Winnipeg team channels two-spirit resilience for LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa
A Winnipeg group inspired by the rich history of two-spirit teachings are the winning designers of a new monument in Ottawa to honour victims of Canada’s LGBTQ2+ purge. Team Wreford was chosen out of five groups for their design of a plant-filled park with a gleaming thunderhead sculpture at its centre to honour those who lived […]
1st transgender judge appointed to bench in California
Andi Mudryk is the first openly transgender judge appointed to the bench in California. She will serve in Sacramento County Superior Court. Mudryk’s appointment was announced Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Mudryk, 58, has served as chief deputy director at the California Department of Rehabilitation since 2020, where she served as chief counsel from 2018 to 2020. Mudryk’s appointment […]
Winnipeg team channels two-spirit resilience for LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa
A Winnipeg group inspired by the rich history of two-spirit teachings are the winning designers of a new monument in Ottawa to honour victims of Canada’s LGBTQ2+ purge. Team Wreford was chosen out of five groups for their design of a plant-filled park with a gleaming thunderhead sculpture at its centre to honour those who […]
Republicans Are Furious That People Are Calling Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill a “Don’t Say Gay” Bill
Earlier this month, the Florida state legislature passed a ban on certain classroom instruction about LGBTQ life. Critics have dubbed it a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, part of a class of anti-LGBTQ censorship legislation gaining steam across the country. The bill would allow parents to sue a school district if they believe a teacher has […]
A trans history of gay liberation in New Zealand
Trans activist and deeply committed Aotearoa gay liberationist Sandy Gauntlett wrote in the late 1970s of her frustration that cisgender gays “conveniently overlooked” the role of trans people in gay liberation. While the Gay Liberation Front itself may not have been founded by trans people, trans women were the “initial impetus” behind the gay movement: […]
Air Force offers medical, legal help as states clamp down on trans and LGBTQ+ children
In light of recent state laws criminalizing parents and doctors who help transgender children take steps to affirm their gender, and other legislation banning official talk about sexual orientation in schools, the Department of the Air Force is offering support to those living in affected communities. The resources are a rare step where the Air […]
Canadian immigration minister Sean Fraser says he’s committed to LGBTQ2S+ refugees
Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser has a lot on his plate right now with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting refugee crisis. That’s on top of the commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghans, including members of the country’s LGBTQ+ communities, facing violence under Taliban rule, and a labour shortage […]
The media disinformation campaign against Ghana’s queer community
When Ako* heard that an LGBTIQ community centre was going to open in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, the first thing she did was get herself a date. And then matching outfits. Calling an Uber on the day of the opening, she entered the words ‘LGBT community centre’ – and there it was. In a city […]
SINGAPORE CONDUCTS FIRST EVER PUBLIC SURVEY ON LGBT ISSUES
A Singapore government survey seeking feedback from the public about LGBTQI issues and section 377A that criminalises same-sex relationships has received over 30,000 responses. According to the Strait Times, the “overwhelming” response to the survey that closed on March 23 exceeded other surveys carried out by the government’s feedback unit REACH. The survey follows the country’s top court refusing […]
High Court delays ruling on closure of Ugandan gay ally group Chapter Four
Uganda’s High Court in Kampala has postponed ruling on an application seeking to quash the government’s decision to indefinitely suspend the activities of Chapter Four Uganda, an LGBT ally and human rights organisation. The ruling had been slated for March 18, but the court has told Chapter Four that the ruling on the matter was […]
Venezuelan same-sex couples still wait for right to marry
CARACAS, Venezuela — Ana Margarita Rojas and Elena Hernáiz have shared their lives for more than three decades and raised a son together. Their neighbors in Venezuela’s capital recognize them as a couple, never questioning them when they refer to each other as “mi esposa” — “my wife.” Their social acceptance, however, does not translate into […]
TikTok censoring LGBTQ, Nazi terms in Germany: report
TikTok has been running a questionable word-filtering system in Germany, according to a report by German public broadcasters. The popular Chinese-owned social network has been blocking posts that contain German-language words relating to Nazis, LGBTQ culture and the tennis player Peng Shuai, according to research by NDR, WDR and ARD’s Tagesschau. Users were able to post the offending keywords, but […]
Gay couple attacked by yeshiva students in Jerusalem
Neria and Kevin were preparing their Shabbat dinner table at their home in Jerusalem when a yeshiva student decided to throw a stone through their window, narrowly missing Kevin’s head, in the first of two homophobic attacks against the couple within a matter of weeks. “It is terrifying that in the State of Israel things like this […]
France’s Zemmour faces suit over denial of Nazi anti-gay crimes
French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour is being targeted with legal action by gay rights groups, who say he denied that homosexuals were rounded up and deported during the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. Six gay rights associations told AFP on Wednesday that their criminal complaint for “denial of crimes against humanity” stemmed […]
Disney employees walk out, as ESPN and Disney+ back LGBTQ+ rights.
Disney employees staged a walkout Tuesday in protest of the company’s response to Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. While many employees at Disney headquarters in Burbank, California, did protest, it did not appear to be a massive showing across the company. “We know how […]
When Communism was Queer.
