Shout Out Health

Say What? Are You a Homophobe-Phobe?

Are you a homophobe-phobe? Are you projecting homophobia onto friends, family, co-workers, or even people on the street that, in fact, doesn't exist?

While actual homophobia is of course all-too-real in the world, "Gay in Theory" by Butler University student (and Sigma Nu fraternity member for two years) Andrew Gelwicks is an eye-opening reminder that it's all-too-easy to project fear, potential rejection and/or judgment onto well-meaning, or even loving, people and situations.

After experiencing a mix of curious glances, dance floor discomfort, random encouragement ("You guys look so cute!" gushed a female wanting a picture), and one awkward tumble into an older fraternity brother while attending his frat's formal (with his male date), Gelwick had mixed feelings about the night, until this moment back at his hotel:

…an older brother in the house walked past, arm-in-arm with his girlfriend. He gave us a quick wink and a hint of a smile, and continued walking. I was surprised -- and that's when I saw how wrong I'd been. All those stares? My friends were probably worried about how skittish I was acting.

Gelwicks then summed up his experience this way:

In many ways, I felt I had betrayed my Sigma Nu brothers. I doubted their compassion when they had been nothing but loyal. After reflecting on this with a friend, I realized I was projecting my homophobia onto others. He declared me a homophobe-phobe. He may just have been right.

This mind-blowing session by author/self-help guru Byron Katie also explores the homophobe-phobe concept, with fascinating -- and spectacular -- results (watch the whole video, you'll be glad you did).

Is it possible you're (even occasionally) a homophobe-phobe, or do you think it's a ridiculous concept? Share your thoughts/experiences in the comments!

TAKE A POLL: Stigma, PrEP and HIV Prevention: Where Do You Stand?

Though the controversy over PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis therapy) and so-called Truvada whores has been simmering for some time, the public announcement by Scott Wiener, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors -- who represents the same Castro-based district once held by the legendary Harvey Milk -- that he's on PrEP has pushed the debate back to center stage.

“A much larger segment of gay men should be taking a close look at PrEP,” said Wiener in a recent interview. “I hope that my being public about my use of PrEP can help people take a second look at it.”

As this kind of high-profile support for PrEP therapy continues to grow, will the pervading stigma over those opting for PrEP start to fade? Wiener hopes so.

“I definitely struggled with the decision about whether to be public about this because people will make a lot of assumptions and speculate,” said Wiener to the New York Times. “But in the end I thought it was very important to be public given the district I represent and the community I represent precisely because we need to remove the stigma from PrEP.”

Now it's your turn. Do you support PrEP as a viable option in HIV prevention? Take our poll and leave your comments!

 

MUST-SEE VIDEO: Coming Out at Midlife: "Today, I Choose to Live."

Talk about empowering, this amazing video speaks to the power of hope, love and acceptance. Enjoy and please share!

'Last year I wanted to die. Today, I choose to live."

YOUR DAILY DOSE: Straight Guy Cries over LGBT Question, Religious Acceptance for LGBT Rises...

Don't have time to find today's hottest health-related (or just plain inspiring) headlines? Here's what making news as we speak (we opt for the upbeat or amusing, when at all possible). After all, you can find all the bad news on CNN, right?)... Enjoy your day!

HORMONE THERAPY: Happy Friday, everyone!

MUST-SEE VIDEO: Straight guy brought to tears over LGBT question ...

MUST READ: Religious acceptance for gay people on the rise...

SAY WHAT? Southern HIV epidemic worsened by failure to expand Medicaid...

FEEL GOOD: Greg Louganis showcases 'Back on Board' documentary...

 

Hate--Or Love--Your Neighbor? Elizabeth Gilbert's MUST-READ Message to LGBT Haters

How's this for empowering? Renowed "Eat, Pray, Love" author Elizabeth Gilbert unleashed a stunning (and totally inspiring) response to those who use religion to demean and hate the LGBT community. You'll want to read the entire Facebook post, but here's the guts of Gilbert's post, in response to a lesbian woman in her 60's whom she met after a taping for a new Oprah (OWN) show in South Carolina.

The tearful woman (a pillar in her church and community) was tired of hiding her true self, and her loving relationship of over 30 years with another woman, but was certain she would lose everthing (and "go to hell") if she came out. An enraged Gilbert had this sizzling response, a brave and very personal warning to bigots and religious bullies:

Then I was hit with a spike of rage: How DARE someone tell this beautiful, kind, loving, grace-filled, faithful, decent, suffering woman that she is going to hell?

I don't even believe in hell, but I believe there's a special place in hell for people who tell other people that they are going to hell.

It enrages me.

Who do we think we are, to condemn our sisters and brothers to burn? For shame, for shame. (And don't anyone dare throw scripture at me here, to defend their condemnation of a suffering fellow human being — I won't take it. I won't buy a word of it.)

The great irony here, of course, is one of the simplest of all spiritual lessons -- love they neighbor as thyself -- is so often lost, or deliberately ignored. We say, you go Elizabeth, for reminding everyone to stand up to religious bullying that completely ignores the most human of all instincts: love.

What do you think of Gilbert's post? Does it help you feel more empowered if/when you face this kind of situation in your life? Leave your comments!

Gay-on-Gay Body-Type Discrimination: Have You Ever Felt It — or Doled It Out?

Is being part of the gay community sometimes as fraught with disapproval as being suddenly thrown into the middle of a Tea Party convention? With so much historic, high-profile good news on gay marriage, it's easy to forget so many LGBT people still feel like outcasts within the gay community.

In his marvelous essay It Gets Better, Unless You're Fat, writer Louis Peitzman sends a sobering reminder of LGBT opression can sometimes be an inside job.

The internalized shame I feel about my weight is largely a credit to society, where all fat people are treated like second-class citizens. But adulthood should be about repairing those wounds and learning to love myself as I am. Instead, I’m surrounded by people who, despite having faced the same oppression I have as gay men, largely refuse to embrace me at my current size. The end result is that I’ve been out for nearly a decade, and I still feel like an outcast within the gay community. I wish I had faith in that getting better any time soon.

Reflecting on this heartfelt essay, the questions echo loud and clear:  Why can't we all seem to get past the weight thing, the six-pack thing, the youth thing, the perfection thing? Or is this merely one person's experience, that in no way reflects on the gay community as a whole? Post your thoughts and take our poll!