Kentucky’s first transgender elected official wants you to get involved in local politics
Kentucky legislators passed some of the nation’s worst anti-LGBTQ+ laws in 2023. Alongside bans on gender-affirming care for minors and bans on teaching LGBTQ+ topics in public schools, the state enacted a law that also requires school districts to “at a minimum” prohibit trans students from using restrooms that align with their gender identity, and […]
‘Gay Christ’ poster sparks outcry in Spain as some say depiction of Jesus looks ‘homoerotic’
A poster in the southern Spanish city of Seville that depicts a young, handsome, Jesus wearing only a loincloth has unleashed a storm on social media. Some people are labeling it an affront to the figure of Christ and others have been posting lewd remarks and memes poking fun at the image. The poster by […]
Mumbai’s LGBTQIA+ pride parade is back after four-year gap
Mumbai: After a hiatus of four years, the city’s official LGBTQIA+ pride parade is back, this time, the organisers say, it will be bigger than the previous ones. With all permissions in place, the march will commence from August Kranti Maidan in Tardeo at 3pm this Saturday. It will pass through Nana Chowk, Lamington Road, […]
Coming out as trans can be tough in regional Australia. Here’s how these three teens did it
Eliott had heard too many horror stories about trans kids coming out in small country towns. But when he did, he was surprised by what happened. He was only 12 when a powerful, terrifying moment of clarity hit him. The words in his head rang: “I was supposed to be born a boy.” What happened next was a […]
Ghana opposition head expresses anti-LGBTQ stance ahead of elections
Ghana’s former president and leading opposition presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday expressed his opposition to LGBTQ+ rights but did not say if he would support a bill aimed at criminalising same-sex relations. The main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), voted last year to retain Mahama as its leader for the 2024 presidential […]
Russia makes first convictions for ‘LGBT extremism’ following ban
(Reuters) – Two Russian courts have meted out the first convictions in connection with what the government calls the “international LGBT social movement” and which was designated as extremist last year. On Thursday, a court in the southern region of Volgograd found a man guilty of “displaying the symbols of an extremist organisation” after he posted […]
Tennessee Republican proposes bill of rights for individuals wishing to detransition
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Tennessee Republican introduced legislation proposing a bill of rights for individuals who received gender reassignment surgeries and later wish to detransition. Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, introduced House Bill 2816. Faison says it would protect four rights of Tennesseans, including the right to insurance coverage, mental health care access, legal restoration and […]
Alberta’s new transgender rules: From restricted treatments to pronouns and parental rights
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a new pronoun disclosure policy for schools on Wednesday, in addition to other restrictions on transgender treatments and sports. The pronoun policy announcement, which was hinted at in a radio broadcast last weekend, is likely to ignite debate in Alberta, as it did in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Alberta’s new […]
Gay, teenaged and online: LGBTQ+ Indians fight for safe space
The suicide of a 16-year-old Indian boy who hit a wall of online abuse after posting selfies in saris and makeup has galavanised calls for social media giants to better protect LGBTQIA+ Indians. Content warning: This story includes topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable and/or upset. Sexual minorities say it is hard enough being […]
Sierra Leonean Trans Activist Finds ‘Home’ On The Island of Lesvos
It all started with a broken heart. Roxy* kept her queerness to herself as she was growing up in Freetown Sierra Leone. Her mother – a pastor – was too preoccupied with her congregation to notice Roxy’s true identity; her stepfather however, became fixated by it. “This boy is gay, I am telling you that […]
Florida bars transgender people from changing the sex on their driver’s licenses
Florida will no longer allow transgender people to change the sex on their state driver’s license to reflect their gender identity, a policy change that muddles whether trans people who have already updated their documents could face fraud charges for “misrepresenting” their identities. Robert Kynoch, deputy executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety […]
Armenia Denies Extradition Request for Gay Chechen Man Wanted by Russia
A court in Yerevan on Tuesday rejected Russia’s request to extradite a man who fled the republic of Chechnya after being tortured because he was suspected of being gay, an LGBTQ+ rights group said. Salman Mukaev was detained by security services in his native Chechnya in 2020, after which he was subject to interrogation and […]
French ‘Mindsets Evolving’ Says Country’s First Openly-gay PM
France’s first openly-gay Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said French “mindsets are evolving” on LGBTQ issues in a major speech to lawmakers Tuesday laying out his programme. France was “tearing itself apart just 10 years ago over same-sex marriage,” Attal said, whereas “being French in 2024 means… being able to be prime minister and openly gay”. […]
Doski Azad: Murder of trans woman still haunts LGBTQ+ Iraqi Kurds
Doski Azad dared to live openly as a transgender woman in Iraqi Kurdistan, but her murder two years ago shattered the enclave’s reputation as a relatively liberal haven in a hostile region. Today, her killer remains at large and LGBTQ+ people in the mountainous, semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq say the case highlights widespread impunity […]
Pope says Africans are ‘special case’ when it comes to LGBT blessings
Pope Francis said in an interview published on Monday that Africans were a “special case” in the opposition of bishops and many other people in the continent to homosexuality. But he said he was confident that, except for Africans, critics of his decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples would eventually understand it. Blessings were […]
