In Photos: Kentucky as LGBT Medical Education Progresses

In Kentucky, where there are still holdout clerks who refuse to marry same-sex couples, the University of Louisville School of Medicine is planning to pilot the first full-year curriculum for treating LGBT patients in the country.

Instead of an elective day-long LGBT program, which many med schools already have, the University's class of 2019's students will have LGBT issues woven into their curriculum for the entirety of their medical education. Students will learn why this population has poorer health outcomes, including higher suicide rates and more substance abuse, and how, patient-by-patient, doctors can help.

Activists say Kentucky is "southern-ish," considering it was also home to a failed bill to keep a transgender high school student out of the girls' bathroom. But Louisville has an LGBT subculture that's welcoming and thriving.

VICE News headed to this Louisville to speak candidly about life in Kentucky, and what its residents hope the medical community can learn from their experiences.

All photos by Natalie Keyssar for VICE

This story was produced with support from LG as part of the Photos from Beyond program — click to see more photos from this series. VICE News maintains all editorial independence in the production of this content.