2013-05-22T09:51:17-04:00 Jessica Arevalo http://www.voces.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=jessica-arevalo Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Jessica Arevalo Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1868397 2012-09-11T16:38:00-04:00 2012-11-11T05:12:01-05:00

Jessica Arevalo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-arevalo/
Brown has not taken a position on the bill and can sign it, veto it, or allow its protections to take effect without his signature on January 1, 2013.

In 2009 the American Psychological Association (the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States) convened a Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. The goal was to conduct a systematic review of sexual orientation change efforts to finally be able to conclude its effectiveness and risks involved. The Task Force concluded that therapy to change sexual orientation does not work and can pose critical health risks to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, including confusion, depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, and substance abuse -- the list of harmful effects goes on.

As a result, the AMA issued a resolution "advising parents, guardians, young people, and their families to avoid sexual orientation change efforts that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and to seek psychotherapy, social support, and educational services that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support, and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth."

While the finding by the AMA Task Force advises against efforts to change sexual orientation, with no law making it illegal, psychologists can still provide the controversial therapy without being subject to discipline by the provider's licensing entity.

On behalf of New America Media, I interviewed James Guay, Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and member of the LGBTQ Psychotherapy Association, Gaylesta's Advocacy Committee working on S.B. 1172, on his experience with sexual orientation change efforts as well as his advocacy around the proposed bill.

What happened to bring about this proposed bill?

In June 2011 CNN's Anderson Cooper aired a three-part series, titled "The Sissy Boy Experiment," where they examined experimental therapy designed to make feminine boys more masculine. Senator Lieu saw the series and was compelled to action, working with Equality California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Gaylesta to write a piece of legislation aiming to ban therapies claiming to change one's sexual orientation.

What is your experience with sexual orientation change efforts?

I voluntarily tried changing my sexual orientation from age 12 until age 20, having been influenced by my fundamentalist Christian upbringing and being a preacher's son. As a shy 12-year-old I was so plagued with guilt and shame about my same-sex attractions that I went to the local neighborhood Christian bookstore and bought the only book I could find on homosexuality. I vividly remember the clerk asking if it was for me or for someone I knew. I sheepishly admitted that it was for me, and she said she would pray for me.

After four years of trying to change my sexual orientation through church attendance, prayer, religious counseling, and reading the Bible two times through with my family -- all to no avail -- I shared my internal struggle with my parents. The level of self-hatred I had developed in a hostile environment and for personalizing the Biblical message that I was "an abomination" to God fueled my zest to change my sexual orientation.

Finding a licensed psychologist who claimed to have changed his sexual orientation was enough for me to maintain the hope of change and dedicate my every waking moment to this cause. I worked with a psychologist, attended ex-gay conferences, and participated in religious ministries.

Eventually, I realized that despite my discipline and devotion, true internal change would never occur, even if I decided to be celibate for the rest of my life. I also realized that my ego and sense of self had been so obliterated by this approach that I was left to pick up the pieces with the help of truly affirmative psychotherapy for LGBT individuals. I had wasted my money and time on promises that never materialized and actually further isolated me from real connections with myself and others.

What do sexual orientation change efforts consist of?

There's plenty of treatment approaches, not just one, which is part of the problem. Whether is cognitive, behavioral, or psychological, the dynamics are all base on the paradigm that there is something to repair that's broken.

It's about helping people who voluntarily want to change, who may have a conflict between their religious beliefs and sexual orientation. A lot of people look to the newest approach, which can be very extreme.

Just recently, a doctor in Australia was banned from practicing medicine after prescribing a chemical castration drug to a teenager as a "gay cure."

Are those who have undergone this therapy more likely to have sought it voluntarily or at the behest of family?

Consent is a tricky issue on this one, because there is so much societal, familial, peer, and religious pressure to be straight, with all the privileges that come with that. Even when it's "voluntary," it's ineffective and likely harmful, and usually familial influences play a large part in the decision.

How prevalent is this practice?

I hope that it's dwindling, but I'm afraid there are still many misinformed parents and practitioners out there.

Why is there need for a bill to be passed on a state level?

In California there is not just one board for mental health practitioners. The Board of Behavioral Science governs over Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, while psychologists have their own governing body. This bill would allow boards to say, "This is part of our ethics," and if a case of malpractice is presented, they would be allowed to investigate.

Why is the bill only for minors?

The bill originally included all ages, but there was a lot of back and forth between mental health professional organizations and those proposing the bill regarding the implications of state legislation in health practice.

To come to an agreement, the original bill was pared down to specifically minors, because they are a more protected class and more vulnerable to this practice. It is important to protect youth from this form of psychological abuse.

What is the argument of those who oppose the bill?

