In times of terror, Nepalese LGBTI activists and others around the world are rallying to help people stay alive. Saturday's massive earthquake has killed at least 7,000 people and injured 6,500.
The US, UK, Australia, China, India, Israel, Japan and Pakistan have all provided aid to the country. But Nepal says they need more, with shortages of water, food, electricity and medicine.
Sunil Babu Pant, the country's first gay politician, is leading the charge to help the LGBTI community. Often in times of crisis, LGBTI people can be especially vulnerable. In previous disaster situations, gay men were denied food aid in Haiti after the 2008 earthquake and trans people were denied entry to IDP camps after the floods in Pakistan because they didn't possess proper government ID that matched their appearance. Trans women have already had difficulty in Nepal accessing toilets. Read More
UNHRC recs may form new judicial practice for LGBT hate crimes in Russia
The UN Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observations based on the seventh periodic report of the Russian Federation. A special place in the document was given to the list of issues and recommendations related to the rights of LGBT individuals.
For the first time in the practice of international law, the Human Rights Committee has pointed out to the authorities of Russia the need to take into account the hate motive in the investigation of homophobic and transphobic crimes.
This means the provisions of the Russian Criminal Code that recognize the hate motive against any "social group" as an aggravating circumstance can now be used protect the rights of LGBT people. Law enforcement agencies and the courts will have to specifically investigate the motive of attacks on people on the grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Read More
A new battle at the UN could decide what 'LGBT' means
Each year a group of UN experts meet to decide, on behalf of the countries of the world, what it means to be healthy, sick, rich, poor, violent, peaceful, and a myriad of other states of well-being. Although this group is not very well-known in the human rights community, it may have more influence on global human rights than most other parts of the UN. The UN Statistical Commission is the department that decides how to define many of the terms used by governments. At its annual meeting this year, for the first time, issues of sexual orientation and gender identity were raised.
This discussion is vitally important to LGBT communities as the UN establishes the new development agenda and guides trillions of dollars of international aid and humanitarian relief programs over the next decades. The goals are the result of a long series of negotiations amongst governments, and one of the big questions has been whether these goals will explicitly include LGBT people, either now or in the future as the goals come under review.
For goals about equal access to healthcare, the Commission would need to figure out how to know to track who is and is not receiving healthcare. Similarly, if the UN wants to include LGBT people in its development agenda, then it will have to gather data about LGBT populations. Read More
What “The Heidi Chronicles” Gets Right About Feminism And Gay Men
It’s been more than 25 years since Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize–winning drama The Heidi Chronicles premiered, and the fact that the play remains as relevant as ever is more than a little depressing. The iconic feminist text — currently on Broadway in a revival with Elisabeth Moss in the title role — chronicles Heidi Holland’s life from 1965 to 1989 as a fervent activist for women and an accomplished art historian.
The play’s concerns about female representation and society’s skewed expectations for women are as pointed now as they were then, but there’s something particularly pressing about the way The Heidi Chronicles addresses the fraught relationship between women’s rights and queer rights. Read More
Meet “M-Coalition” The First Arab Coalition on MSM and HIV
While the common understanding is that Arab countries are considered to have a low prevalence of HIV, available epidemiological data show that men who have sex with men (MSM) bear a disproportionate burden of HIV infection.
MSM in Arab countries are 50 to 130 times more likely to be exposed to HIV than the general population.During the past decade, few Arab countries have started implementing activities targeting key affected populations at higher risk of HIV infection, including MSM. However, the coverage and the impact of such activities remain insufficient to meet existing needs. Read More
India: Board bans film on gays
Days after India voted against gay rights for the United Nation employees, a film called Unfreedom which explores homosexuality, has been banned by the CBFC.
The film is the story of a young girl who resists a forced arranged marriage to unite with her lesbian partner. The nudity and lovemaking scenes of the female protagonists, irked the Board. Add to it a parallel story line which revolves around a liberal Muslim kidnapped by a terrorist and the CBFC was up in arms.
