If you say being gay is not African, you don’t know your history

During his visit to Africa this summer, the US president, Barack Obama, addressed legal discrimination against LGBT individuals. Meeting the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, Obama said: “When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode.”

Unfortunately, the response from Kenyatta was that “there are some things that we must admit we don’t share [with the US]. Our culture, our societies don’t accept.”

When I was appointed by Berlin’s Humboldt University this year to teach the course “Pre- and post-colonial sexual orientation and sexual identity in Africa”, I knew I had a huge task before me. I had to teach students about a history that is mostly unwritten. In digging up facts I found that, while many Africans say that homosexuality is un-African, African culture is no stranger to homosexual behaviours and acts.

For example, in my local language (Yoruba), the word for “homosexual” is adofuro, a colloquialism for someone who has anal sex. It might sound insulting and derogatory, however, the point is there is a word for the behaviour. Moreover, this is not a new word; it is as old as the Yoruba culture itself. Read More via the Guardian 

Russia: Transgender community struggles for acceptance

There is no Russian equivalent of Caitlyn Jenner, whose transition from former Olympic athlete Bruce has been documented in both the mainstream and tabloid American press all summer. Transgender Russians often keep a low profile, worried how they will be treated by friends, colleagues and family members. 

Although the LGBT community in Russia faces significant legal and social challenges, there are laws in place that allow Russians to change their gender on official documents and undergo gender reconstructive surgery. There are no official statistics on the number of transgender people in Russia, but experts put the number at around 15,000 across the country — about 0.1 percent of the population.  Read More via Moscow Times 

Ireland: Preferred gender now legally recognised

Transgender people are now able to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate and a new birth certificate, passport and other official documentation showing their preferred gender. They will be able to self-declare and will no longer need a certificate from a medical practitioner.

Ireland is the fourth country in the world to remove medical criteria from legal gender recognition. The Gender Recognition Act was brought about following a successful case taken by Dr Lydia Foy against the State. She argued that, despite undergoing surgery, she was unable to identify herself as a woman in official documentation. Read More via UTV Ireland 

Thailand: Sweeping new LGBT protections take effect

The country’s first law specifically protecting LGBT people came into effect this week. Thai parliament passed the 2015 Gender Equality Act in March. The law is is designed to protect members of the LGBT community and aims to punish discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Those found guilty of discrimination may face up to six months in jail and a 20,000 baht fine. The law defines “unfair discrimination among the sexes” as any action that “segregates, obstructs or limits the rights” of a person because they have “a sexual expression different from that person’s original sex.”

Somchai Charoenamnuaysuk –  Director-General of the Department of Family Affairs and Family Development – noted that the law bars government agencies, private organisations, or Thai individuals from formulating anti-gay policies, rules, regulations, measures, or operating procedures: “Co-operation from all sectors is key in moving forward with the enforcement of this Act, in order to create an equal and just society.” Read More via Pink News 

Africa: Voices from LGBT Catholics in Western Africa

A report commissioned by the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups showcases the voices of LGBT Christians from Western Africa were not well heard in the on-going discussion about the Family Synod of the Roman Catholic Church. The findings are based on interviews conducted by Davis Mac-Iyalla with Catholic LGBT people in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.

From the many interviews conducted, it has become clear that LGBT people in West Africa have a hard life. They are openly persecuted both by the state and the church and feel abandoned. It is sad to say that many LGBTs are “marginalized and hated in life and marginalized and hated in death.” The anti-gay laws in these countries prevent constructive dialogue between the state, church and LGBTs. This isolates LGBTs and propagates fear, hatred and even violence against the LGBT community.

Despite all of this, Catholic LGBT’s do not want to walk away from the Catholic Church. They want to be accepted, to be welcomed by the church, to have dialogue, and education. Above all, they want equality both in their personal lives and in their church to live in a nurturing environment not one of condemnation. Read More via Washington Blade 

Australia: Activists protest against ban on documentary

Activists angered by the banning of a documentary about same-sex parenting in schools have staged a protest outside the offices of Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Around 150 people reportedly attended the rally, which was sparked by the controversial banning of the Gayby Baby film and the surrounding media coverage. Members of the group Community Action Against Homophobia have held a rally outside the newspaper’s Surry Hills office today to declare "homophobia has no place in schools".

The documentary was prohibited by NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli from being shown during class time, unless it directly relates to students' curriculum. Burwood Girls High School planned to screen the film, directed by former student Maya Newell, but was forced to cancel. A number of teachers also attended and spoke at the rally in support of the cause.  Read more via 9news 

Israel: Latest country to reveal over half of young people ‘not 100% straight’

It seems the whole world is opening up in its approach to sexuality. A recent UK survey found that 49% of young Brits identify as something other than “100% heterosexual”. A similar survey in the US found that 78% of Americans identified as heterosexual – but only 4% of those said they were “100% heterosexual.”

