US urges 69 nations, including Iran, to decriminalize homosexuality
US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell and American Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft used the UN bully pulpit on Wednesday to call on 69 nations, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Algeria, to stop their criminalization of homosexuality. Grenell, the most senior openly gay member of the Trump administration, launched the unprecedented international […]
Brazil: Bolsonaro in homophobic outburst as corruption scandal swirls
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched a homophobic attack on a journalist from one of the country’s top newspapers in an apparent bid to divert attention from a spiraling corruption scandal involving his son. “You look terribly like a homosexual,” Bolsonaro – who has previously boasted of being “proudly” homophobic – told the reporter, […]
J.K. Rowling backs sacked worker in transgender speech case
J.K. Rowling on Thursday backed a British woman who lost her job for tweeting that people cannot alter their biological sex after she lost a legal case against her employer. Maya Forstater was sacked from the Centre for Global Development, an international think-tank, after tweeting her opposition to a British government proposal that would make […]
Lambda Legal: Trump Administration’s Assault On the Courts and LGBTQ Protections Intensifies
Lambda Legal released the third edition of its annual report of judicial nominees revealing the alarming extent to which the Trump-Pence administration, with the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has filled the federal judiciary with an unprecedented number of unqualified, extremist judges whose records reveal deep hostility for the rights of LGBT people, […]
Human rights are rarely debated openly in China. Xiao Ma’s case is a fascinating exception
It is rare to see human rights debated openly in China but the case of Xiao Ma has proven to be a fascinating exception. Not only was Ma the first transgender person in China to sue an employer for gender discrimination but the lack of precedent in her case meant her lawyer used a transgender […]
Buttigieg under attack during Democratic debate
Openly gay Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was under fierce attack Thursday night in the sixth Democratic debate and, by the end of the evening, there was some data suggesting he had suffered some injury to his effort to convince voters he is a candidate who listens to the little guy and is electable. And […]
Anti-gay laws in 2019: You win some, you lose some
2019 has been a mixed year for opponents of the anti-gay laws that still oppress LGBTQ people in dozens of countries worldwide. During 2019, millions fewer people than in 2018 suffered under repressive laws that make same-sex intimacy a crime. The most dramatic recent change was in India, where the Supreme Court overturned the nation’s […]
Thailand: Activists broaden push for same-sex marriage
LGBT activists are broadening their push for an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code in a bid to allow people to legally wed, regardless of gender. LGBT coordinator Ekkawat Pimsawan on Wednesday submitted a proposal to amend the Code to Mukda Pongsombat, a Pheu Thai MP for Khon Kaen and chairwoman of the House […]
Weeks after suspicious death, Haiti gay rights activist still not buried
More than three weeks after the death of a prominent gay rights activist in Haiti under suspicious circumstances, he still has not been buried and no autopsy has been performed to find the cause. Charlot Jeudy’s lifeless body was found on Nov. 25 inside his home in the Caradeux neighborhood of Haiti’s capital. Jeudy, 35, […]
Will first trans hero mark a new era for LGBT+ roles in video games?
When Tyler Ronan and his twin sister Alyson ask video gamers to unravel their family’s mysterious past in small-town Alaska next year, the siblings will take followers on an untrodden journey. For he is the first playable trans hero of a major video game, “Tell Me Why”, which will be released next summer by Dontnod […]
SAME-SEX FAMILY DOLL SET CRITICISED FOR LACK OF RACIAL DIVERSITY
Kmart Australia has added two same-sex couples to one of its family doll ranges, but shoppers have criticised the company for creating exclusively white dolls. The family play sets now come in three variations, including either a family of two fathers, two mothers, or a mother and father. Each set also comes with a picnic […]
US Agency Could Pave Way for Anti-LGBT Discrimination
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funds thousands of organizations that work on important health and social welfare issues including adoption and foster care, youth homelessness, and sexuality education. Currently, recipients of HHS funding cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But a new Trump Administration proposal could change […]
Chinese censors, audiences unfazed by ‘Rise of Skywalker’ gay kiss
The first gay kiss of the “Star Wars” film franchise has surprisingly survived China’s censors and made it to the big screens across the country. Audiences were unfazed as well – or, in some cases, puzzled. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” enjoyed a night of previews in China on Dec. 18, ahead of its […]
Yokohama recognizes partnerships for LGBT couples
The city of Yokohama near Tokyo began issuing certificates recognizing the partnerships of sexual minority and common-law couples on Monday. Yokohama is the third city in Japan to implement a system of recognition for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, as well as common-law couples, according to the city. It will also provide translated certificates for […]
Germany moves to ban gay ‘conversion therapies’
Germany moved a step closer to banning so-called gay “conversion therapies” on Wednesday, as the cabinet backed a law that would punish bogus practitioners with up to a year in prison. Activists hailed the move, saying Germany would become the first major European power to outlaw attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation with techniques […]
European Assembly Blasts Polish ‘Anti-LGBT’ Zones
The European Parliament on Wednesday blasted Poland for creating zones “free from any LGBTI ideology” and suggested closer attention should be paid as a result to EU grants destined for Warsaw. Brussels has already criticized Poland’s conservative government over plans to revamp its judicial system with court reforms which EU authorities fear will leave judges […]
Anti-LGBT discrimination has a huge human toll. Research proves it.
