All bighorn rams that mate with ewes participate in gay courting & copulation most of the year. (Gender Showcase, 9-12)

Bighorn Sheep

1. Males (rams) & females (ewes) live separately except during breeding season.

2. Females are only sexually active 3 days of the year! They refuse all other approaches the rest of the time.

Book excerpt:

The males (rams), with large thick horns that curl back from above the eye to behind the ear, weigh up to 300 pounds. Their macho appearance has become a symbol for many male athletic teams. The females (ewes) live separately from the males. The sexes associate only during the breeding season, called the rutting season, which extends from mid fall to early winter. A female is receptive for about three days, and will not allow herself to be mounted outside of these three days. (EN29)

(EN29 ) V. Geist (1971) Mountain Sheep: A Study in Behavior and Evolution, University of Chicago Press; J.T. Hogg (1984) Mating in bighorn sheep: Multiple creative male strategies, Science 225: 526-29; J.T. Hogg (1987) Intrasexual competition in and mate choice in rocky mountain bighorn sheep, Ethology 75: 119-44.

All male bighorn sheep that breed with female ewes also participate in homosexual courting & anal copulation.

Book excerpt:

The males have been described as “homosexual societies.” Almost all males participate in homosexual courting and copulation. Male-male courtship begins with a stylized approach, followed by genital licking and nuzzling, and often leads to anal intercourse in which one male, usually the larger, rears up on his hind legs and mounts the other. The mounted male arches his back, a posture known as lordosis, which is identical to how a female arches her back during heterosexual mating. The mounting male has an erect penis, makes anal penetration, and performs pelvic thrusts leading to ejaculation.

Source: Roughgarden, J. (2013) Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press, Berkeley. pp. 137-38.

article excerpt:

Four behavioral phenotypes have been described in domestic rams raised in all-male groups: female-oriented, male-oriented, bisexual, and asexual. To make behavioral assignments, rams are first given sexual performance tests, also known as serving capacity tests, to determine whether or not they are attracted to females and to get a measure of their sexual performance.

Source: Roselli, C. E., Reddy, R. C., & Kaufman, K. R. (2011). The development of male-oriented behavior in rams. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 32(2), 164–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.12.007.

Bighorn Sheep have 3 behavior-based genders & 2 body types:

1. Female-body ewes live separately from gay male rams and only accept mounting 3 days of the year.

2. Male-body rams live together separately from females and copulate anally with other male-body sheep most of the year.

3. Male-body rams that live with female-body ewes most of the year and refuse mounting by other male-body rams.

Book excerpt:

The few males who do not participate in homosexual activity…are identical in appearance to other males but behave quite differently. (EN30) They differ from [so-called] “normal males” by living with the ewes rather than joining all-male groups. These males do not dominate females, are less aggressive overall, and adopt a crouched, female urination posture. These males refuse mounting by other males. In physical appearance, including body size and horn development, these males are indistinguishable from other males.

(EN30) J. Berger. (1985) Instances of female-like behaviour in a male ungulate, Anim. Behav. 33:333-35.

Citation: Roughgarden, J. (2013) Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. University of California Press, Berkeley. pp. 137-38.

Species: Ovis canadiensis (wiki)

Range: North American (Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, southwestern US, Mexico)

Doctor's Rec: Puberty blockers can be life-saving for transgender teenagers. (Pediatrics)

Summary: Pubertal suppression therapy could significantly diminish their chances of suicide and mental health problems.

Title: Trends in the use of puberty blockers among transgender children in the United States.

Authors: Lopez CM, Solomon D, Boulware SD, Christison-Lagay ER

Journal: Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism

Publication date: 2018 Jun 27;31(6):665-670. doi: 10.1515/jpem-2018-0048.

Pub Med ID: 29715194 DOI: 10.1515/jpem-2018-0048. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29715194 .

BACKGROUND:

The objective of the study was to identify national trends in the utilization of histrelin acetate implants among transgender children in the United States.

METHODS:

We analyzed demographic, diagnostic and treatment data from 2004 to 2016 on the use of histrelin acetate reported to the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) to determine the temporal trends in its use for transgender-related billing diagnoses, e.g. "gender identity disorder". Demographic and payer status data on this patient population were also collected.

