Black queer people are victimized every day
Stacey Long Simmons, director of advocacy at the National LGBTQ Task Force, vividly recalls the time, as a young college student, she was walking outside of campus and a group of white men slowed down and shouted, “N-word bitch go home.” Simmons hails from Queens, N.Y., where she admits racist incidents did occur but being […]
Lawmaker pulls proposed transgender birth certificate ban
A proposal that would have blocked transgender people from changing the sex listed on their birth certificates in Utah was shelved Thursday, prompting relief from LGBT advocates but leaving the issue in limbo. The legislation would have reversed longstanding practice in many parts of the state and had prompted warnings that it could put Utah […]
Dems introduce bill to take gender-specific terms out of tax code to make it LGBT-inclusive
A bill introduced by two Democratic lawmakers Thursday would update the U.S. tax code to remove gender-specific references such as “husband” and “wife” and would replace the terms with “spouse” in an effort to be LGBT-inclusive. Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Andy Levin (D-Mich.) said in a press release announcing the legislation that the tax […]
Same sex couples seek marriage rights in Valentine’s lawsuit
Chizuka Oe and Yoko Ogawa have been together for 25 years, but when they submitted their marriage registration at a Tokyo town hall, they knew it would be rejected. “We were told that they cannot accept our registration because we are both women,” said Ogawa, standing in the winter sun outside the building in Nakano […]
North Africa seen as unsafe for LGBT people: Rights Groups
The Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house of parliament, is considering whether to recognize Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as “safe countries of origin.” Yet LGBT people are still persecuted in all three places. Luise Amtsberg , a Green member of parliament and an expert on refugee policy, said that due to the dangers faced by homosexuals face […]
Brazil’s LGBT+ politicians prepare for battle with Bolsonaro
When he realized Jair Bolsonaro was likely to be elected president of Brazil last year, politician David Miranda’s first concern was for his family, rather than his career. As an openly gay man adopting two children, Miranda worried that Bolsonaro could revoke many of Brazil’s LGBT+ rights, including gay adoption. Just three months later, the […]
How British Feminism Became Anti-Trans
The most vocal trans-exclusionary voices are, ostensibly, “feminist” ones, and anti-trans lobbying is a mainstream activity. Case in point: Ms. Parker told the podcast “Feminist Current” that she’d changed her thinking on trans women after spending time on Mumsnet, a site where parents exchange tips on toilet training and how to get their children to […]
Japan Launches First LGBTI Safe House
Japan opened its first LGBTI safe house in Tokyo this week. Nijiiro House supports LGBTI people who have fallen into homelessness due to their sexuality or gender identity. It also offers support for mental health issues and employment. The house mainly helps gay and bisexual men as well as trans and non-binary people Yuta Onaga from Nijiiro […]
LGBT+ Victims of Spain’s Franco Regime Fight for Compensation
Moves by Spain to finally exhume the remains of former dictator Francisco Franco have spurred growing demands for compensation by LGBT+ victims of oppression and torture under his 36-year regime. Spain voted in September last year to disinter Franco’s remains from the vast underground basilica constructed outside the capital Madrid before his death in 1975. […]
Top Brazilian Court to Decide Key Homophobia Cases
Brazil’s supreme court is expected to rule Wednesday on a pair of cases that could determine whether homophobia and transphobia should be considered criminal offenses. The cases, brought by Brazilian rights group ABGLT and the Popular Socialist Party, ask the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) to acknowledge the “unconstitutional delay” of Brazil’s Congress in criminalizing violence […]
How Does Taiwan Really Feel About LGBT Issues After Its Referendums?
If 2017 saw the rise of marriage equality in Taiwan, then the backlash in 2018 suggests many observers held an overly optimistic view on just how much Taiwanese public opinion had shifted. With the March 2017 Constitutional Court deeming the existing civil code that limited marriage to heterosexual couples as unconstitutional, the expectation was that […]
Israeli Politician Shlomo Karhi says Pride Parades are ‘against nature’
Israeli politician Shlomo Karhi has been condemned for saying Pride parades “legitimise something that is contrary to the natural family unit.” Karhi, who will be a candidate for Israel’s ruling Likud party in the national election on April 9, also told Israeli radio station Radio Darom “holding gay Pride parades is completely wrong,” according to Israeli news […]
Fury at HIV Data Leak in Conservative Singapore
Rico has lived with HIV for almost a decade, confiding in only a small number of people in socially conservative Singapore, fearful of the reaction. Last month, he got a phone call saying information about his condition had been published online. Rico was one of 14,200 people whose HIV status, name and address were dumped […]
Mexico: LGBT Activist Oscar Cazorla Found Dead: Promoted Zapotec ‘3rd gender’
A defender of LGBT rights and proponent of muxe culture in Oaxaca has been found dead in an apparently violent attack. Óscar Cazorla was at home in the Juchitán de Zaragoza municipality when he was killed. “They find the lifeless activist muxe, Óscar Cazorla, who for decades fought in favor of the LGBT community,” said […]
Small, Rural Businesses are Far Behind India’s Corporate Giants in Welcoming LGBTI People
Following India’s September move to scrap a colonial-era ban on gay sex, more and more corporations are opening their doors to LGBT+ people and ushering in policies to make them feel more welcome. But smaller firms across industries – textile houses, printing presses, rubber manufacturers, real estate agencies and others – are not racing to […]
Faith Leaders Urge Government to Support LGBTI Education in Schools
More than 50 members of religious organisations, campaigners and education leaders have signed an open letter asking the Department of Education (DfE) to support LGBT+ education in schools. The open letter, published in The Guardian on Monday (February 11), references concerns that the government may allow independent schools to opt out of LGBT+ education. “This poses a […]
Bolsonaro Regime to Remove Brazilian Textbook References to Feminism and Homosexuality
Brazil‘s president and his senior officials have vowed to revise school textbooks to remove references to feminism, homosexuality and violence against women. Jair Bolsonaro has also said he wants the military to take over some public schools, as part of what teachers believe is a “nonsensical” approach to education reform. “One of the goals to get Brazil out of […]
Stage set for Queer Pride
Nritya Forum for Performing Arts came alive on Sunday with the performance of members and allies of the LGBTQ plus communites at Queer Carnival. Organised by the Hyderabad Queer Swabhimaan Yatra (QSY), the Queer Carnival is a pre-pride event, a curtain-raiser of sorts for the upcoming Queer Pride that is scheduled on February 17. The Queer […]
What Does The Crisis In Venezuela Mean For LGBTQ People?