When we initially introduced this bill, many were afraid that it would scare therapists from talking about sexual orientation at all with youth.

From a religious freedom standpoint, the argument I heard was that the bill was misappropriating social justice language to say that clients are being discriminated against.

There was also concern that with licensed healthcare professionals unable to offer sexual orientation change efforts, youth would be more likely to seek damaging religious counseling.

A lot of political forces want to use this as a platform to say that same-sex orientation is a learned phenomenon that can be changed, so that they can legitimize not giving human rights protections and privileges to this class of people.

If this bill passes, what would consequences for practitioners look like?

If a client goes to a board and complains about a therapist, there is an investigation to find out whether the accused therapist has done any wrongdoing. Depending on the severity, the board can decide to suspend their license, require continuing education and cultural competency, or, if the action is very egregious, they can decide to terminate the practitioner's license.

Do you think S.B. 1172 goes far enough?

I think it's a great start. Eventually I'd like to see this expanded to delegitimizing this practice among adults, too, as allowing licensed psychotherapist to practice this even with adults is unethical, and I believe it should be illegal because of its known harms.

What would you like to see happen in the future with regard to the mental well-being of LGBTQ youth?

I would like to see LGBT youth supported and embraced for all of who they are and their inherent value for society at large.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1713455 2012-07-30T19:29:00-04:00 2012-09-29T05:12:39-04:00

Jessica Arevalo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-arevalo/ Mosquita y Mari (MyM) isn't your typical love story.

The film is a first-love story between two young women -- but it lacks one traditional staple of most queer love stories: a coming-out scene.

"I think there have been a lot of films that have put their attention on coming out. I respect that, and I think it's important, but I wanted to take it a step back in the process," says first-time director Aurora Guerrero.

A Xicana filmmaker who describes herself as an activist first, artist second, Guerrero says the film is "queer, though really universal in its theme of first-love experience."

The drama skillfully built throughout the film centers on the tension of discovery within the context of a same-sex relationship.

Mosquita, played by 17-year-old Fenessa Pineda, balances parental expectations while testing the waters of her new friendship with Mari, played skillfully by 20-year-old Venecia Troncoso. The camera follows these two girls, in their skinny jeans and screen-printed shirts, together and separately as Guerrero quietly lays down her story.

"MyM was inspired by a series of relationships I had growing up that were within the context of friendships," says Guerrero. "There was that energy in each one that really just bordered on romance. They were very meaningful, and really beautiful."

Guerrero shared her rough script with someone at HBO who, deciding there was something there, submitted it to the Sundance Institute.

"At that point everything changed. The possibility of it being made, of being in circles I never knew I would be a part of," Guerrero remembers.

She was accepted into the Native/Indigenous Fellows Program at Sundance and connected with director Jim McKay, who coached her patiently through the rewriting process. "Be organic. Be raw. But a rewrite means you need to be fearless," Guerrero remembers him telling her.

In 2011 Kickstarter partnered with Sundance and this time approached Guerrero to be one of the first fundraising projects to launch their new campaign.

With a green light on her first feature-length film project, Guerrero knew she needed $80,000 to make it happen. Sundance and Kickstarter hesitated over such an ambitious goal, unsure if Guerrero and her team would be able to raise the full amount. It had never been done before.

"Two days out from deadline, we hadn't raised the full amount; we were $35,000 short. The last 48 hours of the campaign, donations came in every other minute," Guerrero recalls.

Guerrero says the fact that the film was community-financed gave her the freedom to make the film she wanted to make. "With financial backers who don't care about profit, to go into production with that kind of support is so liberating. I was allowed to just be an artist. The only thing I was being held responsible for by this community was to make a good film."

There is no coming out in Guerrero's film, but there is beauty captured by an activist with a vision, a story with love, and a connection that transcends gender and politics. In MyM there are no answers, only the freedom to explore and connect in a world that is seemingly becoming more and more disconnected.

Mosquita y Mari plays Aug. 3 through 9 at Cinema Village in New York City.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1622474 2012-06-26T14:12:00-04:00 2012-08-26T05:12:05-04:00

Jessica Arevalo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-arevalo/
Kicking off a weekend packed with Pride activities for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) community was the First Annual Youth and Elder Brunch. Friday's Trans March was first held in 2004, to memorialize Gwen Araujo, a young transgender woman in Northern California who was killed at a house party. The trial of her killers ended in a mistrial.

Flames and the Movement

At one table, surrounded by LGBTQI youth, was Felicia Flames, one of the original Screaming Queens from the Compton's Cafeteria Riot -- a benchmark but seldom remembered San Francisco event for the gay-rights movement.

