LGBTQ+ Health
Women’s Studies 6935.1D62
Spring 2017
Tuesdays, periods 6-8, 12:50-3:50 p.m.
Ustler 108
Syllabus last updated 1/17/2017
Professor: Alyssa N. Zucker, Ph.D.
Office: Ustler Hall 204
Phone: 352-273-0384
E-mail:
Office hours: Mondays1 - 3 p.m., and by appointment
We will study LGBTQ+ health and well-being from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including women’s studies, medicine, public health, and psychology. We will examine: (1) mechanisms by which social mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people “gets under the skin” to affect health behaviors and health outcomes; (2) how LGBTQ+ health concerns vary across the lifespan; and (3) specific illnesses and medical processes that concern members of these groups (e.g., HIV/AIDS, cancer, substance use, gender transition). Although the focus of this class is on people who identify as LGBTQ+, those identities do not exist in isolation. Thus we will adopt an intersectional analysis of sexual orientation and gender identity with race, social class, and other important social identities whenever possible within our analysis. Although most of the readings reflect a social science or health disciplinary framework, I am complementing those with personal narratives and humanities readings whenever possible.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Recognize and discuss physical health challenges and disparities faced by the LGBTQ+ populations in contrast to the heterosexual and cisgender populations.
- Analyze how social and environmental factors create, contribute to, and exacerbate health challenges for LGBTQ+ people.
- Compare and contrast the health issues and healthcare challenges faced by each of the LGBT populations, as stand-alone groups.
- Evaluate how multiple identities shape individuals’ experience of the world and impact their health.
- Advocate for policies and processes that enhance the health of LGBTQ+ populations.
REQUIRED READINGS (available on Canvas through weekly modules)
Books
Clare, E. (2017). Brilliant imperfection: Grappling with cure. Durham NC: Duke University Press.(will be released Feb 3)
Follins, L. D., & Lassiter, J. M. (2017). Black LGBT Health in the United States: The intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.(will be available as e-book on Canvas)
Sharman, Z. (Ed.). (2016). The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
Articles and Chapters (available on Canvas through weekly modules)
Agosto-Rosario, M. (2015). Latinas/os and the AIDS treatment advocacy movement. In U. Quesada, L. Gomez, & S. Vidal-Ortiz (Eds.), Queer brown voices: Personal narratives of Latina/o LGBT activism.Austin: University of Texas Press.
Baig, A. A., Lopez, F. Y., DeMeester, R. H., Jia, J. L., Peek, M. E., & Vela, M. B. (2016). Addressing barriers to shared decision making among Latino LGBTQ patients and healthcare providers in clinical settings. LGBT Health, 3, 335-341.
Bowleg, L. (2013). “Once you’ve blended the cake, you can’t take the parts back to the main ingredients”: Black gay and bisexual men’s descriptions and experiences of intersectionality. Sex Roles, 68 (11-12), 754-767.
Boyce, C. (2016). Queer and trans health innovation profile: The Affirmations Deck. In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
Branstrom, R., Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Pachankis, J. E., & Link, B. G. (2016). Sexual orientation disparities in preventable disease: A fundamental cause perspective. American Journal of Public Health, 106, 1109-1115.
Choi, S. K., & Meyer, I. H. (2016). LGBT Aging: A review of research findings, needs, and policy implications. Los Angeles: The Williams Institute.
Diemer, E. W., Grant, J. D., Munn-Chernoff, M. A., Patterson, D. A., & Duncan, A. E. (2015). Gender identity, sexual orientation, and eating-related pathology in a national sample of college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57, 144-149.
Flanders, C. E., Dobinson, C., & Logie, C. (2015). “I’m never really my full self”: Young bisexual women’s perceptions of their mental health. Journal of Bisexuality, 15, 454-480.
Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I., Shiu, C., Bryan, A. E. B., Goldsen, J., & Kim, H-J. (2016). Health equity and aging of bisexual older adults: Pathways of risk and resilience. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. Published online ahead of print.
