health
Greens want trans Medicare funding after 140,000-signature petition
The Greens want $15 million spent annually to cover out-of-pocket costs for trans and gender diverse Australians seeking gender-affirming healthcare. This week, Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt tabled a 140,000 signature petition on the issue to parliament. The petition, created by a young trans Australian, called for full Medicare coverage of gender-affirming and gender reassignment …
Uncle Jack Charles’ plea for First Nations communities to get vaxxed
Veteran performer and Aboriginal elder Uncle Jack Charles has joined the push to get First Nations communities vaccinated against COVID-19. In Uncle Jack’s state of Victoria, vaccination rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are lagging behind the broader population. Seventy-eight per cent of eligible Indigenous people in Victoria have had two doses of …
Doctors issue warning about Religious Discrimination Bill
The peak body for Australian GPs has spoken out against the Morrison government’s controversial Religious Discrimination Bill over fears around healthcare access for LGBTIQ people and women. The Coalition will introduce the third draft of the long-delayed legislation to parliament next week. Attorney-General Michaelia Cash (pictured) has spent months working on the as-yet-unseen new draft …
Queensland Health’s masturbation advice got loads of hilarious reactions
A Queensland Health Facebook post encouraging the state’s population to “give yourself a hand” and embrace masturbation has prompted loads of hilarious responses. In the post on Thursday, Queensland Health declared, “Give yourself a hand,” with a hand and winking face emoji. “Masturbation is a normal and healthy part of a person’s sexual experience. [It’s] …
‘We begged them’: Family want inquiry into Jamie Wood’s death
The family of Brisbane dancer Jamie Wood have written to the Queensland Coroner calling for an investigation into the care he received before his tragic suicide. The 31-year-old was found dead in Bowen Hills on August 28, sparking an outpouring of grief in Brisbane’s LGBTIQ community. Warning: distressing content But despite Jamie “truly seemed to …
Queensland Children’s Gender Service awarded for work with trans youth
The Queensland Children’s Gender Service has won a mental health achievement award for their work with trans and gender diverse youth. The Gender Service, part of Children’s Health Queensland, provides the young Queenslanders with multi-disciplinary healthcare. The team includes child and adolescent psychiatrists, paediatric endocrinologists, social workers, psychologists, mental health nurses, and a speech pathologist. …
Drag star Frock Hudson just got vaxxed at LGBTIQ ‘fab jab’ hub
Melbourne drag performer Frock Hudson was one of the LGBTIQ+ Victorians to get vaccinated at the state’s Pride Centre on Tuesday during a rainbow vaccination blitz. The Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda has opened a pop-up vaccine hub that’s running until Sunday (October 24). It’s part of the Rainbow Vaccination Week running this week …
Intersex Australians call for ban on non-consensual surgeries
Years-long efforts by intersex Australians to ban non-consensual and unnecessary surgeries have received a major push from the Australian Human Rights Commission. Intersex refers to people born with genetic, hormonal or physical sex characteristics not conforming to stereotypes of male or female bodies. Intersex people have a diversity of bodies and identities, with around 70 …
Netflix’s Sex Education just gave us an amazing 30-second HIV lesson
Queer viewers of Netflix’s teen comedy-drama Sex Education have applauded the show for featuring an important HIV lesson. Sex Education‘s third season arrived on the streaming service this week. The series follows a group of students at a British high school, including Otis, the son of a sex therapist. In episode four of the latest …
Hugh Sheridan saved a stranger’s life in Fortitude Valley
Actor Hugh Sheridan has recalled saving a man’s life in Brisbane last week after talking him out of taking his own life. The actor recalled the experience in Fortitude Valley last Friday on The Kyle and Jackie O Show this week. Hugh explained they met the man on Ann Street in Brisbane last Friday, where …