Breaking News Events

[Nat]

Jaycee Dugard sues U.S. over captor's parole supervision

Reporting from San Francisco— Jaycee Lee Dugard sued the U.S. government Thursday, alleging that slipshod federal supervision of convicted rapist Phillip Garrido allowed him to remain free, snatch Dugard while she walked to a school bus stop and hold her captive for 18 years.

So lacking was the government's oversight, according to the complaint, that its "gross neglect borders on virtual complicity" with Garrido, who pleaded guilty in April to charges that he kidnapped and raped Dugard. He was sentenced to 431 years to life in prison.

"Had federal parole authorities demonstrated a modicum of vigilance — indeed, had they simply performed their duties and obligations as required by federal law and internal policies," the complaint said, "Jaycee and her daughters would not have been forced to endure a virtual lifetime of physical and mental abuse from a detonated 'time bomb.'"

Dugard attorney Dale Kinsella said in a written statement that federal parole agents "failed on numerous occasions" from December 1988 to March 1999 to properly monitor Garrido, a convicted sex offender, and that "the years of abuse experienced by Ms. Dugard are a direct result of the U.S. Parole Commission's colossal blunders."

Charles Miller, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said that the government would not comment. "Once our attorneys have had a chance to review the complaint, we will make a determination at that time how we will respond in court," Miller said.

Dugard was 11 when Garrido and his wife, Nancy, shocked her with a stun gun as she walked along her South Lake Tahoe street, dragged her into their car and drove her to Antioch. She was held in a warren of tents and sheds and was raped hundreds of times. She gave birth to two daughters.

Garrido was the father; Nancy, who also pleaded guilty to kidnapping and rape, and was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison, was the midwife.

According to the lawsuit, filed on behalf of Dugard and her teenage daughters in federal court in San Francisco, Garrido "should have been in federal prison in 1991," when he kidnapped Dugard, who is now 31.

Garrido had been convicted in 1977 on state and federal charges of kidnapping and raping a woman and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. He served less than 11. While on parole, the complaint contends, he repeatedly violated the conditions, testing positive multiple times for drug and alcohol use.

In addition, federal authorities ignored repeated reports of sexual misconduct by Garrido, went months without seeing him at all and "failed to make a single visit to Garrido's home during at least three of the 10 years he was under federal parole supervision." They only visited his home a dozen times in a decade, the suit said. And they never found Jaycee, who was captive in the backyard.

The federal suit asks for unspecified damages.

In 1999, California authorities became responsible for supervising Garrido. A year ago, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a $20-million state settlement for Dugard and her daughters.

In a written statement, family spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer said that U.S. officials had "summarily rejected" two requests by Dugard for private mediation and that "100% of whatever money she recovers" will be donated to her private foundation.

The JAYC Foundation provides support and services "for the timely treatment of families recovering from abduction and the aftermath of traumatic experiences," the statement said.

[AtLast]

Obama waives No Child Left Behind rules
States can opt out, returning accountability to local jurisdictions
By Sam Dillon, New York Times

With his declaration Friday that he would waive the most contentious provisions of a federal education law, President Barack Obama effectively rerouted the nation's education history after a turbulent decade of federal influence.

Obama invited states to reclaim the power to design their own school accountability and improvement systems, upending the centerpiece of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, a requirement that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

"This does not mean that states will be able to lower their standards or escape accountability," the president said. "If states want more flexibility, they're going to have to set higher standards, more honest standards that prove they're serious about meeting them."

But experts said it was a measure of how profoundly the law had reshaped America's public school culture that even in states that accept the administration's offer to pursue a new agenda, the law's legacy will live on in classrooms. Educators' work will continue to emphasize its major themes, like narrowing student achievement gaps, while educators' performance will be measured by standardized tests.

In a White House speech, Obama said states that adopted new higher standards, pledged to overhaul their lowest-performing schools and revamped their teacher evaluation systems should apply for waivers of 10 central provisions of the No Child law, including its 2014 proficiency deadline.

The administration was forced to act, Obama said, because partisan gridlock kept Congress from updating the law.

"Given that Congress cannot act, I am acting," Obama said. "Starting today, we'll be giving states more flexibility."

But while the law itself clearly empowers Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to waive its provisions, the administration's decision to make the waivers conditional on states' pledges to pursue Obama's broad school improvement agenda has angered Republicans gearing up for the 2012 elections.

