Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines Denounces Gay Former Seminarian’s Wedding
In an unprecedented move, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has issued a public denouncement of a former seminarian for having a wedding service with his partner, according to UCA News. John Rey Lasap, who has not been a seminarian for several years, and his partner, Kirt Lester Ebrada, had a wedding ceremony […]
SCOTTISH FOOTBALLER ZANDER MURRAY COMES OUT AS GAY
Scottish footballer Zander Murray, a striker for Gala Fairydean Rovers, has come out as gay. In an interview with Gala Fairydean Rovers Football Club, Murray, 30, talked about the timing behind his decision to come out. “Firstly it feels like the weight of the world is now off my shoulders,” Murray said. “The reason I […]
‘Life-changing’ Hamilton softball league becomes 3rd in Canada to join prestigious LGBTQ+ alliance
An LGBTQ-friendly softball league in Hamilton has joined the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA), becoming the only Hamilton sports league and just the third in Canada to be part of the alliance. Jeff Lindstrom, commissioner of the Steel City Inclusive Softball Association (SCISA), said SCISA joined the NAGAAA in late August. “One thing […]
Gay Likud MK defends Netanyahu’s push for inclusion of anti-LGBT Noam party in bloc
Likud MK Amir Ohana on Sunday defended party leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to get anti-LGBT party Noam into the Knesset in the next election, saying he was willing to give up some progress for the community, if it meant getting Likud back in power. Netanyahu brokered a deal to see Noam join forces with the […]
Thousands march in Turkey to demand ban on LGBTQ groups
An anti-LGBTQ group marched Sunday in Istanbul, demanding that LGBTQ associations be shuttered and their activities banned, in the largest demonstration of its kind in Turkey. Several thousand people joined the demonstration dubbed “The Big Family Gathering.” Kursat Mican, a speaker for the organizers, said they had gathered more than 150,000 signatures to demand a […]
Turkish Regulator Criticized Over Public Service Video
Turkish media and LGBTQ groups are questioning a decision by the country’s regulator to classify a video from a coalition of conservative groups as a public service announcement. The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) voted to list a video promoting an event scheduled for Istanbul on Sunday as a public service announcement. The video […]
Texas judge halts investigations of transgender families who belong to national advocacy group
A state district judge on Friday granted a temporary halt into the investigations of families with transgender children who belong to one of the largest LGBTQ advocacy groups in the country. The ruling by District Judge Amy Clark Meachum in Travis County is the latest in a months-long case that began after Texas Attorney General […]
Police and anti-LGBT protesters clash in Belgrade as EuroPride march goes ahead
Serbian riot police clashed with anti-LGBT protesters in the capital Belgrade on September 17, as a last minute government decision allowed the EuroPride march to go ahead. The Serbian authorities had previously banned the march, warning that they could not ensure participants’ safely. However, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic formally announced earlier on September 17 that […]
Egypt integrates sex education ‘to stop homosexuality’
The Egyptian education ministry has ordered educational directorates to integrate concepts of sexual education, sexual harassment and sexual violence into the basic education curriculum, local media reported on Thursday. The move is an aim to protect children following increasing public concern that they may imitate “deviant” sexual behaviours – which many in Egypt consider to […]
Anti-gay sentiment shows limit of Gulf states’ liberal drive
Teachers returning for the new academic year in the United Arab Emirates were struck by a new bureaucratic demand. In a new code of conduct, one clause in particular jumped out: “refrain . . . from discussing gender identity, homosexuality or any other behaviour deemed unacceptable to UAE society”. The directive has sent a chill through the teaching community […]
Dance music festival gets Uganda’s OK despite worries that it ‘promotes gays’
One of East Africa’s most popular music festivals has been cleared to go ahead after members of parliament tried to ban it for “promoting gays” in the country. The Nyege Nyege festival will now take place [Sept. 15-18] but under “strict guidelines,” according to Ugandan Prime Minister Robina Nabbanja, quoted in local media reports. “The […]
Divorcing the TQ from LGB
The LGB is divorcing the TQ and there is a court case. While the world’s eyes are on Britain changing monarchs, those of us who are interested in gender politics are again looking to the British courts for another battle at the business end of what is known as the Culture Wars. In 2019, a […]
Defying ministry, rabbis tell school to put transgender boy in female-only class
Over a dozen rabbis called Thursday for a religious school in central Israel to force an 8-year-old transgender student into a female-only classroom, defying the wishes of both the boy’s parents and the Education Ministry. The child, who is in third grade at a national-religious school in the central city of Givat Shmuel, was born […]
Japan’s first gay elected member of parliament visits SF
San Francisco’s GLBT Historical Society Museum welcomed Taiga Ishikawa, Japan’s first gay member of parliament, during his recent visit to San Francisco. Ishikawa, 48, is Japan’s highest-ranking and only LGBTQ politician currently serving in the House of Councilors, the upper house of Japan’s parliament, known as the Diet. Elected in 2019, he is a member […]
Despite ban and protests, LGBTQ organizers move forward with EuroPride march in Serbia
Organizers of European LGBTQ events in Belgrade this week said Friday they will hold a planned Pride march on the streets of the Serbian capital despite a police ban and threats from anti-gay groups. Serbian police have banned Saturday’s parade, citing a risk of clashes with far-right activists who said they will gather to protest […]
Serbian pride officially banned after threats
