Lebanon LGBTQ Community Suffers Setback Amid Wider Clampdown
Nour never felt entirely safe as a queer person in Lebanon. But in the past few years, the 25-year-old pharmacist had begun letting his guard down, meeting with friends in LGBTQ-friendly spaces in Beirut and even performing in drag shows. He now opts to stay at home, fearing for his safety more than ever after […]
LGBTQ communities facing new repression in Middle East
Most of the people around him don’t know he identifies as queer, the 20-year-old Iraqi student told DW. But life in his comparatively conservative southern city of Najaf is dangerous for him anyway. “Once I wore a pink shirt and I was harassed, just because of the colour,” said Haiden, whose full name cannot be published for […]
Those people’: French minister’s LGBTQ remarks spark anger
PARIS — Pressure is mounting on a French government minister to quit over comments stigmatizing homosexuality and LGBTQ people, in the latest challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership. Caroline Cayeux’ remarks have hurt and angered many – including her colleagues — and prompted broader discussion around persistent discriminatory attitudes by people in power. More than 100 prominent figures […]
Thousands Attend Trans Pride Amid Backlash Against Trans Rights
Thousands of people attended Trans and Intersex Pride in Dublin amid concern that there is growing “backlash” against the community and its rights. Kicking off at the Garden of Remembrance, Dublin was awash with the pink and blue of the trans pride flag and hundreds of hand painted signs demanded equality, inclusion and healthcare. “So many people […]
Iraq bid to ban homosexuality will ‘let government get away with murder’
Iraq’s government has announced plans to outlaw homosexuality, sparking anger and fear in the Iraqi LGBTQ+ community. On 8 July, the Iraqi parliament began the process of collecting signatures to pass a law that will make homosexuality illegal once again. Iraq made homosexuality legal after Saddam Hussein was removed from power in 2003, however there […]
Rwanda ‘lies’ on gay rights as activist claims they were told to assure refugees
Rwanda’s leaders are scrambling to make the country appear safe for gay people, it was claimed yesterday. A senior activist there told the People he was approached by officials and asked to add his name to a statement giving assurances. The move was seen as an attempt to whitewash abuses in the African country as […]
Conservative Texas Lawyer Targets PrEP Access After Abortion Rights
With the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last month, the architect of a controversial Texas abortion law has already aimed at marriage equality, and his next target could leave Texans without access to lifesaving preventive care. Jonathan Mitchell, the former solicitor general who helped write Senate Bill 8, the restrictive abortion law, opened a […]
UN urged to move Cop27 from Egypt over ‘LGBTQ+ torture’
A White House adviser and his partner have called on the United Nations to move a key climate change summit from Egypt due to the country’s treatment of LGBTQ people, citing fears that they and other activists would be targeted by security forces if they attend the talks. The couple, Jerome Foster and Elijah Mckenzie-Jackson, […]
Thousands take part in Seoul LGBT festival, protesters rally
Thousands of South Koreans took part in an LGBT festival in downtown Seoul on Saturday, as Christian and conservative groups held a rally in protest across the road. Dubbed Seoul Queer Culture Festival, about 13,000 people were estimated to have participated as of about 3pm local time, Yonhap reported. Participants, some wearing rainbow masks and […]
UK Same Sex Bill sparks contention -‘Equality is possible without gay marriage’ – Premier
A controversial bill tabled in the UK to legalise same-sex marriage in overseas territories including TCI has evoked a mixed response across the region. Insiders say the private members’ bill – laid by LGBTQ rights activist Lord Michael Cashman – has little chance of success, with one British government official telling the Weekly News the […]
Invitation: Survey aims to learn the realities of LGBTQI lives worldwide
Gay-friendly researchers are reaching out to LGBTQI community members with the goal of creating an accurate account of what LGBTQI life is like in each of 204 nations worldwide. To accomplish that, they are inviting LGBTQI people worldwide to take a survey about their lived realities. In the latest F&M Global Barometer of Gay Rights […]
Yulia Tsvetkova: Russian LGBT activist acquitted of ‘porn’ charges
A prominent feminist and LGBT activist has been acquitted of controversial “pornography” charges in Russia. Yulia Tsvetkova, 29, was accused of distributing pornography and “LGBT propaganda” in 2019, and was facing a maximum of six years in prison. She is known for posting body-positive drawings of the female anatomy on her blog called the Vagina […]
EU takes Hungary to highest court over LGBT, media rules
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive intensified its legal standoff with Hungary on Friday by taking the country to the EU’s highest court over a restrictive law on LGBT issues and media freedom. The EU had already tried for a year to make Hungary change a law that bans content portraying or promoting homosexuality. The European Commission […]
To fight monkeypox, doctors are using lessons from AIDS crisis
While COVID-19 continues to be top of mind for public health officials, dozens of monkeypox cases have been confirmed in LA so far, and they appear to be clustered among gay and bisexual men. LGBT advocates are calling for more action to address the virus and hope to avoid new stigmatization of the gay community. Monkeypox […]
BRAZILIAN ACTOR COMES OUT, REVEALS HE IS IN RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILDHOOD FRIEND
Brazilian actor Johnny Massaro recently came out as gay at the premiere of his new film, The First Fallen. The film is about the first year of the AIDS Crisis in Brazil and focuses on the first people to contract HIV in a coastal town. Massaro plays a young biology student named Suzano. Massaro, 30, told Brazil’s POPline that one […]
Brittney Griner’s story always transcended sport. She’s a real American trailblazer
The images of Brittney Griner from 15 April 2013 are striking. It was the night of the annual WNBA draft, and Griner was beaming from ear to ear. For months, everyone expected her to be chosen first by the Phoenix Mercury. But when WNBA commissioner Laurel J Richie called Griner’s name from the podium as the […]
Zambian Woman Footballer Sex Tested Because FIFA Allows It
Football authorities blindsided Barbra Banda, a top player on the Zambian women’s team, when they announced she was ineligible for competition in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last week after a “gender verification procedure” that determined her testosterone levels were “too high” to compete as a woman. Such sex testing procedures are flagrant human rights violations because they are stigmatizing, […]
Climate Of Hate’ For LGBT Defenders In Former Soviet Republics
Amnesty International says groups that defend LGBT rights are facing a rise in hostility in parts of the former Soviet Union, fueled by discrimination, homophobia, and what it called Russia’s crusade against “nontraditional sexual relationships.” Released on December 22, the report by the global human rights watchdog found that LGBT rights groups in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and […]
Glasgow Pride first in Europe to have bisexuality theme – here’s what you need to know
GLASGOW’S Pride Mardi Gla is set to be the first major pride in Europe to have Biesexuality as its theme with celebrations getting underway this weekend. Political figures will speak at the event, including Scottish Government minister Patrick Harvie, who is openly bisexual, and Councillor Jordan Linden, leader of North Lanarkshire Council, who will become the first gay council […]
Russian Anti-War Journalist Fined Under ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law.