Gareau, F., & Townsend, M. (2016). Queer and trans health innovation profile: The Catherine While Holman Wellness Centre (Vancouver, BC). In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
Goldbach, J. T., Tanner-Smith, E. E., Bagwell, M., & Dunlap, S. (2014). Minority stress and substance use in sexual minority adolescents: A meta-analysis. Prevention Science, 15, 350-363.
Halkitis, P. N., Wolitski, R. J., & Millett, G. A. (2013). A holistic approach to addressing HIV infection disparities in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. American Psychologist, 68 (4), 261-273.
Herek, G. M., (2016). A nuanced view of stigma for understanding and addressing sexual and gender minority health disparities. LGBT Health, 3, 397-399.
Institute of Medicine (2011). The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: Building a foundation for better understanding. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Johnson, L. P., & McElroy, J. A. (2017). Rainbows or ribbons? Queer Black women searching for a place in the cancer sisterhood. In L. D. Follins & J. M. Lassiter (Eds.), Black LGBT Health in the United States. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Kapila, K. (2015). Mental health care for LGBT people. In H. J. Makadon, K. H. Mayer, J. Potter, & H. Goldhammer (Eds.), Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health (2nd edition). Philadelphia: American College of Physicians.
Logie, C. H. (2015) (Where) do queer women belong? Theorizing intersectional and compulsory heterosexism in HIV research, Critical Public Health, 25, 527-538
Mereish, E. H., & Bradford, J. B. (2014). Intersecting identities and substance use problems: Sexual orientation, gender, race, and lifetime substance use problems. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 75, 179-188.
Meyer, I. H. (2013). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1 (S), 3-26.
Mosley, D. V., Abreu, R. L., & Crowell, C. (2017). Resistance as resilience: How the Black bisexual community keeps one another healthy. In L. D. Follins & J. M. Lassiter (Eds.), Black LGBT Health in the United States. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Obedin-Maliver, J., & Makadon, H. J., (2016). Transgender men and pregnancy. Obstetric Medicine, 9, 4-8.
Patterson, C. J.,Blanchfield, B. V., Tornello, S. L., & Riskind, R. G. (2015). LGBT relationships and family lives. In H. J. Makadon, K. H. Mayer, J. Potter, & H. Goldhammer (Eds.), Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health (2nd edition). Philadelphia: American College of Physicians.
Robinson, A. (2017). The forgotten intersection: Black LGBTQ/GNC youth in juvenile detention in the United States. In L. D. Follins & J. M. Lassiter (Eds.), Black LGBT Health in the United States. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Rosario, M., & Schrimshaw, E. W. (2013). The sexual identity development and health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents: An ecological perspective. In C. J. Patterson & A. R. D’Augelli (Eds.), Handbook of Psychology and Sexual Orientation. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Sexsmith, S. (2016). Health as a spiritual practice: Or, please don’t call me “lady.” In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
Sievewright, K. (2016). Queer in common country. In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
Skelton, J. W. (2016). Baby escape plan two. In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
Spieldenner, A. (2016). PrEP whores and HIV prevention: The queer communication of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Journal of Homosexuality, 63, 1685-1697.
Talbot, M. (2013, March 18). About a boy: Transgender surgery at sixteen. The New Yorker.
Tan, J. Y., Xu, L. J., Lopez, F. Y., Jia, J. L., Pho, M. T., Kim, K. E., & Chin, M. H. (2016). Shared decision making among clinicians and Asian American and Pacific Islander sexual and gender minorities: An intersectional approach to address a critical care gap. LGBT Health, 3, 327-334.
Taylor, E. T., & Bryson, M. K. (2016). Cancer’s margins: Trans* and gender nonconforming people’s access to knowledge, experiences of cancer health, and decision-making. LGBT Health, 3, 79-89.
Taylor-Shaughnessy, K. (2016). Name game: Being seen in my entirety. In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press./
Tornello, S. L., Riskind, R. G., & Patterson, C. J. (2014). Sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health among adolescent young women in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 160-168.
