Bodies and Barriers Queer Activists on Health

LGBT people pervasively experience health disparities, yet many are still grappling to understand the health care challenges leaving LGBT people to experience worsened health outcomes. Bodies and Barriers informs health care professionals, students in health professions, policymakers, and fellow activists about these challenges, providing insights and a road map for action that could improve queer health. Through artfully articulated, data-informed essays by twenty-six well-known and emerging queer activists, Bodies and Barriers illuminates the ubiquitous health challenges LGBT people experience and challenges conventional wisdom about health care delivery. It probes deeply into the roots of these disparities and empowers activists with crucial information to fight for health equity through clinical, behavioral, and policy changes. The activist contributors in Bodies and Barriers look for tangible improvements, drawing lessons from the history of HIV/AIDS in America and from struggles against health care bias and discrimination.

Adrian Shanker is an award-winning activist and organizer whose career has centered on the LGBT community. Rachel L. Levine, MD, is the secretary of health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. Kate Kendell led the National Center for Lesbian Rights for twenty-two years.