RESULTS:

Between 2004 and 2016, the annual number of implants placed for a transgender-related diagnosis increased from 0 to 63. The average age for placement was 14 years. Compared to natal females, natal males were more likely to receive implants (57 vs. 46) and more likely to have implants placed at an older age (62% of natal males vs. 50% of natal females were ≥;13 years; p<0.04). The majority of children were White non-Hispanic (White: 60, minority: 21). When compared to the distribution of patients treated for precocious puberty (White: 1428, minority: 1421), White non-Hispanic patients were more likely to be treated with a histrelin acetate implant for a transgender-related diagnosis than minority patients (p<0.001). This disparity was present even among minority patients with commercial insurance (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Utilization of histrelin acetate implants among transgender children has increased dramatically. Compared to natal females, natal males are more likely to receive implants and also more likely to receive implants at an older age. Treated transgender patients are more likely to be White when compared to the larger cohort of patients being treated with histrelin acetate for central precocious puberty (CPP), thus identifying a potential racial disparity in access to medically appropriate transgender care.

"Rosie's mother said she felt extremely pressured by the surgeons to consent to surgery on [Rosie as an Intersex baby] even after she voiced her concerns." - CNN

"Rosie is now in the process of figuring out her gender identity on her own terms. While she says she still likes to use female pronouns for now and wants to keep her name, Rosie says that sometimes she feels like a boy and other times, nonbinary. "Because I am both!" she said.

"Rosie's mother, Stephani Lohman, said she felt extremely pressured by the surgeons to consent to surgery even after she voiced her concerns about the procedure, including the evidence that these surgeries can have devastating side effects including a loss of sexual function, psychological trauma and life-long pain.

Pending legislation in California and New York would effectively ban these surgeries in those places by requiring informed consent from the patient before a cosmetic genital surgery.

As of 2013, the United Nations has condemned the practice on the grounds that an infant cannot consent.

Three former US surgeons general agreed, writing in July 2017, "these surgeries violate an individual's right to personal autonomy over their own future."

In 2017, Human Rights Watch concluded the surgeries violate a patient's human rights. Their research found that these surgeries can cause life-long pain, scarring, loss of sexual function, the need for life-long hormone replacement and maintenance surgeries, and psychological harm similar to that of child sexual abuse victims.

Dr. Ilene Wong Gregorio is a practicing urologist and intersex rights advocate who supports the legislation.

"Doctors have been imposing their assumptions on heteronormativity and what a child should look like, and intersex bodies, for decades," she said. "There are still people who practice outdated medicine and the only way to protect children from these people, who through culture or ignorance or hubris, are doing these things, is to actually put something in writing in the court of law."

 

"Individual self-esteem, healthy relationships w/ parents & peers, and GSAs are most common protective factors." (J Prim Prev)

Protective Factors Among Transgender and Gender Variant Youth: A Systematic Review by Socioecological Level

From abstract

Transgender and gender variant (GV) youth experience elevated risk for poor health and academic outcomes due mainly to social experiences of stigma and discrimination. To supplement the growing evidence on health risks encountered by transgender/GV youth, we identified factors theorized to be protective for these youth across all four levels of Bronfenbrenner's socioecological model (individual, relationship, community, societal). We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed research. The articles included in this review were published in peer-reviewed journals in English or Spanish between 1999 and 2014, analyzed data from a sample or subsample of transgender or GV participants with a mean age between 10 and 24 years, and examined the relationship of at least one theorized protective factor to a health or behavioral outcome. Twenty-one articles met inclusion criteria. Transgender/GV youth in included articles ranged from 11 to 26 years of age, were racially/ethnically diverse, and represented varied gender identities. Within these articles, 27 unique protective factors across four levels of the ecological model were identified as related to positive health and well-being. Self-esteem at the individual level, healthy relationships with parents and peers at the relationship-level, and gay-straight alliances at the community level emerged as protective factors across multiple studies. Our findings underscore the relative lack of research on transgender/GV youth and protective factors. Novel recruitment strategies for transgender/GV youth and better measurement of transgender identities are needed to confirm these protective relationships and identify others. Growth in these areas will contribute to building a body of evidence to inform interventions.

Citation

Johns et al. (2018) Protective Factors Among Transgender and Gender Variant Youth: A Systematic Review by Socioecological Level. Journal of Primary Prevention. 2018 Jun;39(3):263-301. doi: 10.1007/s10935-018-0508-9.

Heteronormative safety policies, violence, & harassment at schools cause decrease in perceived safety for gender-nonconforming students in 28 high schools. (J. Adolesc)

Heteronormativity, school climates, and perceived safety for gender nonconforming peers.

Abstract

Students' perceptions of their school climates are associated with psychosocial and academic adjustment. The present study examined the role of school strategies to promote safety in predicting students' perceptions of safety for gender nonconforming peers among 1415 students in 28 high schools. Using multilevel modeling techniques, we examined student- and school-level effects on students' perceptions of safety for gender nonconforming peers. We found that older students, bisexual youth, Latino youth, and youth who experienced school violence perceived their gender nonconforming male peers to be less safe. Similarly, we found that older students and students who experienced school violence and harassment due to gender nonconformity perceived their gender nonconforming female peers to be less safe. At the school-level, we found that when schools included lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues in the curriculum and had a Gay-Straight Alliance, students perceived their schools as safer for gender nonconforming male peers.

