First-ever pan-African Pride will celebrate the ‘bustling, multi-layered reservoir’ of queer Africans
A first-of-its-kind pan-African LGBT+ Pride event, Pride Afrique, is set to take place virtually, celebrating the “bustling, multi-layered, chaotically explosive reservoir” of queer Africans. According to Star Observer, Pride Afrique will be the first pan-African virtual Pride, and has been organised entirely by volunteers across countries and time zones via Zoom. Pride Afrique will be […]
Israel: Bill banning gay conversion therapy up for vote, could spark coalition crisis
A bill outlawing controversial “gay conversion therapy” threatened to generate yet another coalition crisis, as Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party was expected to support the proposal despite the objections of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and its religious allies. Gay conversion therapies, also called reparative therapies, have been strongly discouraged in Israel, the US […]
The first drag queen and LGBT rights pioneer was a former slave
While some still argue that homosexuality is a western import brought to African shores through movies, books, and other means, history shows that one of our most fabulous “exports” was the first drag queen and LGBT rights pioneer in America who was known as William Dorsey Swann to many but known as the queen to […]
Madonna says Russia fined her $1M for gay rights speech but she didn’t pay
Madonna said Sunday that the Russian government fined her for a speech she made supporting LGBTQ rights at a concert in St. Petersburg eight years ago. The singer posted a clip of her speech on Instagram and Twitter, alleging that she never paid the $1 million penalty for her words. Madonna told the audience that […]
First Romanian trans woman to run for office vows to support women, sex workers and Roma
Antonella Lerca, a Roma woman and sex worker, is campaigning to run as an independent candidate for District 2 in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. Launching her campaign today, she told PinkNews that she’d grown tired of seeing no representation of LGBT+ people in politics and this had made her decide to run herself. “I’d […]
Singapore broadcaster slammed for gay character’s portrayal in drama series
Singapore’s national free-to-air broadcaster, MediaCorp, has come under fire after portraying a gay character in a manner that some have called “extremely harmful” to the LGBT community. In April, MediaCorp’s Channel 8 screened a Mandarin-language TV drama called My Guardian Angels. The show included a gay character who was portrayed not only as a predatory […]
Iranian aide who shared cartoon of same-sex parents faces prison for ‘homosexual propaganda’
The former aide for women’s and family affairs in Iran has been charged with “spreading moral corruption” in the form of a cartoon depicting loving LGBT+ families. The Iranian news outlet Rah-e Dana reported on Monday (July 13) that an indictment had been issued for Shahindokht Molaverdi. She was charged with “propaganda against the regime”, […]
Tamil LGBTQ voices face even greater risk in Sri Lanka
As the Sri Lankan state continues to ramp up its militarisation of the North-East, an already marginalised community has now found itself under greater threat. The Tamil LGBTQ community, which has long faced its own intra-community discrimination and struggles for recognition has in recent months come under mounting pressure. A military enforced lockdown in the […]
Hong Kong’s transgender community faces workplace discrimination, leading LGBT campaigner to launch company guidance scheme
When Liam Mak Wai-hon began a part-time bartending job at a steakhouse in Hong Kong’s Tsuen Wan earlier this year, he did not sense anything amiss at work. Mak, born a female, started his hormone treatment in around August last year to embark on his transition to becoming a man. Boasting a stylish comb-over, and […]
Recovering Queer Identities
In the Castro District, the well-known hub of San Francisco’s gay community, bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalks honor famous LGBTQ individuals from around the world. Recognizing ancestors has a long pedigree in LGBTQ activism, dating back to 19th-century efforts to repeal sodomy laws in Germany. For generations, doing so allowed queer people to feel […]
Pakistan court orders ‘gender test’ of trans man accused of illegal ‘same-sex’ marriage to woman
A court in Pakistan has ordered the formation of a medical board to do a ‘gender test’ on a trans man who is accused of changing his gender to marry a woman. The couple have now been charged with having a same-sex marriage, a serious allegation in Pakistan where homosexuality is criminalised. The case was […]
Duda’s victory in Poland helps draw a ‘pink line’ through Europe
Last Sunday, the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, was re-elected by a narrow margin with the help of an assault on what he styled “LGBT ideology”: he campaigned on a “family charter” to protect Poles from this new threat, worse than communism. Two of Poland’s near neighbours have recently activated anti-LGBT politics in similar ways. In […]
Washington state sues Trump administration to block rollback of transgender health care protections
The state of Washington is suing the Trump administration to block the rollback of an Affordable Care Act regulation that has prohibited discrimination in health care against patients who are transgender. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal district court, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson argued that the Department of Health and Human Services’ final […]
How Grandkids Are Changing China’s LGBT Family Dynamics
Clutching a photograph of his son, Michael boarded a flight from Shanghai to Beijing for a tough conversation. After dinner with his parents, he solemnly called a meeting and admitted to a secret he had been keeping for years: He was gay. Then out spilled another: They had a grandchild. Despite having lived with his […]
Tahini: The food at the center of an Arab gay rights battle
When Julia Zaher, the owner of a company that makes some of the most popular tahini in Israel, made a donation to an Israeli gay rights group recently, she saw it as an unremarkable act. “When I see people in a tough place, I always like to help them,” Zaher, 65, an Arab citizen of […]
