Lebanon’s oldest queer advocacy group is already back to work helping the community in the wake of the deadly Beirut blast
The offices of Lebanon’s oldest LGBT+ advocacy group were almost destroyed in the devastating Beirut blast, but staff are already back providing vital support to the queer community. Founded in 2001, Helem is a non-governmental organisation based in Beirut, and is the oldest group in Lebanon fighting for justice and equality for LGBT+ people. The […]
World Rugby’s proposed ban on transgender women sparks outcry
Citing recent research, a 38-page World Rugby transgender working group draft document is proposing a ban on transgender women from playing women’s rugby. An anonymous leaked the draft document to The Guardian. Windy City Times was unable to obtain the document for verification. This proposal has sparked an outcry among rugby players world-wide, including the […]
Small Lithuania has outsized role as EU faces Belarus crisis
Lithuania is relatively small by European Union measures, but it is playing an outsized role as protesters in neighboring Belarus face a brutal law enforcement crackdown following a presidential election they say was rigged. As the EU’s foreign ministers meet Friday to discuss the crisis, the Lithuanian government’s strong pro-democracy voice rooted in decades of […]
‘The Watermelon Woman’ and other lesbian movies you need to see
Looking for some choice lesbian movies to watch in the lazy, hazy days of quarantine summer 2020? Well, good news is that there are plenty of choice lesbian movies to check out there. These movies will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you swoon all over the place. From popular choices like Carol […]
‘Be You’ Video Beautifully Captures the Essence of LGBTQ Community
“The words independence and freedom mean different things to different people. On August 15, 2020, India celebrated its 74th Independence Day. However, the free expression of love and the fact that who you are is still a luxury that only a few can hope for. For decades, those deemed as LGTBQ, had their right to […]
Qatari official claims queer Snapchat content is a ‘deviation from Allah’
Qatari journalist Na’ima ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Mutawa’a, who serves as media advisor to the staunchly anti-LGBT+ country’s foreign ministry, made the claims in an article for Al Sharq, a pro-regime newspaper. The article, which was written in June, was translated into English earlier this month by the Middle East Research Institute (MEMRI). In the article, al-Mutawa’a […]
Fears of LGBTQ repression as Shanghai Pride is cancelled
The organisers of Shanghai Pride have unexpectedly announced that the event is suspending its work after 11 years, fueling concerns about a growing LGBTQ crackdown in China. “Shanghai Pride regrets to announce that we are cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events,” the volunteer group said in a statement […]
Cartier faces scepticism over China ring ads featuring same-sex couples
A new Chinese commercial for a Cartier ring has drawn scepticism for portraying people who viewers believe were meant to be gay couples as family or friends. The 60-second clip shows several groups of people, including a man and a woman being obviously romantic, as well as two men cycling together, and two women. The […]
Anti-gay Christian group forced to pay out after ‘demoralising’ atmosphere drove worker to porn and a damaging stroke
A worker at an anti-gay Christian group has been awarded compensation after stressful working conditions drove him to watch pornography and suffer a stroke. Michael Bowker, 47, was the office national officer for Family Voice Australia, a Christian lobbying group which campaigned against same-sex marriage and sex work. He collapsed at work in April 2016 […]
MASS ARREST OF LGBT PEOPLE MARKS TURNING POINT FOR POLAND
As BIRN reveals harrowing testimony about the mass arrests in Warsaw on Friday and amid subsequent actions by the police, LGBT activists warn that Poland is at a crossroads. “I arrived at the Copernicus monument at around nine in the evening, and I was just speaking to people when suddenly a group of policemen appeared. […]
University that bans gay students on ‘morality’ grounds replaces boss with another homophobe
Jerry Falwell Jr, a key evangelical Trump ally, agreed to step aside from his position at the private Virginia Christian university this month after long-running concerns about his conduct reached new heights when he posted a photo of himself with his arm around a woman with his trousers unzipped and underwear exposed. He was placed […]
A short history of Kamala Harris’ support for the LGBTQ+ community
Presidential candidate Joe Biden has named senator Kamala Harris as his Vice President running mate. Harris has made history, becoming the first black South Asian American woman to be nominated for the role. With an impressive record backing LGBTQ+ policy, the Californian Democrat senator has quickly became a popular choice as Biden’s running mate, even […]
UNDER OLYMPIAN PRESSURE: LGBT RIGHTS IN JAPAN
The long-awaited Japan 2020 Olympics is finally in full swing— or it would be if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t forced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the event to 2021 (hopefully). The Olympics would have brought renowned athletes and thousands of tourists to the East Asian island nation, which was predicted to boost both […]
At Pride Exhibit, Shanghai’s LGBT Artists Vie to Be Seen, Not Silenced
Many of Yang Yiliang’s works are similar to Chinese folk art: Traditional motifs including flowers and animals are intricately cut from red paper, symbolizing happiness, fortune, and prosperity. But a closer look may reveal nuances involving same-sex intimacy. “The red color of paper-cutting represents marriage,” Yang told Sixth Tone, describing his piece, titled “Paper Grooms.” […]
Gay Russian shares terrifying ordeal of being hospitalised by his own family, drugged and tortured
Speaking to Open Democracy, Egor Panin recalled being outed by his mother at the age of 17 when she read his conversations on the social media platform VKontakte. Soon after this the beatings began, and Panin was prescribed various tablets and injections to make him “a normal person”. He ran away from home in 2015 […]
