Japan adopts LGBTQ awareness legislation
In June 2023, the ‘Act on the Promotion of Citizens’ Understanding of Diversity of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity’ was enacted by the Japanese legislature (the Diet). Japan’s legal system for protecting its LGBTQ minorities is considered insufficient compared to other developed countries. For this reason, LGBTQ persons and support groups have pushed for legislation […]
Poll shows US public support for LGBTQ+ protections falling for first time since 2015
Public support for same-sex marriage and nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans has fallen, even as the overall share remains high, according to new findings by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute. Broad majorities of Americans, regardless of political party or faith, continue to support LGBTQ+ rights and protections, the analysis found. But after years of […]
Notes from Lebanon toward (Queer) Liberatory Alternatives
During the first week of August 2023, Lebanon made international headlines for (a failed, performative) attempt to ban the movie Barbie by a (Muslim Shia) government minister in a country long lauded for its ‘freedoms’. The minister’s narrative focused on the movie’s proclaimed (yet, I would argue, deeply wanting) ‘homosexuality’ and consequent corruption of ‘moral […]
Australian soccer embraces Pride round despite teenage player’s anti-gay screed
The Pride Celebrations in Australia’s A-Leagues at the weekend were certainly colorful. They were also meaningful to many of the country’s top-flight soccer stars. The controversy surrounding Adelaide United teenage player Musa Toure’s anti-LGBTQ social media post was put to one side at Coopers Stadium. Instead, rainbow fireworks greeted the men’s team ahead of Saturday’s […]
Mumbai: In A First, GT Hospital Offers Voice Change Surgery To Transgender Persons
In yet another novel initiative, the GT Hospital has become the first state-run facility in the city to offer voice change surgery to transgender persons who have undergone gender reassignment procedure. Notably, the Hospital’s move comes after the provision of a separate ward for the third gender. The voice change surgery consultation will be done […]
Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law upheld after settlement in federal court
The state of Florida settled a multi-year suit Monday against the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which limits how LGBTQ topics can be discussed and presented in schools. The settlement agreement clarifies language of the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, keeping it in place but toning down what LGBTQ advocates in the state warned […]
California City Passes Ban Preventing Government from Flying ‘Pride’ Flags
Voters in Huntington Beach, California voted on Thursday to only allow a list of acceptable flags the city can fly, effectively banning the “pride” flag from being flown on government property. The proposal, called Charter Amendment No. 2, asked voters if they would support allowing only certain flags to be flown on properties owned by the city. The […]
Panamanian LGBTQ Groups Urge Presidential Candidates to Support Same-Sex Marriage
Several LGBTQ groups in Panama asked presidential candidates on Thursday to commit to recognizing same-sex marriage, which was rejected a year ago by the Panamanian justice system. About fifteen groups are seeking for the candidates to sign a pact on March 27 in which they also commit to promoting laws against discrimination towards members of the […]
Thousands Rally After Shocking Attack on Trans Couple Rattles Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greek LGBTQ Community Defiant: ‘We Are Not Afraid’
UPDATED: A crowd that swelled into the thousands took to the streets of Thessaloniki Sunday night, one day after a shocking attack on a transgender couple rocked Greece’s second city and rattled filmmakers and guests at this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Waving rainbow flags, carrying banners denouncing homophobia and transphobia and chanting protest slogans, the mostly peaceful demonstration […]
China’s sexual minorities suffering violence in “conversion therapy”
As gender diversity spreads around the world, the position of sexual minorities in Chinese society is deteriorating, with many sent to correctional facilities where they undergo brutal treatment in the name of “conversion therapy.” The accusation comes from a group of victims and their supporters who in recent interviews revealed that there are some 100 […]
Spotlight on Bangladeshi politicians’ anti-trans, anti-gay remarks
LGBTQ rights activists have denounced Bangladeshi politicians for their anti-gay and anti-trans hate speech in recent months along with their opposition to inclusion of references to transgender people in school textbooks. Politicians’ offensive and discriminatory comments cited by JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) included: Denying the humanity of transgender people; Using the words “homosexual” and […]
U.S. expands crackdown on Ugandan homophobes seeking visas
The United States has expanded the number of Ugandan officials who are denied visas because of their anti-LGBTQ stance. The Guardian reported: US denies visa to Ugandan MP who called for homosexual castration. Activists welcome sanction on Sarah Achieng Opendi and other legislators against a backdrop of anti-LGBTQ+ oppression in Africa. The Ugandan MP Sarah […]
Coptic Church cuts theological dialogue with Catholics; says blessing gays ‘unacceptable’
One of the most influential Oriental Orthodox Churches has suspended theological dialogue with the Catholic Church and reaffirmed its opposition to “all forms of homosexual relationships,” in the latest blow to a recent Vatican document which sets a way for blessing members of same-sex relationships. The declaration – “Fiducia Supplicans: On the Pastoral Meaning of […]
In Argentina, feminists and LGBT groups challenge Javier Milei
Around a hundred women, transgender, and non-binary people gathered on Wednesday, March 6 on the patio of the Hotel Hector Quagliaro in Buenos Aires, loaned by the ATE civil servants’ union. On the wall hangs a green banner from the “Campaign for Legal Abortion.” Trade unionists, representatives of neighborhood assemblies, the working classes, indigenous peoples, […]
In Argentina, feminists and LGBT groups challenge Javier Milei
