LGBTQ Muslims set to celebrate first Pride in London, after successful fundraising campaign
London Muslims are getting ready to celebrate their very own LGBTQ Pride celebration next spring, after raising over 10,000 pounds (around $12,900) in a fund-raising campaign. The event is being organized by Imaan, a network of LGBTQ Muslims across the U.K. Founded in November, 1999, Imaan is a community that empowers “thousands of others like […]
How Alfred Kinsey armed the early gay rights movement with research
There was a time when one out of every two Americans Gallup polled knew Alfred Kinsey’s name, and to gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals he was a living hero. Sadly, for the last quarter-century or so, calling Alfred Kinsey “the man who made the homosexual movement possible” has come not from that movement but the […]
Miss France contest opens to transgender contestants
The rules of the Miss France contest no longer prevent transgender people from participating, the director of the Miss France pageant, Sylvie Tellier, said in a recent interview. But, she added, she does not believe France is ready for a transgender Miss France. In an interview with local newspaper Le Parisien in French, Tellier confirmed […]
Rainbow Caribbean site focuses on LGBTQ rights
Caribbean LGBTQ rights activists announce Rainbow Caribbean, a Facebook page devoted to news articles, videos, features and commentaries about Caribbean LGBTQ people’s struggle for respect and recognition of their human rights. Organizations supporting this initiative are The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Trans Advocacy & Agitation Barbados, The United Belize Advocacy Movement, St. Paul’s Foundation for […]
China’s Longest-Surviving — And Very Illegal — LGBT Magazine
Beijing-based GS began as a listings and lifestyle magazine geared toward the gay community before evolving into a respected outlet for commentary and longform journalism, dedicated to recording landmark events for the Chinese LGBT community. Twelve years later, amid a tightening media environment, it is the longest-running queer print publication in the country, and believed […]
‘The Daughters’ Reveals the Lesbians Who Changed History
“I hadn’t seen a play or history of my people,” says Patricia Cotter—so she wrote ‘The Daughters’ which evokes a grand sweep of lesbian history, including the Daughters of Bilitis. In the first act of The Daughters, a play premiering at the San Francisco Playhouse, the character Mal is trying to get the guests at […]
California poll workers to receive training on how to assist transgender, gender non-conforming voters
California will train poll workers to better assist transgender and gender non-conforming voters in next year’s presidential elections. The state has partnered with Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, in an effort to boost LGBTQ civic engagement in 2020, and to protect the voting rights of people whose gender identity might […]
South Africa: Christians show pride in gay community
The queer community at Joburg Pride on Saturday in Sandton were joined by an oddly unexpected group of individuals who have historically condemned their existence – Christians. This time though the intention was not to wield any hostility but to offer hugs and kisses of affirmation. Author, speaker, futurist, and former minister in the Baptists […]
Colombia’s capital city of Bogota elects first female, and lesbian, mayor
Colombia’s capital city elected its first female mayor Sunday in what is being hailed as an important advancement for both women and LGBT rights. Claudia López won the race for mayor of Bogota on a platform promising to combat corruption and advance equal rights for minority communities. The Alianza Verde candidate captured over 1.1 million […]
This trans intersex person explains why they didn’t need surgery to be ‘fixed’
A trans intersex person has explained, in a moving opinion piece for Intersex Awareness Day (October 26), why they didn’t need surgery to be “fixed”. There are many different ways that a person can identify as intersex, which is an umbrella term encompassing those who are born with sex characteristics outside of the binary “female” […]
Uganda arrested 16 LGBTQ activists. Here’s where else gay rights are a battleground in the world.
This week Ugandan police arrested 16 LGBTQ activists on charges of gay sex — which is punishable by life imprisonment. Police arrested them at the sexual health organization where they worked and lived and cited condoms, lubricants and anti-HIV medicines found there as evidence of a crime. Police then subjected them to forced anal exams, […]
For a conservative city, Beijing has a remarkable gay nightlife
By day edmund yang is an accountant at a multinational firm. At night he can sometimes be found quietly sipping a cocktail at Destination, his club-cum-cultural centre. On China’s most popular navigation app, Baidu Maps, the venue is listed as a “comrade bar”. That does not mean it is a watering hole for Marxists. Comrade […]
Texas Is Afraid Of A 7-Year-Old Transgender Girl
What did 7-year-old Luna Younger of Dallas do that has mobilized conservatives and Christian fundamentalists across Texas into action? She declared, at age 3, “I’m a girl.” Her father, however, insists she’s a boy, despite a diagnosis of gender dysphoria by three medical experts. Jeffrey Younger feels so strongly about this that he launched an […]
Record 200,000 people march in Taipei LGBT pride parade
A record-breaking 200,000 people marched through Taipei Saturday in a vivid and exciting annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride parade, calling for the public to embrace the LGBT community, especially now that same-sex marriage has been legalized in Taiwan. The marchers brandished rainbow flags and sported flamboyant costumes as the 17th Taiwan LGBT […]
Lawyer who announced the launch of the anti-trans LGB Alliance is thrown under the bus by her law firm
Lawyer Allison Bailey of Garden Court Chambers, who describes herself as “gender critical”, wrote a tweet on Tuesday (October 22) announcing the launch of the group. She wrote: “This is a historic moment for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual movement. “LGB Alliance launched in London tonight, and we mean business. Spread the word, gender extremism […]
