How the Religious Right Made Same-Sex Marriage a Gay Rights Crusade
In 1989, when The New Republic published Andrew Sullivan’s “Here Comes the Groom: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage,” few L.G.B.T.Q. activists took the proposition seriously. They had more pressing concerns, ones further up the hierarchy of needs. Queer activists were fighting to survive a plague in the face of a president who, like his […]
Chile’s Pinera to push same-sex marriage bill long stuck in Congress
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera said on Tuesday he would seek to expedite a same-sex marriage bill that has languished in the historically conservative South American nation for years. Chile’s LGBT community has long pushed for the legislation, but the country’s ruling conservative coalition has until now been slow to advance the bill in Congress. “I […]
New foundation seeks to help LGBT rights movement in Poland
A Nobel laureate, a Netflix star and a fashion model are among the board members who helped launch an initiative Tuesday to raise money for LGBT rights groups in Poland, where gay men, lesbians, and bisexual and transgender people face a backlash from the country’s conservative government and Catholic Church. The Equaversity Foundation plans to […]
Ugandan LGBTQ activists respond to government attempts to further criminalize homosexuality
LGBTQ Ugandan activists are mobilizing against the Sexual Offenses Bill 2019 before Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signs it into law. Members of Uganda’s Parliament caught LGBTQ Ugandan activists off guard with the late-night passage and tweet announcing the lawmakers’ vote May 3. Lawmakers incorporated elements of the former Anti-Homosexuality Act into the Sexual Offenses Bill, […]
Dirco silent on homophobia row as SA embassy refuses to affirm gay rights in Poland
For the past eight years, South African diplomats in Poland have signed an annual letter alongside other embassies affirming gay rights in one of the most homophobic nations in Europe. This year, the South African embassy in Warsaw declined to do so — with no explanation. An open letter of support for the LGBTQI community […]
Coming Supreme Court decision in major LGBT rights case seen as bellwether of conservative court
The Supreme Court is expected to release a decision in the coming days that could provide the first glimpses of how its 6-3 conservative majority will shape the future of LGBT rights. The case, known as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, No. 19-123, is a fight over a city policy that bars discrimination based on […]
Homophobic Nationalists Disrupt Bulgarian LGBT Events
A group of around 25 to 30 nationalists attempted to halt the screening in Sofia on Sunday evening of a film depicting a relationship between two women. The men appeared to be connected with the far-right Bulgarian National Union party and Lukovmarch, an annual event in commemoration of WWII general Hristo Lukov, often criticised for […]
Outcry after homophobic attacks in Barcelona
The Observatory Against Homophobia (OCH) said five gay men had been injured in three separate attacks. In the most serious incident, a man needed facial surgery after he and his friends were attacked on a beach. Police are investigating but have not made any arrests, local media reported. Local politicians took to social media to […]
In a first, Gurugram administration organises Covid vaccination for transgender community, sex workers
In a unique initiative by the Gurugram administration, a special vaccination camp was organised for the transgender community and sex workers, who live in the Millennium City. Around 200 people were vaccinated at this special camp, organised by the CMO of Gurugram. This, following a directive from the state health department of Haryana. Speaking to […]
HIV PROJECT FOCUSES ON OVERSEAS BORN GAY & BISEXUAL MEN IN AUSTRALIA
Gilead Sciences Australia New Zealand on May 25, 2021, announced the Australian recipients of the Gilead Getting to Zero Grant Program 2021, a global initiative supporting projects aimed at getting to zero new HIV infections. Two projects – one focussing on overseas-born gay and bisexual men and the second on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander […]
Why Twitter and Instagram are inviting people to share their pronouns
Are you a he or a she? A they or a ze? If you’re on Instagram, you can now choose from a list of more than 10 pronoun options to express your gender identity. High-profile transgender and non-binary stars including Hollywood star Elliot Page and singers Sam Smith and Demi Lovato are helping to drive […]
Why the LGBTQ community sidelined police for Pride
The 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn, the famed gay bar in New York City, was no different than many others before it. For decades, before and after the riots, some law enforcement officers and agencies targeted known LGBTQ-friendly establishments in an effort to shut them down, brutalize patrons, and arrest people who violated […]
Christian bigot sues for right to discriminate against staff for being gay, trans
A Christian management company is suing for the right to discriminate against workers for being members of the LGBT+ community, having sex and using Grindr. In June 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 also applied to discrimination based on sexual […]
WATCH: Transgender Albanians battle taboos
Transgender people find little acceptance in conservative societies like Albania. After years of isolation, members of the transgender community decided to confront taboos by launching a photo exhibition in the capital, Tirana.