Citation

Toomey et al. (2012) Heteronormativity, school climates, and perceived safety for gender nonconforming peers. Journal of Adolescence. 2012 Feb;35(1):187-96. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.03.001. Epub 2011 Apr 8.

Study of 245 lgbt adults finds LGBT-related school victimization links adolescent gender nonconformity w/ adult happiness. (Dev. Psychol.)

Gender-nonconforming lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: school victimization and young adult psychosocial adjustment.

From the abstract:

Past research documents that both adolescent gender nonconformity and the experience of school victimization are associated with high rates of negative psychosocial adjustment. The participants included 245 LGBT young adults ranging in age from 21 to 25 years. Using structural equation modeling, we found that victimization due to perceived or actual LGBT status fully mediates the association between adolescent gender nonconformity and young adult psychosocial adjustment (i.e., life satisfaction and depression).

Citation

Toomey et al. (2010) Gender-nonconforming lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: school victimization and young adult psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2010 Nov;46(6):1580-9. doi: 10.1037/a0020705.

W. Canada schools w/ GSAs of 3+yrs consistently reduces suicidal ideation for ALL students regardless of orientation (Int'l Journal of Child Youth Family Studies)

School-Based Strategies to Reduce Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempts, and Discrimination among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Adolescents in Western Canada.

Excerpt from abstract:

Analyses of the province-wide random cluster-stratified 2008 B.C. Adolescent Health Survey (n =21,70 8) compared students in schools with GSAs or policies implemented at least 3 years, and less than 3 years, with those in schools without GSAs or anti-homophobia policies, using multinomial logistic regression, separately by gender. LGB students had lower odds of past year discrimination, suicidal thoughts and attempts, mostly when policies and GSAs had been in place for 3+ years; policies had a less consistent effect than GSAs. Heterosexual boys, but not girls, also had lower odds of suicidal ideation and attempts in schools with longer-established anti-homophobic bullying policies and GSAs. 

Citation

Saewcy EM, Konishi C, Rose HA, Homma Y. School-based strategies to reduce suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and discrimination among sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents in Western Canada. External  International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies 2014;1:89‒112.

"The presence of a GSA correlates with fewer depressive symptoms & mental health referrals for suicidal thoughts." (Journal of Youth & Adolescence)

School Climate & Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescent Mental Health.

Excerpt from abstract:

This study uses a survey that measures all four measures of school environment with a national sample of 240 sexual/gender minority high school students ages 14-18 (mean age 15.77) where 53% of participants had a Gay-Straight Alliance in their school. The sample is 53% cisgender, 100% sexual minority and 62% white. Adjusting for demographics and presence of a Gay-Straight Alliance, fewer depressive symptoms were associated with lower help-seeking intentions for suicidal thoughts. The presence of Gay-Straight Alliance was not statistically associated with past-month help-seeking intentions or behaviors. Additionally, a more supportive school climate was associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, the presence of a Gay-Straight Alliance was not statistically associated with anxiety or depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that a supportive school climate and supportive school personnel may be important for supporting the mental health of sexual/gender minority students.

Citation

Colvin et al. (2019) School Climate & Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescent Mental Health. (2019) J. Youth Adolesc. 2019 Oct;48(10):1938-1951. doi: 10.1007/s10964-019-01108-w. Epub 2019 Aug 24.

"School connectedness & school adult support were associated w/ 22% decrease in drug use in LGB California public school students." (LGBT Health)

Article title:

School Protective Factors and Substance Use Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents in California Public Schools.

From the abstract:

A secondary analysis of the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) was conducted to examine associations between school protective factors (i.e., school connectedness and adult support) and substance use among LGB youth, above and beyond a key risk factor, school victimization. The study outcomes were past 30-day and in-school use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, prescription pain medication, and other illegal drugs.

Overall, school connectedness and school adult support were associated with lower odds of substance use. For example, higher levels of school connectedness were associated with 22% decreased odds of past 30-day inhalant use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.72-0.86), and 25% decreased odds of past 30-day prescription pain medication use (AOR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.69-0.82). Higher levels of adult support in school were also associated with 17% decreased odds of marijuana use on school property in the past 30 days (AOR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.77-0.91).

Citation

De Pedro KT, Esqueda MC, Gilreath TD. School Protective Factors and Substance Use Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents in California Public Schools. LGBT Health External . 2017 Jun;4(3):210-216. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2016.0132. Epub 2017 May 12.