Cuba is considering a new family code that could allow marriage equality for the first time in the communist nation. In the last year, the Cuban health ministry unfurled an enormous rainbow flag to mark International Day Against Homophobia, and former president Raúl Castro declared that confronting homophobia remained one of the government’s chief goals. […]
Iraq: Impunity for Violence Against LGBT People.
Armed groups in Iraq abduct, rape, torture, and kill lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, with impunity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today with IraQueer. The police arrest and also carry out violence against them. The 86-page report, “‘Everyone Wants Me Dead’: Killings, Abductions, Torture, and Sexual Violence Against LGBT People by […]
Governors in Indiana and Utah veto transgender sports bans.
Going against the growing trend of transgender sports bans in GOP-led states, the Republican governors of Indiana and Utah have vetoed proposed laws in their states. In a letter announcing his veto Monday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holbomb said the legislation, which would have prohibited transgender female athletes from participating in girls sports, “falls short.” Holcomb […]
Cameroon: Freed after 18 months, gay men say ‘thank you’ to supporters.
Generous donors have brought about the early release of nine Cameroonian prisoners who were convicted of homosexuality. Two more are scheduled for release this month. This is the story of the eighth and ninth prisoners to win early release through Project Not Alone / Pas Seul. It started with love at first sight. Allen was […]
How Did the German Church Become the Leaders of Catholic LGBTQ Equality?
Over the past few years, members of the LGBTQ Catholic community around the globe have been watching how Germany’s church leaders, organizations, and laity are leading the way on progressive measures for LGBTQ equality. Inevitably, the question arises: “How is that happening there when in other places we still struggle?” Bondings 2.0 editors asked Dr. […]
The media disinformation campaign against Ghana’s queer community.
When Ako* heard that an LGBTIQ community centre was going to open in Ghanaian capital Accra, the first thing she did was get herself a date. And then matching outfits. Calling an Uber on the day of the opening, she entered the words ‘LGBT community centre’ – and there it was. In a city of […]
How Strands for Trans built a movement for transgender-friendly barbershops.
Strands for Trans, a campaign that maps transgender-friendly barbershops and salons, launched five years ago as stories of trans people facing discrimination in these spaces surfaced online. Now, amid a surge of anti-LGBTQ legislation, the organizers behind the campaign — including the owners of the gender-inclusive grooming salon Barba in New York and employees of […]
Family and friends remember LGBTQ activist Elise Malary found dead over the weekend: ‘She chose time and time again to lift others up’
People who loved Elise Malary gathered in Andersonville Sunday night in front of a brick wall filled with memories. “Her voice was soft. Her tongue was sharp. Her love is forever.” “Her heart was bigger than the universe.” “Her smile.” Family and friends of Malary, 31, became concerned about the Evanston activist’s whereabouts when she […]
A ‘Gay Picture’ in Jordanian School Book Stirs Debate!
Following the massive social media campaign over the possible promotion and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ through teaching Jordanian public schools, the Jordan Minister of Education took to the media and social platforms denying there was any intension to do that. Minister Wajih Owais denied the picture circulating on social media, including two children in the […]
A Transgender Woman Was Killed in Wuhan. The CCP’s Reaction: Hiding the Facts
On March 9, the murder of a transgender person took place in Wuhan Paradise Walk (武汉江宸天街), a large shopping center in downtown Wuhan. The victim was a transgender woman, who was killed in the afternoon with a knife by a man while she was using the men’s restroom in accordance with her biological sex. The picture […]
Baroness Nicholson forced to back down on banning trans people from hospital wards
In the early hours of the morning on Thursday (17 March), Baroness Nicholson proposed an amendment to the controversial Health and Care Bill, which aims to reorganise the NHS to make it more similar to a US health system. The bill passed through the House of Commons last year and is currently on its third reading […]
Meet the asylum seeker who chairs Carlisle City of Sanctuary group
MINA Banisaeid is an asylum seeker who has not only changed her own life, but is helping to improve the lives of others around her. She is keen to stress that she was not a refugee fleeing war, as is the case in Ukraine. “I had come over here on a visa and asked for […]
Kim Davis violated gay couples’ rights in denying marriage licenses, judge rules
A federal judge has ruled that a former Kentucky clerk violated the constitutional rights of two same-sex couples after she wouldn’t issue them marriage licenses – a refusal that sparked international attention and briefly landed her in jail in 2015. The US district judge, David Bunning, issued the ruling on Friday in two longstanding lawsuits […]
Transgender immigrants who fled Latin America still face uncertainty in the US
Paloma Vazquez envisioned a new start in Houston. After immigrating from Honduras to escape transphobic violence just six months prior, the 29-year-old was ready to move into her new apartment. Her dream was abruptly cut short after she was shot and killed in that very apartment on Feb. 26, 2022. Police are still searching for […]
I, Issa, transgender person from Senegal
At 44 years old, Issa Diatta (pseudonym) fled to France in order to assume his true trans identity, which was impossible at home in the Thiès region of Senegal. As a prominent activist for the rights of LGBTI+ people and a successful stylist, Diatta regrets that he had to flee because of the rampant homophobia […]