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Health care and resources

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Welcome to the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care!

Our goal is to provide LGBTQ individuals and their families with welcoming access to expert health information and resources that will enhance wellness and quality of life.

The health care system has been slow to offer comfortable and affirming health services to LGBT communities - in fact, Chase Brexton was founded for this reason. And, through the years, we've grown - but we never let go of our heart and our history: equal, expert, and affirming health care for our LGBT communities.

Whether you are questioning, bisexual, queer, transgender, gay, lesbian, or unsure where you fit, the LGBT Health Resource Center is here for you. Our amazing team is ready to work with you and do all we can to help you live your healthiest possible life!

Come see us by appointment, by contacting, us or connecting with us on Facebook...

...Or stop by during walk-in hours...

1111 North Charles Street
2nd Floor
Chase Brexton Health Care
Baltimore, MD 21201

Monday, 9 AM - 12 PM

Wednesday, 1 PM - 5 PM

Friday, 9 AM - 12 PM

Note: Walk-in hours are subject to change dependent on staff availability and holiday closures.

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Our goal is to provide LGBTQ individuals and their families with welcoming access to expert health information and resources that will enhance wellness and quality of life. The health care system has been slow to offer comfortable and affirming health services to LGBT communities - in fact, Chase Brexton was founded for this reason.

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Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network

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In this statement, GLSEN's National Student Council condemns police brutality and calls for greater support for Black lives

Read the Statement

Get involved and join your community, local, or state GLSEN chapter

GLSEN Chapters create LGBTQ-inclusive schools. Community-led chapters offer teacher trainings, student support, community outreach, and more.

Recent Research

Research, Reports, and Briefs

Research, Reports, and Briefs

Research, Reports, and Briefs

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In this statement, GLSEN's National Student Council condemns police brutality and calls for greater support for Black lives Read the Statement GLSEN Chapters create LGBTQ-inclusive schools. Community-led chapters offer teacher trainings, student support, community outreach, and more. Research, Reports, and Briefs Research, Reports, and Briefs Research, Reports, and Briefs

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A crisis and suicide prevention network for LGBTQ youth.

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The Trevor Project | For Young LGBTQ Lives

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The Trevor Project provides 24/7 crisis support services to LGBTQ young people. Text, chat, or call anytime to reach a trained counselor. Free and confidential.

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Guidelines for educators regarding transgender and gender non-conforming youth.

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Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays website.

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Our 400+ chapter network provides confidential peer support, education and advocacy in communities in nearly all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Our 200,000+ members and supporters cross multiple generations of American families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas.

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It's easier than you think to get involved and make a difference. Join or start a Gay-Straight Alliance or take part in one of our student leadership programs to make your school a better place.

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The GLSEN 2015 National School Climate Survey

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The GLSEN 2015 National School Climate Survey

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LGBTQ Students Experience Pervasive Harassment and Discrimination, But School-Based Supports Can Make a Difference

The GLSEN National School Climate Survey (pdf) is our flagship report on the school experiences of LGBTQ youth in schools, including the extent of the challenges that they face at school and the school-based resources that support LGBTQ students' well-being. The survey has consistently indicated that specific school-based supports are related to a safer and more inclusive school climate, including: supportive educators, LGBT-inclusive curriculum, comprehensive anti-bullying policies, and supportive student clubs, such as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs).

The full GLSEN 2015 National School Climate Survey report includes information on LGBTQ middle and high school students' experiences, including:

Hearing biased language, from both students and educators

Experiences of harassment and assault

Anti-LGBTQ discrimination

Effects of a hostile school climate on educational outcomes and psychological well-being

The availability and utility of supportive school resources

This report also examines demographic and school differences in students' experiences, as well as changes in school climate over time. In addition, for the first time, this installment of GLSEN's National School Climate Survey also includes insights on bisexual student experiences, school policies that specifically affect transgender students, and anti-bullying student education and asks students about discriminatory policies and practices around extracurricular activities and school events.

Read the Press Release on the 2015 National School Climate Survey and look-up state specific snapshots for 30 states.

An archive of past versions of The National School Climate Survey is available here.

Sharable Infographics

We welcome the use of these infographics, in full, in reports and presentations, and encourage sharing with social networks.

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GLSEN Shares Latest Findings on LGBTQ Students' Experiences in Schools

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The GLSEN National School Climate Survey (pdf) is our flagship report on the school experiences of LGBTQ youth in schools, including the extent of the challenges that they face at school and the school-based resources that support LGBTQ students' well-being.

