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February 14, 2010|By Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer

When Dr. Patricia Robertson held the first lesbian health clinic at San Francisco General Hospital in 1978, she decided to cover the "family planning" signs in the lobby - she didn't want to deter patients who thought gynecologists were only for dispensing birth control and helping women get pregnant.

Health resources have improved for lesbians in the three decades since. But noticeable gaps in health care remain. Lesbians are more likely than straight women to suffer depression and drug and alcohol abuse. They may be less likely to get regular health screenings like pap smears and breast exams.

With those disparities in mind, Robertson and Suzanne Dibble, a registered nurse with the Institute for Health and Aging in the UCSF School of Nursing, have put together the first textbook on lesbian health care. "Lesbian Health 101" was released this month.

"We wanted to put together evidence-based research that would support clinical guidelines, so when we talk about why lesbians are different from heterosexual women we can back that up," said Robertson, who is a professor in the UCSF department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences. "Doctors are going to be able to legitimize their advice after they read this book."

Chapters in the nearly 600-page book focus on a wide variety of health issues, from heart disease and breast cancer to partner violence and how to decide which woman in a relationship should get pregnant.

Some sections focus on the risk factors that affect lesbians more than straight women - higher smoking rates, for example, or what effect not having children might have on breast cancer risks - while others address how doctors can best meet the particular needs of lesbian patients.

Many of the health issues that affect lesbians can be tied to stress related to their sexual orientation, Dibble said. Discrimination, the stress of coming out to family and friends, or feeling ostracized and alone can all lead to health problems.

"People sometimes think that the only difference between lesbians and straight women is how we have sex. But the difference is more in our families, our friends, and the stigma associated with being a lesbian that affects health," Dibble said. "If you could get rid of the stigma I don't think you'd need the book."

Much of writing by lesbians

The textbook is written in medical language and designed for doctors, nurses and other health care providers, although Robertson and Dibble say they're encouraging lesbians to use it as a resource for understanding their own health issues. Most of the chapters were written by health care providers who are also lesbian.

Much of the book centers around how health care providers can make their practices more sensitive and responsive to lesbian patient needs. For example, the first chapter discusses the various reasons why lesbians may put off doctor visits - everything from fearing discrimination to simply believing they don't need to see a gynecologist as often as straight women.

"If you go into an ob-gyn office and you are inundated with baby pictures, how do you feel if you're a lesbian with no kids?" Dibble said. "We want health care providers to signal that it's a good thing for lesbians to come in - that it's fine, that it's A-OK. You want things in your office that are culturally appropriate, even if it's just a sign that we don't discriminate."

Doctors also need to be prepared to offer health resources specific to lesbian needs, Dibble said. That might mean tracking down support groups with a lesbian focus for depression or substance abuse, or identifying a local women's shelter for lesbians who have been the victim of domestic violence.

Vital reference for doctors

Dr. Erica Breneman, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, said she's pleased to see such a textbook available to doctors now, even if it's troubling that the book is even necessary.

"In a perfect world, we wouldn't need this," Breneman said. "A woman who happens to be gay shouldn't need much that's terribly different than a woman who is straight. But the reality is, because of the particular demographics of lesbian women, they do have other health issues."

Beginning last semester, Mount Holyoke's cultural houses, formerly open only between the hours of seven and 11 p.m, became available to all students at any hour of the day through One-Card access. The change, proposed by Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs Tanya Williams, was intended to create not only less of a time constraint on the use of the cultural houses, but also to expose the larger Mount Holyoke student body to the cultural life on campus.

Mount Holyoke has five cultural houses: the ACE House, or Asian Center for Empowerment, the Betty Shabazz House, a cultural space for students of African descent, the Eliana Ortega Cultural Center, cultural space for the Latina community, the Jeannette Marks House for the lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, as well as the Zowie Banteah Cultural Center to serve the needs of the Native American community. Previously, if a student wanted to access one of these cultural houses, they would need to come between the hours of 7 and 11 p.m. to be let in by a house sitter.

