Find out what's new Please join us at 7:00 p.m. on the third Monday of each month for support, education, and fellowship at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church, 300 East Simpson Street, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County.
The church is located in the heart of town. There is plenty of lighted parking behind the church, and it is a facility where we can meet in confidentiality.
An announcement of the subject of this month's meeting is found below. Foradditional information on the topicofthe meeting, please read this month's newsletter.
Transgender issues faced by youth are focus of January meeting
Young people who identify themselves as the opposite gender from that which their bodies indicate have special problems and challenges, in addition to those faced by all kids growing up. They are especially vulnerable and often the targets of bullying.
Describing their issues and how best to deal with them is the subject of our speaker at the monthly chapter meeting on Monday, January 16, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church, 300 East Simpson Street, Mechanicsburg.
The speaker is Jeanine Ruhsam, who has been the president of TransCentralPA (www.transcentralpa.org) for the past seven years. TransCentralPA is committed to providing education and caring support for transgendered people, their significant others, families, friends, and allies. They are also actively involved in maintaining an outreach program to provide gender education to businesses, organizations like PFLAG, educational institutions, and governmental agencies.
She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Keystone Conference: A Celebration of Gender Diversity (www.keystone-conference.org) held each March in Harrisburg.
Jeanine serves on the board of directors of the LGBT Center Coalition of Central Pennsylvania and is a former board member of the International Foundation for Gender Education. She lives with her spouse in central Pennsylvania.
Why gay parents may be the best parents
A 2007 report by the Urban Institute found that more than half of gay men and 41 percent of lesbians in the U.S. would like to adopt. That adds up to an estimated 2 million gay people who are interested in adoption. It's a huge reservoir of potential parents who could get kids out of the instability of the foster system.
Gay parents "tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents," said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts, who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. "That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement." Read an article on this subject here.
Our chapter adopts spirit and principals of "It Gets Better" movement
At a recent meeting of chapter leaders, we learned about the "It Gets Better" movement and decided that it was something we want to support and advocate as a way of reaching teens struggling with the issues of their sexual orientation or gender awareness. Here is some information for you about that movement.
Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, leading them to feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens, who often hide their sexuality for fear of bullying. Without other openly gay adults and mentors in their lives, they can't imagine what their future may hold. In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted — even tortured — simply for being themselves.
While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, we can. The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.
In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.
Two months later, the It Gets Better Project (TM) has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring over 10,000 user-created videos viewed over 35 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of "Glee", Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.
Dan Savage is author of the internationally syndicated relationship and sex column Savage Love and the weekly podcast Savage Lovecast. He is editorial director of the Seattle weeklyThe Stranger, where he was formerly Editor-in-Chief. He is a regular contributor to PRI's "This American Life" and has been featured as a Real Time Reporter on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."
Dan heard about the suicides of Justin Aaberg and Billy Lucas and had a reaction so many LGBT adults have had. “I wish I could’ve talked to that kid for five minutes before he killed himself,” Dan recently said. “I’d tell him that however bad it was in high school or middle school...it gets better.” The It Gets Better Project was born.
The website www.itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future. It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members. It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help through the Trevor Project and GLSEN.
On March 22, 2011, six months following the launch of the campaign, the It Gets Better Project book was released. The bookIt Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Livingis on-sale wherever books are sold. It includes essays and new material from more than 100 contributors, including celebrities, religious leaders, politicians, parents, educators, youth just out of high school, and many more. All proceeds from the book will be donated to LGBT youth charities.For more details and to purchase the book, visitITGETSBETTER.ORG/BOOK.
READ AN INTERVIEW WITH DAN SAVAGE ABOUT "IT GETS BETTER" IN THE HUFFINGTON POST.
This page is currently being revised. Please check back soon for additional information.
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