White Hughto, J. M., Reisner, S. L., & Pachankis, J. E. (2015). Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine, 147, 222-231.
Williams, H. S. (2017). Uses of the interstitial as power: Black, bisexual men building Maroon health. In L. D. Follins & J. M. Lassiter (Eds.), Black LGBT Health in the United States. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Willier, C. (2016). NIRKwUscin. In Z. Sharman (Ed.), The Remedy: Queer and trans voices on health and health care. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.
ASSIGNMENTS
Class participation(15% of total grade)
This class is small and discussion-based, so your active participation is necessary to make things go well. In order to participate, you must be in regular attendance and contribute thoughtfully to class discussion and activities. Respectful engagement with your peers and the professor is required, even if the conversation becomes heated or we disagree with one another.
Discussion questions(15% of total grade)
Discussion questions are due each week. The goal of this assignment is to help you think about the readings before we meet for class. What were the most interesting or provocative issues raised by the readings? Do the readings “speak to” or complement each other in ways that bear discussing? How might we think about LGBTQ+ health differently having read these articles? Although I would like you to have 2-3 substantive questions, it is fine to include factual/comprehension questions too, so that I know in advance if there are things you didn’t understand. These questions must be posted on the appropriate discussion board on Canvas by 9 a.m. on the day of class, so that I have a chance to see your thinking before we meet that afternoon. If for some reason you are unable post them, send them to me via e-mail and I will post them.
Application project (20% of total grade)
Please pick either option 1 or 2 below and write a 5 page, double-spaced paper in response to the prompt.
Option 1: Memoir analysis
For this assignment, you will read a LGBTQ+ memoir and analyze it using material from at least five course readings. How can you apply course concepts to your understanding of the memoir? How does the memoir author’s experience support or contradict material from the course? What themes in the memoir resonate with course themes? What key themes emerge in the memoir that were not addressed in class? Some possible memoirs to read include Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness; Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals, Greg Louganis’ Breaking the Surface. You may also choose a memoir not on this list. It does not have to be book length.
Option 2: Blog/Blogger/Blogging
Find a blog related to LGBTQ+ health. In your paper, put that blogger “in conversation” with at least five articles/authors we’ve read in class. You may offer this as a literal transcript of a conversation, or in some more traditional format. The point is to make connections between some of the ideas written about in the blog and the scholarly/research literature we’re reading in class. One possible blog to examine is
Term Paper(50% of total grade)
Your major writing assignment will be a10 – 12 page research paper on a topic pertaining to LGBTQ+ health that interests you. There are three parts to submit: (1) paper proposal, (2) rough draft, (3) final paper. A submission schedule is provided below. You may choose a topic covered together in class, or something entirely different (if you have concerns about whether your topic is appropriate, please contact me). I expect that you will bring your particular interests and training to this paper; any topic can be approached from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. The format you choose for your paper should also fit what you hope to accomplish. Two formats to consider are an analytical literature review or a report on data you have collected.
Sources
You should cite a minimum of 10 references in your paper. Use mostly scholarly work (both theoretical and empirical). If, additionally, you analyze news stories, blogs, etc., clearly indicate when you are doing so. The resources of UF’s libraries, in particular the Medline and PsycINFO databases, may be particularly helpful in identifying sources.
Writing Style and Format
It is fine to use the first person (e.g., I think…) in your writing. However, please be consistent throughout the paper. Please pick a citation style and use it consistently throughout your paper for both in-text citations and the reference section. Although I am partial to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed), I am not opposed to other styles. Additionally please type, double-spaced, in 12 point font. Margins should be 1-1.25 inches all around.
Expectations
- Your paper should be framed in a way that matches what you hope to learn. For instance: You may frame this paper as a literature review, reporting on the state of the field in terms of existing research and providing a unique analytical/critical perspective on the literature. You do not need to collect and analyze empirical data. However, if you have an existing dataset that you would like to utilize, that is fine. In that case you could write up the paper as a research report, which would include a literature review (with hypotheses), method, results, and discussion sections.