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Provides resources and legal services to LGBT MD residents

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Maryland Gay Support Groups - LGBTQ Group Therapy Maryland - Gay Counseling Groups Maryland

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Find Gay Support Groups in Maryland, get help from a Maryland Gay Group, or Gay Counseling Groups, get help with LGBTQ in Maryland.

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WASHINGTON-Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, and SHOWTIME announced this year's 25 recipients of "Queer to Stay:...

Despite living in a state of emergency, our community continues to stay resilient. We are still coming together, celebrating ourselves and advocating for our rights. It is more important than ever that we join together to send a clear message: We are not going anywhere.

Read the Summer 2023 issue

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If Enacted, Discriminatory Legislation Introduced in House of Representatives Would Erase LGBTQ+ Identities from Education System

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Terms every good Ally should know

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Millions of Americans identify as LGBTQ, and like any group, they have their own language to talk about who they are and the challenges they face in a society that doesn't fully accept or protect them.

If you want to be an ally, these terms might help - but be aware that many have been used derogatorily by straight, white, cisgender (defined below) people, and were reclaimed over time by the LGBTQ community.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and some of these terms - because they are so personal - likely mean different things to different people. If you're puzzled by a term and feel like you can ask someone you love in the LGBTQ community to help you make sense of it, do it. But also be careful not to put the burden of your education on other people when there's a whole wide world of resources out there.

Let's get started

LGBTQ: The acronym for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer." Some people also use the Q to stand for "questioning," meaning people who are figuring out their sexual orientation or gender identity. You may also see LGBT+, LGBT*, LGBTx, or LGBTQIA. I stands for intersex and A for asexual/aromantic/agender.

Speaking of intersex: Born with sex characteristics such as genitals or chromosomes that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female.

Sex: The label you are assigned at birth based on your anatomical features, chromosomes and hormones.

Gender: The societal constructions we assign people based on their sex characteristics. When you hear someone say "gender stereotypes," they're referring to the ways we expect people to act and behave based on their sex.

Queer: Originally used as a pejorative slur, queer has now become an umbrella term to describe the myriad ways people reject binary categories of gender and sexual orientation to express who they are.

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation: How a person characterizes their sexuality. "There are three distinct components of sexual orientation," said Ryan Watson, a professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Connecticut. "It's comprised of identity (I'm gay), behavior (I have sex with the same gender) and attraction (I'm sexually attracted to the same gender), and all three might not line up for all people." (Don't say "sexual preference," which implies it's a choice and easily changed.)

Gay: A sexual orientation that describes a person who is emotionally or sexually attracted to people of their own ge; commonly used to describe men.

Lesbian: A woman who is emotionally or sexually attracted to other women.

Bisexual: A person who is emotionally or sexually attracted to more than one gender.

Pansexual: A person who can be attracted to all different kinds of people, regardless of their gender identity.

Asexual: A person who doesn't fit traditional standards and expectations around sexual desire. Many people in the LGBTQ community think of sexuality as a spectrum. Asexuality is just one end of spectrum with identities (gray areas) in between. Someone who is asexual may not be sexually active but still masturbate. Or they may be attracted to people but not desire sex.

People who identify as graysexual fall somewhere between asexual and sexual on the spectrum, and can include people who experience sexual attraction rarely.

Aromantic: A person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others.

Gender identity and expression

Gender identity: How you feel and express your gender, which does not need to align with the sex you were assigned at birth.

Gender role: The social behaviors that culture assigns to each sex. Examples: Girls play with dolls, boys play with trucks; women are nurturing, men are stoic.

Gender expression: How we express ourgender identity. It can refer to our hair, the clothes we wear, the way we speak.

Pronouns: A word used instead of a noun often to refer to a person without using their name. Pronouns can signal a person's gender. Some of the most commonly used pronouns are she/her, he/him and they/them.

Neopronouns: Words created to be used as pronouns but which are gender neutral. You can read a list of neopronouns here.

Transgender: A person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gender dysphoria: The psychological distress that occurs when a person's gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Cisgender: A person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Binary: The concept of dividing sex or gender into two clear categories. Sex is male or female, gender is masculine or feminine.

Nonbinary: Someone who doesn't identify exclusively as female or male.

Two-spirit: Someone who is a Native member of the LGBTQ community.

Genderqueer: People who reject static, conventional categories of gender and embrace fluid ideas of gender (and often sexual orientation). They are people whose gender identity can be both male and female, neither male nor female, or a combination of male and female.

