Defiant Russian LGBT+ alliance silenced by authorities vows to ‘change this shameful reality’
An LGBT+ social media page followed by tens of thousands of queer Russians and allies blocked by authorities has vowed to continue fighting for equality. The Alliance of Straights and LGBT for Equality page on VKontakte, Russia’s most popular social network, was removed on 19 March at the behest of the country’s communications regulator for […]
Albanian Police Receive Guidance on How to Investigate LGBTI Hate Crimes
Albanian police are being trained on how to identify and investigate hate crimes against LGBTI people, through a joint EU and Council of European action called “Promotion of Diversity and Equality in Albania” which is a part of the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey. Part of the training involves the distribution of […]
Dr. Rachel Levine defends trans youth who are losing healthcare in GOP-led states
Dr. Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender person to be confirmed to a federal position by the United States Senate, is speaking out on the effort by state lawmakers to take away healthcare and the ability to participate in sports for trans youth. In her first interview since being confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of […]
‘Lesbian wedding’ arrestees freed; Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ furor continues
Ghana police have freed the people they arrested last weekend at a party that police believed was a “lesbian wedding”. Meanwhile, homophobic campaigns against Ghana’s LGBTQ citizens continue. The Ghana-based African Equality Centre (AEC) said that the latest report from Kwahu Obomeng and nearby Mpraeso is that 14 people were arrested in Kwahu Obomeng over […]
Study could end blood donor restrictions on gay and bisexual men
A new study funded by the Food and Drug Administration is seeking to develop donor screening questions to determine risk of transmission of blood-borne diseases, in the hope of eventually eliminating the three-month deferral period for men who have sex with men. The ADVANCE Study, as it is known, involves three of the nation’s largest […]
Anti-LGBTQ laws in Uzbekistan fuel hostility and violence
Uzbekistan’s LGBTQ+ community says it is facing increasing threats and repression after anti-LGBTQ+ protests turned violent and new laws were passed this week banning the publication of content deemed to show disrespect for society and the state. Human rights groups say that the legislation, passed on Tuesday, will prevent media or online commentators arguing for […]
Gender fluidity and children’s books
We recently watched The Queen’s Gambit with the kids. (This was after my sister breezily replied ‘Sure!’, when I asked if it was appropriate for children. I guess she forgot about the volley of expletives 20 minutes into episode one.) Later in the show, there’s a moment of attraction between the characters Beth Harmon and […]
20,000 couples have tied the knot in 20 years of gay marriage in NL
Twenty years after gay marriage became legal in the Netherlands, 19,000 men and 21,000 women have tied the knot with someone of the same sex, national statistics agency CBS said on Tuesday. In 2001, 42% of the couples had already formalized their relationship in a registered partnership, but that figure has shrunk to just 3% […]
Japan granted 93 foreigners permission to bring their same-sex spouse
At least 93 foreigners residing in Japan were granted permission to bring their same-sex spouses to the country under a special visa between 2013 and 2020, the first such government survey showed Friday. The spouse of the foreigner with residential status, both from countries where same-sex marriage is recognized, was permitted to stay in Japan […]
Turkey detains students and supporters over LGBT flags
Police in Turkey detained dozens of people who assembled outside a courthouse Friday in a show of solidarity with 12 students who were taken into custody for unfurling rainbow flags, according to Turkish news reports. The detentions came amid growing government intolerance toward the LGBT community. Students and faculty at Istanbul’s prestigious Bogazici University have […]
Chechnya’s Horrific ‘Gay Purge’: A 4-Year Timeline of Abduction, Torture and Murder
April 1, 2021, marks four years since the world at large was first made aware of Chechnya’s gay purge — atrocities committed against LGBTQ people within the Russian republic’s borders, a horrific, ongoing stratagem of abduction, detainment, torture and murder. Gradually rebuked by Western governments over the years as first-hand accounts began to emerge, Chechnya’s […]
From Rights To Jobs—LBGTQ+ Liberation In The Arab World
Before the Beirut Port blast last August that killed hundreds and destroyed entire neighborhoods, Lebanon’s economy was already under enormous pressure due to long-standing political challenges and the Covid pandemic. Amid all of this, Lebanon’s LGBTQ+ community has been particularly hard hit. Social entrepreneurs like Tarek Zeidan are building a better economic future for Lebanon […]
‘Beautiful and fierce’: Voguing balls let LGBT Chinese shine
Leather, glitter, stilettos and a strut — voguing, the underground dance phenomenon, has seized Beijing and given China’s LGBT community a “playground” to celebrate their identities. Sashaying down the runway clad in fake-fur, mile-high wigs and dramatic makeup, performers flaunted poses for an ecstatic audience, powered by a pounding house music soundtrack. Hundreds of young […]
Lil Nas X’s satanic music video ‘liberating’ for Black gay men
Lil Nas X may have angered Nike by selling “Satan Shoes” to promote his latest song, but many gay Black people see the video where the rapper gives the devil a lap dance as empowering. Conservatives have condemned the video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – where Lil Nas X puts on devil […]
Defiant MP skewers LGB Alliance for spewing ‘nonsense, fake news and misinformation’ around conversion therapy
Jamie Stone, a Scottish Liberal Democrat MP, lambasted the high-decibel anti-trans lobbying group for “masquerading as LGBT+ allies”, a sentiment similarly expressed by top Pride organisers and trade unions. He told PinkNews how the group sent him a “horrific” email that said that banning trans conversion therapy for youth would “would criminalise therapists who want […]
