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It's hard being trans. It's even harder when you can't find a doctor. A new site hopes to fix that.

When 50% of trans people report having to educate their doctors on the basics of trans health care, there's a deeper problem.

In 2011, the first ever National Transgender Discrimination Survey results were published.

The National Center for Transgender Equality and National LGBT Task Force teamed up to put together what is, to date, one of the most comprehensive looks at how trans people experience discrimination.

It's the source of some of the more alarming statistics you hear about trans people. For instance, the finding that 41% of trans people have attempted suicide? That comes from this report.

In August, the center will begin collecting data for the survey's follow-up.

And while there's a lot of talk about physical violence and employment discrimination against trans people, there's one aspect you don't hear much about: health care.

Nearly 20% of survey respondents reported having been refused care because they're transgender. More than 25% reported being harassed in a doctor's office, and 50% had to actually educate their doctors on aspects of trans health care.

"I have been refused emergency room treatment even when delivered to the hospital by ambulance with numerous broken bones and wounds," says one survey respondent.

GIF via MyTransHealth.

A group of four trans people have teamed up to provide a simple service: connect other folks with trans-friendly medical providers.

As a trans person, I can say that one of my biggest concerns when it comes to looking for a doctor is the worry that I'll be turned away or otherwise harassed.

And unfortunately, it's very hit or miss. There's really no way to know ahead of time how a medical provider will handle a trans patient. That's where MyTransHealth comes into play.

The team behind MyTransHealth is working to make health care more accessible by creating a database of trans-friendly medical providers around the country. The goal is to make finding a new doctor as easy as completing a few quick questions.

It's kind of like a trans-specific Yelp. GIF via MyTransHealth.

MyTransHealth plans to launch in two cities this fall, with more to follow.

The free service, which will initially be available in New York and Miami, works a bit like Yelp. Trans people will be able to submit medical professionals to the database and provide reviews. At the same time, the team behind the project plans to create materials to help educate the doctors who don't quite get it just yet.

"We're releasing in phases," co-founder Robyn Kanner told me in an e-mail. "First we need to work with the existing resources for the trans and gender non-conforming community and then look to our board of directors to develop training programs and educate additional doctors to provide competent care."

The team understands this is a pretty huge undertaking.

"We're trying to fix a big problem, and the best way to do this is to understand the landscape of the system, work within it, and help change it for the better," says Kanner.

Interesting in learning more? Check out MyTransHealth's video below.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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dogs
Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

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pool safety
Pop Culture

Crying fan embraced by Drew Barrymore explains why the moment was 'super special'

"Like myself, Drew has had a super hard life," she said.

via Eva Rinaldi/Flickr

Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

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drew barrymore
Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
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music
Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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movies
Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

KCEN|YouTube

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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