Transgender job quota law seen ‘changing lives’ in Argentina
A law reserving 1% of Argentina’s public sector jobs for transgender people will transform everyday life for the country’s trans community, LGBT+ activists said on Friday after Congress gave final approval for the measure. Senators in the South American country, which already has some of the world’s most progressive trans rights legislation, voted overwhelmingly in […]
Ray Yeung has been telling queer Asian stories for years and people are finally taking notice
In the ongoing conversation about LGBTQ representation, sometimes the need to expand beyond the American zeitgeist gets lost. Last year, writer/director Ray Yeung managed to do just that with his critically-acclaimed film Twilight’s Kiss. In it, Yeung confronted two hereto-little investigated areas of queer life: Aging queer seniors, and the LGBTQ community in China. For […]
School principal ‘tried to censor’ queer graduate’s moving valedictorian speech. It backfired, spectacularly
Bryce Dershem was sharing his turbulent experience of coming out at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey, when his microphone was muted. Wearing a Pride flag draped around his graduation robes, Dershem congratulated his classmates for successfully making their way through school before speaking about his own journey. “For so long, I believed […]
PrEP decreases HIV incidence by nearly 80% in west African men, despite suboptimal adherence
HIV incidence among west African men taking PrEP fell by 79%, when compared to an earlier cohort of men who did not have access to PrEP. This is despite adherence not being optimal for most men, especially among those taking event-driven PrEP. This PrEP demonstration study was conducted in four west African cities by Dr. […]
Fans make pro-LGBT protest at Germany-Hungary football game
Uefa blocked the Allianz Arena from lighting up in rainbow colours, due to an anti-gay law passed in Hungary. In protest, a spectator wearing a German shirt ran onto the pitch with a rainbow flag while the Hungarian anthem was played before the game. Other fans also waved multi-coloured flags during the group stage match. […]
Cultural Closet: It’s a challenge for LGBT Asians to come out to relatives in their homelands
Xiukui Ji, a then-22-year old Chinese international student at the University of Arizona, was on the phone with his sister when he told her, “Oh, by the way… I’m gay.” “I knew it! I knew it from the fifth grade!” Ji remembers his sister telling him. His interest in musicals, his lack of interest in […]
How Relationships Can Turn Faith Leaders Into LGBT Allies
A grassroots group in Kenya has found a slow-but-effective formula for converting anti-LGBT faith leaders into LGBT advocates. Penda* did not feel worthy of a seat at the table with the 15 religious leaders she found herself nervously sitting across from, seven of them Christian, eight of them Muslim. “Before I attended that forum, I […]
Ministry takes aim at LGBT with changes to shariah law
PETALING JAYA: The religious affairs ministry is proposing amendments to widen the scope of an existing shariah law used against people who are alleged to have insulted Islam. In a statement, deputy minister in the prime minister’s department (religious affairs) Ahmad Marzuk Shaary said the Syariah Criminal Procedure (Federal Territories) Act 1997, a provision that […]
Polish education minister says LGBT march ‘insult to public morality’
Poland’s education minister said on Wednesday a march held in support of equal rights for LGBT people was an “insult to public morality” and questioned whether participants were normal, prompting angry protests from the opposition. Thousands joined last Saturday’s march through central Warsaw to call for an end to discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and […]
New Zealand PM backs transgender weightlifter’s Olympic selection
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday defended the selection of transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard for the Tokyo Olympics, a decision that has fuelled a debate over inclusion and fairness in sport. Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Games after she was selected for the New Zealand team in […]
Vatican condemned for ‘unprecedented interference’ in Italian bid to outlaw anti-LGBT+ hate
The Vatican has stated its opposition to an Italian bill that would help protect LGBT+ people from discrimination in an “unprecedented” move. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister, claimed that the proposed anti-discrimination law would breach a treaty between Italy and the Vatican that was signed almost a century ago, the Corriere della Sera […]
EU warns Hungary and Poland it will take action if they keep violating democratic standards
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive branch warned Hungary and Poland Tuesday that it will take action if they continue to violate the 27-nation bloc’s democratic standards, amid signs that both countries have little intention of changing their ways. Hungary and Poland have faced criticism in the EU for years over allegations that they are […]
At Shanghai Job Fair, Advocates Call for More LGBT Inclusion
SHANGHAI — Lauren Qiang used to live a double life: She pretended to be straight at home but wasn’t worried about her sexual orientation while at work. But after years of fears about being cut off from her family, the 27-year-old said she finally opened up to her parents after gaining financial independence. And, unlike […]
‘We’re not hiding’: Gay and lesbian Russians say a cultural shift is underway
When Lisa Androshina threw her first lesbian party in Moscow in 2017, she had low expectations. “We wanted to just gather with our friends and just listen to cool music,” Androshina, 34, told NBC News. “We didn’t plan to do anything serious.” She booked a bar that she said was often empty and invited her […]
Trans men ‘let down’ and in ‘extreme distress’ as NHS quietly stops life-changing penis surgery
Finlay Games is a trans man who, as part of his transition, had a series of operations to construct a penis, which is known as phalloplasty. “I am a functioning man precisely because of this surgery,” Finlay says. “I’ve got my own business. I’ve graduated, I’ve written a book, and all of these things are […]
