‘I saw myself in RuPaul’: how Drag Race inspired LGBTQ+ Kenyans to find freedom.
An audience wearing face masks sits around the edges of a nondescript room in an unassuming building in the centre of Nairobi. Sparsely furnished and decorated with a few posters advertising PrEP, a drug that reduces chances of contracting HIV, there is a low hum of excited chatter. Then the speakers crackle into action, playing […]
A CNY gay teen shares his ‘biggest challenge’; school’s response sets off a storm.
Tully, N.Y. — When Tyler Johnson, 17, was selected as a “Senior Spotlight” for his school’s January newsletter, he had to answer several questions. One asked about his biggest challenge and how he’d overcome it. Johnson, a senior at Tully High School, answered honestly. For him, that challenge was growing up gay and overcoming bullying […]
Tokyo same-sex partner plans highlight road ahead for LGBTQ rights.
Many welcomed Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike’s recent announcement that a same-sex partnership system would be introduced for all of Tokyo in fiscal 2022. But some LGBTQ activists have pointed out that much more work needs to be done to reach true equality in Japan. Currently, 12 of the 62 municipalities in Tokyo have introduced a […]
Calls in Denmark for gay fathers to get legal rights at birth.
A petition in Denmark calling for two gay fathers to be granted equal parental rights for their child, on Monday received more than the 50,000 signatures required to be considered by parliament. The text, presented last Friday, calls for the creation of new status, “co-paternity”. It would give a child and its non-biological father legal […]
No to “minority propaganda” in French schools, far-right’s Zemmour says.
French far-right candidate Eric Zemmour on Monday attacked anti-racist and anti-homophobia groups in schools, saying they were brainwashing pupils, as he urged a return to a more conservative education system. Zemmour is competing with the more established far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and conservative Valerie Pecresse to challenge center-right President Emmanuel Macron in April’s presidential […]
“Switzerland – Dozens apply for gender change after law is eased “
(MENAFN– Swissinfo) Since January 1, transgender and intersex people have been able to apply for a sex and name change in the civil register without a medical exam or other pre-conditions. Dozens of people have applied for a sex change in the Swiss civil register after the law was eased on January 1 this year, reports […]
The first transgender woman officeholder in Baja wants to make Tijuana more inclusive
TIJUANA — The first transgender woman to hold public office in Baja California is determined to help develop a more inclusive language in Tijuana — and with it, a city government aimed at more awareness and acceptance of the broad spectrum of gender identities. But, are Tijuaneses — who live in a state where the federal government recently issued an […]
Study Launched to Determine Risk of Blood Donated by Sexually Active Gay Men
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A blood shortage exacerbated by the COVID pandemic is adding support to an effort to change the FDA’s longstanding ban on donations by sexually active gay men. Since the pandemic began, the Vitalant donation site in San Francisco — like blood banks across the country — has been scrambling to find […]
Man stabbed, beaten and called ‘batty boy’ by group of boys who suspected him of being gay
Perry Ato Inkoom told SVTV Africa that in the early evening of 19 December he was attacked by the young people following a birthday party. In Tema, a coastal city 16 miles east of the capital Accra, Inkoom was walking along Site 14, community one, when the kids targeted him. Inkoom was walking back from a children’s party […]
SYDNEY GAY PENGUINS CELEBRATE THREE YEARS TOGETHER
A gay penguin couple has celebrated their third anniversary at Sydney’s SEA LIFE Aquarium. In November 2021 Sphen and Magic celebrated three years together with a frozen fish cake with their neighbours. The Gentoo penguin dads hatched their first chick, Lara, in 2018, after patiently waiting for her to hatch and taking turns to incubate […]
‘No words’: gay Australian footballer Josh Cavallo calls out homophobic crowd abuse
Josh Cavallo, who last year became the only openly gay professional top flight men’s footballer in the world, says he has “no words” to describe his disappointment at being targeted by homophobic abuse during an A-League Men game over the weekend. The Adelaide United player came on as a second-half substitute during the Reds’ away […]
Priest to be charged with hate speech for saying being gay is ‘worse than being possessed’
A rabble-rousing local priest known for his anti-LGBT+ outbursts is to be charged in court for hate speech in Malta. Earlier this month, Father David Muscat went on a homophobic tirade following the murder of 29-year-old Polish student Paulina Dembska. In a seething Facebook post, Muscat addressed Dembska’s alleged killer, saying him being gay or […]
Germany appoints first LGBTQ rights commissioner
Accepting his new position on January 5, Green Party politician Sven Lehmann said “everyone should be able to live freely, safely, and with equal rights.” In the newly created role of “Federal Government Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity,” Lehmann will be responsible for working with government ministries on policy projects affecting […]
Gay South Korean couple lose equal coverage lawsuit against health insurer
A Seoul court rejected a landmark lawsuit by a same-sex couple over shared health insurance benefits Friday, a ruling that advocates say highlights the challenges the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community faces in pursuing equal rights in South Korea. The suit was filed last year by So Seong-wook against South Korea’s National Health Insurance […]
Work resumes on the nation’s only major transgender study
After two years of delays, work on the only comprehensive study of transgender life has restarted. The National Center for Transgender Equality announced on Monday that it is collecting data for a 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS). The USTS, which started in 2013, has provided some of the only thorough research on transgender health, employment, […]
Pope Francis praises Sister Jeannine Gramick’s 50 years of L.G.B.T. ministry in handwritten letter
In another sign of support for L.G.B.T. Catholics and those who advocate on their behalf, Pope Francis sent a handwritten letter on Dec. 10 to Jeannine Gramick, S.L., the co-founder of the Catholic apostolate New Ways Ministry. Sister Gramick is celebrating 50 years of working with and advocating for L.G.B.T. people. Noting her anniversary as the […]
‘Gay cake’ case shows power of US Christian Right
Gay rights activist Gareth Lee has lost his seven-year battle with the Christian owners of a Northern Ireland bakery who refused to make him a cake decorated with the words ‘Support Gay Marriage’ in 2014. The European Courts of Human Rights ruled today that Lee’s case was inadmissible because he had failed to invoke the ECHR […]
Transgender woman referred to prosecutors for using Osaka ladies room
A transgender woman was referred to prosecutors Thursday for suspected trespassing after using the ladies room in a commercial facility in Osaka, in a case an expert on LGBT issues fears might lead to more prejudice and discrimination against sexual minorities. According to the Osaka prefectural police, the commercial facility in the western Japanese city […]
Is Korean media silencing LGBT voices?