LGBTQ+ Community Rallies Against Anti-Trans ‘LGB Alliance’
A new lesbian, gay, and bisexual alliance group was blasted by on social media for excluding trans and nonbinary communities. The “LGB Alliance” group launched Tuesday evening with “gender critical feminist” (another term for the so-called trans exclusionary radical feminists or TERFs) and lawyer Allison Bailey calling it a “historic moment for the Lesbian, Gay […]
17th Taiwan LGBT Pride parade to take place today
The 17th Taiwan LGBT Pride parade is to take place in Taipei today, the first after the nation legalized same-sex marriage earlier this year. Taiwan on May 17 became the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage after lawmakers passed the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第748號解釋施行法). The event’s organizers said […]
In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, the fashion industry emerges as a center for LGBT resistance
Sam Porto and his mirror have never gotten along. When the transgender man was growing up in Brazil, the sight of his developing breasts disgusted him. But in a crowded makeup room backstage at Sao Paulo Fashion Week, the reflection staring back at him finally fit in. Male models with painted lips and nails strutted […]
Anti-LGBT rhetoric stokes tensions in eastern Europe
In a recent survey, Poles were asked to identify what they felt to be the biggest threats facing them in the 21st century, choosing from options such as the climate crisis, renewed aggression from Russia and a possible economic downturn. Among men under 40, the most popular answer was “the LGBT movement and gender ideology”. […]
Uganda arrests 16 LGBT activists on suspicion of gay sex
Uganda has said it has arrested 16 LGBT activists on suspicion of gay sex, which is punishable with life imprisonment, in what fellow activists called an escalating campaign against sexual minorities. The 16 men, believed to be aged between 22 and 35, were taken into custody late on Monday at the office of a sexual […]
Chinese-owned TikTok Bans LGBT Content Even Where Homosexuality Is Legal
The draw of being a part of social media and gathering followers is the big reason for many to jump on their phones. TikTok seems to be the ego toy of the youth, but you’ll see Will Smith on there and even Terry Crews, but the faces are those mainly of high schoolers and college-going […]
‘Any day you can be taken’: Inside what it’s like to be gay in Chechnya
Ricky was just 19 when he said the police came for him. He was at work and they took him to the local police station. From there he said they took him somewhere else, placing a bag over his head. “At first, they were just beating me. They punched me and then [they] used electric […]
The Nations With the Highest Levels of LGBT Acceptance (and Lowest)
An updated study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law ranked the world’s nations by levels of LGBT acceptance. The current report updates and expands a previous Williams Institute report, “Polarized Progress: Social Acceptance of LGBT People in 141 Countries, 1981 to 2014.” Coming in at number 1 is the island nation of […]
Taiwan: What’s next after marriage equality?
When the annual Taipei LGBT Pride sets off from City Hall on Saturday, it promises to be an especially joyful occasion. With the legalization of marriage equality earlier this year, participants will mark the closest thing to a crowning achievement for Taiwan’s LGBT movement in more than 30 years of struggle. But even after that […]
Anti-homosexuality Bill poses severe threat to human rights
Uganda is facing a serious threat to human rights and the HIV response with the announcement of plans to introduce legislation that will impose the death penalty on people found to have had sex with a member of their own sex or to have “promoted” homosexuality. The Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, […]
Polish Parliament Should Scrap Bill Against Sex Education
Threatening sex educators with jail may seem extreme – but it seems Poland’s ruling Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) party is willing to go there to cement power by generating fear and misinformation. Fueling intolerance and targeting rights activists, an independent judiciary, and a free press have become hallmarks of PiS since the party gained power […]
Christian Council plans showdown with Bahamas Pride
The Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) will mount a series of events opposing the Bahamas Pride celebrations slated for October 2020. BCC President Bishop Delton Fernander said yesterday the church must stand up and ring the bell against the celebration of something that contravenes the word of God. He said the church will also call upon […]
How PrEP is changing safe sex practices for India’s LGBTQ community
The dating, hook-up and relationship-seeking culture in the LGBTQ community has always had its own secret set of codes that allowed its members to navigate this dicey domain in public, while remaining under the radar. These tell-tale signs have ranged from one’s sartorial choices to subtle glances in public and private spaces. Over time, these […]
LGBT In Turkmenistan: Go To Jail Or Live A Lie
To his friends and colleagues in Turkmenistan, Kamil is a successful cardiologist working at a prestigious clinic and an eligible bachelor from a well-connected family. Only a few people in his close family circle are aware of Kamil’s real struggle: He is secretly gay. In Turkmenistan, where homosexuality is a crime and shunned by the […]
Conversion therapy: PM concerned about ‘vulnerable’ LGBT youth
The Prime Minister has expressed concern about “vulnerable” youth at risk of undergoing gay or trans conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is where people try to change lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) people’s sexuality or gender identity using therapy, drugs or other means. The controversial practice has been banned in the Australian state of […]