PFLAG Alamance Monthly Meeting
Welcoming new people and old friends
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
7:00 p.m.
We are meeting in person next week
Our in-person metings have been small recently, but there have been plenty
of shared experiences. We hope you will consider joining us next week,
especially if you, your children or family members, are dealing with issues
related to LGBTQ+ challenges. .
If you're more comfortable, feel free to wear a mask, and we
will be seated with adequate space for you to feel safe.
We will meet as usual at Elon Community Church
271 N. Williamson Ave.
Park and Enter from the rear. Plenty of paarking there
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From NBC Out . . .
The agency asked a federal court to issue an order stopping the law from taking effect.
April 29, 2022
By Zoë Richards
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Friday challenging a new Alabama law that criminalizes certain medical care for transgender children, marking the first time the agency has sued a state over restrictions on gender-affirming care.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Alabama, asks the court to block the law from taking effect, arguing it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause "by discriminating on the basis of sex and transgender status."
The Alabama law “would force parents of transgender minors, medical professionals, and others to choose between forgoing medically necessary procedures and treatments, or facing criminal prosecution,” the Justice Department said in a news release.
Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the GOP-backed bill into law this month, making it a felony for parents and medical professionals to “engage in or cause” gender-affirming medical care to minors in the state, including puberty blockers, hormones and surgery.
In a statement, Ivey said she signed the bill because she believes that “if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.”
“We should especially protect our children from these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries when they are at such a vulnerable stage in life,” she added.
Ivey also enacted a bill that would prohibit transgender students from using school facilities divided by sex that align with their gender identities.
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Something to Think About . . .
by Cindy Davis
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Mother’s Day is More Than “Just a Day”
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Honestly, I don’t always think about my Mom on Mother’s Day. I usually ignore the hoopla that surrounds this holiday – the flowers, the jewelry, the desserts. Not that I don’t think it’s nice to celebrate your mom, it just doesn’t always happen for me on a given day. She (Selma) passed away seventeen years ago. I think about her on her birthday, or on the anniversary of her death. She was cremated, so it’s not unusual for me to have a talk with her urn. And that can happen on a random weekday morning at 10:16 am, unscheduled. I enjoy our exchanges. Typically, I am seeking her wisdom and guidance about any number of confusing things.
In one of our recent exchanges, I realized just how similar we are. Not physically, but very definitely, emotionally. Selma had elevated expectations of others. (And of herself) She expected you to keep your word, to be on time, to tell the truth. I am totally like this! I believe that both of my sisters are, as well. Sometimes we get our feelings hurt if we get disappointed but I’m proud of our standards. Amongst other lessons, my mom reminds me not to be too hard on myself.
One of the most memorable conversations I had with Selma was when she was alive. She and my dad were living in Florida, and I was living in North Carolina. We had a standing phone date, every Sunday at 3pm. On this particular “visit” I was planning to “come out “over the phone and I was very nervous. A quick bit of history: I’d been married 4 times, to men, and my parents had paid for the weddings! My two older sisters have been in long-standing, heterosexual marriages, with little drama. Without knowing what to expect, I dove in, “Mom, Dad, I’m gay. I hope you understand.” She said, “Honey, I just want you to be happy.” He said, “I always wondered”…Oh, my gosh. There wasn’t a drop of judgment or disappointment. I recall that I wept. There is no dedicated time or day for this remembrance. It has a life of its own and washes over me, unsummoned. In this moment, know that I am celebrating you, Mom.
Cindy Davis is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor.
She was an advice columnist for the Times-News, and is also a PFLAG Board Member.
Watch for Cindy's column each month on our Newsletter
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From the NBC Out. . .
"I am a homosexual. I am a psychiatrist': How Dr. Anonymous changed history
At a 1972 meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. John Fryer disguised himself and delivered a speech
that changed the course of LGBTQ history.
May 2, 2022
By Jillian Eugenios
They thought he’d wear a mask that was a little more subtle. Something like the Lone Ranger, just a piece of cloth around the eyes. But no.
Introduced to the room as Dr. Henry Anonymous, wearing a wig and a tuxedo three sizes too big, and speaking through a microphone that distorted his voice, Dr. John Fryer stood in front of a crowd of psychiatrists at their annual meeting donning a garish Richard M. Nixon mask he and his lover had modified.
It was 1972, and he masked himself in order to say the following words: “I am a homosexual. I am a psychiatrist.” His declaration changed the world.
It has been 50 years since Fryer’s speech, a moment that was central to removing homosexuality from the list of mental disorders, the impact of which contributed to the progression of LGBTQ rights through the next several decades.
“From my viewpoint, Fryer’s testimony on May 2, 1972, is at least equal in significance to Stonewall. Both of them are hugely important moments in terms of LGBT civil rights,” said Malcolm Lazin, executive director of Equality Forum, an LGBTQ organization that has long supported the scholarship and recognition of Fryer’s work.
Removing the classification of homosexuality as a mental illness had been a mission of gay activists since at least the mid-1960s. Homosexuality was first classified as a disorder in 1952, when the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (commonly known as the DSM, the bible of the psychiatric field and the book from which all diagnoses are recognized) was published. The classification meant people could be institutionalized against their will, fired from their job, denied a mortgage or have their rights otherwise limited. Homosexual desire was considered an affliction, and acceptable “cures” included treatments like chemical castration, electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy.
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New Resource from PFLAG National
I'm excited to share that PFLAG National has released a brand-new publication, specifically focused on the unique set of challenges faced by military families with LGBTQ+ children or teens. Moving every few years means reevaluating cultural norms, laws, schools, and support of LGBTQ+ people at each location. It can feel overwhelming trying to find support for an LGBTQ+ child and military families.
Sincerely,
Liz Owen (she/her), Director of Communications
PFLAG National
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The staff and volunteers of PFLAG National feel honored to work with military families to help them better support their LGBTQ+ loved ones, and we hope you'll consider this new resource a helpful tool in our shared work of making the world a better, safer, more just and more loving place for LGBTQ+ people and their families.
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A New Service of PFLAG Alamance |
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Free Resouce Material . . .
PFLAG ALAMANCE HAS A NUMBER OF RESOURCE BOOKLETS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO OFFER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE SEEKING EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL
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Through the generosity of PFLAG Alamance suporters, we can now send you these excellent publications from PFLAG National without charge:
Our Sons and Daughters
Questions and Answers for Paremts amd families of LGBTQ+ people
Our Trans Loved Ones
Questions and Answers related to Transgender and Gender Expansive persons
Supporting Your LGBTQ+ Grandchild
Your relationship can grow even closer as your work to embrace your grandchid's identity
Just contact us and we will secure the material and send it as soon as possible (allow two weeks):
Email: info@pflagalamance.org
Phone: (336) 584-8722
Mail: PFLAG Alamane
PO Box 623 Elon, NC 27244
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Another Effort by PFLAG National
to Spread the Word of Love and Accepance
All Across the Nation
We are excited to share that we will be partnering on a billboard campaign, aimed at spreading awareness and love for our transgender and LGB loved ones and their families, on digital billboards across the country. Have a Gay Day launched this program several weeks ago, and it’s been getting a ton of love from community members, in the press, and on social media. You might even have seen one of these billboards already in your own state, as yours is one of the states where this program launched!
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A word to some of you we haven't seen in a while . . .
If you dont feel you need PFLAG any longer, PFLAG needs you! Your experience can make a difference.
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Email
info@pflagalamance.org
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P.O. Box 623,
Elon, NC 27244
Phone Number:
336-584-8722
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