On Friday congressional leaders immediately began characterizing the waivers as a new administration power grab, in line with their portrayal of the health care overhaul, financial sector regulation and other initiatives by the administration

''In my judgment, he is exercising an authority and power he doesn't have," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House education committee. "We all know the law is broken and needs to be changed. But this is part and parcel with the whole picture with this administration: They cannot get their agenda through Congress, so they're doing it with executive orders and rewriting rules. This is executive overreach."

Obama made his statements to a bipartisan audience that included Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, a Republican; Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, an independent, and 24 state superintendents of education.

"I look forward to the federal government narrowing its role in education and allowing Tennessee the flexibility to abide by its own rigorous standards," Haslam said afterward.

"I believe this will be a transformative movement in American public education," said Christopher Cerf, New Jersey's education commissioner under Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, after the speech.

The No Child law that President George W. Bush signed in 2002 was a bipartisan rewrite of the basic federal law on public schools, first passed in 1965 to help the nation's neediest students.

The 2002 law required all schools to administer reading and math tests every year, and to increase the proportion of students passing them until reaching 100 percent in 2014.

Schools that failed to keep pace were to be labeled as failing, and eventually their principals fired and staffs dismantled. That system for holding schools accountable for test scores has encouraged states to lower standards, teachers to focus on test preparation, and math and reading to crowd out history, art and foreign languages.

Obama's blueprint for rewriting the law, which Congress has never acted on, urged lawmakers to adopt an approach that would encourage states to raise standards, focus interventions only on the worst failing schools and use test scores and other measures to evaluate teachers' effectiveness.

In its current proposal, the administration requires states to adopt those elements of its blueprint in exchange for relief from the No Child law.

Duncan, speaking after Obama's speech, said the waivers could bring significant change to states that apply.

"For parents, it means their schools won't be labeled failures," Duncan said.

[DapperButch]

Hey, AtLast, I just posted this on the education issue thread, hoping for some discussion from teachers.

It looks like part of the article did not copy/paste on your post, so here is the full story for folks to read:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/ed...4educ.html?hpw

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Obama waives No Child Left Behind rules
States can opt out, returning accountability to local jurisdictions
By Sam Dillon, New York Times

With his declaration Friday that he would waive the most contentious provisions of a federal education law, President Barack Obama effectively rerouted the nation's education history after a turbulent decade of federal influence.

Obama invited states to reclaim the power to design their own school accountability and improvement systems, upending the centerpiece of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, a requirement that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

"This does not mean that states will be able to lower their standards or escape accountability," the president said. "If states want more flexibility, they're going to have to set higher standards, more honest standards that prove they're serious about meeting them."

But experts said it was a measure of how profoundly the law had reshaped America's public school culture that even in states that accept the administration's offer to pursue a new agenda, the law's legacy will live on in classrooms. Educators' work will continue to emphasize its major themes, like narrowing student achievement gaps, while educators' performance will be measured by standardized tests.

In a White House speech, Obama said states that adopted new higher standards, pledged to overhaul their lowest-performing schools and revamped their teacher evaluation systems should apply for waivers of 10 central provisions of the No Child law, including its 2014 proficiency deadline.

The administration was forced to act, Obama said, because partisan gridlock kept Congress from updating the law.

"Given that Congress cannot act, I am acting," Obama said. "Starting today, we'll be giving states more flexibility."

But while the law itself clearly empowers Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to waive its provisions, the administration's decision to make the waivers conditional on states' pledges to pursue Obama's broad school improvement agenda has angered Republicans gearing up for the 2012 elections.

On Friday congressional leaders immediately began characterizing the waivers as a new administration power grab, in line with their portrayal of the health care overhaul, financial sector regulation and other initiatives by the administration

''In my judgment, he is exercising an authority and power he doesn't have," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House education committee. "We all know the law is broken and needs to be changed. But this is part and parcel with the whole picture with this administration: They cannot get their agenda through Congress, so they're doing it with executive orders and rewriting rules. This is executive overreach."

Obama made his statements to a bipartisan audience that included Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, a Republican; Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, an independent, and 24 state superintendents of education.

"I look forward to the federal government narrowing its role in education and allowing Tennessee the flexibility to abide by its own rigorous standards," Haslam said afterward.

"I believe this will be a transformative movement in American public education," said Christopher Cerf, New Jersey's education commissioner under Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, after the speech.

