SAME-SEX FAMILY DOLL SET CRITICISED FOR LACK OF RACIAL DIVERSITY
Kmart Australia has added two same-sex couples to one of its family doll ranges, but shoppers have criticised the company for creating exclusively white dolls. The family play sets now come in three variations, including either a family of two fathers, two mothers, or a mother and father. Each set also comes with a picnic […]
US Agency Could Pave Way for Anti-LGBT Discrimination
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funds thousands of organizations that work on important health and social welfare issues including adoption and foster care, youth homelessness, and sexuality education. Currently, recipients of HHS funding cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But a new Trump Administration proposal could change […]
Chinese censors, audiences unfazed by ‘Rise of Skywalker’ gay kiss
The first gay kiss of the “Star Wars” film franchise has surprisingly survived China’s censors and made it to the big screens across the country. Audiences were unfazed as well – or, in some cases, puzzled. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” enjoyed a night of previews in China on Dec. 18, ahead of its […]
Yokohama recognizes partnerships for LGBT couples
The city of Yokohama near Tokyo began issuing certificates recognizing the partnerships of sexual minority and common-law couples on Monday. Yokohama is the third city in Japan to implement a system of recognition for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, as well as common-law couples, according to the city. It will also provide translated certificates for […]
Germany moves to ban gay ‘conversion therapies’
Germany moved a step closer to banning so-called gay “conversion therapies” on Wednesday, as the cabinet backed a law that would punish bogus practitioners with up to a year in prison. Activists hailed the move, saying Germany would become the first major European power to outlaw attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation with techniques […]
European Assembly Blasts Polish ‘Anti-LGBT’ Zones
The European Parliament on Wednesday blasted Poland for creating zones “free from any LGBTI ideology” and suggested closer attention should be paid as a result to EU grants destined for Warsaw. Brussels has already criticized Poland’s conservative government over plans to revamp its judicial system with court reforms which EU authorities fear will leave judges […]
Anti-LGBT discrimination has a huge human toll. Research proves it.
In a trio of cases heard in October, the Supreme Court weighed whether discrimination against LGBT people should be legal. Over the course of those and related cases, a handful of scholars who oppose legal protections for LGBT Americans claimed in a legal brief that “research about discrimination and its effects” on LGBT people is […]
Duterte hosts LGBT party in Malacañang
President Rodrigo Duterte hosted a thanksgiving party for members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community in Malacañang on Tuesday. Duterte welcomed members of the LGBT Pilipinas, Inc., and administered the oath of office of its national officers. The group was led by Gretchen Diez, the transgender woman who earlier figured in a controversy after […]
A guide to local favorites in Chapinero
A hip, student-driven area known as Bogota’s gay neighborhood, Chapinero is in constant motion — by the end of 2019, anti-government protesters were holding regular concerts and other events in its plaza, known as “Parque de los Hippies.” The people are diverse and the nightlife lively; the neighborhood’s flagship club, Theatron, hosts a great LGBT […]
Argentine soap opera a hit for trans rights
A popular soap opera in Argentina with a groundbreaking love scene between a transgender woman and man has helped break down stereotypes and negative views about gender diversity, supporters say. Running every weekday evening, “Pequena Victoria,” translated as “Little Victory,” has portrayed fictional trans women and touched on issues such as non-traditional families and surrogate […]
Colombia: Bogotá’s first female mayor marries same-sex partner
The first woman to be elected mayor of Colombia’s capital city has married her partner in a private civil ceremony before taking office. Claudia López announced her wedding to Angélica Lozano late on Monday by sharing an enthusiastic message and several photographs on social media. “On my way to the happiest moment of my life!” […]
A Gay Film Sent an Entire Nation Into a Frenzy
Conflicts around gender and sexuality are often indicators of social tension. A recent public clash over the screening of a film in Tbilisi gives insight into the fault lines of contemporary politics in Georgia. Georgia’s democratic gains have been seriously tested by the ruling party backtracking on electoral reforms. Politics is growing increasingly polarized, and […]
Gay Saudi journalists both freed from Australian detention after ‘powerful’ LGBT community rallied round them
The two gay Saudi journalists who sought asylum in Australia have both finally been freed after one was forced to remain alone in a detention centre due to a ‘clerical error’ by a government official. The two men, known by pseudonyms Sultan and Nassar, fled Saudi Arabia where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. […]
Netflix ‘gay Jesus’ film sparks backlash in Brazil
A comedy on Netflix depicting Jesus as a gay man has prompted widespread anger in Brazil with almost two million people signing a petition calling on the streaming service to remove the show. “The First Temptation of Christ” was created by Brazilian YouTube comedy group Porta dos Fundos and portrays Jesus bringing home his presumed […]
Tory politician makes history as the first openly gay Muslim MP to be elected in the world
Imran Ahmad-Khan made history when he was elected as MP for Wakefield in Yorkshire on Friday, having beaten the incumbent MP by 3,358 votes. His election marks the first time that the constituency has voted for a Conservative politician since 1931. The gay Muslim MP is now among 24 Tories who identify as LGBT+, the […]
Hallmark Channel Reinstates Kissing Brides’ Ads After Backlash
In a change of heart, the Hallmark Channel will allow television commercials produced by wedding-planning website Zola that show two brides kissing. The cable network had pulled the ads over the weekend after the conservative group One Million Moms complained they promoted “the LGBT agenda,” according to the Associated Press. That decision prompted an immediate […]
Did Russia Register Its First Transgender Marriage?
