associated with a reduced risk of late HIV transmission as compared to mixed feeding. Mixed feeding practices (breast milk plus other liquids or solids) and prolonged breastfeeding (more than 6 months) are associated with increased risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
  • Exclusive breastfeeding is hard. Barriers include low milk production, lack of control over the feeding situation, and both perceived and enacted stigma.
  • Infants can develop resistance to HIV medications independent their mother’s resistance – that is, the mother is not necessarily passing on a resistant virus, but if the infant becomes infected while breastfeeding and the mother is on ARV, the infant is being exposed to small amounts of the drugs through breast milk and may therefore develop resistance to them.

The more we can inform women about the risks and benefits associated with breastfeeding, as well as things that can reduce the risk, the better able they will be to make the best decision for themselves and their infants.

Some of the articles/abstracts, if you want to read more in-depth:

WHO Guidelines:

A systematic review of a number of publications on HIV and breastfeeding:

How genetics may impact transmission rates:

Drug resistance:

Large Breastfeeding study in Kenya:

Difficulties of exclusive breastfeeding:

Viral load:

If anyone is still reading,

To kill HIV in breast milk, flash-heating breast milk can inactivate HIV without destroying too many of the vitamins or immunoglobulin in the milk that make it beneficial to the baby. The WHO recommends it as an option to reduce vertical HIV transmission in resource-poor regions. Of course, to do this the mother has to express the milk first, then heat it, then feed it via bottle – so it’s kind of a compromise between breastfeeding, which could transmit HIV, and bottle feeding formula, which has other nutritional/gastrointestinal risks.

What do you think? How has this changed how you think about HIV? Has it changed any of your thoughts?

Let’s make (our relationships) better!

Posted: January 20, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Let’s make (our relationships) better!

Every year we all sit around the television, watch the countdown and at the stroke of midnight (if we’re lucky) someone attractive next to us will give us a huge kiss. Apart from Valentine’s Day, I would say this is the day I see the most people smooching at the same time. After this kiss we say aloud what we have all been thinking about for weeks; our new year’s resolution. Each and every year we vow (without consequence) to do something less, more or not at all. These wishes range from being nicer, traveling more, seeing more friends, being a better sibling, losing weight and some of us to being better partners. However adding that extra spark to our relationships can be easier said than done.

So, in line with the holidays and beginning of a New Year, I thought I’d pull together an easy list of some possible action steps you might take to improve your relationships in the coming year. This year let’s all create resolutions for our relationships with the people we love and care about.

Now I know we are all incredibly busy. With the excessive demands on our time it can sometimes be easy to ignore our relationships, but this unconscious devaluation of love can really harm us in the end. And for those couples who have been together for a long time, it’s even easier to settle into comfortable routines and patterns (I call this the relationship slip) at the expense of attending to and nurturing our relationship with our partners. This kind of carelessness can really make your relationship sour and boring, possibly leading to a host of other problems that can erode the foundations we have all worked so hard to keep. So for the rest of this blog, put down your cell phones, log off of Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, My yearbook, Twitter, or any other social media site you may be multitasking with and pay full attention to the next few paragraphs.

Want copious amounts of love in the New Year?

Conscious intention toward putting consistent energy into your relationship is crucial for its long-term success. So why not, as a couple, create your own list of New Year’s Resolutions for your relationship and make sure to keep each other accountable to it? In fact, the actual act of the two of you sitting down and developing a list would be a great first item, something the two of you could creatively do that fosters togetherness and mutual brainstorming on ways to super-charge your connection. The two (or possibly more) of you are creating a vision for your relationship, and the pure act of doing that begins to cement more intimacy between you as you have common goals to pursue and successes to celebrate along the way. This resolution can be simple, but make sure to make it something that you can actually achieve. This doesn’t mean make your goal low, but surely something that you can work towards. Something like:

“in 2012, we as a couple will do the following for the benefit and love of each other,”

Or “this year we will accomplish the following goals together to further solidify our love for each other”

I made a list of 9 simple things that can be on your list, but make sure to also think of your own make them as fun as you can and decorate them when you are done.

1. To listen to each other without interrupting and tell each other when we fear we aren’t heard.

2. To take notice of the “little things” (that can actually be the most important things) we do for each other and acknowledge the effort we put into the relationship.

3. To make more time for each other and restructure our schedules so that we have more quality time and availability to go out on dates and enjoy each other (this could be once a week, every 2 weeks or even for 5 minutes every day).

4. To make love to each other with more passion, intensity, and creativity (safely, of course).

5. To create a scrapbook of memories of our life together that will act as a legacy of our relationship (arts and crafts can be great for building passion. Like Martha Stewart says, “it’s a good thing”).

