Brazil’s anti-LGBTQ president claims COVID-19 vaccines cause AIDS
Brazil’s anti-LGBTQ President Jair Bolsonaro claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines cause AIDS in a video posted to social media, which Facebook and other platforms deleted days later because it violated their policies against coronavirus misinformation. Last Thursday, Bolsonaro claimed in one of his weekly live broadcasts to have seen reports from the U.K. that “suggest […]
Intersex people have been challenging ‘gender-normalizing surgery.’ Doctors are starting to listen
Bria Brown-King, 29, a Pennsylvania native, was raised as a girl. As Brown-King got older, however, they realized they were developing differently. “I didn’t have the feminizing puberty that the other girls in my class had,” said Brown-King, who was born with an enlarged clitoris and started to develop masculine traits during puberty, including facial […]
‘Lesbian couple today, gay men tomorrow’: Minister warns Dabur over Karva Chauth ad
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra warned Dabur India over the Karva Chauth advertisement showing two young women breaking fast. Mishra said he found the advertisement objectionable. The MP Home Minister said he ordered DGP to inform Dabur India to withdraw the advertisement. Speaking about reported violence at Ashram 3 sets, Mishra said scenes that […]
Restrictions on transgender student athletes’ participation in school sports signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott
Texas’ transgender student athletes will be restricted from playing on K-12 school sports teams that align with their gender identity under a bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Monday. House Bill 25, authored by state Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, will require student athletes who compete in interscholastic competition to play on sports teams that […]
Sudan coup adds uncertainties for LGBTQ+ community
Queer people have long been excluded from Sudans’ political life and social mainstream, but some believe the country’s currently tumultuous transition to democracy presents an opportunity to make progress toward recognition of LGBTIQ+ rights. Hopeful signs appear in a report compiled by Bedayaa, a Nile River Valley organization advocating for LGBTQI people in Egypt and […]
“Obama slams GOP attacks on marriage equality: “I thought that ship had sailed” “
Former President Barack Obama has criticized Republicans who continue to attack same-sex marriage, six years after the Supreme Court legalized it nationwide. Obama spoke Saturday at a campaign event for former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, just days after McAuliffe’s Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, said he opposed marriage equality. In an interview last week with the Associated […]
Plight of transgender community in Kashmir appears to be going from bad to worse!
As one walks through the lanes of the old city (Downtown) to meet the transgender people, the locals point at their homes in a very cynical way. The transgender community has always lived in silence and suffered at the hands of their family, friends and society. “People will laugh at you, throw stones and call […]
Lithuanian president to meet with mother fighting for LGBTQ rights
VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is on Monday meeting with a mother who is fighting for the rights of her child and other LGBTQ people. Rasa Raciene, a doctor by profession, says she is seeking a meeting with Nauseda to ask that the president and his circle “spread rhetoric that unites, rather than divides […]
Watch: Nigerian LGBTQ+ activists campaigning and demanding to be seen and heard
Now despite the strides towards equality around the world, homosexuality remains a crime in some 69 countries, almost half of them in Africa. But in Nigeria, Africa’s cultural powerhouse, social media is supporting an LGBTQ renaissance. Despite a recent law prohibiting everything from gay marriage to supporting gay organisations, queer pioneers are coming out to campaign for […]
Western Sanctions: Is Zimbabwe being punished for its strong views against gay rights?
WASHINGTON – The United States has defended its two-decades-old economic sanctions against Zimbabwe saying they only targeted those that undermine democratic processes or facilitate corruption. However, analysts believe that the West’s drive for Zimbabwe constitutional reforms is centred on the right of the LGBT Community. However, some analysts says the fallout between the West and Zanu […]
Requiring trans people to have surgery to change their legal documents is ‘regressive’ says Quebec MNA
As the father of a transgender child, Mike Lumsden says he’s worried a newly proposed Quebec law will open the door to further discrimination against the trans community. Since 2015, Quebecers have been able to change their sex designation on their identity documents without having to undergo surgery, but Bill 2 would change that. The […]
Second protest held in Birmingham after homophobic attacks
Dozens of people have staged a second protest in Birmingham following a series of homophobic attacks. Crowds gathered close to the scene of an assault in the city centre two weeks ago in which the victim was struck on the head with a bottle. A 29-year-old man arrested on suspicion of wounding has since been […]
Vilnius and police in row over whether to keep LGBT rainbow crossing
Vilnius and its police force are set for a court battle over whether to keep a rainbow-coloured pedestrian crossing in the Lithuanian capital. The city council wants to keep the artwork to support LGBT rights, but the police say it goes against traffic rules. The crossing in Pylimo Street was first painted in LGBT colours […]
SYDNEY COULD HAVE AN LGBT MUSEUM BY 2023
A new plan for a queer memorial and museum on Oxford Street is in development. Unlike other major cities such as Melbourne, whose Victorian Pride Centre opened in July this year, Sydney does not yet have a museum that celebrates the history, achievements, and lives of the city’s queer community. “This is a major omission […]
Transgender Pages Pulled From Russian Teen Health Book
A Russian publishing house has removed a section on transgender people from the Russian-language edition of a health guide aimed at teenage girls to avoid running afoul of Russian law, media reported Sunday. The Belaya Vorona publishing house said it received legal counsel that it could be subject to criminal prosecution if “Welcome to Your […]
