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Some Men And Women Aren't Getting The Pap Smears And Prostate Exams They Need For One Dumb Reason

So what we have is a small demographic of women who aren't getting what millions of other women can safely expect from their providers. And the same goes for another small demographic of men. Why? This flowchart will give you the scoop.

OK, before you get confused, here's some basic lingo: A transgender woman is a person who identifies as a woman but was born with male anatomy. A transgender man identifies as a man but was born with female anatomy.

But let's get this straight: Transgender women are women. Transgender men are men. How their bodies look doesn't matter.


Now that we've got that down, here's the flowchart for ya.

FACT CHECK TIME!

Our fact-checkers found that all the statements in this handy-dandy infographic check out. Here are more specific statistics to give some context:

  • 15 percent of transgender people are living in poverty — compared to 4 percent of the general population. Plus, 19 percent of people who are trans don't have health care coverage. Medicaid is health coverage for low-income people, so the trans population could really benefit from it.
  • Gender dysphoria, which the graphic describes, is really hard for trans people. Some of them take hormones to help fight it. But hormone use without supervision can lead to liver problems, blood clots, strokes, and other risks. If trans people could have access to a provider who could supervise their hormone use, they could avoid those risks.
  • Yep, we canprovide health care to transgender people without raising costs.
  • It sounds strange, but it's true: Many services that non-transgender people have access to are denied to clients who are trans. This include Pap smears, mammograms, and prostate exams, among many others. Trans men generally still have an anatomy that includes a uterus, a cervix, and ovaries (and sometimes breasts). Trans women generally still have an anatomy that includes a prostate. But if trans men legally change their gender to "male," they don't qualify for Pap smears and mammograms. Trans women who legally change their gender to "female" don't qualify for prostate exams. Non-transgender people would never have to go through this hurdle. Messed up, isn't it?

  • 78 percent of trans people report that after treatment for gender dysphoria, they feel psychologically better. The suicide rates also drop dramatically after treatment, from 19%-29% to 0.8%-6%.

So far, a few states have begun to require Medicaid to provide trans people with health coverage. But there are still many, many states where trans people don't have basic health rights under the law.


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






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Joey Grundl, Milwaukee pizza guy.

Joey Grundl, a pizza delivery driver for a Domino's Pizza in Waldo, Wisconsin, is being hailed as a hero for noticing a kidnapped woman's subtle cry for help.

The delivery man was sent to a woman's house to deliver a pie when her ex-boyfriend, Dean Hoffman, opened the door. Grundl looked over his shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffman. She appeared to be mouthing the words: "Call the police."

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Photo by Katerina Holmes|Canva

Mom in tears after another parent calls about daughter's lunch


People say having children is like having your heart walk around outside of your body. You send them off to school, practices or playdates and hope that the world treats them kindly because when they hurt, you hurt. Inevitably there will be times when your child's feelings are hurt so you do your best to prepare for that day.

But what prepares you for when the child you love so much winds up accidentally healing your inner child. A mom on TikTok, who goes by Soogia posted a video explaining a phone call she received from a parent in her daughter's classroom. The mom called to inform Soogia that their kids had been sharing lunch with each other.

Soogia wasn't prepared for what came next. The classmate's mother informed her that her son loves the food Soogia's daughter brings to school and wanted to learn how to cook it too.

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Pop Culture

Listen to this organ in Croatia that uses the sea to make hauntingly beautiful music

It's a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.


In 2005, a Croatian architect designed a 230-foot-long organ that turns the rhythm of the waves into actual music.

Nope, not nonsensical bellows or chaotic tones. Real, actual, music.

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Modern Families

A comic from The Oatmeal illustrates how we're missing the mark on happiness.

I do the things that are meaningful to me, even if they don't make me "happy."

By Matthew Inman/The Oatmeal. Used with permission.

How to Be Perfectly Happy


Matthew Inman is the Eisner Award-winning author of The Oatmeal. He's published six books, including New York Times Best-Sellers such as "How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You"and "The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances."He enjoys running marathons, writing comics, and eating cake.

You can read more of Matthew's comics here.

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Health

Sweeping UN study finds that 9 out of 10 people worldwide are biased against women

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways.

Photo by Joe Gardner on Unsplash

As the U.S. ramps into an all-too-familiar presidential election cycle where the only viable candidates left on the ballot are men, the UN announces a study that may—at least partially—explain why.

The Gender Social Norms Index released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a look at gender equality as measured by people's personal gender bias. The data, which was collected from 75 countries covering 81% of the world's population, found that 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear bias against women in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity.

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways. Splendid.

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