"I just felt odd about that time constraint, and the cultural houses sitting there for most of the time collecting dust unnerved me. There are no longer house sitters but instead we now have cultural house programming teams. There is a program coordinator as well as two program assistants for each house. Their job is to produce programming within the house such as movie nights, cooking and more educational things open to all of campus. They also have the responsibility of coordinating Cultural Heritage Month," said Williams.

While this change has created an opportunity for all Mount Holyoke students to be further educated on the vibrant cultural life on campus, the cultural houses were originally created to be a safe space for underrepresented groups, and some fear this will jeopardize the well-being of those students.

"It's going to be harder for certain people who use the cultural houses to feel like they have a safe place on campus. The cultural houses were created to provide a safe place for students who may find it hard to be in a place like Mount Holyoke where the dominant culture is imposed. By opening them up to everyone it may make some students feel uncomfortable,” said Maria Diaz '10.

Williams remains optimistic about the transition but also made clear that this is a pilot and will only continue as long as the cultural houses remain to function as they were originally intended.

"It's a change I am excited about but I have my reservations. The houses were created for some comfort to exist. With this change the houses have not been taken away, but there is a concern people will not treat the houses with respect. We haven’t seen anything like this yet, but we have to educate the whole campus how to treat them with respect," said Williams.

Many students who have never been inside any of the cultural houses are thrilled with the change and foresee an ultimately positive outcome.

"I do agree that it could make members of the cultural groups feel uncomfortable, but it will also help everyone learn more about those cultures. I think it will be beneficial to all Mount Holyoke students," said Melissa Roark '12.

Annie Arbuthnot '12 agreed, "I think cultural houses are meant to be used, and I think the more people that will be using them with the extended hours is better."

Though Williams said that not everyone has been in agreement with her on this decision, it is important to her that Mount Holyoke as a community learn why these houses exist and agree on how to treat them.

"Until Mount Holyoke as a larger community really feels completely safe the houses can be tricky because I don't want to take safe space away from students. But in the past the houses were not used to their fullest," said Williams. "It is a risk I'm willing to take."

Williams also noted that cultural houses on many other college campuses such as Swarthmore College typically have a full staff affiliated with each house as well as programming and a library. "We have a building but I'm trying to develop a staff made up of work-study positions for each house."

"Mount Holyoke is not perfect. My job wouldn’t exist if it was. We're not there yet but this is one of the things we're working toward. You can create the Mount Holyoke you dream of."

(2010-02-24)

(REUTERS) -

By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The voice of Emily Dickinson has been reimagined in a new novel exploring the lustful thoughts of one of America's greatest poets, who still stirs debate more than 120 years after her death.

"The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson" hit U.S. bookstores this week and offers a new take on the life of the 19th century poet beginning with her real-life stay at Mount Holyoke female seminary in her hometown Amherst, Massachusetts.

Neither completely fiction nor biography, it is written in the first person with the male author assuming Dickinson's voice. It follows two recent biographies but is the first novel to present Dickinson in the first person.

Other recent books re-imagining dead writers have reinterpreted and sexualized such authors as Emily Bronte and Jane Austen.

"She is very much in the current psyche," the book's author, Jerome Charyn, said in an interview this week. "We have come to discover how modern she is and suddenly in the 21st century she seems to us as if she were alive right now."

From the novel's outset the author turns to the much-debated secret love life of the independent-minded poet, who was interpreted in 1970s literary criticism as someone who rebelled in her writing against notions of 19th century femininity which confined women to households and marriage.

While bringing in several real life characters such her sister-in-law and her father, the author debunks notions Dickinson was a lesbian or sexually frustrated. Instead the book has her fantasizing over several fictional men, including a blond handyman called Tom.

"My own feeling as a 21st century reader is that she was not gay, she was not a lesbian," said Charyn. "It is very evident in her letters."

Reviews say the novel explores new dimensions of Dickinson, but that it was hard to assume her voice.

The novel follows two recent biographies including "Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and her Family's Feuds" by Lyndall Gordon and Brenda Wineapple's "White Heat."

In 2008, author Joyce Carol Oates released "Wild Nights!" -- a title borrowed from Dickinson's poem of longing -- that imagined the last documented days of Dickinson and four other writers including Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Henry James and Ernest Hemingway.

(Editing by Mark Egan and Cynthia Osterman)

© Copyright 2010, Reuters