The No Child law that President George W. Bush signed in 2002 was a bipartisan rewrite of the basic federal law on public schools, first passed in 1965 to help the nation's neediest students.

The 2002 law required all schools to administer reading and math tests every year, and to increase the proportion of students passing them until reaching 100 percent in 2014.

Schools that failed to keep pace were to be labeled as failing, and eventually their principals fired and staffs dismantled. That system for holding schools accountable for test scores has encouraged states to lower standards, teachers to focus on test preparation, and math and reading to crowd out history, art and foreign languages.

Obama's blueprint for rewriting the law, which Congress has never acted on, urged lawmakers to adopt an approach that would encourage states to raise standards, focus interventions only on the worst failing schools and use test scores and other measures to evaluate teachers' effectiveness.

In its current proposal, the administration requires states to adopt those elements of its blueprint in exchange for relief from the No Child law.

Duncan, speaking after Obama's speech, said the waivers could bring significant change to states that apply.

"For parents, it means their schools won't be labeled failures," Duncan said.

[suebee]

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Hey, AtLast, I just posted this on the education issue thread, hoping for some discussion from teachers.

It looks like part of the article did not copy/paste on your post, so here is the full story for folks to read:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/ed...4educ.html?hpw

Thanks- I will go see if a discussion is going on in that thread- this could be a hot bed in terms of teacher evaluations/standards and which states opt out. Probably will be big in terms of teacher's unions and the whole red state stuff with taking down public employee unions.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Thanks- I will go see if a discussion is going on in that thread- this could be a hot bed in terms of teacher evaluations/standards and which states opt out. Probably will be big in terms of teacher's unions and the whole red state stuff with taking down public employee unions.

There's not.

[Novelafemme]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/446785...entertainment/

[suebee]

A video shows how a police supervisor in N.Y.C. casually strolls up to Wall St. protesters (all female, it seems), who have been rounded up in a corral-like manner, and proceeds to spray them in the face in a sweeping motion, then casually walks away. See it here.

WHY isn't this bigger news?

[clay]

http://news.yahoo.com/listeria-victi...164709869.html

[Corkey]

Amanda Knox vindicated and ordered released in Italy. ABC special report.

[Novelafemme]

Originally Posted by Corkey

Amanda Knox vindicated and ordered released in Italy. ABC special report.

My partner just called me with this great news! I'm SOOOO happy!!!

[princessbelle]

Originally Posted by Corkey

Amanda Knox vindicated and ordered released in Italy. ABC special report.

WOW.

I never dreamed that would happen.

Thanks for the update Corkey.

Just...WOW.

[Nat]

Rivals give Perry pass over racist rock

Washington (CNN) – When news broke in the national media over the weekend that Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry’s family had leased a property in his native Texas known by the name “Niggerhead,” Perry’s campaign swiftly responded. But so far, almost no one has taken the opportunity to slam Perry over the property’s controversial name. Instead, the reaction has been subdued - even from the White House and from some of Perry’s most prominent and outspoken rivals for the GOP nomination.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that early in his political career, the Texas governor had played host to friends, supporters, and fellow lawmakers at a secluded West Texas hunting camp with the derogatory moniker. According to the newspaper, the property’s name was “painted in block letters across a large, flat rock standing upright at its gated entrance.” Citing written responses from Perry, the Post also reported on Perry’s efforts to deal with the offensive name by painting over the rock. But the Post also reported that Perry’s account differs from recollections of seven people interviewed by the newspaper about the property.

"A number of claims made in the story are incorrect, inconsistent, and anonymous, including the implication that Rick Perry brought groups to the lease when the word on the rock was still visible," Perry communications director Ray Sullivan said in a statement Sunday after the Post story was published. "The one consistent fact in the story is that the word on the rock was painted over and obscured many years ago."

Given the reaction to the story, it appears that Perry’s campaign may have protested a bit too much.

Mitt Romney, Perry’s chief rival in the GOP race, said Monday in a cable news interview that he found the term offensive and thought most people view the term as such. Then, Romney suggested that the matter should be taken up with Perry.

Also speaking Monday, Herman Cain, one of Perry’s surging rivals for the GOP nomination, dialed back his earlier criticism of Perry.

"I really don't care about that word. They painted over it," Cain said, referring to a sign painted on a rock at the property the Texas governor once leased.

