THE GCN TEAM

Welcome, dear reader, to our December issue of GCN where we look at the issues which affect us more than any other external force - our own health and wellbeing, physical, mental and sexual. While this is of paramount importance to every living person, the LGBT+ community has particular challenges for a variety of reasons, some of which we get to grips with in the pages of this month’s magazine. Recent events have drawn our wellbeing into the foreground, but more on that later.

Marlon, Stefano, Katie, Peter, Lisa & Dave

Inside our pages, Noah Halpin, a young trans man and trans healthcare activist shares the journey abroad he had to undergo in order to avail of top surgery - something this country shamefully does not provide for its citizens. A dear friend and fellow LGBT+ activist, Will St Leger, who accompanied him, gives advice on how you can be a carer for friends undergoing gender confirmation surgeries.

Members of Intersex Ireland have authored a powerful piece speaking of the ignorance and prejudice they have had to overcome throughout their lives and the comfort they have found in their support group.

Noelle Brown has penned an illuminating article on the menopause, which dispels shame and confronts bizarre beliefs that queer women and their straight counterparts experience it differently. The disturbing subject of bierasure gets a necessary and much-needed interrogation by GCN regular Chris O’Donnell.

Evgeny Shtorn explores the nuance and compexity of whether corporations have a place in Pride celebrations and in the LGBT+ community at large by talking to the LGBT+ folk who work in those companies.

We share the findings of the essential EMIS 2017 Ireland report. The results of this will help health organisations to provide better sexual health treatment.

Drum roll, please - we are very proud to present GCN’s first ever original piece of fiction! An exciting and incredibly talented writer, Haritha Olaganathan, has created a short story especially for us, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Wondering about that stunning cover image? It comes from a sublime photo series by Steven Peice celebrating the male form away from the toxic masc-for-masc culture.

Very recently, the community lost a wonderful spirit, a young trans man named Tomen Holbrook who passed away while still stuck on a waiting list for treatment. This comes in the wake of the appalling news that the National Gender Service at Loughlinstown misplaced over 100 patient referrals, meaning that for over three years, these patients had been on incorrect lists, waiting on an appointment without any communication or notifi cation from the NGS.

The recently announced national PrEP programme at one stage seemed like an impossibility, despite HIV diagnoses reaching historic highs. Grassroots organisations, such as ACT UP, and campaigners, fought tirelessly, keeping the foot down, never letting up, and now - here we are.

Access to healthcare is a human right and for our trans siblings it can be a fundamentally important part of their journey to self actualisation. The lack of services and supports in the current health service is simply not acceptable. We must do better. As a community we must support our trans family, mobilise, advocate, get out on the streets and demand more for them than the current inadequate system.