Agender: Someone who doesn't identify as any particular gender.

Gender-expansive: An umbrella term used to refer to people who don't identify with traditional gender roles.

Gender fluid: Not identifying with a single, fixed gender. A person whose gender identity may change.

Gender non-conforming: People who don't conform to traditional expectations of their gender.

Trans: The overarching umbrella term for various kinds of gender identifies in the trans community.

Drag kings & drag queens: People, some who are straight and cisgender, who perform either masculinity or femininity as a form of art.

Deadnaming: Saying the name that a transgender person was given at birth but no longer uses.

Misgendering: Referring to someone in a way that does not correctly reflect their gender identity, typically by using incorrect pronouns.

Gender-affirming care: Care that helps you live your gender identity.

Gender transition: There isn't one way for a person to transition. Gender transition can include a range of social (new name and pronouns) medical (hormone therapy, surgery) and legal (changing a driver's license or birth certificate) steps to help affirm one's gender identity.

Gender confirmation surgery: A step some transgender people take to help them feel their body aligns with their gender identity.

Bottom surgery: A colloquial way of referring to gender-affirming genital surgery.

Top surgery: A colloquial way of describing gender-affirming surgery on the chest.

Binding: Flattening your breasts, sometimes to appear more masculine.

Androgynous: A person who has both masculine and feminine characteristics, which sometimes means you can't easily distinguish that person's gender. It can also refer to someone who appears female, but who adopts a style that is generally considered masculine.

'Out' vs. 'closeted'

Coming out: The complicated, multi-layered, ongoing process by which one discovers and accepts one's own sexuality and gender identity.

Outing: Publicly revealing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity when they haven't come out themselves yet.

Living openly: An LGBTQ person who is comfortable being out about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

Closeted: An LGBTQ person who will not or cannot disclose their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Attitudes

Ally: A person who is not LGBTQ but uses their privilege to support LGBTQ people and promote equality. Allies "stand up and speak out even when the people they're allying for aren't there," said Robin McHaelen, founder and executive director of True Colors, a non-profit that provides support for LGBTQ youth and their families. In other words, not just at P ride parades.

Sex positive: An attitude that views sexual expression and sexual pleasure, if it's healthy and consensual, as a good thing.

Heterosexual privilege: Refers to the societal advantages that heterosexuals get which LGBTQ people don't. If you're a straight family that moves to a new neighborhood, for example, you probably don't have to worry about whether your neighbors will accept you.

Heteronormativity: A cultural bias that considers heterosexuality (being straight) the norm. When you first meet someone, do you automatically assume they're straight? That's heteronormativity.

Cisnormativity: A cultural bias that assumes being cis (when your gender identity aligns with the sex you were assigned at birth) is the norm.

Heterosexism: A system of oppression that considers heterosexuality the norm and discriminates against people who display non-heterosexual behaviors and identities.

Cissexism: A system of oppression that says there are only two genders, which are considered the norm, and that everyone's gender aligns with their sex at birth.

Homophobia: Discrimination, prejudice, fear or hatred toward people who are attracted to members of the same sex.

Biphobia: Discrimination, prejudice, fear or hatred toward bisexual people.

Transphobia: Discrimination, prejudice, fear or hatred toward trans people.

Transmisogyny: A blend of transphobia and misogyny, which manifests as discrimination against "trans women and trans and gender non-conforming people on the feminine end of the gender spectrum."

TERF: The acronym for "trans exclusionary radical feminists," referring to feminists who are transphobic.

Transfeminism: Defined as "a movement by and for trans women who view their liberation to be intrinsically linked to the liberation of all women and beyond." It's a form of feminism that includes all self-identified women, regardless of assigned sex, and challenges cisgender privilege. A central tenet is that individuals have the right to define who they are.

Intersectionality: The understanding of how a person's overlapping identities -including race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and disability status - impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.

Symbols

Pride rainbow flag: The universal symbol of pride for LGBTQ people around the world.

Original rainbow flag: In the late 70s, Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, challenged activist Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of hope for the gay community. Baker's original design had 8 stripes, and included the color pink. It first flew in 1978. In the intervening years eight stripes became six, pink was removed, and royal blue replaced turquoise.