The matter "doesn't bother me at all," Cain added, emphasizing that he was satisfied by Perry's explanation of it and that he was "not playing the race card. I am not attacking Gov. Perry."

Rival and fellow Texan Rep. Ron Paul wanted to talk about other things. "I have no idea what the circumstances were,” Paul said when asked about the controversy while campaigning in New Hampshire Monday, “but in this day and age to try to turn something around and make him say that he endorsed using that word - I think we should worry about the wars, and assassinations, the economy, not trying to find out some way that you're going to blame Perry.”

Asked to comment on the situation during Monday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney also took a pass. “All I would say is the name is clearly offensive,” said Carney, “and, from what I’ve read – and I have no inside knowledge beyond what I’ve read – the governor shares that opinion.” Pressed for more, Carney did not take the opportunity to criticize Perry. “I really don’t know that much about it except from what I’ve read and that’s all I can say about it.”

Holding forth on Twitter Monday afternoon, Democratic strategist and CNN Contributor Donna Brazile also suggested, like Paul, that there are more important things to talk about. “I prefer to discuss the President's jobs bill, the wall street protestors and the upcoming march to reclaim the American Dream for all,” Brazile, who is African-American, tweeted after telling her 100K+ followers that she’s found most conversations about racism in the country to be “divisive & counter-productive.” The topic of racism “becomes polarizing,” Brazile also said on Twitter Monday.

But Perry has not escaped entirely criticism-free. Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, told Time Magazine he found the situation “very troubling on some many levels, for so many reasons.” The outspoken Steele, who is African-American, added, “It does lead one to feel that there was a level of insensitivity about how this would be perceived by the larger community.”

And liberal firebrand Al Sharpton, who is African-American, has leveled perhaps the strongest criticism at Perry. The situation revealed by the Washington Post “is alarming and displays a new height in racial insensitivity in national politics,” Sharpton, president of the National Action Network said in a statement Sunday. “Mr. Perry should immediately fully explain how his family rented from a place named after such an obvious racist term or he should withdrawal from the race. He is either blindly insensitive or hopelessly unaware of where he spends his time. Either way it makes one wonder if he is ready for prime time and certainly whether he is ready for the White House."

But GOP strategist Alex Castellanos suggested that Perry’s ties to the property may become a political millstone around his neck should he win the nomination and face off against the nation’s first African-American president.

“In addition to poor debates, government vaccines, and immigration issues, Rick Perry has tied another stone around his neck,” Castellanos, who is not currently supporting a candidate in the 2012 race but who did work for Romney’s campaign in the 2008 cycle, said in an e-mail to CNN. “There are growing doubts in the GOP that he could be a credible candidate against Obama. Republicans are concerned that Perry's missteps might make the race a referendum on the challenger instead of the incumbent. That's the campaign Obama wants and it scares Republicans to death.”

– CNN's Shawna Shepherd, Jason Kessler, Rachel Streitfeld, Gabriella Schwarz, and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

[Nat]

Hank Williams Jr. in hot water for comparing Obama to Hitler


the cable TV sports network ESPN pulled Hank Williams Jr.'s classic intro song from its Monday broadcast of National Football League game after the country singer famous for the line "Are you ready for some football?" used an analogy to Adolf Hitler in discussing President Barack Obama.

In an interview Monday morning on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Williams, unprompted, said of Obama's outing on the links with House Speaker John Boehner: "It'd be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."

Asked to clarify, Williams said, "They're the enemy," adding that by "they" he meant Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Anchor Gretchen Carlson later said to him, "You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe, I think, the president." Williams replied, "Well, that is true. But I'm telling you like it is."

"While Hank Williams Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to 'Monday Night Football,'" the network said in a statement. "We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."

Williams released a statement through his publicist, saying: "Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme — but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me — how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the president."

ESPN did not say whether the intro, synonymous with "Monday Night Football" since 1989, would be used again after this week's Colts- Buccaneers game.

"Every time the media brings up the tea party it's painted as racist and extremists — but there's never a backlash — no outrage to those comparisons," Williams' statement continued. "Working-class people are hurting — and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job — it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change."

ESPN covered the story during its sports newscast "SportsCenter" and the pregame show but did not mention the song's absence at the start of the game telecast when fans would normally be hearing "Are you ready for some football?" Instead of a music video, viewers just saw clips of both teams and heard a voice-over about the matchup.