In a trio of cases heard in October, the Supreme Court weighed whether discrimination against LGBT people should be legal. Over the course of those and related cases, a handful of scholars who oppose legal protections for LGBT Americans claimed in a legal brief that “research about discrimination and its effects” on LGBT people is […]
Duterte hosts LGBT party in Malacañang
President Rodrigo Duterte hosted a thanksgiving party for members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community in Malacañang on Tuesday. Duterte welcomed members of the LGBT Pilipinas, Inc., and administered the oath of office of its national officers. The group was led by Gretchen Diez, the transgender woman who earlier figured in a controversy after […]
A guide to local favorites in Chapinero
A hip, student-driven area known as Bogota’s gay neighborhood, Chapinero is in constant motion — by the end of 2019, anti-government protesters were holding regular concerts and other events in its plaza, known as “Parque de los Hippies.” The people are diverse and the nightlife lively; the neighborhood’s flagship club, Theatron, hosts a great LGBT […]
Argentine soap opera a hit for trans rights
A popular soap opera in Argentina with a groundbreaking love scene between a transgender woman and man has helped break down stereotypes and negative views about gender diversity, supporters say. Running every weekday evening, “Pequena Victoria,” translated as “Little Victory,” has portrayed fictional trans women and touched on issues such as non-traditional families and surrogate […]
Colombia: Bogotá’s first female mayor marries same-sex partner
The first woman to be elected mayor of Colombia’s capital city has married her partner in a private civil ceremony before taking office. Claudia López announced her wedding to Angélica Lozano late on Monday by sharing an enthusiastic message and several photographs on social media. “On my way to the happiest moment of my life!” […]
A Gay Film Sent an Entire Nation Into a Frenzy
Conflicts around gender and sexuality are often indicators of social tension. A recent public clash over the screening of a film in Tbilisi gives insight into the fault lines of contemporary politics in Georgia. Georgia’s democratic gains have been seriously tested by the ruling party backtracking on electoral reforms. Politics is growing increasingly polarized, and […]
Gay Saudi journalists both freed from Australian detention after ‘powerful’ LGBT community rallied round them
The two gay Saudi journalists who sought asylum in Australia have both finally been freed after one was forced to remain alone in a detention centre due to a ‘clerical error’ by a government official. The two men, known by pseudonyms Sultan and Nassar, fled Saudi Arabia where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. […]
Netflix ‘gay Jesus’ film sparks backlash in Brazil
A comedy on Netflix depicting Jesus as a gay man has prompted widespread anger in Brazil with almost two million people signing a petition calling on the streaming service to remove the show. “The First Temptation of Christ” was created by Brazilian YouTube comedy group Porta dos Fundos and portrays Jesus bringing home his presumed […]
Tory politician makes history as the first openly gay Muslim MP to be elected in the world
Imran Ahmad-Khan made history when he was elected as MP for Wakefield in Yorkshire on Friday, having beaten the incumbent MP by 3,358 votes. His election marks the first time that the constituency has voted for a Conservative politician since 1931. The gay Muslim MP is now among 24 Tories who identify as LGBT+, the […]
Hallmark Channel Reinstates Kissing Brides’ Ads After Backlash
In a change of heart, the Hallmark Channel will allow television commercials produced by wedding-planning website Zola that show two brides kissing. The cable network had pulled the ads over the weekend after the conservative group One Million Moms complained they promoted “the LGBT agenda,” according to the Associated Press. That decision prompted an immediate […]
Did Russia Register Its First Transgender Marriage?
Authorities in Russia have registered one of the first transgender marriages in a country that positions itself as a bastion of traditional family values. Erika Askarova and Viktor Manuilin’s otherwise ordinary wedding made national headlines after the two posted photographs from the registry office in the city of Kazan on Dec. 12. Askarova, 30, and […]
Everyone welcome? Gay football fans prepare for Qatar
World Cup 2022 host Qatar has given the clearest indication yet that LGBT fans will be welcome, engaging with gay supporters as it hosts the Club World Cup — despite criminalising homosexuality. Organisers of the 2022 soccer spectacle travelled to Britain in recent months to meet Liverpool fan clubs including the side’s gay supporters’ group, […]
A guide to how gender-neutral language is developing around the world
What pronoun do you use to identify yourself? He? She? They? Something altogether different? It’s a question asked increasingly often as acceptance of a spectrum of gender and sexual identities grows. Some languages, like Chinese and Persian, don’t assign nouns a gender or already have a gender-neutral form for people built in. But in languages […]
Korean Air recognizes same-sex Korean couple as family
A same-sex couple of Korean nationality were recognized as family members by Korean Air’s membership rewards program, South Korea’s flag carrier said Thursday, a step hailed by sexual minorities’ rights advocates. The female couple, who are in their 40s, completed registering as family members in Korean Air’s SkyPass program on Monday after the country’s largest […]