Archive for December, 2008

Overcoming Marginalized Experiences

December 21st, 2008

Almost any day, when I read the newspaper, I am confronted with the ways social forces try to marginalize minority folks, their experiences, and opinions.  Women, People of Color, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual folks, and Transgender people are often told to quit complaining.  “You’re taking things too seriously.”  “It’s not as bad as you make it out to be.”  “You’re ridiculous.”  All of these messages, from my point of view, are the greater culture’s effort to maintain status quo and keep others from living their lives the way it was meant to be.

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Living Your True Gender

December 15th, 2008

I just read Randi Ettner’s “Gender Loving Care” (W.W. Norton & Company, 1999) and was reminded of many things.  Most importantly, the great courage it takes for folks to live their life according to their true gender, not the one ascribe to them by society.  When a person’s body doesn’t match their internal sense of who they are, a great dissatisfaction and discomfort can occur.  To have the courage to be true to oneself, in the face of a judging culture, is something to be admired.

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Despair…and Hope

December 10th, 2008

“I wish I had never been born.”  Have you ever thought this?  It’s a devastating feeling.  And not so uncommon.

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Stressed-Out Teens

December 3rd, 2008

Just like adults, stress can have very negative impacts on an adolescent’s mental and emotional health.  Anxiousness, withdrawal, agitation, depression, and the behaviors teens turn to to cope with these feelings are all possible responses.  Teens who aren’t successfully coping can turn to drugs, unsafe sex, anger, and other dangerous behaviors.  When faced with such situations, parents often times feel fearful, irritated, and hopeless. 

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