Arctic Russia's LGBT community speaks: 'the danger is everywhere'

Members of the LGBT community in Murmansk speak out about living in a country where the government has declared them an enemy of the state. One organization is reaching out to help youth and adults overcome the stigma and prejudice of homosexuality and live openly. But some are finding escape from Russia is the only way to gain freedom.

My translator, Maria, trails off. “We have…a fancy word for ‘gay guy’ in Russian,” she explains, hesitating, trying to find the English equivalent for me.

“Faggot,” says a woman in a black checked shirt wearing a yin and yang necklace.  But that’s actually the polite translation. “Pederast” is one of the most offensive words in Russian to use when talking about the LGBT community. If you trace back its roots, the exact English translation is child rapist. Read More

Pope invites anti-gay hate group leader to ‘traditional marriage’ summit

The Pope has invited the head of listed anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council to his summit on ‘traditional marriage’.

Pope Francis will open the ‘Complementary of Man and Woman’ conference on November 17, which brings together religious leaders from across different faiths who oppose same-sex marriage.

As well as representatives from the Catholic Church and other forms of Christianity, speakers from 23 countries will purportedly represent the views of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism and Sikhism.

However, Right Wing Watch reports that anti-gay activist Tony Perkins – whose group is listed as an active homophobic hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre – has been invited to the Pontiff’s gathering. Read more

UNAIDS to Launch HIV Testing Campaign Across Africa in World Record Bid

The UN will conduct a multi-country HIV testing campaign in Africa to mark this year's World AIDS Day under the leadership of African national governments in close collaboration with the regional support team for Eastern and Southern Africa (RST ESA) from UNAIDS, civil society organisations, and other regional and international partners.
 
The initiative is seeking to break the Guinness World Record for the most number of free HIV tests carried out in multiple areas in one day. The record is currently held by Argentina, which conducted 3,733 free HIV tests in a single eight-hour period in Rosario city in commemoration of the 2012 World AIDS Day.  Read More

Miz Cracker’s Guide to Halloween Drag

The wonderful holiday of Halloween—or as we like to call it at Outward, Hallowqueen!—has come back around, and with it, the temptation for gays and straights alike to try their hands at a little drag. But the road to contoured glory is paved with bad wigs and broken heels. To help you avoid the worst mistakes, we’ve resurrected this first-time-in-drags tutorial from regular contributor Miz Cracker. Read More

Dolly Parton Q&A: The Country Legend on 50 Years in Nashville and Why She Supports Her Gay Fans

On a recent fall afternoon at Nashville's NorthStar Studios, Parton is an animated conversationalist, throwing her head back and laughing often. In person, the legendary entertainer possesses a down-home, self-effacing charm -- disarming for someone who helms an empire that includes the Pigeon Forge, Tenn.-based Dollywood theme park, which annually hosts nearly 2.5 million visitors, and a valuable publishing catalog of such songs as "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You," which she took to No. 1 long before Whitney Houston. In 2014 alone, Parton's 42nd studio album, Blue Smoke, debuted at No. 2 on Top Country Albums and No. 6 on the Billboard 200 -- marking her highest-charting solo album on the latter list -- and wrapped a successful world tour that included performing for 170,000 at the United Kingdom's Glastonbury Festival. Read More

Gays in the Military Exhibition

From November 2009 to June 2013 documentary photographer Vincent Cianni made a series of road trips across the United States to interview and photograph roughly 100 gay and lesbian U.S. military veterans and active-duty service members. Cianni, whose work explores community, memory, and the human condition, set out to document how the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian service personnel impacted their professional and personal lives.

The culmination of this project, Gays in the Military, which features essays by Alison Nordstrom, Lt. Donald R. Bramer, and Alan M. Steinman was published with Daylight Books this May. Read More

Kenyan police arrest ‘Stories of our Lives’ producer over film licence

‘Stories of our Lives’ is a film about gay and lesbian Kenyans that was banned on allegations it promotes homosexuality. Read More

India talk show changes views on gays

Indian actor Aamir Khan’s hit talk show Satyamev Jayate last night tackled the taboo subject of ‘alternative sexualities,’ with many viewers saying the program changed their perception of LGBTI people. Guests included transgender woman Gazal Dhaliwal and her parents, popular psychologist Deepak Kashyap and LGBTI activists.

Khan listened sympathetically as his LGBTI guests told their coming out stories. Several stressed the importance of parental relationships in shaping their lives and fighting depression and suicidial thoughts. Read More

Apple CEO Tim Cook Speaks Up About Being Gay

While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. [...] I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.  Read More 

Elton John AIDS Foundation makes $300,000 (€236,000) donation to the HRC

Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish announced a donation to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the US. The money will be used for HIV awareness and prevention programs, with a focus on young bisexual and gay men and transgender women.  Read More