I Am Samuel: the film aiming to ‘change the narrative’ on being gay in Kenya
Samuel Asilikwa grew up in rural Kenya. There was a strict template for masculinity, informed by centuries of tradition – and intolerance. In a new documentary about his life, we see his father, a pastor, question Asilikwa about why he is yet to find a wife. We then watch as he relocates to Nairobi in […]
Japan ruling party abandons LGBT bill as consensus elusive
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday gave up on legislation to promote public awareness of sexual minorities, proving unable to overcome opposition within its own ranks. Tsutomu Sato, who chairs the LDP’s General Council, told a news conference that passage in the current session would be “impossible.” The bill, supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and […]
Jewish Press Editor-in-chief, Caught on Film Storming the U.S. Capitol, Is Fired
Nearly five months after joining a violent mob in storming the U.S. Capitol building in a failed bid to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, the controversial editor of one of the United States’ largest Jewish newspapers has been removed from his position. Last month, Elliot Resnick, the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Press, […]
Tijuana city candidate accused of posing as gay to gain favor with voters
A lawsuit has been filed against a candidate running for Tijuana’s city council for pretending to be a member of the LGBT community. The legal action was presented by Teresita Díaz Estrada, a representative for a Tijuana LGBT association. “We know this person said in a meeting that he didn’t realize that he had signed […]
Dior chooses Chinese transgender star as an ambassador for its new fragrance campaign
Dior, the French house owned by LVMH, the largest luxury group in the world, is collaborating with China’s transgender celebrity Jin Xing for a campaign centred on the brand’s J’adore fragrance. Dior announced the news on its Weibo account with a video in which Jin Xing talks about women’s empowerment. Jin Xing is a former […]
Number of over-65s identifying as gay, lesbian or bisexual rises for first time
The number of older people identifying as gay, lesbian or bisexual (LGB) has increased for the first time, figures show. Proportions of people aged 65 and over in the UK who classed themselves as LGB increased from 0.7% in 2018 to 1% in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, the general […]
Cops raid Bangkok gay sauna party, nab 62
Police raided a gay sauna in Wang Thonglang district of the capital yesterday before dawn after a tip-off that a party of drugs and debauchery would be held, arresting 62 men. The sauna called Faros 2 is on Ramkhamhaeng Road. The raid was conducted by 30 police after neighbours suggested a group sex activity may […]
World’s largest gaming service Twitch adds ‘transgender’ tag
The world’s largest game streaming service Twitch has said that players will be able to add a transgender label to their videos – a move the company said would aid inclusion among its 30 million daily gamers. Twitch, which lets users broadcast themselves playing video games, introduced “transgender”, “bisexual”, “Black”, and “disabled” among more than […]
Americans Strongly Support Trans Rights — In Some Cases
Americans strongly support trans service members being in the military — even as they say trans athletes should compete in sports according to the sex listed on their birth certificates, according to a new Gallup survey. In the survey, 66% of respondents said they’re in favor of openly transgender men and women serving in the […]
LGBT Groups Join Hydropower Protest, Ask Leaders to Condemn Homophobic Violence
Two key local LGBT rights groups, the Tbilisi Pride and the Equality Movement reiterated their support for the protest against Namakhvani Hydropower Plant, now held in the capital city Tbilisi, but called on the protest leaders to explicitly denounce “acts of violence” against LGBT persons by far-right individuals in attendance at the May 23-24 rallies. […]
Japan: New Momentum to Reform Transgender Law
Transgender people in Japan face continuing barriers to changing their legally recognized gender, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Japanese government should heed increasing calls from activists and experts to revise its abusive and outdated transgender recognition law. The 43-page report, “‘The Law Undermines Dignity’: Momentum to Revise Japan’s Legal Gender […]
Gay activists in Ghana demand release of 21 people arrested at LGBTQI conference
Ghana’s LGBTQ community has called for the release of 21 people, who were arrested by security forces last week while attending a conference in the southeastern city of Ho. An online campaign with the hashtag #ReleaseThe21 has gone viral on social media platform Twitter, as people demanded the immediate release of the detainees. At least […]
No safe haven: gay and transgender Africans fleeing persecution at home attacked in refugee camps
When Bijoux Ferrazza realised she was transgender, she took a good look around her. Transgender women are nowhere to be seen in Cameroon. Every once in a while, they make headlines, but it was usually because they have been arrested, beaten up or murdered. Bijoux weighed her options and concluded she only had one: if […]
Members of the LGBTQ community share reality of being queer in South Korea
“I went to this bar and they were doing this competition. And then I was like ‘Oh shit! It exists here, that’s so cool. I have been watching [Rupaul’s] Drag Race and things on YouTube ever since I was young, and it was my first time seeing it in person.” Eric Chai had just witnessed […]
Hong Kong’s Transgender Community Speaks Out Against Stigma
In Hong Kong, transgender people are far from accepted. Members of the community spoke out against discrimination after a survey published ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia revealed the massive scope of society’s marginalization of transgender people. More than three-quarters of transgender people in Hong Kong have contemplated suicide and over […]
Japanese politicians refuse to pass LGBTQ rights bill as Olympics approach
Advocates around the world are calling foul on Japan, worrying that the country won’t meet their pledge to pass a LGBTQ rights law before hosting the Olympics in August. The concern follows the country’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the majority party in control of both chambers of the legislature, the National Diet, refused to get […]