Why Pride Matters More Than Ever

In honor of Pride month, this is part one of a blog series that will address the current social, legal, and medical landscape affecting the LGBTQIA+ community.

June is Pride month, a time to celebrate the vibrancy of our community and to commemorate our struggles and achievements. However, recent socio-political developments have cast a pall over what is usually a time for joyful celebration. At present, the LGBTQ+ community is under threat and faces erasure from biomedical and public health research. This month, our blog posts will focus on the most pressing issues facing the community today and what actions medical writers, public health professionals, and healthcare providers can take to lend their support. In this post, we offer a brief history lesson and a snapshot of the challenges facing LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S. today. 

Although some of the identities currently considered LGBTQ+ were not as historically visible as they are today, LGBTQ+ people have been acknowledged throughout recorded history. Unfortunately, that record includes countless instances of violence, scapegoating, and discrimination. For example, during the Middle Ages, laws against male homosexuality, usually codified as sodomy, were punishable by fines, incarceration, and/or death. Homosexuality was so reviled that charges of homosexual behavior were the key weapon used by King Phillip of France and Pope Clement V to arrest all Templars and burn them at the stake outside of England on Friday, October 13, 1307, an event that incidentally led to the belief that Friday the 13th is a day of bad luck. 

Violence against gay men continued into the 20th century. During the Holocaust, gay men were put into concentration camps and executed alongside the Jewish population. A well-known fact today, the persecution of gay men by the Nazis was largely unmentioned in the historical record until the gay rights movement of the late 20th century drew attention to it by adopting the upside-down pink triangle as an homage to its victims. 

By pathologizing homosexuality, the medical profession has also played a significant historical role in the discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ people. During the 20th century, homosexuality was labeled a mental illness by the field of psychiatry, a label that is still used to justify harmful practices such as conversion therapy. Homosexuality remained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until 1973, when it was finally removed thanks to the advocacy of gay activists and growing pressure within the field of psychiatry itself. 

The emergence of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s drew international attention to the underlying structural hostility facing LGBTQ+ people. The U.S. government initially ignored the epidemic, given license to do so by the rhetoric of U.S. politicians like Ronald Reagan, who publicly referred to gay people as “abominations.” This prevented the allocation of funding and resources for medical research until the disease began to impact the heteronormative population and the government was forced to act. 

During the HIV/AIDs crisis, violence against the LGBTQ+ community skyrocketed. A lack of resources and stigma against LGBTQ+ people sometimes led to the denial of healthcare and hospice services for those suffering from AIDS. The number of people who died from AIDS within a short span of time devastated LGBTQ+ communities, killing upwards of 60% of resident gay men in some cities. Many people with HIV/AIDS lost their jobs, homes, and were ostracized by their families and society at large.

Although much progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, the social and psychological scars remain. And today, we are moving backwards. Funding for research into HIV/AIDS, along with other services utilized by the LGBTQ+ community has been slashed, leading to countless deaths not only in the U.S. but around the world. Violence against LGBTQ+ people is also on the rise. Although we are beyond the days of denying AIDS patients hospice care, transgender people are facing ever more difficulty accessing the care they need. The LGBTQ+ community still faces issues of stigma, hostility, and even violence in healthcare settings. A survey from the Center for American Progress found that among LGBQ individuals who received health care services in the past 12 months,

• 8% had been turned away by a provider due to their sexual orientation 

• 6% were refused care that was specific to their needs as an LGBTQ individual 

• 7% reported that a care provider refused to recognize their family members (same sex partners or children of same-sex partnerships) 

• 9% were verbally abused by a health care provider 

• 7% experienced unwanted physical contact, up to and including sexual assault, when seeking health care

Among people identifying as transgender, the statistics are even more alarming:

• 29% had been turned away by a provider 

• 12% were refused health care related to their gender transition 

• 23% reported being intentionally misgendered or that a provider refused to use their preferred name 

• 21% experienced verbal abuse 

• 29% experienced unwanted physical contact, up to and including sexual assault, when seeking health care

  
  

In our next post, we will be discussing ways in which those who work in or adjacent to healthcare settings can serve as allies to the LGBTQ+ community and help to turn the tide against these worrying developments.