Authorities in Russia have registered one of the first transgender marriages in a country that positions itself as a bastion of traditional family values. Erika Askarova and Viktor Manuilin’s otherwise ordinary wedding made national headlines after the two posted photographs from the registry office in the city of Kazan on Dec. 12. Askarova, 30, and […]
Everyone welcome? Gay football fans prepare for Qatar
World Cup 2022 host Qatar has given the clearest indication yet that LGBT fans will be welcome, engaging with gay supporters as it hosts the Club World Cup — despite criminalising homosexuality. Organisers of the 2022 soccer spectacle travelled to Britain in recent months to meet Liverpool fan clubs including the side’s gay supporters’ group, […]
A guide to how gender-neutral language is developing around the world
What pronoun do you use to identify yourself? He? She? They? Something altogether different? It’s a question asked increasingly often as acceptance of a spectrum of gender and sexual identities grows. Some languages, like Chinese and Persian, don’t assign nouns a gender or already have a gender-neutral form for people built in. But in languages […]
Korean Air recognizes same-sex Korean couple as family
A same-sex couple of Korean nationality were recognized as family members by Korean Air’s membership rewards program, South Korea’s flag carrier said Thursday, a step hailed by sexual minorities’ rights advocates. The female couple, who are in their 40s, completed registering as family members in Korean Air’s SkyPass program on Monday after the country’s largest […]
Malaysian Islamists warn of LGBT normalisation after ‘Beauty‘ passed despite gay moments
Several Islamist activists were incensed after news broke that Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will be screened in Malaysia with no cuts after all, despite the Film Censorship Board’s (LPF) concern over several “gay moments”. The activists reiterated that the film is part of a process to normalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) while […]
Bishops in Germany are declaring that homosexuality is “normal”
Bishops in Germany have declared that homosexuality is “normal” as the Catholic Church there begins reviewing certain reforms. The Commission for Marriage and Family of the German Bishops’ Conference agreed that homosexuality is a “normal form of sexual predisposition.” They have also pledged to review topics such as the sacrament of ordination and marriage, which […]
Man Convicted of Hate Crime for Punching Transgender Woman
An Oregon man convicted of punching a transgender woman has been sentenced to probation. Dominick Gonzales, 38, changed his plea Friday and was convicted of first-degree bias crime for punching the woman in Northwest Portland in September, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill said in a news release. The victim, who is white and was […]
Construction of Navy ship ‘Harvey Milk’ begins at San Diego shipbuilder
Construction began Friday on a Navy ship named after Harvey Milk, a former San Francisco supervisor and activist who was fatally shot months after becoming the first openly gay man elected in California more than forty years ago. Milk was elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1978 and was assassinated 10 months […]
Advertiser Cuts Ties With Hallmark Channel for Pulling Lesbian Ad
Following pressure from anti-LGBTQ groups including One Million Moms, the Hallmark Channel pulled four ads from wedding registry site Zola that feature lesbian nuptials, while keeping two Zola ads that don’t include the same-sex wedding narrative. Now, Zola has pulled the entire campaign from the Hallmark Channel and canceled all of its advertising with the […]
Gabon bans gay sex as global pace of reform falters
Gabon has passed a law against gay sex, becoming the 70th country to ban the practice, an official confirmed, as the global pace of reform falters. The central African country banned “sexual relations between people of the same sex” in a new penal code earlier this year, according to copies of the law online. A […]
Gay Afghans Facing Deportation From UK Told ‘Pretend To Be Straight’
Gay Afghans facing deportation from UK told ‘pretend to be straight’ Gay Afghans being deported to their home country where homosexuality is illegal are being told to pretend to be straight, in new guidelines issued by the UK government. The document, dated January 2017, sets out potential risks homosexual people face in their countries of […]
Australian anti-discrimination board accepts complaint against Israel Folau
An anti-discrimination board in Australia has accepted a complaint against former Wallabies star Israel Folau accusing him of the “vilification of LGBT people”. Gay anti-discrimination activist Garry Burns wrote to New South Wales’ Anti-Discrimination Board’s president in early December complaining about Folau. The former rugby superstar became embroiled in controversy and legal action earlier this […]
Painting of Naked Mexican Revolutionary Hero Unleashes Controversy
A painting depicting Mexican revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata naked but for high heels and a pink sombrero, astride an aroused white horse, has sparked controversy in socially conservative Mexico, prompting protests that briefly flared into violence. Zapata is widely considered a national hero and especially revered in rural Mexico. He helped sweep away the hacienda […]
Transgender Latina makes history as Evangelical Lutheran pastor
Before coming out as transgender, Nicole Garcia prayed daily that God would “fix” her. When her prayers weren’t answered and the feeling in her gut didn’t go away, she gave up on religion. Now, nearly four decades later, Garcia stands behind the pulpit at Westview Lutheran Church in Boulder, Colorado, and delivers weekly sermons to […]