Same-Sex Households
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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obnoxious question from P&CE regular
Hi ladies (and any brave men who might be on this board) -
I have a question that I wondered if you might be able to answer. On my NPR station this morning, there was a story about how smoking is a really huge problem among bisexual, gay and transgender teens.
http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/news/29255/
Any idea why? Stress? I'm scratching my head and the story didn't seem to get into the causes at all. Thanks in advance for any insights.
BTW, "ask a gay person" was a huge hit on P&CE and we'd love to do one again! In case any of you are bored and want to waste more time on the nest...
Re: obnoxious question from P&CE regular
Well this is just my guess but I'm thinking one reason LGBT teens are more likely to smoke is that they are probably less likely to discuss their health openly with a medical professional. Also, I'd assume that until recently most anti-smoking advertising is geared towards a heterosexual audience and it's really common to see cigarette advertising in LGBT publications, at events and in bars.
In addition the rate of adult LGBT community members who smoke is much higher than that of the general population. If a teen is looking to fit into the community it makes sense they may emulate what they see from the adults around them.
Again, these are just my guesses. Any other day but today and I'm in for another "ask a gay person." Maybe I'll take a nice work break on Friday and hop over to your board for some fun :-)
Thanks! I'm an anti-smoking nut, so I was interested.
Fridays are always a perfect day to goof off, so we'd love to have a field trip!
Agreed to all that, TwoTrue
I do some work on LGBT health disparities on a state level and I would add "minority stress" as a term to describe the stress the original poster asked about. Essentially smoking is a coping mechanism (and as a former smoker and 2+ year quitter, I can say this) and stress reliever. The rates for LGBT youth and adult smoking exceed that of non-LGBT people. Our state has an organization doing a great job with an anti-tobacco program for LGBT people. Check it out at http://www.rm2breathe.org/index.asp
This.
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
Hey, I have a follow up question. What would be different about an anti-smoking ad geared to gay people versus straight people? Why don't regular anti-smoking campaigns work as well?
And I'm interested in lack of communication with health care providers. Have doctors and nurses actually made you feel uncomfortable because of your sexual orientation? (Curious on that one because I'm switching careers to be a nurse and that never occurred to me.)
Any ideas? Thanks so much for answering my questions, by the way.
Thanks for asking Carolina. I would say that an anti-smoking ad geared to gay people needs to SHOW US. So, imagine if all the images are of straight couples, straight families (not that we don't have families/kids but young LGBTs MAY not see that in their future), and if language used said Does your wife say you smoke too much? These are extreme examples maybe, but the visual image thing happens all the time.
As does the assumption of heterosexuality...this brings in your second question. So when I fill out a form that says married, single, widowed or divorced at my doctor's office or for insurance, that is tricky because DW and I can't be legally married here. Also on the provider front, the series of questions about being sexually active and birth control that women get asked is very hetero focused.
Here goes:
Are you sexually active? Yes
Is there any chance you might be pregnant? no
Are you using birth control? either No or Yes, I only have sex with women
Is your birth control working? Yes
It's sorta funny when you lay it out like that, but not so funny with a new provider. Plus providers ask about sex when they mean vaginal pentrative sex with a man and then may be clueless if a person has questions about other sexual activity.
Those are just a few examples- unfortunately there are many more. Does that make sense?
Yes, it does, and those are honestly thoughts that didn't really come to mind.
I was thinking more a question about open prejudice among health care providers. I remember feeling uncomfortable as a teen with a OB/gyn who talked about being "clean" to avoid premarital sex and I instantly disliked him (and felt a lot less comfortable going to him), so I thought maybe it was a question of providers making inappropriate value judgments like that. It didn't occur to me that even the boilerplate questions could be just inapplicable.
FWIW, I think the ads saying "does your wife say you smoke/drink/weight too much" don't work for straight people either! Cliched nagging wife stereotype, you know?
Some LGBT people aren't 'out' so that would be hurdle #1. #2 is choosing whether or not we want to deal with reactions and answer questions. For example, I switched OBs at 18 weeks because when I would call the OBs office and say "my wife" (we're legally married) the staff would say "what? I don't understand". Granted using the term wife in a SS relationship isn't necessarily common but I shouldn't have to say it 4 times.
Also once I had a nurse/doctor ask me about birth control:
Nurse - what birth control do you use?
Me - I don't. I have a same-sex partner.
Nurse - condoms? the pill?
Me - We've been tested for STDs and there isn't a need for birth control.
Nurse - ummm, well I have to put an answer down.