Around a hundred women, transgender, and non-binary people gathered on Wednesday, March 6 on the patio of the Hotel Hector Quagliaro in Buenos Aires, loaned by the ATE civil servants’ union. On the wall hangs a green banner from the “Campaign for Legal Abortion.” Trade unionists, representatives of neighborhood assemblies, the working classes, indigenous peoples, […]
Pronoun button party brings together members of Lawrence’s Indigenous, queer communities
Dozens of community members gathered at Art Love Collective Friday evening for a pronoun button party. The event, originally planned to be held at the Lawrence Public Library, was moved to Art Love Collective after a flyer for the event was defaced with a note that conveyed “a message of hate,” according to the Facebook […]
‘Love wins’ say Greek lesbian couple as they wed at last
A calendar reminder shone up on Danai Deligeorges’ phone on Thursday evening: “Wedding”, the message said. She turned, smiling, to her partner Alexia Beziki. “Are you ready?” Beziki asked, before the couple kissed and started to prepare. That night, Deligeorges and Beziki became one of the first lesbian couples in Greece to get married after […]
Angola: Carlos Fernandes, LGBTQI+ Pioneer, Believed Murdered
The queer community in Angola is reeling from the loss of Carlos Fernandes, founder and director of Associação Íris Angola (Íris), the country’s first registered LGBTQI+ group, amid suspicions of murder. Local media reported that Fernandes’ lifeless body was discovered in his Luanda home on 26th February. Novo Jornal revealed that the Criminal Investigative Service […]
Ghana’s President Vows No Action on Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill Until Supreme Court Rules on a Challenge to it
Ghana’s president said Tuesday his government will wait for a Supreme Court ruling before taking action on a bill that would further criminalize members of the LGBTQ+ community in the West African nation. President Nana Akufo-Addo said he sought to reassure the diplomatic community that Ghana would not be turning its back on its longstanding human […]
California beach town votes for Pride flag ban
Elections were held in California on Tuesday (5 March), with results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters showing more than 58 per cent of voters had said “yes” on Measure B, which enshrines an ordinance into the city charter to prohibit all commemorative flags, such as the Pride flag, being flown or displayed on city properties. However, […]
Love wins’ say Greek lesbian couple as they wed at last
ATHENS, March 7 (Reuters) – A calendar reminder shone up on Danai Deligeorges’ phone on Thursday evening: “Wedding”, the message said. She turned, smiling, to her partner Alexia Beziki. “Are you ready?” Beziki asked, before the couple kissed and started to prepare. That night, Deligeorges and Beziki became one of the first lesbian couples in Greece […]
Serbian LGBT Activists, Supporters Protest Alleged Police Brutality In Belgrade
BELGRADE — Several hundred Serbian LGBT activists and their supporters protested in central Belgrade against alleged police brutality on March 6 following reports of abuse against two LGBT persons and what demonstrators say was official inaction in the incident. Participants in the protest — dubbed We Will Not Be Silent! — called for the criminal prosecution of police officers […]
US denies visa to Ugandan MP who called for homosexual castration
The Ugandan MP Sarah Achieng Opendi, who called for homosexuals to be castrated during a parliamentary debate on the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws has been denied a visa to attend a UN meeting in New York next week. Opendi expressed “shock” after the US embassy in Kampala rejected her application to travel to the 68th session of the Commission […]
Queer in Gaza’ campaign aims to raise awareness about Hamas LGBTQ+ persecution
A new campaign launched a website to raise awareness about the Hamas terrorist movement’s lethal actions targeting the persecuted LGBTQ+ community in the Gaza Strip. The Equality Campaign Inc. created a website called “Queer in Gaza” that states “Learn the Facts about Hamas’ treatment of LGBT Palestinians.” The website declares, “Living as a Queer person in Gaza is punishable […]
Ghana’s LGBT terror: ‘We live in fear of snitches’
Homophobia is not uncommon in Ghana, where gay sex is already against the law and carries a three-year prison sentence, but now the LGBTQ+ community is feeling terrorised. A new bill, passed by MPs last week, will impose a jail term of up to three years for simply identifying as LGBTQ+ and five years for […]
After years of legal discrimination, Poland’s same-sex couples await civil union law
WARSAW, Poland — In an apartment on the outskirts of Warsaw, 5-year-old Olek fills his home with the twangs of a ukulele while his 2-year-old sister, Jagienka, sings along in a strong, off-key yowl. Their mothers, Ola and Karolina, smile at the cacophony: the sounds of a happy family. But here in Poland, this family is […]
Doritos Cuts Ties With Transgender Ambassador After Backlash
Doritos on Tuesday confirmed that it had parted ways with a transgender influencer, but said that the decision was not the result of the transphobic backlash the partnership generated online. For a recent social media advertising campaign dubbed “Crunch Talks,” Doritos Spain, which falls under PepsiCo Spain’s branch of products, recently featured 24-year-old transgender singer […]
‘This is still taboo’: queer teens and their families embrace gay comedy in Serbia
The hurling of a salad bowl to the floor might not sound like the most dramatic of moments, but it sent a ripple of recognition through the audience at the National theatre in Pirot, south-eastern Serbia, on a mid-February evening. The salad bowl incident took place midway through Our Son, a moving and funny play […]
Russian LGBTQ+ ‘Conversion Therapy’ Isolates Patients for Months – Report
At least a dozen clinics in Russia “secretly” conduct so-called conversion therapy, an abusive practice used to forcibly “cure” LGBTQ+ people, the U.S.-funded broadcaster Current Time reported on Monday. According to Current Time journalists, “patients” are often sent to these conversion therapy clinics against their will. Their treatment involves being isolated from the outside world […]
Ghana’s President to Await Court Decision Before Signing Anti-LGBTQ Bill
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Tuesday he will wait to act on an anti-LGBTQ bill that parliament passed last week, saying in a statement that the measure is being challenged in the Supreme Court. He was quoted as saying, “It would be as well for all of us to hold our hands and await […]