The Top LGBTQ Stories of the Decade
The decade of the 2010s saw unprecedented steps forward for the LGBTQ community in the U.S., with the winning of the right to marry same-sex partners and serve openly in the military, the election of many out candidates at the local, state, and national levels, and a rise in visibility in the culture. Around the […]
Belize court upholds finding that LGBT people are protected by non-discrimination laws
The Court of Appeal has today delivered a judgment denying the Belize Government’s appeal of a 2016 ruling decriminalising adult consensual same-sex relations. The three-judge bench reaffirmed the decision of the Chief Justice in 2016 that Section 53 of the Belize Criminal Code – which criminalised ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature’ and disproportionately […]
Rainbow crossing: conversion therapy by another name?
Fundamentalist Christian groups from 23 countries descended on Taipei in October to strategize about how to roll back protections for sexual minorities and influence public opinion and policy. In the same week that Taiwan Pride saw up to 200,000 people take to the streets of Taipei at the end of October in support of LGBT […]
Opening doors: Pakistan’s first transgender beauty salon
As a transgender woman, Bebo Haider struggled for years to find a beauty salon in Pakistan that would cut her hair. She tried many top-notch salons in Karachi, but they refused to entertain her. “They said, we don’t treat transgenders and that I sounded like a man so they couldn’t give me an appointment without […]
The Demagogue’s Cocktail of Victimhood and Strength
For the European demagogue, victimhood and strength go hand in hand. In the agitators’ worldview, a host of powerful forces—domestic and foreign—are targeting their people, their nation, and their values; and only a single leader, or party, has a chance of holding off these threats. Take Europe’s diversity as an example. To the liberal democrat, […]
Over the rainbow: A life of LGBTQ dignity is within reach
If someone told Sindhuja in the dying moments of 2009 that a decade later, she would be standing as a full citizen and garnering the adulation of her family and friends, she would have laughed it off. At the time, the 14-year-old was facing rejection at home for not being heterosexual, hadn’t seen anyone like […]
Transgender man gives birth after getting pregnant with female sperm donor
Reuben Sharpe, 39, transitioned to male 12 years ago but decided he still wanted to become a parent. Six years ago he stopped taking hormones in the hope of the dream coming true, and now it has been realised with baby Jamie, who was born three months ago. Reuben told the Daily Mirror: “I finally […]
Asia’s first LGBT-focused streaming service tackles taboos
A rom-com about a lesbian flight attendant and a romance in a gay spa are among the shows featured on Asia’s first LGBT-focused streaming service, which is pushing boundaries in an often highly conservative region. GagaOOLala brings more than 1,000 feature films, shorts, web series, and documentaries to people across Asia, where censorship and traditional […]
A very LGBTQ decade: Gay marriage, trans rights and a ‘rainbow wave’
At the dawn of the year 2010, few Americans could predict that the coming decade would revolutionize the legal and cultural landscape for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. After all, it was only in 2003 that homosexuality was decriminalized across the country, thanks to a landmark Supreme Court ruling. Over the past 10 […]
LGBT refugees: Repeatedly attacked in Kenya but unable to leave
On Christmas Day, LGBT refugees in Kenya again were the targets of homophobic attacks. It was just the latest outrage against LGBT asylum-seekers who are repeatedly told that, no matter where they are, they must go elsewhere or face violent reprisals. A year ago, LGBT refugees were evacuated to Nairobi from Kakuma refugee camp because […]
What happened? The policies Scott Morrison’s government appears to have abandoned
Governments should be judged not just on what they do with their time in office but also on what they don’t do. There are only so many hours in a day, and so many parliamentary sitting weeks in a year (there were just 10 since the May election). Nevertheless it’s important to know not just […]
UN official: Past decade has seen human rights `backlash’
The past decade has seen a backlash against human rights on every front, especially the rights of women and the LGBT communities, according to a top U.N. human rights official. Andrew Gilmour, the outgoing assistant secretary-general for human rights, said the regression of the past 10 years hasn’t equaled the advances that began in the […]
The US Hasn’t Only Stopped Defending LGBTQ Rights Around The World, Now It’s Part Of The Problem
My first job at BuzzFeed News in 2013 was something of an experiment: We wanted to cover LGBTQ rights worldwide as seriously as we cover wars or elections. The US and the world were changing fast. Former president Barack Obama made promoting LGBTQ rights a key priority of US foreign policy during his first term […]
LGBT Truckers Ride With Pride, Raising Awareness Around Country
At the wheel of the Rainbow Rider, a semi-tractor truck wrapped in a rainbow-hued road map, the LGBT Truckers can’t help but attract attention. And that’s their intention. The online support group, representing more than 4,500 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender truck drivers nationwide, is on a mission to spread goodwill and promote awareness of […]
Why Homosexuality Is Not Un-African
Let’s finally settle it. Homosexuality is just as African as heterosexuality. Yesterday, we shared with you news of J Hus and his online blunder. The rapper tweeted out the never-ending argument that LGBT life is not African culture. From artists and celebrities to politicians, many within Africa claim that homosexuality is un-African. In truth, LGBTQ […]
Transgender in Pakistan: Maya, the woman who almost broke free