Elite Nursing School to Offer Certification in Trans Health Care
The Columbia School of Nursing in New York is ready to offer a new certificate to its students, one that’s the first of its kind. The Certificate in Professional Achievement in Transgender/Gender Non-Binary Health Care will be available for nurse practitioners who want to better learn how to treat trans patients this September. Laura Kelly, […]
GHANA POLICE ARRESTS 22 LGBT+ IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS
LGBT Rights Ghana, an organization that recently sparked a storm after opening a shelter and safe space for gender and sexual minorities in the West African nation has revealed that 22 individuals were arrested at a birthday gathering. According to their Instagram page, Ghana Police Services arrested 22 LGBTIQ persons who were attending a birthday […]
LGBTQ students file class-action lawsuit against Department of Education
Lucas Wilson said he received conversion therapy from a student club called Band of Brothers at Liberty University from 2008 to 2012, when he was an undergraduate student. Wilson, now 30, said when he visited campus prior to enrolling, he saw an ad for “struggling with same-sex attraction.” “The biggest factor in why I chose […]
“Still labelled ‘others’, Nepal’s LGBTQIA+ people pin hopes on census “
“Who are you?” is probably the easiest and the most difficult question to answer, depending on how one chooses to explain. For always, society has shaped individuals to answer the question based on their family ties and societal status. While that has been the truth before, people today prefer to shape their own identity for […]
Popular young Chinese internet celebrity announces she is transgender
Abbily, a popular 19-year-old internet celebrity has attracted attention and support – by announcing that she is transgender. “Now, I’m officially a girl…” the star wrote on Sina Weibo on Sunday in a post that has received support from Chinese netizens and people of her fan community. In the Sunday post she revealed some details […]
Uzbekistan police blame victim in violent attack on pro-LGBT activist
Police in Uzbekistan say they are investigating the savage beating of an activist who has been advocating for the decriminalization of same-sex relationships. It is not likely they will try very hard, however. The assault, which took place late at night on March 28, has left Miraziz Bazarov with a broken leg, a cranial fracture […]
Vatican’s gay blessing ban stokes fear among African LGBT Catholics
The Vatican’s recent decree banning Catholic priests from blessing same-sex marriages has stoked fear among the LGBT community in countries across Africa, where gay people are routinely discriminated against or even arrested because of harsh laws criminalizing same-sex activity. Nigeria is one place with such a law on the books. If a person is found […]
Meet the Jamaican refugee who now runs the community centre that took her in
Toronto’s Church-Wellesley neighbourhood, bustling and even ebullient in better days, has survived more than a year of COVID-19 lockdown measures, but not without loss. Though a few of The Village’s boarded-up storefronts have been infused with vibrancy thanks to local muralists commissioned by Church-Wellesley’s BIA, its nevertheless difficult not to notice the toll the pandemic […]
‘Loving parents’ can consent to puberty blockers on their child’s behalf, High Court says in landmark ruling
The High Court has ruled that a “loving parent” can consent to a child taking puberty blockers, in part reversing last year’s decision in the Keira Bell case. On 1 December, 2020, the High Court ruled that transgender children under the age of 16 must understand the implications both of puberty blockers and of potentially […]
Israel Election: The anti-LGBTQ Lawmaker Who May Help Form Netanyahu’s Coalition
Israeli election results came as surprise to the far-right Religious Zionism party. The party, which is composed of three lists, ended up receiving six Knesset seats after teetering on the verge of the electoral threshold. Lucky number six was Avigdor (Avi) Maoz, head of Noam, a party for “normal people” in Israel. Noam sees itself […]
Time for Hong Kong to protect its LGBT community from discrimination
A Japanese court recently ruled that the state’s failure to recognise same-sex marriage was unconstitutional – a landmark verdict that came after decades of arduous campaigning. In Hong Kong, meanwhile, a recently widowed gay man is mounting a legal case to have his relationship with his deceased partner recognised. If successful, this could pave the […]
Majority of Republicans support same-sex marriage for the first time
A majority within all partisan groups, including Republicans, now support same-sex marriage, according to a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released on Tuesday. In 2019, less than half of those who identify as Republican — 47 percent — backed gay marriage, but the survey indicates that number rose to 51 percent last […]
Thailand Has Three Paths to Recognizing Same-Sex Partnerships
Thailand markets itself as a liberal destination for LGBTQ people and earns billions of tourist dollars from it, yet the nation still doesn’t recognize same-sex unions. That could change as soon as this year. After nearly a decade, the country now has three potential paths toward recognizing same-sex partnerships, short of full marriage — a […]
Legal experts launch China’s first non-profit foundation dedicated to offering legal aid to LGBTQ community
China’s first non-profit foundation dedicated to training legal talents and offering legal aid to the LGBTQ community was launched on Tuesday by three Chinese lawyers and a law professor. According to the founders, one major reason they wanted to start the non-profit is because many members of the LGBTQ community in China, which has more […]
LGBT groups seeking equality law in Japan before Olympics
Activists submitted a petition with over 106,000 signatures to Japan’s ruling party Thursday, calling for an LGBT equality law to be enacted before the Tokyo Games, saying Japan as host nation should live up to the Olympic charter banning gender and sexual discrimination. Their action came on the day the Olympic torch relay began in […]