Posts by Tammy Mills

Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislation 501 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been introduced in the United States during the 2023 legislative session. These include bills banning schools from teaching about LGBTQIA+ history, banning trans student athletes from participating in sports, and targeting access to medically-necessary health care for transgender people. Still other legislation seeks to limit the ability for individuals…

International Context The LGBTQIA+ rights movement has made incredible progress over the past few decades both within the United States and beyond. Pride events are celebrated in more than 105 countries and LGBTQIA+ people exist in every corner of the world.   The Global Acceptance Index (GAI) uses data from more than 2,750 surveys over 30…

Education In a 2021 survey of LGBTQ+ students, 68% of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression. 32.2% of LGBTQ+ students missed at least one entire day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable with 11.3% missing four or more days…

LGBTQIA+ Parenting Family means a lot of different things to different people. In the LGBTQIA+ community, many recognize a chosen family, those who they choose to have a familial connection with, beyond blood relation, who one is raised by/with (sometimes referred to as families of origin) or who the government recognizes as their family. Not…

Media Historically, the LGBTQIA+ community has been excluded or erased from mainstream media for generations. Vita Russo’s book The Celluloid Closet, explores the history of gay and same-sex attraction in film. The book highlighted how the Motion Picture Production Code (1934-1968) was put in place because of governmental and community pressures following the US Supreme Court ruling…

Housing Inequity Research suggests that LGBTQIA+ people disproportionately experience homelessness, housing insecurity, and lack of access to housing resources. They also face a higher rate of discrimination in homeless shelters and rental markets.   LGBTQIA+ youth are especially impacted by unstable housing conditions. According to The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health…

Income Inequality LGBTQIA+ adults are more likely to live in poverty than straight and cisgender adults. Additionally, transgender adults and cisgender queer people of color are more likely to live in poverty than cisgender gay white adults. A 2022 study found that LGBTQ+ workers earn 22% less than their heterosexual cisgender counterparts. Another 2022 study showed that LGBTQ+ workers…

Youth Mental Health According to The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health in Michigan: 45% of LGBTQ youth in Michigan seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 52% of transgender and nonbinary youth. 76% of LGBTQ youth in Michigan reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, including 79% of transgender and nonbinary…

Allyship and Advocacy The word ally is growing in awareness and recognition. An ally is someone who does not belong to a particular oppressed group, but works to advocate with/for and support that group in the biggest and smallest ways. An LGBTQIA+ ally can be a straight/heterosexual friend who advocates for gay rights, an allosexual family members…