Fleeing home as a queer Ukrainian
Marianna is a queer activist from the south of Ukraine. She is also the head of an LGBTQ+ organization, “For Equal Rights,” which has been working toward equality in her home region. Marianna spent her entire life in Kherson, up until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine uprooted her and forced her to become a […]
‘Chaos campaign’: how an Armenian enclave became the center of an anti-LGBTQ+ battle
On a gray afternoon last June, the school board in Glendale, California, was preparing to make what was once a routine vote to honor June as LGBTQ+ pride month. School board meetings used to be pretty placid affairs. This year, however, cops in riot gear surrounded the building and helicopters hovered overhead. As Erik Adamian, […]
The Brazilian bishop who took the first step toward the Catholic Church embracing gays and transgender people
The next lesbian, gay, or transgender person to be the godparent of a baby baptized in a Catholic parish, or in a cathedral, in any corner of the world, may not know what led him or her to assume that crucial responsibility in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. But the process began in […]
Finland’s ‘DJ’ candidate hopes to become the country’s first Green and gay president
At a packed, dimly lit music venue in Helsinki, an attentive crowd dressed up for a night out sings sweetly along to musicians on stage in front of a kitsch image of a smiling 65-year-old man. While the atmosphere would suggest fun club night rather than political campaign event, it is one of the last appearances […]
Chinese Communist Party continues crackdown on LGBTQ+ people
This report contains references to suicide that may be disturbing to readers. Nearly five years after democratic Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ activism is all but extinct across the Taiwan Strait, where the ruling Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping has cracked down on anyone displaying the rainbow flag in public, members of China’s LGBTQ+ community […]
Michigan and Ohio GOP legislators discuss ‘endgame’ of banning all trans health care
Several Republican legislators from Michigan and Ohio were recorded in an online forum planning to try to ban trans health care for everyone, regardless of age. The discussion was hosted by state Rep. Brad Paquette (R-Niles) on the X social media platform and included Reps. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) and Tom Kunse (R-Clare) as well as state Sens. Lana […]
Germany’s transgender community confronts surge in far-right disinformation
The transgender community in Germany faces an escalation in disinformation, primarily fueled by far-right groups amid attempts to pass the country’s Self-Determination Act. This legislative proposal, designed to ease the legal process of gender change on official documents, was initially lauded as a progressive step by Germany’s majority Social Democrat (SPD), Green, and neoliberal Free Democrat (FDP) coalition. However, […]
Closeted men were less likely to get the Mpox vaccine for a very surprising reason
Closeted men who have sex with men were less likely to get vaccinated or treated for Mpox than those who were out, according to a new study. Contrary to the researchers’ hypothesis, however, the findings suggested that the difference in vaccination rates had more to do with a lack of knowledge than with concerns about […]
Bangladesh professor fired for spreading misinformation about trans people
A leading organization advocating for the rights of LGBTQ people in Bangladesh has come to the defense of a university that fired a professor who spread misinformation about third-gender people and encouraged his followers to deface a textbook for school children that included information about transgender people. Asif Mahtab Utsho, who was an adjunct profession […]
Exhibition traces history of Birmingham drag queen Twiggy
A new exhibition about an influential drag queen has opened at a National Trust site. Dedicated to “Birmingham LGBTQ+ icon” Twiggy, the exhibition opened on Friday at the Back to Backs, in the heart of the city’s Gay Village. Twiggy – The Drag Market is an exploration of the creative process behind “one of the […]
Pope says LGBT blessings are for individuals, not approval of unions
Pope Francis on Friday defended a Vatican document on blessings for same-sex couples but said they were not an approval of a lifestyle the Church sees as potentially sinful but of individuals seeking to get closer to God. It was the second time in as many weeks that Francis sought to clarify the Dec. 18 […]
LGBT History Month 2024: Here’s why the UK and US celebrate in different months
LGBT History Month 2024 is almost upon us in the UK, but the annual celebration of queer history and individuals is observed at different times of the year in different countries. In the UK it’s celebrated in February each year, but in the US and Canada it takes place in October. The UK iteration was […]
Transgender US veterans sue VA for access to gender-affirming surgery in medical benefits
The Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in which they are asking the VA to provide gender-affirming medical care to transgender veterans. Filed in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the lawsuit comes months after a demand letter was […]
Jardín de las Mariposas: A Safe Space for Queer Migrants in Tijuana
Hola Friends! Before we close this season and take a little break, we wanted to leave you with the story of Jardín de las Mariposas, a shelter in Tijuana exclusively for queer migrants. This shelter has impacted the lives of thousands of queer folks who are fleeing violence and face discrimination in their land of […]
Quebec issues first X gender drivers’ license
Quebec has finally issued its first drivers’ license with an X gender marker, after years of advocacy and legal action by queer activists—but it could be years before any more are issued. Arwyn Jordan Regimbal received their new drivers’ license last week, making the 23-year-old the first—and only—person to have the X gender marker on […]