A rendition of Lady Gaga’s LGBT anthem “Born This Way” with a missing lyric by a South Korean group on New Year’s Eve has caused controversy, with experts calling it “LGBT erasure.” The controversy comes after a local TV broadcaster faced criticism last year for editing out kissing scenes between two men in the Freddie […]
Ugandan LGBT ally Sylvia Tamale receives honorary doctorate
Professor Sylvia Tamale, a Ugandan LGBT ally and academic scholar, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Pretoria in South Africa in recognition of her contributions to advancing rights for African women and sexual minorities and her provocative scholarship on sexual and reproductive rights. Tamale is the first female Dean of Makerere Law […]
U.K. expands ‘Turing’s Law’ to pardon past same-sex convictions
In a long-awaited triumph for the U.K.’s LGBTQ community, the government on Tuesday announced that anyone convicted of consensual same-sex activity under now-defunct laws will soon be eligible to be pardoned and have their records wiped clean. This week’s announcement follows a less expansive 2017 measure that was limited to nine former offenses that targeted gay […]
Lawmakers in Senegal Reject Bill to Double Penalties for Same-sex Relations.
Over the Christmas holidays, parliamentary lawmakers in Senegal rejected a proposed bill that sought to double the jail time for people convicted under the country’s anti-sodomy law and imprison anyone who advocated publicly in favor of LGBTQ rights. Under the country’s current penal code, those convicted of committing “an indecent or unnatural act with an […]
‘I’d been set up’: the LGBTQ Kenyans ‘catfished’ for money via dating apps.
One day after work last month, Tom Otieno went to a shopping centre in Nairobi to pick up groceries before heading home. He got a call from someone he had been chatting to for a week on Grindr, a social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people. The man had already tried ringing […]
Intersex bill, again, dies in committee.
Lacking the votes to pass his bill banning medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children out of committee, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced January 4 he was once again shelving the bill. Since 2019, Wiener has tried to get a legislative ban passed by his colleagues to no avail. Wiener had resubmitted his […]
2022 WORLD CUP CEO SAYS HOMOSEXUALITY ‘NOT AUTHORISED’ IN QATAR.
The CEO of the 2022 FIFA World Cup organising committee, Nasser Al Khater, says “homosexuality is not authorised” in his home country of Qatar. In 2010, the small emirate on the Arabian Peninsula earned the right to host the tournament. CNN did an interview with Al Khater in November of last year in which he […]
Meet Trinetra Haldar Gummaraj, Karnataka’s First Transgender Doctor.
Transgender activist, surgeon in training, and Instagram influencer Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju is fighting bigotry. She is taking on prejudice against the trans community and hopes to improve the healthcare of trans people. Watch her inspiring story.
Israel opens surrogacy to same-sex couples, single fathers, transgender people.
Israel announced on Tuesday that the country will begin allowing same-sex couples, single fathers and transgender individuals to pursue parental surrogacy. The news was delivered by Israeli health minister Nitzan Horowitz, who said the rules will take effect on Jan. 11.The health ministry said the new rules will allow equal access to surrogacy across Israel. […]
How a music video about a gay teen may have saved hundreds of lives.
The 2017 music video for rapper Logic’s song “1-800-273-8255” may have saved hundreds of lives, a new study found. The song’s title is the phone number of the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Its video showed a gay Black teen calling the number after being outed and receiving homophobic abuse by his track-and-field teammates. The […]
All gay sex convictions to be pardoned in plan to ‘right wrongs of the past’.
Any conviction that was imposed on someone purely due to consensual homosexual activity under now-abolished laws will be included in a scheme aimed at “righting the wrongs of the past”, the home secretary is set to announce. Priti Patel said more people would have convictions for same-sex sexual activity wiped from their records, as she […]
Tucson nonprofit seeks to build tiny house community for transgender women of color
With 2021 poised to be the deadliest year on record for violence against transgender or gender non-conforming people living in the United States, one local nonprofit is stepping up its efforts to provide safe housing for Tucson’s transgender women of color. As of Dec. 4, 50 transgender or gender non-conforming people were fatally shot, or […]