6. To make sure and “check in” with each other every day to stay centered and focused even when life gets hectic.

7. To surprise each other with simple reminders that we love and cherish each other (a note on the bathroom mirror or a heart written on the snow covering our car, maybe even flowers sent to our schools or jobs).

8. To keep/make more friends who support our relationship and we can go out with.

9.To ensure that we each have both an individual identity and an identity as a couple to bring about more balance/health to our partnership (Having outside interests, hobbies, and passions will help bring more novelty and freshness to joining lives).

And the list can go on and on. Fine-tune these, as well as the ones you’ve come up with so that they are specific, concrete, and measurable. This way, you both know exactly what you have to do to accomplish the goals you’ve set because they’re spelled out with no “wiggle-room” for sabotage, and you’ll ensure that they’re achievable. Prioritize your items and only focus on a few initially so as not to get too overwhelmed. Keep the list in multiple places, near the front door, the bedroom, the bathroom even on your smart phones or post them to each other’s Facebook pages as a reminder of what you agreed to.

Maintain these tasks, and your commitment will soar to new heights! Reward yourselves for jobs well done and from time to time check-in with each other to gauge how you’re doing and if any revisions or additions need to be made. What are your thoughts about healthy relationships. How do you make yours better each day?

-Ernesto Dominguez

The role of “men” in preventing HPV related cervical cancer!

Posted: January 11, 2012 in Uncategorized
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(Photo Credit Gardasil)

This blog was originally posted on CHATpdx.org as a program of CHATpdx For more information check out: Our Facebook Page

In the US, it’s estimated that a majority (75%-80%) of men and women will be infected with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). With about 6 million new cases of genital HPV every year (there are over 30 genital HPV types) and a majority of these (about 74%) of them occurring in 15-24 year olds, the need for effective prevention programs directed to youth is crucial. The new HPV vaccines protect against the two types of HPV that cause a majority of cervical cancer and genital warts cases.  These vaccines, however, are only effective if they are taken BEFORE someone is infected with HPV. HPV often has no signs or symptoms and partners engaging in sex (or any other kind of genital contact) may be transmitting HPV without even knowing they have it. Recently the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended HPV vaccination for girls 11-26 and have stated that Gardasil can also be given to boys ages 9-26. In women HPV can cause serious health problems including genital warts, cervical cancer, vaginal cancer and vulvar cancer. These cancers can cause death or infertility in women. Men on the other hand usually only develop genital warts. While this is a small percentage of men that could develop HPV-related cancer of the anus or penis, it is much less common.

Subsequently, I believe that men have a pretty important role to play in the prevention of HPV. Likelihood of developing cervical cancer is greatly reduced if the vaccine is used. Unfortunately, it is too common for women (particularly women of color) to have barriers to screening services or accessing this vaccine because of the stigma around accessing sexual health services. This reality makes it even more important for men to seek the vaccine and to encourage the women in their lives (particularly the ones they are having sex with) to also receive the vaccine. I have encouraged many of the women in my life to get the vaccine whether or not they have been sexually active or think they are at risk. Men have the same responsibility to help prevent HPV even if they do not suffer the same consequences as women.  As allies, men can play an important role in helping to reduce HPV transmission. It’s time that men stand in solidarity with our friends, sisters and mothers by encouraging them to seek pap smears as part of a well-women’s annual checkup as well as the HPV vaccine.

(Photo Credit http://www.gardasil.com/hpv)

Speaking of mothers, my own mama had such a hard time talking about her own health growing up. I remember her waiting for us to leave for school before she would call our neighbor to talk about a yeast infection she once had. This kind of taboo, to not even want to say the word “Vagina” like it was some sort of dirty word only reinforced my ideas as a kid that we weren’t supposed to talk about our bits and pieces. I was lucky to even get a pack of condoms on my nightstand when she thought I was having sex with a note that said “no seas guey” (don’t be dumb). Growing up in an undocumented Latino family we never dreamed of going to the hospital unless our arm had actually fallen off, yet alone to receive preventative care. Our fear of getting deported was much worse than the fear of cervical cancer. Growing up I’ve had to learn to talk about sex and sexual health in a way that resonates with my mother and with my siblings. At times it can be hard, but for the women in my family, I knew it would be the only way I could convince them to talk to a doctor and get the care they needed. They may roll their eyes or not want to talk about it, but I care about the health of the vaginas in my family, just like all men should care about the vaginas in theirs.

What do you see as the role of men and boys? How can you advocate for the health of women in your life?

-Ernesto

edominguez@cascadeaids.org

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