Russian journalist Yury Dud was fined 120,000 rubles ($2,024) by a Moscow court Tuesday under a law that bans “propaganda” in support of gay relationships. Lefortovo district court said the 35-year-old was fined for disseminating “propaganda for non-traditional sexual relationships among minors.” Former sports reporter Dud is one of Russia’s top media stars, having risen […]
South African queer Muslims denounce hateful fatwa.
A group of South African queer Muslims and allies have asserted that it is indeed possible to be LGBTQIA+ and Muslim, in defiance of a recent anti-LGBTQIA+ fatwa. Last week, the South African Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) issued a fatwa – a ruling by Islamic religious leaders and scholars – which said that queer people […]
First James Webb images arrive amid calls for telescope name change, links to LGBTQ abuse.
NASA released the first, highly-anticipated deep space images from its James Webb Space Telescope this week. But the arrival also spotlights continued calls to rename the groundbreaking machine – in light of allegations that Webb was complicit in the abuse and discrimination of LGBTQ people during his tenure at the federal space agency. The $10 […]
Penny Mordaunt doubles down on trans stance and says she never wanted Gender Recognition Act reform.
Tory leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt has said that she never supported plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act. Mordaunt served as equalities minister under Theresa May across 2018 and 2019, and during that time oversaw a public consultation on reforms to the GRA which were ultimately abandoned by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. It was […]
First Greek Orthodox Baptism for Child of Gay Couple in Greece
Evanggelos Bousis and Peter Dundas, both of Greek descent, became the first gay couple to hold a Greek Orthodox Baptism for their children in Greece on Saturday. The couple’s children, Alexios and Eleni, were baptized by his Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America at the Panagia Faneromeni Church in the southern Athenian suburb of Vouliagmeni. “Yesterday […]
LGBTQ streaming content influences Koreans’ perception of sexual minorities
Two men fall into each other‘s arms on a bed. This scene, which might have been nearly unthinkable on Korean TV only a few years ago due to negative attitudes toward homosexuality, was part of the first episode of Korean streaming service Wavve’s new reality show “Merry Queer,” starring gay, lesbian and transgender couples. The […]
Russia proposes extending ‘gay propaganda’ law to all adults
Russian lawmakers have proposed extending a ban on the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relationships among minors to now include adults as well, a senior legislator has said. Russia’s existing “gay propaganda” law, passed in 2013, has been used to stop gay pride marches and detain LGBTQ rights activists. Under the proposed changes to the law, […]
Bhutan’s trailblazing beauty queen speaks up for LGBTQ community
Tashi Choden will not only be the first contestant to represent Bhutan at the Miss Universe competition — she is also the Himalayan country’s only openly gay public figure. The remote country is famed for its philosophy of “Gross National Happiness”, in which it prioritises citizens’ well-being on par with economic growth. But up until […]
Better to be a Jew Than Gay in Gaza, Says Gazan LGBTQ Man
“The lives of LGBTQ young people on the Palestinian streets, and especially in Gaza, are hell,” Ahmad, a 27-year-old from Gaza, a gay man who conceals his orientation and any sign that might identify him, told TPS. Ahmed, a resident of a neighborhood near Gaza City, told TPS in a phone call, after promising to hide […]
Queer meetups are helping Montreal Muslims explore spirituality and gender identity
Lifting up their wrist, Zahra Haider talks about one of their many tattoos. They trace their fingertips across the Urdu scripture inked into their skin, spelling out the word “freedom.” Sitting in Montreal’s La Fontaine Park on a spring afternoon, it was one of only a few times the 28-year-old has explained the tattoo’s significance to […]
First Nations, transgender woman and broadcaster Charlotte Coulthard-Dare fights for visibility
Charlotte Coulthard-Dare knows that some people have a problem with her very existence. “How would anybody else feel if they were put in a box within a box within a box? And that’s pretty much me,” she says. For Ms Coulthard-Dare, simply living her identity as a transgender Indigenous woman is a type of activism she has […]