The 40th anniversary of a key European Court of Human Rights case that led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality – a turning point for LGBTI persons
The fight for LGBTI persons to enjoy their human rights has not been an easy one. 40 years ago today, Jeffrey Dudgeon found justice at the European Court of Human Rights, after facing police raids, intrusive interrogation about his sexual activities and the confiscation of his personal letters and diaries at a time when consensual […]
Gay Afghan Says the Taliban Burned Him, Lives ‘Like a Prisoner’ Now
A gay man from Afghanistan said he was burned by the Taliban. He now lives in hiding out of concern for his safety and said he’s been surprised at the lack of support for LGBTQ+ Afghans by the international LGBTQ+ community. The man, Sohil, told PinkNews that he’s been “living in the shadows” since the […]
MTV Europe Music Awards will ‘stand in solidarity’ with LGBTQ people in Hungary
The MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) will once again broadcast from Hungary next month after a pandemic hiatus, despite the country’s recent crackdown on LGBTQ rights. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide, acknowledged in an internal memo that the decision to stick to this location “may […]
Authoritarian thug Putin thinks transgender rights are a “crime against humanity”
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who jailed his biggest political opponent and outlawed any public expressions of queerness, recently railed against “cancel culture” and called transgender-inclusive policies a “crime against humanity.” Putin made his comments during his Thursday speech at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, the site of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. During […]
NGOs scramble to dampen COVID-19’s impact on people living with HIV
NEW YORK/PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, Oct 18 (Openly) – South African domestic worker Mabuyi Dlamini always dreaded the bumpy, day-long minibus journey she had to make each month to pick up her HIV medication from the nearest clinic in KwaZulu-Natal province. So when a mobile medical service carrying nurses, counsellors and supplies of antiretroviral drugs began […]
Report Details Anti-LGBT Discrimination, Violence in Kenya Refugee Camp
(WB) A new report released on Wednesday indicates nearly all of the LGBT people who live in a Kenya refugee camp have experienced discrimination and violence because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration and Rainbow Railroad in May 2021 surveyed 58 LGBTQ asylum seekers who live at […]
Ghana president calls for tolerance as parliament considers anti-LGBT+ law
ACCRA, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Thursday emphasised the need for civil debate and tolerance as parliament works towards a vote on a controversial bill that would make it a crime to be gay, bisexual or transgender. The so-called family values bill has dismayed the local LGBT+ community and prompted U.N. human […]
LGBTQ History Month: Why we celebrate in October and Pride Month in June
October is LGBTQ History Month, a 31-day celebration to honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer achievement and influence on the world and a time to learn more about the history of LGBTQ rights. Centering around National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, LGBTQ History Month was first celebrated in the United States in 1994. […]
Netflix employees protest ‘transphobic’ Dave Chappelle comedy show
About 100 people have protested outside Netflix’s headquarters over the airing of a comedy special by Dave Chappelle, which they say was transphobic. Netflix staff and transgender activists staged the walkout outside the streaming giant’s Los Angeles offices. Demonstrators called on Netflix to fund more trans and non-binary talent, and other measures to avoid “transphobia […]
Across Africa, major churches strongly oppose LGBTQ rights
In Ghana, home to a diverse array of religions, leaders of major churches have united in denouncing homosexuality as a “perversion” and endorsing legislation that would, if enacted, impose some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ policies in Africa. In Nigeria, the umbrella body for Christian churches depicts same-sex relationships as an evil meriting the lengthy prison […]
Dr. Rachel Levine makes history as the nation’s first openly transgender four-star admiral
Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine made United States history Tuesday as the first openly transgender four-star officer in any of the nation’s eight uniformed services, the Department of Health and Human Services announced. The former pediatrician’s appointment also made her the first female four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps’ […]
The AP Interview: Hungary committed to contentious LGBT law
The right-wing populist government in Hungary is attracting conservative thinkers from the United States who admire its approaches to migration, LGBT issues, and national sovereignty — all matters that have put the country at odds with its European partners, who see not a conservative haven but a worrying erosion of democratic institutions on multiple fronts. […]
‘I have accepted my fate’: the hidden abuse in Uganda’s LGBT community – in pictures
In a country where gay sex is against the law, it can be almost impossible for the LGBT community to access services tackling domestic violence – and during the pandemic, lockdowns saw abuse soar. ‘My dad kicked me out once he found out that I was transgender,’ says Missy. ‘I ended up at a shelter, […]
Taiwan LGBT Pride parade to be held virtually on Oct. 30
Taiwan’s LBGT Pride Parade, the largest in Asia, will be held online for the first time on Oct. 30, during which participants can “walk” a virtual route, watch stage performances and floats, as well as engage in interactive activities on the official website. During a press conference, the event organizer, Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association […]
The Book Club That Helped Spark the Gay-Rights Movement
In the late nineteen-thirties, Gonzálo Segura, known to his friends as Tony, enrolled at Emory University to study biochemistry. He graduated in 1942, and subsequently took a job at Foster D. Snell, a New York-based engineering and chemical-consulting company that the United States Army hired to run radiation tests. Under strict secrecy, Segura tested which […]