To this day I don't know what she wrote in my file. It wasn't worth continuing the coversation.
I pray I will never be as stupid with a patient as that nurse.
To the medical professional issue. Ditto pp's. Some healthcare professionals can't help the look of shock that appears on their face when you come out to them during routine questioning. That is kind of uncomfortable - you don't go to the doctor to be judged, you go to get unbiased medical care.
I think it is particularly difficult for gay women, since healthcare professionals often see all women as either "pregnant" or "pre-pregnant" - it's all about birth control. When they ask about sexual activity, they are really only asking the kind of sex that gets you pregnant, and when they find out you are a lesbian, it kind of throws their standard operating procedure out the window and they often don't know what to do.
I bet every woman who posts on this board could share an awkward conversation she's had with a doctor or nurse, similiar to what Two*True described.
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
yup. i left my previous doc after I shared with him some concerns over my irregular periods and what they might mean for me getting pregnant some day and his response was "why? do you plan on switching teams?" jerk.
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
Great questions! As always, great answers from pp's.
We do have a tough time with doctors and nurses. They just don't always hear what you are saying and they don't know where to fit you in on their pre-printed forms.
I once had a doctor refuse to give me an anitbiotic for strep becasue I wouldn't take a pregnancy test! My (now) wife was IN THE ROOM with me and he still didn't believe I might not be pregnant. Obnoxious. Another nurse, in the middle of a preconception OBGYN visit, told me not to worry. It might just happen one day. Um, pretty sure that would make the news :-)
I actually had a real, live conversation (as opposed to a questionnaire) with a doctor that was pretty much exactly like that.
Dr: Are you sexually active?
Me: Yes
Dr: So there's a chance you could be pregnant.
Me: No
Dr: But you're sexually active, so yes.
Me: No, I have a female partner.
Dr: Then you're not sexually active?
...
It went on for about 10-15 minutes. Not a fun experience.
I actually just had a similar conversation with a radiology tech when I took Gray to get a chest x-ray last week for his pneumonia.
Tech: You sure you aren't pregnant?
Me: Very sure.
Tech: Date of last period?
Me: Um....uh...I'm not sure. Within the last month, I am sure..
Tech: Then there is a chance you might be pregnant?
Me: No. No chance. I have a female partner. He (pointing to Gray) has 2 moms.
Tech: *looks very confused*
Me: I am a lesbian and his pregnancy was very much a planned event.
Tech: Oh, got it.
(then 10 minutes later. The tech says, "My sister and her partner....")
This always happens to me...
I just wanted to chime in. I am in my second year of nursing school and they make a really big deal in fundamentals (the first nursing class) about active listening and gathering medical information. They spent a whole week about sexual orientation questions and assessment skills. I think that nursing has come a long way.
Before I had my knee surgery last year they made me take a pregnancy test. I have not had sex with a male since HS. My doctor said that it was a liability issue and though she believed me the test needed to be documented.
Good thread and discussion!
Yes, unfortunately, I have a few. My most recent HCPs have been great though and with the shift to PCP/TTC efforts, they seem more comfortable with my "status", regardless of that fact that sometimes there seems to be a tendency to treat me like any other woman in a hetero couple that's ttc or as if there are "fertility issues" because of the use of donor sperm.
Oh yes! When I went in for my appendix... they asked me if there was any way I was pregnant.
D. Are you pregnant.
A. No.
D. are you sure.
A. POSITIVE. ( i was in a lot of pain, and highly annoyed)
D. We are going to do a pregnancy test to be safe.
A. (eye roll) okay.
Later the test comes back negative. She's still asking me questions. I finally had to tell her when she asked if i was virgin, i told her technically speaking. She just stared at me. Finally my SIL shouted, 'the girl is a lesbian, can we move forward with this'. The doctor said 'well that explains a lot now'. It was horrible, good thing I was really high on morphine, and oblivious.
Ok, this is reminding me of the time my now-wife and I were in an anthrax vaccine study. Each time before they gave us the vaccine, they would do a pregnancy test. Yes, this was after I explained that I had my tubes tied, had a hysterectomy, and was in a monogamous lesbian relationship.
Amazingly enough, all our pregnancy tests came back negative.
And on the OP's original question, nicotine is a powerful antidepressant. GLBTQ teens face all sorts of pressures that make them vulnerable to depression. Thus, it makes sense that they would have disproportionately high rates of smoking.
Oh, and I'd be happy to do an "ask a gay person" session. How do I go about scheduling?
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