Venezuela’s long-running political crisis appears to be reaching a critical point. President Nicolás Maduro is still holding onto power, but there is growing international support to recognize Juan Guaidó – the leader of the legislature – who declared himself President on 23 January 2019. Venezuela’s ongoing political discontent has been further fueled in recent months by […]
‘One can be queer and religious too’
Stressing that being religious and queer does not have to be mutually exclusive, Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender (LGBT) activists said that homosexuality was more of a lifestyle choice and religion did not discriminate against a person on the basis of his or her sexual orientation. The activists were speaking on the theme ‘Homosexuality and Religion Can Coexist’, on the second […]
‘Everyone is welcome’: Children reach out to gay teacher threatened over LGBT lessons
A gay primary school teacher who has been targeted amid protests from parents over homosexuality teachings has been inundated with supportive cards from children saying “everyone is welcome”. Andrew Moffat, assistant headteacher at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, has received threatening emails and chants calling for him to leave over the past few weeks. Around […]
“This Is Me”: Nippon Television’s Tanio Toshimi on Being True to Oneself
Transgender commentator Tanio Toshimi debuted on News Zero around the time that Diet member Sugita Mio made headlines for describing the LGBT community as childless and “unproductive.” While LGBT people working in entertainment are by no means unusual, Tanio is currently the only such individual appearing on a Japanese news program. We asked Tanio about coming out […]
As Angola decriminalizes homosexuality, where does the African continent stand?
Angola has done away with criminalizing homosexuality, removing a notorious “vices against nature” provision in its penal code. Other African nations still punish people for same-sex relationships. The reform has been hailed by human rights activists who have been pushing for equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Angola and other […]
Children raised by same-sex couples do better in school, new study finds
Children of same-sex couples perform better in school than kids raised by a mom and a dad, according to new research from several European economists. The researchers found that children raised by same-sex couples had higher test scores in elementary and secondary school and were about 7 percent more likely to graduate from high school […]
LGBTQ HATE INCIDENTS UP 54% IN 2018
Harassment of members of the LGBTQ community increased dramatically in 2018, with a 54% increase in reported incidents of homophobia, the Nir Katz Center revealed on Sunday in its annual report. The report, delivered to President Reuven Rivlin for the first time this year, noted that an incident of harassment or abuse against members of […]
Two transgender women joined migrant caravan. Only one survived journey to San Francisco.
Moments before paramedics rushed Roxsana Hernandez out of an ICE jail in New Mexico, Charlotte consoled her dying friend. They’d known each other only a few months, but the Honduran women had formed a tight bond, traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border together last spring in a highly publicized migrant caravan and petitioning for asylum in […]
Amnesty: Ukrainian Authorities ‘Slow To React’ To Attacks Against Journalists, Rights Advocates
Ukraine has failed to prevent or investigate “numerous” human rights violations committed last year against rights activists, political opponents, and ethnic minorities, according to Amnesty International. “2018 was marked by a sharp surge of violent attacks against a range of individuals and groups, often in the name of patriotism and ‘traditional values,’” the London-based human […]
LGBTQ pride and Mexican culture in sweet harmony
Mariachi music is one of Mexico’s most beloved forms of music. It’s also among the most traditional. After coming out as a gay man, Carlos Samaniego found that he was not welcome in many Mariachi groups. So he decided to buck tradition and form his own-Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, the world’s first LGBTQ Mariachi […]
Can Businesses Turn Away LGBT Customers? Court Battles Bubbling Back Up
The original story behind the Masterpiece Cakeshop case is both undisputed and well known: a gay couple in Colorado walked into the bakery in 2012 and asked for wedding cake. The owner and master baker, Jack Phillips, declined to make a custom cake for their party because he said their union violated his religious beliefs. The […]
Village where ‘love the same’ is embraced
Angkrong, a village in Prey Veng Province in Cambodia’s southeast corner, has been home to five couples over the age of 40, two young couples who recently emigrated, another middle-aged couple where one of the partners, a transgender man, passed away just last year, and a transgender monk. All are pairings of transgender men and […]