The song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" is a remixed version of his 1984 hit "All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight." The version won Williams four Emmy Awards in the early 1990s as the opening theme to "Monday Night Football," then on ABC.

[Greyson]

New Study: Everyday Stigma, Not Just Major Traumas, Stressful for LGB people

LOS ANGELES, CA – October 3, 2011 – Ongoing stigma and social inequality can increase stress and reduce well-being for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people, even in the absence of major traumatic events such as hate violence, abuse, and discrimination, according to a new study co-authored by Dr. Ilan H. Meyer, Williams Sr. Scholar at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute.

The study, “We’d Be Free”: Narratives of Life Without Homophobia, Racism, or Sexism, was published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy. The study examined the effects of exposure to everyday stigma — consistent, ongoing experiences of inequality. Subjects reported estrangement from families, failure to complete schooling, and isolation in the workplace. “Imagine living life anticipating exclusion from your friends, family and professional circles simply because of who you are and who you love – that resulting stress takes a toll on one’s life and health,” said co-author Dr. Ilan Meyer.

Black and Latino LGB participants, in particular, characterized homophobia, racism and sexism as a source of stress that led to missed life opportunities, including a quality education and higher levels of self-confidence. “For members of minority groups, day-to-day life experiences that may seem minor to others can and do have significant and lasting impact on one’s well-being,” said Dr. Meyer. “The idea that simply walking out your door will expose you to societal rejection and stigma creates a climate of stress that can lead to detrimental, long-term consequences.”

The research also found that, paradoxically, sexual minorities sometimes view stigma as having enhanced their lives and as having a defining impact on their identity. For example, LGB individuals who were forced to leave their hometowns found a more accepting community and new professional and personal opportunities in big cities that might not otherwise have been available to them.

The research has implications for public policy because it shows the many often unknown effects of stigma. “The study’s results show policymakers need to think more broadly than simply reducing extreme forms of abuse through measures like anti-bullying policies. Although reducing abuse and violence should be a primary focus, policy measures that enhance positive aspects of gay identity, like interventions that connect LGB persons to their communities, could help reduce the stress caused by social exclusion,” said Dr. Meyer.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, used qualitative analysis with 57 sexual minority men and women to identify aspects of stigma that are difficult to identify.
While researchers can assess the impact of traumatic events, it is more difficult to determine consequences of stress arising from non-traumatic events like missed opportunities, isolation, and moving from home in an attempt to find accepting communities.

This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health grant R01-MH066058 to Dr. Ilan H. Meyer.

For the full report, visit http://www.springerlink.com/content/q761v3380wjw1754/

Yes, I did notice it does not include Trans. I did send off an email to ask why. It could have to do with funding, protocol and/or other things that are not intrinsicly, transphobic. I post if I get a response. They have got to know that Trans people also live with similar stress and "missed opportunities."

[The_Lady_Snow]

New 'Sesame Street' Muppet For Special On Hunger




NEW YORK — "Sesame Street" is getting a new Muppet – at least for a night.
The children's show is introducing a new puppet character named Lily for special on Sunday that talks to children about poverty and hunger.
Lily is a 7-year-old who talks to viewers about insecurity over whether her family will have enough to eat. The puppet goes to a pantry for food and also volunteers there.
"Sesame Street" executive Jeanette Betancourt says the show invents new Muppets occasionally, usually to help illustrate particular social issues. Four years ago a Muppet was created for a special on military families at a time of war.
Country star Brad Paisley is host of Sunday's special, called "Growing Hope Against Hunger."


<linkyloo>

[UofMfan]

Steve Jobs Dead: Apple Co-Founder Dies At 56

[dykeumentary]

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...ble-hate-crime

"Police are investigating the shooting death of a high school basketball star as a possible anti-gay hate crime, as her two accused killers were charged with murder and weapons charges on Wednesday.
Tayshana Murphy, who according to sources was a lesbian, was killed in Harlem last month after being chased into her apartment building by a group of men.

The Hate Crimes Task Force is now involved because of anti-gay graffiti found in her building.

In the meantime, Robert Cartagena and Tyshawn Brockington, who were arrested in South Carolina in connection with her death, were extradited to New York. They were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday on charges of murder and criminal use of a gun.

Murphy was a senior at Murray Bergtraum High School."

