By Vanessa Falcon, Pamela Rentz and Mary Stapp MYTH: Being gay is a “choice” Americans are evenly split on whether sexual orientation is a choice, or is determined by nature, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, with roughly 40 percent of respondents on either side. But, the percentage of people who believe that...
Month: June 2021
Pride offers LGBTQ youth opportunities for community
By Adrian Gibbons and Mary Stapp For teenagers, many of whom are not out, Pride month can mean everything. Whether it is a parade where they can watch from the sidelines or the solidarity expressed in rainbow flags posted around their towns, some LGBTQ teens get quiet comfort in knowing the celebration simply exists. A...
Pride centers this father-daughter relationship
By Vanessa Falcon and Mary Stapp Eden Ungar, now 19 and a student at University of Kentucky, vividly recalls the day she came out to her father, Stuart. She was a freshman in high school and the two were driving to the gym. She told him she’d be going to the upcoming Louisville Pride parade...
New shows moving away from old stereotypes of gay life
By Dillon Lives Ever since the lifestyles of LGBTQIA+ people have become more visible through social media, we have become better represented in movies and shows designed for viewers of all types and ages. This gives young people who are figuring out their sexuality a chance to be seen and heard. But it is still...
Queer youth found creative approaches to self-care during pandemic
By Adrian Gibbons Isolation, whether because of the pandemic, physical or mental health issues, or a combination of those, has affected everyone this year. For LGBTQ youth, already marginalized by society and often lacking support in their own families, it has been especially difficult. A Trevor Project survey conducted at the end of 2020 found...
First rejected, then outed in church, bisexual teen questions Christianity
Editor’s Note: The author of this story needs to remain anonymous for reasons you will read about. She is a rising 11th-grader and lives in Maryland. This article is part of our 2021 Youth Pride issue in partnership with the Urban Health Media Project. I was only in sixth grade when I knew I was...
One non-binary person’s perspective on how to transition thoughtfully and safely
Miami and Baltimore– Urban Health Media Project reporter Vanessa Falcon, a high school student in Miami, interviewed Arin Jayes, 30, of Baltimore, about his gender identity journey and experience transitioning to a non-binary trans man. Jayes, a behavioral health therapist, is also an urban farmer and embroidery artist. Q: How was your transitioning process? Was...
HEALTH LGBTQ+ teens, 20-somethings share pandemic mental health struggles, post-pandemic plans
By Vanessa Falcon and Jayne O’Donnell Specialized to the Washington Blad WASHINGTON, D.C. – People around the world have struggled for more than a year while stuck at home for school and work. But this physical and social isolation has taken a particularly tough toll on LGBTQ+ youth, data and interviews show. That’s because the...
As Grief Sweeps Nation from Violence, COVID-19 Deaths, Survivors ‘Suffering in Silence’
Josephine Chu, Amora Campbell and Madeleine Voth, Urban Health Media Project Ruth Rollins dedicated her life to helping survivors of domestic violence as an advocate in Boston. Yet when her 21-year-old son Warren Daniel Hairston was killed in community violence in the city’s Roxbury neighborhood in 2007, she wasn’t open to accepting help. Rollins found...
Community Work, Gospel Music Helps Grieving Mother Recover from Daughter’s Death
Amora Campbell, Urban Health Media Project Rita Henderson, a devout churchgoer, lost her faith for more than a decade after her only child died of a fatal heart murmur in 2008. “I hated God,” said Henderson. She said she had no reason to believe the God she had devoutly worshiped for her entire life would...