Speaking from the US, the director told Mirror, "The two stories are juxtaposed and the film challenges the idea of religious fundamentalism and questions its connection with homosexuality which is a biting reality of India."
He added that the film was refused by both the Examining Committee and the Revising Committee. "They plainly told me that after watching the film, Hindu and Muslims will start fighting and will ignite unnatural passions. I was aghast as my film is not provocative." Read More
SA’s first transgender teen novel published
A local novel about a transgender teen coming to grips with his true identity has been released in South Africa. It’s believed to be a first.
Miscast, written by Charmaine Kendal, is published by Junkets Publisher. In it, Kendal tells the story of Cathryn, a teenager born as a biological girl, who has always felt that she was in the wrong body, and how she journeys to her real identity. Read More
How Patricia Velasquez Was Inspired To Come Out as The World's First Latina Lesbian Supermodel
Patricia Velasquez was anxious in the final days before Y2K. The world was about to end. The impending date would crash essential computer systems throughout the world, bringing about a global apocalypse – or at least that’s what thousands of people believed. Yet, Velasquez was carrying a heavier weight on her shoulders – how to live an open and authentic life.
It consumed her while in Paris, getting glammed up for what would become known as one of Jean Paul Gaultier’s most wild and memorable fashion shows, but in the seconds before she stepped out onto the runway, she had a moment of realization. Read More
I’m both man and woman and am proud of it- Gospel Singer
His life has been an empty shell, filled with shame and guilt, for 35 years.
Coming to terms with the fact that he was a hermaphrodite (person with both the male and female sex organs) was too much to bear for Apostle Darlan Rukih Moses, adding that his wife has since accepted him the way he is, though at first, it was really difficult for her.
The father of three adopted children (with the same condition) says he’s now ready to come out of the closet, and speaking to The Nairobian, Moses says he is proud of being a man and a woman and going public will help create awareness and is advocating against discrimination of people suffering from his condition. Read More
Obama Shoots Giant Rainbow Out Of His Hand in Jamaica
President Obama visited Jamaica, the 1st US president to do so 30 years. Departing, he shot a beautiful, giant rainbow at the island nation, proving he has some tricks up his gay wizard sleeve! Caught on camera by White House photog Pete Souza, we guess Obama is okay with his magical powers not being a secret. Read more
Perú: "Virgenes de la Puerta" A rare glimpse inside Peru's trans community
Boston-based artists Andrew Mroczek and Juan Barboza-Gubo have been documenting the plight of Peru's mercurial transgender community. As part of their ambitious project Virgenes de la Puerta ("Virgins of the Door"), Mroczek and Barboza-Gubo are photographing several trans women -- many of whom have never been photographed in a positive, respectful way -- in order to present them as honored role models, and examples of leadership in the country's burgeoning transgender pride movement.
"We want to show the trans community that there are these amazing pillars who represent their interests," Mroczek explains, "and that there are those who are willing to sacrifice their own personal safety in order to gain the visibility needed to promote change."
In a country where homosexuality and transgenderism are widely considered to be illnesses, transgender Peruvians live almost entirely in the shadows, forced to the fringes of society by a staunchly Catholic nation that severely marginalizes its LGBT citizens. Read More
US: The gayest generation? Research finds more millennials identify as LGBT
Millennials are either the gayest generation, or the most honest. A research report by the Public Religion Research Institute states that 7% of millennials identify themselves as either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, a percentage that is more than twice the share of older Americans who identifies as something other than heterosexual.
The results were tucked into a massive report that examined millennials’ attitudes toward everything from sex education to the idea that marriage is an outdated institution. As a whole, the survey shows a cohort that has fewer non-negotiable stances than previous generations. “The survey paints a picture of a generation that is less likely to apply black-and-white rules,” PRRI CEO Dr. Robert Jones says.
Reports on the LGBT population size have varied wildly ever since Alfred Kinsey's research in 1948 suggesting that 10% of men are gay. Kinsey’s research wound up being called into question years later, but the disparity between percentage of millennials that identify as LGBT and the percentage of older cohorts suggest changes in society may be making people feel comfortable to come out. Read More