Pride Month is about people — and data helps make sure LGBTQ+ communities are seen, represented, and supported. 

In this Q&A, Todd Hughes, director of the California Health Interview Survey at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR); Tiffany Lopes, director of communications and publications at the UCLA CHPR; and Stephen Ma, MPH, research data analyst at the UCLA CHPR, share why LGBTQ+ data matters, the health issues we should be talking about, what gives them hope, and recommendations for learning more.

What does Pride Month mean to you?

Todd: Pride month is as an opportunity to remember the work that has been done by those before us in creating a better and safer world for LGBTQ+ people like me, and a call to action to keep moving that work forward.

Tiffany: To me, Pride Month means community and belonging.

It’s a time to honor our stories and our resilience. To remember that we are here because so many fought for us and with us. At a time when “homosexual acts” were illegal in this country and LGBT spaces were raided, the 1969 Stonewall Uprising became a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ movement. We honor activists like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Harvey Milk, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, Billie Jean King, and Edie Windsor, whose landmark 2013 case led the Supreme Court to rule that part of the Defense of Marriage Act denying federal recognition of same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.

My favorite Pride memory was June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. I was out with friends when the news came in, and we cheered and people across the restaurant and bar cheered. We ran over to the Stonewall Inn, where hundreds of people were already celebrating in the streets, crying tears of joy and hugging strangers like family. We managed to squeeze inside, packed shoulder to shoulder, with the floor shaking as people jumped up and down, danced, and sang along to Lady Gaga. It was a magical moment. 

At the same time, LGBTQ+ people still face discrimination, barriers to equal rights, and threats to our safety simply for being who we are. And we cannot lose sight of that.

Pride Month reminds me that there’s a community with open arms where we can be our authentic selves, and that our responsibility is to keep growing that community so that no one is left outside of it.

Stephen: I have many friends who identify as LGBT and I think their identities help portray how special and important it is to live in a diverse society. Like a month celebrating any ethnic or religious group, Pride is a time for gender identities to be celebrated and understood.

Why is data important for LGBTQ+ communities?

Todd: Population-representative data for LGBTQ+ communities is essential for identifying real issues and implementing programs that serve the community.  With the loss of many key federal data resources for the LGBTQ+ community since 2025, state-level data from programs like the CHIS are essential to provide insights below the national level.

Tiffany: Data is more than just numbers, it’s visibility and evidence. I know I’m biased, but our California Health Interview Survey’s online health query tool AskCHIS™ is an amazing (and free!) resource. You can explore data on hundreds of topics AND by sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, including lesbian or gay, bisexual or pansexual, transgender and gender-expansive, and gender non-conforming.

These data help public health departments, hospitals, community organizations, advocates, policymakers, researchers, and many others make informed decisions and advocate for resources.

Stephen: Most data is inherently heteronormative. Marital status, binary gender (or worse, sex vs. gender), all assume a heteronormative identity. Small populations are often obfuscated or removed from data, and are not analyzed in isolation for patterns of health when compared to the general population, especially considering how trends are changing, marriage rates are lower and there are a lot of people who identify as LGBT who may not want to be grouped into simple categories as “male” or “female,” which often simply translates in literature as ‘men” and “women.”

What LGBTQ+ health issue do you wish more people understood?

Todd: In our release of the 2024 California Health Interview Survey data last year, we highlighted delays in care for the transgender and gender expansive population. Specifically, we found that nonbinary, transgender and gender expansive adults are at least twice as likely as other California adults to delay or forego necessary prescriptions or medical care. As the father of a gender expansive young person, I've seen directly how the presence or absence of an environment that is safe, respectful, and affirming can make the difference in whether someone seeks necessary health care. Providing inclusive and culturally competent care is essential to meeting the needs of the transgender and gender expansive population.

Stephen: Trans perspectives and identities, including gender-affirming care and attempts to politicize these issues.

Tiffany: I 100% agree with Stephen about gender-affirming care. I also wish more people understood how much hate, discrimination, and violence affect every aspect of our lives, often in ways people don’t see.

Some people talk about mental health like it’s separate, but it’s not. It’s connected to everything. Words matter more than people realize and the things said to a child, especially by the people who are supposed to love them most, don’t just disappear.

Rejection, shame, and being forced to hide who you are, those adverse childhood experiences can have long-term effects including anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Some LGBTQ+ youth are pushed out of their homes, and that instability can affect everything: physical and mental health, safety, education, access to food, substance use, long-term housing insecurity, everything.

Discrimination also happens in places that are supposed to provide care. Many LGBTQ+ people have been treated poorly or dismissed by their health care providers, which can make them less likely to seek care. And when people avoid care, things that could have been addressed early turn into bigger health problems.

So when we talk about LGBTQ+ health, it’s not just about health care conditions or access to care. It’s about whether people feel safe, supported, and welcome, or not. Because that can really shape everything.

What gives you hope right now?

Todd: Although the current environment can be challenging, every time I see a young LGBTQ+ person feeling safe and free to live authentically, I am reminded of how far we've come from when I faced a much different world as a young gay man, and that gives me hope that progress will continue.

Tiffany: More LGBTQ+ visibility gives me hope. I’ve loved seeing so many recent shows with queer leads like “Heated Rivalry,” “Hacks,” “Yellowjackets,” “The Four Seasons,” “The Last of Us,” “Wayward,” “Euphoria,” “The Hunting Wives,” etc. And the best part is that so many people are watching them. These stories aren’t disappearing after one season — they’re reaching broad audiences and lasting.

That’s what gives me hope: the courage to be visible and the communities that make that possible.

The existence of LGBTQ+ people isn’t debatable. We’re real. We’re your family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, we’re your nurses, bus drivers, restaurant servers, crossing guards, teachers. And the more we are seen and known, the harder it becomes to deny our humanity, and the stronger that sense of connection and belonging becomes.

Any recommendations for LGBTQ+ resources or content?

Todd: The Movement Advancement Project and the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law have both done important work in tracking the impact of the elimination of federal data on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI). Check out these two reports: 

• Movement Advancement Project report: “The Federal SOGI Data Landscape Under the Second Trump Administration: One Year In Review”
• Williams Institute report: “Removal of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity from Federal Data Collections”

Tiffany: Sports have always been a huge part of my life, but mainstream sports environments haven’t always been welcoming to LGBTQ+ people like me. That’s why women’s soccer, especially the U.S. Women’s National Team and the National Women’s Soccer League, has meant so much. It’s been a space where inclusivity isn’t just talked about, but genuinely lived.

Angel City Football Club represents that spirit at its very best. My wife and I are season ticket holders, and being part of this community has become my favorite thing about living in Los Angeles. It’s rare to see a sports organization so deeply rooted in community and purpose, but Angel City makes being a fan feel meaningful in a way that goes beyond wins and losses. They support community events and volunteering opportunities throughout the year, including partnering with the LA LGBT Center to host and sponsor youth and senior proms and food pantries. They’re building a pipeline of female and gender-expansive coaches and providing access to youth camps and clinics.

For me, Angel City is a place where I feel safe, seen, and connected. And it’s a reminder of what sports can and should be: a space where everyone belongs.

I also want to give a shout-out to “Come See Me in the Good Light,” a documentary that chronicles genderqueer spoken word poet Andrea Gibson’s last year of life. It’s a beautiful and vulnerable life-affirming love story. I also recommend reading their poetry and watching their spoken word performances.

Stephen: I've got three:

• “Giovanni's Room” by James Baldwin
• “Notes of a Crocodile” by Qiu Miaojin
• “Rat Bohemia” by Sarah Schulman