Post-BLM rainbow: Philadelphia redesigned the Pride flag in 2017 to include the colors brown and black in an effort to promote diversity and inclusion and to "honor the lives of our black and brown LGBTQ siblings," the city said in a statement. Philadelphia's Office of LGBT Affairs partnered with Tierney, a Philadelphia PR agency, to redesign the flag as part of its new inclusivity campaign, #MoreColorMorePride.

Progress rainbow flag: Designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018, it adds five new colors to emphasize progress around inclusion. The flag includes black and brown stripes to represent people of color, and baby blue, pink and white, which are used in the Transgender Pride Flag.
Think we're missing a word? Contact Alia Dastagir on Twitter @alia_e. What is intersectional feminism? A look at the term you may be hearing a lot

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LGBTQ definitions every good ally should know

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Millions of Americans identify as LGBTQ, and like any group, they have their own language to talk about who they are and the challenges they face in a society that doesn't fully accept or protect them.

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Welcoming Schools Program | Welcoming Schools

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Welcoming Schools, a project of the HRC Foundation, offers professional development and resources to improve school climate in elementary schools and welcome all students and their families.

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Sexual Minority Youth | Disparities | Adolescent and School Health | CDC

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Health risks among sexual minority youth

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A revised middle school health curriculum will incorporate perspectives of gender-diverse students, the Frederick County Board of Education decided last week.

The revisions come in an effort to ensure that students with varying gender expressions and identities and sexual orientations are supported by the school system and receive the necessary instruction to remain safe.

The curriculum will include lessons to "explain the benefits of respecting individual differences associated with sexuality and gender identity - such as sexual activity, sexual abstinence, sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity - growth and development or physical appearance," according to the new framework.

The board supported the motion 6-1, with member April Miller being the lone dissenting vote.

Last summer, the board passed policy 443, which acknowledges that students will be treated as whatever gender with which they identify.

Critics of the policy argued that it largely shut parents out of the conversation because it did not give teachers the right to tell parents if their child identifies at school as something other than a heterosexual male or female. The revised curriculum requires teachers to explain the importance of talking with parents about issues such as sexual orientation and gender identity.

While the curriculum is likely to continue to receive revisions, the current framework does a good job of making sure varying identities are acknowledged, said Nissa Quill, a Walkersville Middle School teacher and parent of a transgender child.

But there needs to be training for teachers so that they understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity, she said.

Quill also recalled troubling stories from students in which a teacher put pieces of tape on students to demonstrate the "lack of purity that arises from multiple sexual experiences," which she hopes would not be part of this revised curriculum.

The previous curriculum did not teach gender diversity and prompted some students to feel they weren't supported, parent Wendy Frazier said. Her son did not "see himself" in the curriculum and therefore could not relate to the information being presented, she said.

No late additions

The Board of Education is unlikely to change the schedule for its capital improvement projects, despite recent pushes for increased security and a turf field at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.

During last week's worksession, the board discussed what it would take to add security vestibules - a second layer of security that requires visitors to enter the front office before going into school hallways - to the 19 schools that don't currently have them.

While the district is pursuing grant funding, there is no way it could complete the projects this year, even if the estimated $1.6 million for the projects were made available.

"If we got the money today, it would be at least a year to do the design," Chief Operating Officer Paul Lebo said. "Even if we had the funding, it would be a heavy lift."

The district is scheduled to install a vestibule at TJ High School this summer, and will finish designing vestibules for three more schools this year. There is a plan to install vestibules at each school, but they are planned for several years out, Lebo said.

After a second recent push from Thomas Johnson athletic boosters to get a turf field installed, the district performed a study to see how much a turf field would cost.

The parents have raised about $250,000 for a turf field, but the project is estimated to cost much more.

In order to install a turf field, the district would also have to renovate the track, or else the field would be the smallest in Frederick County, Lebo said. He projected the total project to cost around $3.5 million.

The funding to complete the project is even less likely because the state will not provide funding for a roof replacement for the high school, and is providing less funding than projected for Catoctin High School's HVAC replacement.

So funding the turf field would likely require deferring several critical systemic projects for another year, Lebo said.

"I really want to do this," said board member Mike Bunitsky, who put the item on the agenda. "I'm just not sure how."

Follow Allen Etzler on Twitter: @AllenWEtzler.

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School Notes: Revised middle school health curriculum incorporates LGBTQ perspectives

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A revised middle school health curriculum will incorporate perspectives of gender-diverse students, the Frederick County Board of Education decided last week. The revisions come in an effort to ensure that students with varying gender expressions and identities and sexual orientations are supported by the school system and receive the necessary instruction to remain safe.