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By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Many people are puzzled and confused by what seems to an explosion of people who identify as transgender, genderqueer, gender fluid, or something else that is not ‘male’ or ‘female.’ Even to LGB folk, the changes seem to have occurred almost overnight. So let’s start our exploration of trans issues by…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. This blog is named after a workshop designed in the 1980’s by Luis Palacios and Michael Shernoff, two gay social workers and friends who worked with GMHC- Gay Men’s Health Crisis- in the early days. Their workshop was subtitled ‘Eroticizing Safer Sex’ and – it did exactly that. Gay men in…
Thomas Szasz , the psychiatrist who himself was one of psychiatry’s most strident critic, died on Saturday September 8 at the age of 92. I’ve read several obits, some praising and some ridiculing the man, but none that capture his real importance. The writers are taking the arguments of Szasz’ seminal book, “The Myth of…
In recent months there has been a show of rebellion against what some have called the fetishization of motherhood, including some articles that even question that most sacred of cows (no pun intended), breast-feeding. The Time Magazine cover story of May 2012, “Are You Mom Enough?” is the most well known, but other similar articles…
In this video, the second part of our series on children who are gender non-conforming, IPG Executive Director, psychologist, and sex therapist Dr. Margie Nichols explains what these kids need from their parents: unconditional love and support, the freedom to be who they really are, contact with other kids like them – and advocacy. To…
Dr. Margie Nichols, psychologist, sex therapist and director of IPG Counseling, and Courtney Zehnder, IPG Social Media Staff and counselor for LGBTQ and gender variant kids, tackle a difficult subject. On August 12, 2012, the New York Times Sunday Magazine’s cover story was called “BoyGirl – What’s So Bad About A Boy Who Wants To…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. In an earlier blog post, we wrote about the distinct characteristics of male sexuality. With the caveats that men and women are more alike than different, and that we don’t know if the differences are cultural or biological- here are some things we know about women’s sexuality: 1) Women are less sexual…
IPG just initiated supportive counseling groups for gender variant and transgender youth, and for their parents. We’re realizing that most people are woefully misinformed about these kids, so we came up with a list of facts that we hope will counteract the stereotypes and falsehoods: 1. It’s Not a Binary, It’s a Spectrum. We’re used…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. MARS AND VENUS? REALLY? The answer is – yes and no. John Gray’s ‘Mars/Venus’ books maintain that men and women are so intrinsically different that they might as well be from different planets. Critics of Gray point out, truthfully, that the differences between men as a group and women as a…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. IN OUR LAST POST, WE DESCRIBED THE MOST COMMON ROMANTIC MYTHS THAT DESTROY SEX LIFE. HERE WE TELL YOU WHY THEY ARE WRONG. Most people are raised with a lot of romantic myths about sex, and like the women in the picture, we refuse to see, hear, or talk about evidence that…