Now, Israel is the latest country to jump on the bisexual bandwagon. The Israeli website Mako & the Pannels Institute conduct a study asking non-religious Israeli Jews over the age of 18 about sexual preferences.

Once again, the results revealed that the younger generation see themselves on a sexual spectrum. Researchers found that 67% of respondents considered themselves to be heterosexual, but only 3% of those said they were “100% homosexual.” The remaining 30% said they were somewhere in-between straight and gay. Read More via Pink News 

Uganda: Homosexuality in schools - what experts have to say

A few weeks ago, the country was awash with news about one of the most prominent boys only schools sending all their students home due to the ‘rampant homosexuality activities’ in the learning facility.

Standing in the heart of Mbarara town, Ntare School has over the years been known to expel students that have been suspected of engaging in same sex relationships and the latest incident is said to have been triggered after the students’ fraternity attempted to lynch students who were suspected of being gay.

This is a scenario that is very common in most Ugandan schools especially same sex institutions; however, it raises a few questions. Is expulsion the way to go, what happens to the students after they are expelled – on not only an academic level but also psychological and social levels.

Asked what they think is a better approach for schools, the experts concurrently agree that while it is not the schools place to nurture or even encourage homosexuality, they should find more subtle ways of dealing with the problem. Embarrassing these still maturing children only causes more harm than good. Read More via Kuchu TImes 

Globally, one in four people have a transgender work colleague

The latest Randstad Workmonitor survey has explored global attitudes to sexual orientation diversity in the workplace. One of the questions asked employees in 34 countries whether they had any transgender work colleagues.

On average, 26% of those polled said that they had one (or more) transgender colleagues. This figure rose to 45% in Greece, 46% in Brazil and 50% in India. In the US, 29% of those polled said they had a transgender work colleague, while the figure was 26% in the UK.

Helen Belcher, of Trans Media Watch said, ‘Trans issues have been treated as marginal and unimportant for years. I’ve been saying for a long time that trans issues don’t just affect the trans person, but their families, friends and work colleagues also. Read More via Gay Star News 

Philippines: Typhoon Grindr, liberation, and post-disaster sex

“Before Haiyan, all we had on Grindr was mehhhh – four or five people. After Haiyan, boom – white men!” Jericho*, 28, finds it hard to recall much of a social scene in Tacloban before Typhoon Haiyan. A senior manager at one of the Filipino city’s most expensive hotels, he recounts a routine that consisted of going to the gym in the morning and walking home along empty streets after dark in a city where “everyone knows everyone.” 

2013's Typhoon Haiyan was clearly a disaster, but it was also a powerful gust of change, not least in Jericho’s social life. While some residents have left Tacloban to cope with trauma or find work, the city has welcomed an influx of professional aid workers, able-bodied gap year volunteers, and fellow Filipinos seeking opportunities and hoping to help in the recovery. 

“Overnight,” Jericho says, “my Grindr became the United Nations.”

In the immediate aftermath of Haiyan, patchy mobile phone signal notwithstanding, survivors longing for intimacy turned to Grindr to arrange discreet meet-ups with aid workers, who themselves sought distraction. Grindr is also used to forge platonic friendships, especially as foreign visitors, local volontourists and disaster researchers (author included) longed for social spaces to unwind from physically and emotionally demanding relief work. Read More via IRIN

Netherlands: Dutch activists call for Caribbean Netherlands to adopt gay rights

As a rainbow-coloured flotilla paraded through Amsterdam's canals for the city's annual Gay Pride festival on Saturday, one float carried a sobering reminder that gay rights do not extend to all in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although the Netherlands itself became the first country to legalize gay marriage in 2001, the three Caribbean members of the larger Kingdom - Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten - have yet to follow suit, reflecting cultural taboos in the mostly Catholic island nations.

That leaves the Kingdom, famed for its tolerant stance on marijuana and euthanasia, apparently less progressive on gay rights than Ireland, where voters approved gay marriage in a referendum in May, and the United States, where the Supreme Court upheld a constitutional right to gay marriage in June.

"We want to have the same legislation throughout our kingdom. That would empower all gay and transgender organizations in addressing the question of social acceptance", said Ramona Pikeur, director of Caribbean gay rights organization Dushi & Proud.The Dutch government says it is seeking dialogue, rather than confrontation, with the island nations to promote gay rights and acceptance of gay marriage. Read More