{"id":52412,"date":"2017-04-22T10:11:30","date_gmt":"2017-04-22T14:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/why-lgbtq-people-should-care-about-science\/"},"modified":"2017-04-22T10:11:30","modified_gmt":"2017-04-22T14:11:30","slug":"why-lgbtq-people-should-care-about-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/why-lgbtq-people-should-care-about-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Why LGBTQ People Should Care About Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why LGBTQ People Should Care About Science<\/b>
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Today, millions of people across the country will participate in the March for Science.<\/p>\n

Organizers characterize the gathering as a \u201ccelebration of science\u201d that\u2019s not only about scientists and politicians, but also \u201cthe very real role that science plays in each of our lives and the need to respect and encourage research that gives us insight into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

While science helps build support for and advance understanding of LGBTQ people, junk science remains a huge concern.<\/p>\n

For example, in August, Johns Hopkins psychiatry professor Paul McHugh and biostatistician Lawrence Mayer published a 116-page \u201cspecial report\u201d<\/a> on gender and sexual orientation in The New Atlantis<\/em>, the magazine of a conservative think tank. The report made a number of claims that have long been rejected by gender and sexuality researchers. It falsely implies that children are \u201cencouraged to become transgender\u201d and that young transgender children<\/a> undergo medical interventions as part of affirming their gender identities.<\/p>\n

While the report\u2019s falsehoods attack the entire LGBTQ community, McHugh\u2019s history reflects particular animus toward transgender people. He\u2019s collaborated with an organization designated a \u201chate group\u201d by the Southern Poverty Law Center to attack trans kids<\/a>, and penned opinion articles<\/a> mocking people who transition as \u201ccaricatures,\u201d \u201ccounterfeits,\u201d \u201cimpersonators,\u201d \u201cconfused\u201d and \u201cmad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yesterday, HRC launched McHugh Exposed<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> a website that pulls back the curtain on the McHugh, the go-to \u2018expert\u2019 for anti-equality extremists. The resource includes a detailed timeline of how McHugh\u2019s hateful and damaging essays have been used to target and attack LGBTQ people and a new video<\/a> featuring renowned LGBTQ health expert, Dr. Tonia Poteat. It can be found at www.McHughExposed.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Science isn\u2019t just about what you learned about in elementary or high school in chemistry, physics or biology classes. Scientific fields including psychology, sociology and epidemiology have helped us understand how people\u2019s identities shape their lives. Importantly, they have exposed disparities that emerge when social inequality leads to increased risks for poor health outcomes, and other serious issues including violence and persistent poverty.<\/p>\n

Science helps us understand how to reduce these troubling health disparities through positive laws and policies, as well as healthcare guidelines and community programs.<\/p>\n

This insight science and research provides is particularly crucial to LGBTQ people. There are hundred of scientific studies each year examining the lives of LGBTQ people, giving us a deeper look into how to support LGBTQ youth, for example, and the effects of anti-LGBTQ laws and so much more.<\/p>\n

In the past two years alone, scientific research has found:<\/p>\n