Fight over equal rights for LGBT people divides Italy
Three weeks on from the brutal attack in the Italian city of Pescara that left a young gay man needing reconstructive facial surgery, Lorenzo has joined a small gathering on the busy waterfront to demand justice. “After what happened, no one in the LGBT community feels able to walk freely,” said Lorenzo, holding the rainbow […]
‘Great first step’ as Sudan lifts death penalty and flogging for gay sex
Sudan’s decision to lift the death penalty and flogging as punishment for gay sex was hailed by LGBT+ activists on Thursday as a promising sign after almost four decades of Islamist rule, with calls for prison sentences to be abolished as well. Others criticised the relaxation of the law in conservative Sudan, where a transitional […]
Baja California state congress says no to gay marriage
After much debate, Baja California’s State Congress turned down an initiative to establish equal marriage protections for gay couples. Baja California is just south of California. Technically, same-sex marriage in the state is legal, but the new measure would have eliminated many legal obstacles encountered by gay couples. It would have removed wording from the […]
Polish Court quashes ‘anti-LGBT’ resolution
An administrative court in Gliwice, southern Poland, has annulled the resolution of the Istebna Commune Council contested by a Polish ombudsman on September 2 on the suppression of “LGBT ideology” by the local government. Pursuant to the resolution, an “LGBT-free zone” was established in the commune. The court found that by adopting such a resolution, […]
Can Douyin, China’s Version of TikTok, Help China’s LGBT Community?
The Beijing LGBT Center recently opened an account on Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, attracting over 2,400 followers and featuring short videos that address misconceptions about the LGBTQ+ community. Center staff members are optimistic that they can inform more people about the true stories of China’s LGBTQ+ community by using creative videos. In an […]
Internet provides vital connection for Africa’s LGBT communities
As lockdowns and restrictions limit physical movement across Africa, persecuted and marginalised LGBT communities have been finding new support online. This has ranged from fundraising opportunities to more chances to connect internationally. In one example of transcontinental support, US-based charity and activist group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence began holding online drag shows to raise […]
Taiwan parade celebrates LGBT Pride, island’s virus…
The Taiwanese capital held its annual LGBT Pride parade on Sunday, making it one of the few places in the world to proceed with such an event in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The parade in Taipei has drawn tens of thousands of people in the past, but participant numbers Sunday were reduced by […]
Russian parliament begins legalising ban on same-sex marriage
Russian lawmakers late on Tuesday submitted draft legislation that would ban same-sex marriage after voters backed changes to the constitution which define marriage as a union of a man and a woman only. The changes, championed by President Vladimir Putin, were overwhelmingly approved by voters this month in an exercise that opened the door to […]
Poland’s LGBT community feels fear and anger after election
Members of Poland’s LGBT community say they are angry and afraid after President Andrzej Duda won re-election in a divisive campaign that cast their movement for equal rights as a dangerous “ideology” that threatens families in the deeply Roman Catholic country. Some activists say the homophobic rhetoric that emerged echoes policies in Russia under President […]
Thailand Is Taking Steps to Recognize Same-Sex Couples. But What About the Rest of Southeast Asia?
A year ago, Taiwan made history by becoming the first Asian country to permit same-sex marriage in a region where any form of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships—let alone marriage—remains stubbornly elusive. Last week, however, Thailand took tentative steps towards joining Taiwan when its government approved a bill that would allow for registration of same-sex […]
Her death sparked Transgender Day of Remembrance. 22 years later, still no answers
Rita Hester fought like hell. The story was written in blood. The phone had been ripped from the wall. Half a shoe print — not Rita’s — marked the bloody floor. The locks on the front and back doors had been left intact, leading neighbors and police to believe her killer had been invited in. […]
UK debates creation of gender-neutral passports
Gender-neutral passports (where ‘X’ replaces M/F) will be debated again this week in the British Parliament after judges ruled in March that the Home Office has the right not to give out such passports. The new bill demands that ministers recognise gender-neutral passports, and is backed by LGBTQ organisation Stonewall. According to the UK Parliament, […]
LGBTQ+ community sees spike in first-time depression in wake of coronavirus
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression rates are spiking in the LGBTQ+ community, especially in individuals who hadn’t struggled with those issues in the past, say researchers. “What I was hearing at the beginning of the pandemic was that people who were already anxious were more anxious than ever, and we […]
Brazil LGBTQ group avoids coronavirus in Copacabana’s Casa Nem building
In a courtyard a few blocks from Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, a dozen people get settled on broken couches beneath a banner reading “Cure Your Prejudice.” They face the makeshift stage where a transgender woman appears in a short, tight dress and performs to a song about transgender visibility. It’s a standard Saturday night […]
Russian constitution change ends hopes for gay marriage
At the Lagutenko wedding in 2017, the couple exchanged vows, rings and kisses in front of friends and relatives, then took a traditional drive in a limousine, stopping at landmarks for photos. But because they were both women, the wedding wasn’t legal in Russia. If Irina and Anastasia Lagutenko had any hopes they could someday […]