Carl Nassib Is The First Active NFL Player To Come Out As Gay
Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib came out in a personal Instagram post on Monday, saying he has “agonized over this moment for the last 15 years.” “I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in an Instagram video he posted on his verified Instagram account. “I’ve been meaning […]
Israel’s Foreign Ministry waves LGBTQ Pride flag for first time
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid instructed his ministry to raise an LGBT pride flag outside its Jerusalem headquarters in honor of Pride Month for the first time on Monday. The Foreign Ministry and its workers are leading a message of tolerance, brotherhood and freedom,” he tweeted. Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll (Yesh Atid), who is gay, […]
Nigerian teenager launches an LGBT-inclusive fashion brand
Daniel Kunke, a 19-year old Nigerian college student, speaks about why he decided to start an LGBT-inclusive clothing brand. In an interview with NoStringsNG, the teenager, who is currently studying mass communications at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, says his aim is to ensure that everyone is “equally represented” by making sure that “there’s something […]
Stonewall Inn to pour Bud Light down the drain in Anheuser-Busch protest
The owners of the Stonewall Inn in New York say they will not serve some beers at the famous LGBTQ+ bar during Pride weekend – and will ceremonially pour some down a drain – to protest against manufacturer Anheuser-Busch’s political contributions to some politicians who have supported anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In June 1969, at an earlier […]
V.A. Plans to Offer Gender-Affirming Surgeries for Transgender Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to offer gender confirmation surgery to transgender veterans, Denis McDonough, the secretary of veterans affairs, announced over the weekend at a Pride event in Orlando, Fla., in a major shift in available care for former service members. “This process will require changing V.A.’s regulations and establishing policy that will […]
Rizal birthday becomes celebration of LGBTQ freedoms in Baguio
The pedestrian lane in front of Baguio’s Rizal Park was repainted last week with all the colors of the rainbow, in time for the celebration of a different kind of freedom on Saturday, the 160th birthday of national hero Jose Rizal. A small group of costumed lesbians, bisexuals, gays, transgenders, and queers (LGBTQR) gathered across […]
Intersex youth’s search for acceptance continues
The son of a poor shoemaker in Lahore, 22-year-old Muhammad Waqas continues to fight the stigma surrounding his intersex condition. The youth was reportedly born with diphallia, a rare genetic condition. The variation in the youth’s physical characteristics at birth made him an intersex individual. Owing to the social stigma surrounding the uncommon genitalia, people […]
Turkey’s ruling coalition demonises LGBT communities to keep support, weaken opposition
Turkey’s ruling government is agitating against the country’s LGBT community in a bid to rebuild polarise society further for political gain, researcher Tunay Altay wrote in Bianet on Saturday. Altay uses the authorities’ rhetorical and police responses to the protests at Bogazici University that began in January to illustrate how the state is fostering animosity […]
Warsaw Gay Pride Parade Back After Backlash, Pandemic
The largest gay pride parade in central Europe took place again in Warsaw on Saturday for the first time in two years after a pandemic-induced break — and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBT rights. The year’s Equality Parade came 20 years since the event was first held in the Polish capital. […]
Euro 2020: Proposal to illuminate Munich arena in LGBT+ colors for visit of Hungary
Ahead of Germany’s third Euro 2020 group game against Hungary in Munich on Wednesday, city councilors in the Bavarian capital have put forward a motion to have the arena illuminated in rainbow colors. “[Munich] supports diversity, tolerance and genuine equality in sport and in society,” reads the joint motion from all six factions on Munich’s […]
KGH doctor ‘gives away’ baby with intersex traits to transgender group
A doctor in King George Hospital here has allegedly given away a newborn baby with intersex traits to a group of transgender people. The incident reportedly happened sometime in the third week of May and the baby is now allegedly in the custody of a Nayak from the Hijra Jamaat. Gopi Shankar, southern regional representative […]
Council of Europe Adopts Resolutions Protecting LGBTI People
The Congress of the Council of Europe adopted two resolutions protecting the LGBTI community from discrimination and hatred at its 40th Session on Wednesday. The resolutions followed two independent reports–a report that drew attention to the situation of the LGBTI community, claiming that the rights of LGBTI persons were increasingly being politicized and challenged through […]
Case of murdered Honduran trans woman could set legal precedent in region
An international court is examining whether the Honduran government was complicit in the killing of Vicky Hernández, a 26-year-old trans woman fatally shot on the night of the country’s 2009 coup d’état. Why it matters: Legal advocates say the case could set a legal precedent across Latin America, which has the world’s highest concentration of […]
Pride Exhibit Debuts on White House Ground Floor
The White House partnered with the Smithsonian Institution for an exhibit that displays information on LGBTQ+ history and features photos, documents, and memorabilia. The exhibit is on the Ground Floor Corridor of the presidential residence. Descriptions of queer events include the Stonewall Rebellion and the AIDS epidemic, and LGBTQ+ figures like Harvey Milk and Marsha […]
The Unorthodox Priest Leading Poland’s Fight for LGBTQ Rights
This year, like every year for the past 20, Szymon Niemiec will wear a rainbow-colored stole at the Equality Parade in the Polish capital of Warsaw on June 19. “I won’t have a banner because I will be leading the entire parade. I can’t keep my hands full,” says Niemiec. The 43-year-old has seemingly contradictory […]