Why Lesbians Get Fewer Cervical Cancer Screenings

Each week HuffPost Gay Voices, in a partnership with blogger Scout, LGBT HealthLink and researcher Susana Fajardo, brings you a round up of some of the biggest LGBT wellness stories from the past seven days. For more LGBT Wellness visit our page dedicated to the topic here.

7 Ways the Gay Community Is Failing Youth on HIV

HIV infection is becoming a bigger and bigger problem—going up 132.5% among gay men ages 13 to 24. A new Advocate piece highlights seven of the biggest reasons why, including bad sex ed, shame left over from older generations, and “Truvada whore” stigma.

Why Lesbians Get Fewer Cervical Cancer Screenings

A new study looked at why lesbians get screened for cervical cancer less often than other women. The biggest reasons? Discrimination, lack of screening opportunities, and uneasiness about penetration during the procedure.

Queer Women and Post-Partum Depression

Bad news on the pregnancy front: a new study found that queer women currently in different-gender relationships had worse postpartum depression than queer women currently in same-gender relationships. Why? No idea.

Hepatitis C Theme Week

Is it Hepatitis C week and no one told us? Three new studies on Hepatitis C out this week teach us that: 1. 20% of gay & bi men who had it and got cured then got reinfected; 2. The chance of it coming back again on it’s own (without a reinfection) is higher if you’re HIV+; and 3. When gay and bi men get it again after being cured, it’s rarely the same strain.

California to Pay for Inmate’s Gender Reassignment Surgery

Good news: for the first time in the nation’s history a transgender person in prison will be able to get gender confirmation surgery. California has agreed to pay for Shiloh Heavenly’s surgery, deciding that it is medically necessary and not to do so would be harmful. Excellent.