She was from Nowshera, northern Pakistan, where society is conservative and tolerance for non-conformity runs thin. And Maya didn’t conform. She was transgender, born male but identifying and living as woman. She had escaped abuse at home three times, running far away each time. She’d found happiness and a new community, but then took the […]
Beloved transgender activist who raised awareness about transphobia killed in Toronto
A Canadian transgender activist who worked to raise awareness about transphobia was killed in Toronto, Canada’s The Globe and Mail reported. Julie Berman was found by police on Sunday afternoon at a residence in The Annex, a lively neighborhood in downtown Toronto. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her […]
From nuns to astronauts: 10 women cracking the glass ceiling in 2019
Countries around the world have promised gender equality by 2030, but in 2019 a new index showed that even the most advanced nations weren’t doing enough to reach that goal. Women are still paid around 20% less than men and make up fewer than one quarter of national parliamentarians, according to the United Nations’ International […]
The March For LGBTQ Rights Is Storming Through Trump Country
Chris Hartman hunched over his laptop keyboard in the corner of a campus classroom late one evening this fall, pondering an unfamiliar but welcome dilemma: Kentucky’s LGBTQ rights groups, including the one he leads, were making too much progress for him to be everywhere he needed to be at once. In the Western Kentucky University […]
How gender norms affect anti-LBGT prejudice around the world
A study conducted in 20 countries across the globe has shown that prejudice and discrimination against the LGBT community remains deep-rooted. In order to determine the ways in which these forms of stigmatization target the LBGT community, three researchers from New York University in Abu Dhabi conducted a global study across 23 countries on five […]
From parades to punishments: 10 headline LGBT+ stories in 2019
Millions of people joined Pride marches around the world in 2019 and gay, bisexual and transgender rights were increasingly in the spotlight, with some countries legalizing gay marriage while other mulled the death penalty for same-sex relations. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots against police brutality in New York City, […]
Thirty years ago, gay civil rights campaign set the stage for all that followed
When Massachusetts enacted a gay and lesbian civil rights bill 30 years ago, opponents warned about the slippery slope of acceptance. Senator David H. Locke, a Wellesley Republican, called the bill “the opening salvo in the gays’ march to social acceptance and approval of their chosen lifestyle” and predicted it would lead to legislation “permitting […]
Ukrainian City Bans ‘Deviant’ LGBT Marches
The Rivne City Council in western Ukraine has banned the holding of equality marches. The local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community had plans to hold an event on January 1 in the regional capital located 327 kilometers west of Kyiv. The ban, initiated by the head of the council’s budget committee, city councilman […]
Brazilian comedy group hit by Molotov cocktails after film on ‘gay Jesus’
Molotov cocktails were thrown at the headquarters of Brazilian comedy group Porta dos Fundos in Rio de Janeiro on Christmas Eve, weeks after the group launched a film on Netflix depicting Jesus as gay. The group’s Christmas special, “The First Temptation of Christ,” a 46-minute comedy that portrays Jesus bringing home his presumed boyfriend Orlando […]
China: Supporters, Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage Clash in Online Polls
As China’s top legislative body begins reviewing potential changes to the country’s civil code this week, supporters and opponents of legalized same-sex marriage have taken to online polls to make their views known. The social media accounts of several Chinese courts and government offices, including Beijing’s Haidian District People’s Court and the press office of […]
Africa’s homophobia problem
Human rights activists in southern Africa have criticised Zambia’s tough approach to homosexuality after the country’s High Court sentenced two men last month to 15 years in jail for “crimes against the order of nature”. Arrests for gay sex conduct have been on the rise but no prosecutions have been recorded for same-sex activities in […]
VATICAN RULES IN FAVOR OF GAY DUTCH PRIEST
The Vatican has reinstated a homosexual Dutch cleric dismissed by his bishop for violating his priestly vow of celibacy. Father Pierre Valkering told Dutch radio earlier this month that the Congregation for the Clergy has granted his appeal, six months after Bp. Jozef Marianus Punt of Haarlem-Amsterdam removed him as pastor of Vredeskerk Peace Church. […]
After gay marriage law passes, Taiwan emerges as new market for LGBT+ surrogacy
On Geoffrey Li’s 40th birthday last year, he put aside his dream of an early retirement on an idyllic island and instead decided to raise a child in Taiwan using a surrogate in Southeast Asia. Li and his husband — whose twin boys are now three months old — are among an increasing number of […]
U.S. Recalls Its Ambassador to Zambia After Gay Rights Row: Sources
The United States has withdrawn its ambassador to Zambia following a row with authorities in the southern African nation after he criticized the jailing of a gay couple, embassy sources said on Monday. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said Washington is “dismayed” by the Zambian government’s statement that Ambassador Daniel Foote’s position “is […]
A Test for Foreign Teachers in Indonesia: Are You Gay?
Agree or disagree, the exam asked: “I would feel uncomfortable knowing my daughter’s or son’s teacher was homosexual.” Or this, true or false: “The gender composition of an orgy would be irrelevant to my decision to participate.” In recent weeks, foreign teachers at some private schools in Indonesia have been required to answer these questions […]