China tech firm to sell gay dating app Grindr for $608 million
One of China’s biggest mobile gaming companies is selling popular gay dating app Grindr for $608 million after pressure from US authorities concerned over the potential misuse of user data. National security officials in Washington fear the platform — which bills itself as the world’s largest social networking space for LGBT people — could be […]
Brazilians call for boycotts of major companies that support Bolsonaro
Brazilians appalled by Jair Bolsonaro’s bigotry and authoritarianism are calling for boycotts of major companies whose founders or owners support the far-right president. Bolsonaro has often attacked LBGT people, indigenous people, and journalists, and expressed admiration for military dictatorship, but the immediate trigger for the boycotts was a planned demonstration against the country’s Democratic institutions, […]
Barbados: Regional approach to decriminalising homosexuality
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) advocates in Barbados are working closely with their counterparts in Trinidad and Tobago to prove that changes to the country’s “discriminatory” laws could result in real and tangible benefits for members of the community. Jason Jones, whose landmark 2018 court victory successfully decriminalised homosexuality in the twin-island republic has […]
‘I was waiting to die’: In Russia, HIV+ migrants fear death and deportation
Dilovar moved to Russia from Tajikistan a decade ago hoping for a better life but he contracted HIV and now lives with the threat of deportation and unable to access proper medical care. Russia is among 19 states that deport HIV positive non-nationals, along with Egypt, Malaysia and Singapore, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations’ […]
Chile changing: transgender student leader lends voice to renewed protests
As the long southern hemisphere summer holiday draws to an end this month, students in Chile are returning to college – but not always to classes. Many are getting ready to head out into the streets and breathe new life into the protests that rocked the country last year. Organizers of marches to mark International […]
LGBTQ voters flock to Bernie Sanders
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans — long a reliable voting bloc for Democrats — made up a disproportionately high 9 percent of the electorate in the Super Tuesday contests, and nearly 4 in 10 of them voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. The poll, which was conducted in […]
Queer Mormons say they’ve been put in danger by ‘cruel’ university as it U-turns on homosexuality policy
The Mormon Brigham Young University (BYU) has backtracked on removing a ban “homosexual behaviour”, announcing that “same-sex romantic behaviour” is still outlawed. BYU in Utah is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), commonly known as the Mormon church. Students can be expelled for not adhering to the university’s Honor Code, […]
This ‘gay, atheist, leftist’ is taking on Poland’s right-wing government — by running for president
When Robert Biedron showed up in this historic city’s main square to lead a rally in his bid to be president, he was bracing for a fight in a region that is a stronghold for a right-wing government that abhors everything he stands for. “An openly gay, atheist, leftist, anti-coal candidate?” said Biedron, a former […]
POLISH ACTIVISTS FACE LEGAL ACTION OVER ‘ATLAS OF HATE’
Several Polish municipalities have announced that they plan to sue a group of activists who created an “Atlas of Hate” map, depicting municipalities covering one-third of the territory of Poland that had passed resolutions that activists argue discriminate against LGBT people. The conservative legal group Ordo Iuris, which will offer legal assistance to the municipalities, […]
How a Dating App Helped a Generation of Chinese Come Out of the Closet
Like many gay Chinese growing up at the turn of the millennium, Duan Shuai began his long, deliberate process of coming out online. After school, he would visit the newly opened internet cafe in his hometown, Xinzhou, a small city in Shanxi Province bounded by a veil of mountains. He would pick a desktop facing […]
LGBT+ candidates win big in U.S. Super Tuesday contests
Most of the openly LGBT+ candidates competing in this week’s Super Tuesday elections won their races, campaigners said, showing acceptance and momentum building among the nation’s largest-ever field of gay and trans people running for office. At least 28 LGBT+ candidates won primary races to become their political party’s nominee in the November election, according […]
Hong Kong court rules in favor of gay couple seeking public housing
A Hong Kong court on Wednesday ruled that married same-sex couples have the right to apply for public housing, in a move that could make it easier for LGBT+ people to live in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage but the case was brought by permanent resident […]
Funds running out, Kenya LGBT refugee program seeks help
LGBT refugees in Nairobi, Kenya might soon find themselves homeless and without any source of income as funding for housing and other programs is rapidly drying up. Grants from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees supporting a safe house run by Team No Sleep Foundation have run out, […]
Putin Proposes Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage
President Vladimir V. Putin has proposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in what political analysts suggest is an effort to raise turnout for a constitutional referendum that could keep him in power but has so far stirred little enthusiasm among Russians. Polls have suggested low turnout and little enthusiasm among Russians for the referendum […]
Why do we need LGBT leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics?
This February, PinkNews, Amazon and glamazon partnered up for the LGBT Leaders: STEM 2020 conference. The event addressed the under-representation of LGBT+ people in science, technology, engineering and mathematical roles, where guests took part in panel discussions and networking opportunities with LGBT leaders in their field from organisations like Amazon, Accenture, the Financial Times and […]
LGBTQ people fought for decades to be recognized in the census. This time they will be — sort of.