A member of the Ninth Annual Trans March Steering Committee, which helped organize the event, Flames emphasized, "People need to know our history. The struggles we went through, so they can understand why we're here today, and how we need to work together to keep fighting."

Explaining how the brunch came about, Danielle Castro, 37, another steering-committee member, said, "We really felt it was important to have a family space and bring together youth and elders who rarely get to talk."

Castro went on, "It's really important for youth to learn about our history, as trans people, and to find some inspiration to keep the civil rights movement going for trans people. It's essential if we hope to combat all the hatred and violence that exists."

Adding a personal note, Castro remembered, "Growing up, I faced so much adversity and bullying. I don't want to see any youth go through what I went through. We are hoping to make a difference for the youth here today."

Vanessa Li, 19, who attending Pride for the third year, said she first learned about Compton's Cafeteria Riot, which preceded New York's more famous Stonewall riots by three years, during a program held by Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC).

"We were watching a documentary, Screaming Queens," Li said, "and I remember being really amazed that it happened before Stonewall. I was already in queer spaces for a couple years at that point, and that was still the first time I heard of it."

Li said attending the brunch was important because she has few chances as a queer young person to meet elders. "It's cool to just see who they are. You hear about them being talked about, but to actually see someone and connect to them [is exciting]."

Compton's Riot Before Stonewall

Flames shared her experience as a witness to history as she recalled, "In 1966 a lot of us were trying to find out who we were and where we were going. We started as Queens, then as Hair Fairies, then the girls started moving toward dressing as female. The hippie generation had a lot to do with it."

Describing those rough times for LGBT youth -- almost half a century ago -- Flames continued, "We were tired of going to jail for nothing. We were tired of being harassed for nothing. We'd be walking down the street and [the police] would pull up the paddy wagon and take us to jail, arrest us for obstructing the sidewalk, and we just got fed up."

On the night of the riot, she remembered, "We were all sitting there having a good ol' time, and some cop pulled one of the girls out and someone else threw coffee, and he called reinforcements and everything started happening: corner news stand on fire, cop car overthrown, and that was the end of it."

Today, Flames said, elders from the LGBTQI community face new and difficult challenges. "I have to have an open mind at my age, 66 next month," she said. "Getting older, I've been HIV-positive for 25 years, and the only thing that scares me is being alone -- and nobody to take care of me."

She stressed, "We are a proud community. We do not ask for help, because we have always been independent, and for us to ask for help while we're getting to be seniors is not in our vocabulary. It's embarrassing. It's hurtful for us to ask for help, but sometimes we have to ask."

Sitting at a table with her partner, who is a member of Open House, an organization providing housing assistance and other services to LGBTQI seniors, a woman who introduced herself as Daphne commented that events such as Friday's brunch can help "bridge the gap and focus on quality of being for all ages. We can learn from each other and strengthen and support one another."

Even the San Francisco fog didn't keep participants from discovering how much they share across their generations -- and all over brunch. Participants from Open House, LYRIC, the LGBT Center, and OutLoud Radio mingled and made signs to carry together in the Trans March.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1554474 2012-05-30T07:10:00-04:00 2012-07-30T05:12:13-04:00

Jessica Arevalo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-arevalo/
Como organizadora y defensora de los derechos de las comunidades lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, transgéneros y queer, me preocupa que el tema que más preocupante en las noticias del día es la igualdad del matrimonio. Nuestra comunidad enfrenta diariamente violaciones a nuestros derechos civiles que no son limitados a la intimidación en nuestras escuelas, los crímenes de odio, el desplazamiento, la deportación, el desempleo y la discriminación en los lugares de trabajo. Con las consecuencias tan graves que enfrentamos, ¿cómo fue que el enfoque de nuestra lucha resultó siendo el matrimonio?

Es cierto que hay beneficios al tener igualdad y acceso al matrimonio. Le da valor legítimo al amor del mismo sexo en comparación con el amor heterosexual. Permite que las parejas del mismo sexo tengan los mismos derechos que tiene una pareja heterosexual. Por ejemplo, los beneficios al completar las formas de impuestos de entrada juntos, y también el poder visitarse el uno al otro en un hospital. Ahora, cuando hay matrimonios, usualmente también hay bodas y sabemos que una boda hoy en día tiene un costo de más o menos $ 26.000, y ¿quiénes son los que pueden cubrir los gastos de una boda? Los que trabajan.

Con el desempleo nacional al 8,2 porcentaje, y las personas que son LGBTQ enfrentando desigualdades socioeconómicas adicionales por la discriminación que reciben en los lugares de trabajo, ¿no les parece justo que los derechos de empleo fuera el tema más importante en nuestra comunidad LGBTQ? ¿Realmente necesitamos el matrimonio más que el empleo?