The EuroPride was launched on September 12. Its opening passed without incidents, RFERL reports. However, on Tuesday, the Serbian authorities officially banned the event. The Pride Parade, scheduled for Saturday, is also cancelled, even as the planned counter-demonstration. Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin says that “nonsensical conflicts in the streets of Belgrade endanger the safety of […]
Singapore mulls ‘cancel culture’ legislation amid gay marriage debate
Singapore’s law minister says “cancel culture” rules may be included in legislation in the near future as the government looks to protect residents against online pressure over expressing views on topics including an ongoing debate on LGBTQ rights. The government is preparing to repeal a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between men while reinforcing a […]
Violence against LGBTQI+ people continues
Last Saturday, Munni Kinnar was on her way back home to Dumari from Laxmipur with her friend, Chanda Raut, after visiting her ailing sister. What followed their visit to Laxmipur has scarred the two friends both physically and emotionally. “I am still trying to comprehend what happened to us,” said Munni, who sustained serious injuries […]
Soon-to-close NHS Tavistock clinic is accused of ‘wrongly convincing gay and bisexual people they were TRANS’ in bitter legal dispute
The UK’s soon-to-close child gender clinic has been accused of wrongly convincing gay and bisexual people that they are trans. London-based Tavistock Clinic was ordered to close it doors in July after a damning report found it was ‘not safe’ for children. The clinic, which opened in the 1980s, was criticised for allegedly rushing teenagers […]
Lebanon’s anti-LGBT “Soldiers of God”
At the end of June, a widely circulated video showed a floral display, installed for Pride Month in Beirut, being vandalised. The video was shot by the perpetrators themselves, a group who call themselves the “Soldiers of God”. This group says they are fighting against civil marriage and the “abuses” committed by the LGBT community […]
Gay rights group was set up ‘to promote transphobic activity’, court told
The gay rights organisation LGB Alliance was set up to “promote transphobic activity rather than pro-LGB activities”, the head of Consortium, an umbrella group of LGBT organisations told a court on Monday. In the first full day of hearings in the appeal by the transgender rights charity Mermaids against the Charity Commission’s decision to award […]
Explainer: The facts about Russia’s expanded ‘gay propaganda’ law
Russia’s so-called ‘gay propaganda’ law has banned the promotion of “non-traditional sexual values” to under-18s since 2013. Now, the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, has introduced amendments that would expand the scope of the law by banning the “denial of family values” and the “promotion of non-traditional sexual orientations” to all ages. […]
Politicians in Italy are freaking out over lesbian polar bears in a British cartoon
A far-right political group in Italy is up in arms over a popular British children’s cartoon that recently featured a lesbian polar bear couple. Federico Mollicone, culture spokesperson for the conservative Brothers of Italy party, declared that the nation “cannot accept gender indoctrination” and claimed that “Once again the politically correct has struck, at the […]
Tanzania warns against sharing pro-LGBTQI content
The Tanzanian government has warned against the dissemination of online messages and short videos promoting same-sex relationships. It has also warned that it will take action against administrators of social media groups whose members share pro-LGBT messages. Information Minister Nape Nnauye made the remarks at a press conference Sunday at the Tanzania Communications Authority (TCRA) […]
Sri Lankan Prez says Govt won’t oppose Bill to decriminalise homosexuality
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said that the government will not oppose the Private Member’s Bill presented to Parliament to decriminalize homosexuality, however, the bill will require the support of individual members of Parliament. “We are for it, but you have to get the support of individual members. It’s a matter of their private […]
Tokyo Court Denies Transgender Parent Legal Rights To Own Child
The journey toward equality for the LGBTQ+ community in Japan has been something of a ping-pong match over the past few years. The country has indeed taken steps toward inclusion and equal rights, such as the recent establishment of the partnership system of same-sex couples. But just when we think we’re beginning to see a glimmer […]
Drag queens and TikTokers: queer Fijian influencers challenging traditional notions of masculinity
Sevuloni Lule, a professional dancer from Lautoka City in western Fiji, is causing a stir on Shenzen’s club scene in China. Or rather, his drag alter ego – Savanaah Marco LaVulva – is. By day, Lule performs Pacific dances at Window of the World, a kitschy theme park in Shenzen’s Nanshan district. At night, he puts on a […]
Transphobia in Germany: The danger of anti-queer attacks
Munster, Augsburg, Bremen: three German cities, three brutal attacks on queer people within the past three months. One of them ended in tragedy for Malte C.*, a transgender man who intervened to protect a group of lesbian women who were being harassed and insulted on the sidelines of the Christopher Street Days festival in Münster. The assailant hit […]
Yeshiva University Can Bar L.G.B.T. Club for Now, Justice Rules
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said on Friday that Yeshiva University in Manhattan can for now disregard a state court ruling that ordered it to recognize an L.G.B.T. student club — a case she said could be considered by the full Supreme Court. The ruling in State Supreme Court in Manhattan in June was celebrated by gay […]
Queer Hungarians in Berlin: ‘We can finally hold hands in public’
Over the past years, the situation for LGBTQ individuals in many EU countries has improved, even if often only haltingly. But Hungary is another story. There, homophobia and transphobia have become not only staples of government policy but also national ideology. Since the end of 2020, the country’s constitution has contained indirectly homophobic passages in […]