LGBT+ survivors in Beirut coping with horrific injuries, homelessness and food shortages
LGBT+ people in Beirut have been left with horrific injuries and damaged or destroyed homes after the explosion a week ago. The blast at the docks on 4 August destroyed a huge area of the city. It killed over 200 people, injured over 6,000 and left over 300,000 homeless. It particularly damaged neighborhoods where LGBT+ […]
Black LGBT Group Wins Award to Combat Voter Suppression
LGBT Detroit, the city’s Black LGBTQ+ service provider, has been awarded new grant funding by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan to help eliminate a range of enduring racial, gender and sexual minority disparities persisting in civic participation throughout Southeast Michigan. This year, LGBT Detroit’s flagship voter engagement program, PRIDE Decides 2020, specifically targets […]
Bosnian Grand Mufti’s Office Distances Itself From Anti-Gay Remarks By Sarajevo Imam
The office of the grand mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina has distanced itself from controversial remarks made by the imam of a mosque in Sarajevo that sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere. Muhamed Velic in a Facebook post on August 6 welcomed the cancellation of an upcoming gay-pride parade in Sarajevo due to coronavirus restrictions. The […]
Trans women pose no threat to cis women, but we pose a threat to them if we make them outcasts
Dear ladies who are fearful and hostile to trans women, That I grew up and spent most of my life in San Francisco I consider one of my greatest strokes of luck, because it was in its heyday the loudest, proudest queer town around. Even as a straight girl, maybe especially as a straight girl, […]
Franklin Graham Calls for ‘Prayer March’ on National Mall on Same Day as Religious-Right ‘Return’ Rally
Evangelist and right-wing political activist Franklin Graham announced Saturday that he will host a “prayer march” from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 26, the same day that End Times author Jonathan Cahn and a large group of religious-right leaders have organized an all-day political prayer rally on the National Mall that […]
JAKIM SAYS THEIR TRANSGENDER CONVERSION CAMP IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
If you’ve spent enough time online, you may have come across several posts about things you can change in Malaysia. One of such posts that you may have come across is this…”Minister give full license to act against transgenders.” But if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s basically an infographic on the conversion therapy for […]
Prague protesters express support for LGBTQ community in Poland
About 200 people met in the center of Prague on Sunday to express support for the community of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people (LGBT) in Poland and post a rainbow flag on the Polish embassy building. The police, who monitored the event, said the organizers failed to duly announce it in advance. The demonstration […]
ZimbabweanLivesMatter Hashtag Inspires Gays and Lesbians
The #ZimbabweanLivesMatter campaign on social media has inspired gays and lesbians to pick up the momentum and also call for their own rights to be respected in Zimbabwe. @KingBillius posted, “Seeing as homophobia is now in the #ZimbabweLivesMatter discourse, allow me to politely remind you once again that the queer community has been on the […]
A gay Republican Trump supporter, reflects on actions at local protests and treatment from opposition
The photo from last weekend’s protests in Frederick looks almost predictable at this point: A man clad in a red MAGA hat and an American flag t-shirt shouts at a black woman wearing a mask and talking into a megaphone. The rage in the man’s face, the tension of the air – we’ve seen all […]
Gay Russian influencer Egor Gromov found murdered in friend’s home
Russian influencer Ali Zabirov, who went by the name of Egor Gromov, has been found murdered in a friend’s house, he was only 23 years old. Egor regularly received homophobic abuse from trolls as he was unashamedly himself. Egor’s body was discovered by Russian police in a flat of a friend, aged 46, on 2 […]
Lesbian lovers and a boxer in a burqa: a new look for Pakistani TV
A burqa-clad boxer, a high-society wedding planner and an ex-convict may sound more like the wish list for the next series of Big Brother, but they are just some of the characters in a groundbreaking new Pakistani drama show. Dubbed “Lock, Stock and Four Smoking Burqas”, the series, called Churails, is the first made in […]
ISLAMIC COMMUNITY PRAISE THE PRIDE MARCH CANCELLATION
The first-ever pride march in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place last September amidst heavy security. The second one was scheduled for August 23 2020, but was cancelled by organizers, being aware of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. “We emphasize that we are postponing the march due to the epidemiological situation, but we draw attention to a […]
Scuffles with police in Poland as protesters try to block arrest of LGBT activist
Protesters in Poland scuffled with police as they tried to stop the arrest of a gay rights activist on Friday in the city of Warsaw. The activist, is known officially in court as Michal SZ, but identifies as a woman called Margo. She is suspected of causing criminal damage to the Pro-Right to Life Foundation […]
Queer Black Americans have taken a ‘disproportionate’ financial hit during COVID-19
Black LGBT+ Americans are suffering “disproportionate” economic consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic with almost one in five losing their jobs, a new report has shown. The report by Human Rights Campaign, in partnership with PSB insights, tracked the economic impact of COVID-19 on the LGBT+ community in the US via an online survey of 10,000 […]
Detroit Archdiocese Vs. LGBT Catholics: No More Church Masses Or Meetings
Two Metro Detroit groups of Catholics with different sexual orientations “are now forbidden from gathering at churches and having priests perform Mass for them,” the Free Press discloses. The policy change affects Dignity Detroit and Fortunate Families Detroit, which represent gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender worshipers, Niraj Warikoo reports: Both groups and clergy received letters […]