Sólo en 12 estados y en el Distrito de Columbia existen leyes que específicamente prohíben la discriminación de empleo basada en la orientación sexual o en la identidad del género. En ocho estados más, existen leyes que prohíben la discriminación basada en la orientación sexual, pero no en la identidad del género.

Así y todo, aunque tengamos ciertas leyes, todavía hay 30 estados donde usted puede ser despedido de su empleo por ser lesbiana, gay, bisexual o transgénero.

La comunidad LGBTQ también sufre alto niveles de discriminación en sus lugares de trabajo. Estudios hechos por el Instituto Williams (Williams Institute), sobre las leyes de orientación sexual demuestran que el 15 a 43 por ciento de los empleados LGBTQ han sufrido alguna clase de discriminación en su lugar de trabajo. El porcentaje es aun más alto cuando se trata de la comunidad transgénero, donde 90 por ciento se ha enfrentado a alguna forma de acoso sexual o maltrato en su lugar de trabajo.

El mes pasado, la Comisión para la Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo (EEOC) decidió que la discriminación de empleo contra un individuo transexual es prohibido bajo el Título VII del Acta de 1964 de Derechos Civiles (la ley federal que prohíbe la discriminación basada en raza, religión, sexo, color u origen nacional). Esta importante victoria de derechos civiles, la cual entró en vigor el 21 de mayo, es el resultado de una queja de discriminación fichada por el Centro Transgénero de Ley (Transgender Law Center) representando a Mia Macy, una mujer transgénero que fue negada empleo después de admitir que era transgénero.

Aun con el éxito de la semana pasada en incluir a trabajadores transgéneros bajo del Título VII, todavía no hay una ley federal que protege a la gente de perder sus trabajos por su orientación sexual o su identidad de género.

El 12 de junio, el Comité sobre Salud, Educación, Trabajo y Pensiones del Senado tendrá consideración de ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) - el acta de no discriminación en el empleo - un proyecto de ley que prohíbe la discriminación en el lugar de empleo basada en la orientación o identidad de la sexualidad de la persona. Haría ilegal que un empleador se rehusé a darle trabajo o despedir a un empleado sólo porque es lesbiana, bisexual, transgénero o heterosexual.

La igualdad en el matrimonio es importante, pero yo reto a la comunidad LGBTQ a trabajar juntos a dar prioridad a una legislación que abarca una red más amplia en nuestra comunidad. No todos nos queremos casar, pero todos sí necesitamos trabajo.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1547359 2012-05-30T06:12:05-04:00 2012-07-30T05:12:13-04:00

Jessica Arevalo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-arevalo/
As a longtime organizer and advocate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer rights, it concerns me that the main issue in today's news is marriage equality. Our community faces daily civil rights violations not limited to school bullying, hate crimes, homelessness, deportation, unemployment, and employment discrimination. With the consequences of these issues so dire, how did the focus of our civil rights struggle become marriage?

There are many benefits to equal access to marriage. It legitimizes queer love as just as valuable as straight love. It allows same-sex couples to have equal rights as married couples from filing joint taxes to being able visit each other in the hospital. But with marriage usually comes weddings, and with the average price of weddings in 2012 hovering around $26,000, who can afford to get married? The employed.

With a national unemployment rate at 8.2 percent, and LGBTQ people facing additional socioeconomic inequalities due to discrimination in the workplace, doesn't it make sense that employment rights should be the number one issue of the LGBTQ community? Don't we need jobs more than marriage?

Only 12 states and the District of Columbia have laws that specifically ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Another eight states have laws that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, but not gender identity.

Even with these patchwork laws, there are still 30 states where you can get fired for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.

The LGBTQ community also experiences high rates of discrimination in the workplace. Fifteen to 43 percent of LGBTQ workers have experienced some form of discrimination on the job according to the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy Study. That number jumps even higher when looking at the transgender community, where 90 percent has encountered some form of harassment or mistreatment at work.

Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that employment discrimination against a transgender individual is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based upon race, religion, sex, color, and national origin). This important civil rights victory, which went into effect May 21, is the result of a discrimination complaint filed by the Transgender Law Center on behalf of Mia Macy, a transgender woman who was denied a job after outing herself as transgender.

Even with the success this week of including transgender workers under Title VII, there is still no federal law that protects people from losing their job based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

On June 12, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold a hearing on ENDA -- the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- a federal bill that prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on a person's sexual orientation and gender identity. It would make it illegal for employers to refuse to hire or fire an employee because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or heterosexual.

Marriage equality is important, but I challenge the LGBTQ community to work together to prioritize legislation that encompasses a wider range of our community. Not everyone wants to get married. But everyone needs a job.]]>