Kayla Bates knows the 2020 census is important, but filling it out will mean yet another form that won’t allow the 30-year-old to correctly self-identify. “If you identify as a woman, imagine that you had to pick that you are a man on forms,” said the Elgin resident, who is nonbinary transmasculine. “It’s just not […]
Pakistan court gives green light to women’s march – with conditions
A Pakistani court on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the country’s largest women’s rights event but told organizers to ensure participants adhere to “decency and moral values”. The country-wide event, known as Aurat March, using the Urdu word for women, has been attended by tens of thousands over the last two years to mark International […]
Indonesia doubles down on move to ban homosexuality and send ‘offenders’ to ‘rehab’ clinics
Indonesia is proposing legislation that would force LGBT+ people into treatment to “cure” their sexuality or gender identity. The “Family Resilience Bill” would force LGBT+ people into government-sanctioned “rehabilitation centres”, which would give religiously-based “treatment” for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. A draft of the bill was introduced last month by three lawmakers in […]
100 LGBT filmmakers to boycott Tel Aviv festival to support queer Palestinians
Over 130 filmmakers from around the world, including at least 100 from the LGBT community, have pledged to boycott an upcoming government-sponsored gay film festival in Tel Aviv, the Hollywood Reporter said Monday. The boycott targets Tel Aviv’s International LGBT Film Festival, known as TLVFest, and aims to show solidarity with the Palestinian members of […]
Malaysian band’s new song encourages LGBTs to die and YouTube lets it keep on playing
LGBT+ Malaysians have criticized popular punk-rock band Bunkface for an ‘extremist anthem’ that calls for the death of LGBT+ people. The multi-award winning band has been popular in the southeast Asian country since 2006. They were among the first Malaysian bands to embrace the punk-rock style which Western artists had long dominated. But their new […]
‘Whiplash’ Of LGBTQ Protections And Rights, From Obama To Trump
At the heart of a story now playing out in schools, workplaces and courts across the U.S. is a disagreement over the legal meaning of the word “sex” — and whether discrimination against gay and transgender people for being gay or transgender is sex discrimination. The White House has a particular kind of power over […]
Slovak election hands democrats vital test
Populist businessman Igor Matovic is set to become Slovakia’s next prime minister after his Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (Olano) movement enjoyed a surge of support in elections. Founded as an anti-corruption protest party 10 years ago, Olano surged in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s election to take 25 percent of votes amid a […]
Polish LGBT activists protest at Warsaw church against Catholic archbishop
Several dozen activists protested in front of a Warsaw church guarded by police on Sunday as a Catholic archbishop, criticized for his anti-LGBT language, celebrated mass. Last year, in a sermon, Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski said Poland was under siege from a “rainbow plague” of gay rights campaigners who he compared to Poland’s former Communist rulers. […]
Puberty blockers can be ‘life-saving’ drugs for trans teens, study shows
Transgender youth have a much greater risk of suicide, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, if they have access to a puberty blocker, their chances of suicide and mental health problems in the immediate term and down the road decline significantly, a new study finds. The study, the first of […]
Hashtag ‘ThankYouPete’ trends on Twitter after Buttigieg suspends presidential bid
Shortly after word got out that former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was ending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, the hashtag #thankyoupete began trending nationally on Twitter. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, rose from political obscurity to make history as the first openly gay man to win delegates in the […]
25 wedding photos show the very first LGBT couples to marry in their countries and the stories behind them
Every wedding is an important day. But some marriages make history — such as the unions that signal a country’s acceptance of LGBT rights for the first time. Last week 27-year-old Sharni Edwards and Robyn Peoples, 26, became the first gay couple to legally marry in Northern Ireland. “While this campaign ends with Sharni and […]
Pressure to keep up: status imbalance a major factor in stress in gay men
The persistence of mental health hardships among gay and bisexual men, which endure even as LGBTQ people gain greater acceptance and civil rights, can be explained at least in part by the corrosive effects of status consciousness, competitiveness and racism within the gay community itself. Those are the striking and potentially controversial findings of a […]
Tickets are now on sale for London’s first ever Muslim LGBT+ Pride
Tickets are officially on sale for London’s first LGBT+ Muslim Pride festival, bringing together artists and advocates for an event that organisers hope will spotlight a community so under-represented in the Pride calendar. LGBT+ Muslim group Imaan set the date for the event for Saturday, April 11, and tickets hit the EventBrite shelves Wednesday. Tickets […]
Sydney to ‘feel the love’ at Mardi Gras today
Sydney Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger says this year’s event will include “everyone from all walks of life that touches our community”. Sydneysiders are preparing to ‘feel the love’ tonight as the city’s biggest celebration of LGBT pride kicks off. Mr Kruger told Sky News the parade will be broadcast this year which is “unique” […]
Chechen exile survives suspected assassination attempt after fighting off attacker
A prominent Chechen blogger and critic of the region’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov has survived a suspected assassination attempt after fighting off a man he said attacked him in his apartment in Poland. Tumso Abdurakhmanov posted a video on Wednesday night showing himself looking shaken and standing over a man on the floor of the apartment […]