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Trans* voices are conspicuously absent, and too many uninformed and insensitive lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer persons are doing harm to the trans* community while simultaneously purporting to speak for them. Just because I have experienced one kind of oppression does not mean that I understand all oppression.
Todd Clayton in “The Queer Community Has to Stop Being Transphobic: Realizing My Cisgender Privilege” (via queerdreamerpoetry)

Canada lifts ban on blood donation by gay men, but conditionally

gaywrites:

Canada has lifted a policy that banned men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood, though certain restrictions still apply. 

Like the policy currently in place in the United States, Canada’s policy enforced a lifetime ban on donation by MSM as a way of “protecting” the blood supply from diseases like HIV that are associated with gay sex. Now, MSM will be able to donate as long as they haven’t had sex with another man in the last five years. 

“Recent scientific data and advances in transfusion safety led us to review the exclusion of men who have had sex with another man. This change is scientifically justified and will in no way endanger the high degree of safety of blood products,” Dr. Marc Germain, vice president of medical affairs at non-profit blood management organization Héma-Québec, said in a separate news release.

According to Héma-Québec, there is still the need for an exclusionary period, due to the fact that some groups are “at risk of infections that can be transmitted through transfusion.” The organization went on to say, “The frequency of HIV transmission among men who have had sex with other men (MSM) is still higher today than in the general population.” In 2011, approximately 46.7 percent of people living with HIV in the country were MSM.

This is a step in the right direction — and the U.S. should be taking note — but it’s not enough. The deferral period in Britain and Australia is one year; in South Africa, it’s six months. Hopefully one day we’ll realize that this is a policy rooted in ignorant stereotypes, and we’ll abolish it entirely. 

BAGSLY meeting this week!

This week, we will be talking about how to make your school as safer space at our back-to-school meeting. Speaker (and friend!) Glenda Elliott will give us some advice on this subject. 

Also, it’s our very own Sarah Noone’s birthday this Friday! Everyone come ready to sing for her! ;D

We hope to see you soon!

CALLING ALL BAGSLY PEOPLE

Our new advisers, Stephanie Perry and Michael Hallman, Michael’s husband, Joseph Wilson, and possibly a few “mystery” guests will share their career paths and answer questions related to how their sexual orientation and/or gender identity impacted their career choice, and previous, and current working situations. As always, participants are invited to share their own stories and concerns and garner support from the group.
Thursday, August 2, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Unitarian Church
4300 Hampton Heights Drive
Birmingham, AL 35209

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