- You should incorporate some of the core theory/concepts from class content (e.g., how discrimination affects health) into your paper.
- You should address the intersectionality of identity statuses (e.g., gender, race, class, etc.) in some way. For example, if you are writing about bisexual people and STIs, include an analysis of how “bisexual” is not a monolithic category.
- It is fine (but not required) to propose concrete solutions for change on your topic.
Evaluation
I will provide grading rubrics on Canvas. Checking these rubrics in advance will give you more information on how I will evaluate your paper.
Iterations
The paper is due in parts so that you have multiple chances to get feedback on your project, and to be able to create an improved end-product through revisions of earlier drafts.
Submission Schedule
January 24th - Paper Proposal
General statement of topic
Preliminary reference list (formatted in APA or your preferred style)
More detailed outline (optional)
March 21st - Rough Draft
Complete draft of your paper
April 24th - Final Draft
Final version of your paper, incorporating earlier comments
Grading
Please be aware that the level of effort you put into the class may not correspond to the quality of your work (which is the basis of your grades for assignments). To earn a good grade, you will be expected to do the work and meet the expectations for good quality work outlined in course assignment guidelines and discussed in class. There are 100 points possible in the class.
Course grade determination summaryClass participation / 15% / Final project proposal / 5%
Discussion questions / 15% (total) / Final project rough draft / 22%
Application paper / 20% / Final project final draft / 23%
Final Grade
At the end of the semester, final grades will be determined by the following formula:
94 and more points = A / 80-83 points = B- / 67-69 points = D+90-93 points = A- / 77-79 points = C+ / 64-66 points = D
87-89 points = B+ / 74-76 points = C / 60-63 points = D-
84-86 points = B / 70-73 points = C- / 59 and fewer points = F
In cases where the number of points falls in between letter grades, points will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
COURSE POLICIES
Course technology
All students are required to access course materials on Canvas via e-learning at Additionally, I expect you to check your UF email daily for any updates I send out.
Attendance, Make-up work, and Late Work Policies
As the UF Policy for Attendance in the Graduate Student handbook states, “Students are responsible for meeting all academic objectives as defined by the instructor. Absences count from the first class meeting. In general, acceptable reasons for absences from class include illness, serious family emergencies, special curricular requirements, military obligation, severe weather conditions, religious holidays, and participation in official University activities… The University recognizes the right of the individual professor to make attendance mandatory...” ( This course is designed to be a working seminar, where all participants are expected to attend class each class period and work together as colleagues. In the event that you miss class (for an acceptable reason as outlined above and discussed with the instructor), I will assign an appropriate make up assignment to cover material of the missed class. Late work may be marked down at my discretion.
Cell phone and laptop/tablet policy
Please turn off all cell phones before the beginning of each class. Even when phones are on vibrate, they disturb you and others around you. Texting, social media use, checking email, or any use of devices other than to access readings, take notes, or conduct approved research during class is not acceptable. If you cannot restrain yourself, keep your devices in your bag or leave them with me.
Etiquette
Please arrive on time for class and remain for the entire class unless you give me advance notice. You may eat or drink in class as long as it is not disruptive to those around you.
I expect members of the class to follow rules of common courtesy in all face-to-face discussions, email messages, and on Canvas. In order to make this an effective course for everyone, I expect all participants to interact with peers and the instructor “professionally,” meaning with honesty, ethical behavior, cultural sensitivity, teamwork, and effective communication. This class may cover material that is distressing or challenging. People in the classroom may say things that you disagree with, don't understand, or even find offensive.Negotiating such tensions means the space of the class may not feel “safe.” If we all begin our engagements from a place of good faith, however, we can create the conditions required to access, evaluate, and work through the new ideas essential to our growth as thinkers, activists, and decent human beings in the world. If you feel that you do not understand or cannot operate under these conditions, you should discuss that with the instructor during the drop/add period.