[Nat]

Jamey Rodemeyer hung himself less than a month ago after being gay-bullied from 5th to 9th grade. He had made an "It Get's Better" Project video about 4 months prior.

Anderson Cooper's coverage of this incident, including an interview with his sister and his parents. Even after his death, his bullies proclaimed they were glad he was dead.

[AtLast]

I think that because it was a sexuality specific study and published in a journal for sexuality is why it did not include data and analysis of transgendered people. It was in a journal (Sexuality Research and Social Policy) which probably only accepts articles on sexuality- the grant may have been specific to this, too and contingent upon acceptance into a professional journal. I honestly don't think this is transphobic. My guess is that the research model could certainly be used for transgendered analysis as well and many of the same responses and effects would apply.

I think it is great that researchers are looking at the effects of long term subjection to stigma and the stress it causes. I would like to see this done with transgendered people included, too- many of the same effects would show up, I would think as well as differences could be explored. Stress shortens people lives and we don't have to be beaten up or threatened to have stressful lives! Thanks for posting this.

But, this does give pause to thinking about the issues that have separated us as "queers." Looks like researchers are not making the close connections we have with one another in terms of life experience with stigma and long term stress.

On the other hand, this might be helpful in educating the generql [population about difference between ones sexuality and gender identification. I'm thinking about people that don't see anything other than a lesbian when seeing a transman (throughout the processes of transitioning and before if choosing to transition). And also, transwomen being referred to and identified as gay without recognizing that it isn't all about sexuality- it is about gender. Hummm.. then try to throw all of the sexuality issues that can be in the mix for a transgendered person- a lot to take in outside of queerdom. The transmen that are gay and transwomen that are lesbian, for example.

Originally Posted by Greyson

New Study: Everyday Stigma, Not Just Major Traumas, Stressful for LGB people

LOS ANGELES, CA – October 3, 2011 – Ongoing stigma and social inequality can increase stress and reduce well-being for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people, even in the absence of major traumatic events such as hate violence, abuse, and discrimination, according to a new study co-authored by Dr. Ilan H. Meyer, Williams Sr. Scholar at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute.

The study, “We’d Be Free”: Narratives of Life Without Homophobia, Racism, or Sexism, was published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy. The study examined the effects of exposure to everyday stigma — consistent, ongoing experiences of inequality. Subjects reported estrangement from families, failure to complete schooling, and isolation in the workplace. “Imagine living life anticipating exclusion from your friends, family and professional circles simply because of who you are and who you love – that resulting stress takes a toll on one’s life and health,” said co-author Dr. Ilan Meyer.

Black and Latino LGB participants, in particular, characterized homophobia, racism and sexism as a source of stress that led to missed life opportunities, including a quality education and higher levels of self-confidence. “For members of minority groups, day-to-day life experiences that may seem minor to others can and do have significant and lasting impact on one’s well-being,” said Dr. Meyer. “The idea that simply walking out your door will expose you to societal rejection and stigma creates a climate of stress that can lead to detrimental, long-term consequences.”

The research also found that, paradoxically, sexual minorities sometimes view stigma as having enhanced their lives and as having a defining impact on their identity. For example, LGB individuals who were forced to leave their hometowns found a more accepting community and new professional and personal opportunities in big cities that might not otherwise have been available to them.

The research has implications for public policy because it shows the many often unknown effects of stigma. “The study’s results show policymakers need to think more broadly than simply reducing extreme forms of abuse through measures like anti-bullying policies. Although reducing abuse and violence should be a primary focus, policy measures that enhance positive aspects of gay identity, like interventions that connect LGB persons to their communities, could help reduce the stress caused by social exclusion,” said Dr. Meyer.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, used qualitative analysis with 57 sexual minority men and women to identify aspects of stigma that are difficult to identify.
While researchers can assess the impact of traumatic events, it is more difficult to determine consequences of stress arising from non-traumatic events like missed opportunities, isolation, and moving from home in an attempt to find accepting communities.

This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health grant R01-MH066058 to Dr. Ilan H. Meyer.

For the full report, visit http://www.springerlink.com/content/q761v3380wjw1754/

Yes, I did notice it does not include Trans. I did send off an email to ask why. It could have to do with funding, protocol and/or other things that are not intrinsicly, transphobic. I post if I get a response. They have got to know that Trans people also live with similar stress and "missed opportunities."