"The Rejected," first US televised documentary about homosexuality from 1961

Introduced by KQED's General Manager James Day, The Rejected is generally acknowledged as being the first ever U.S. televised documentary about homosexuality, broadcast on September 11th 1961. Originally titled 'The Gay Ones', The Rejected was filmed mostly in the KQED studio. Several sources - including co-producer Irving Saraf - confirm that at least one scene was shot on location at the Black Cat Bar in San Francisco (710 Montgomery Street). However, those scenes and others were cut from the film before it aired.

Production correspondence written from March to July 1961 between KQED's Program Manager Jonathan Rice and NET's Director of TV Programming Donley F. Feddersen outline this process whereby The Rejected was edited down from it's original 120 minutes, to 89 minutes, then 74 minutes and finally the 59 minute version which aired. You can now view an original draft script for The Rejected in DIVA, scenes from which never aired. Watch and read more

Indian sprinter Dutee Chand wins major victory for intersex and gender inclusion

A major victory for inclusion in sport came down from the Court of Arbitration in Sport this week as testosterone levels in female athletes was struck down as a key determining factor for participation in women's sports. The decision involves an Indian sprinter - Dutee Chand - who won a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash at the 2013 Asian Championships.

Katrina Karkazisis a cultural and medical anthropologist and bioethicist at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University School of Medicine, who has worked extensively on intersex issues. She was part of the team that brought forward the ruling.

Karkazis told Outsports:

"I'm absolutely thrilled with this decision, but also very surprised by it. I knew we had a strong case, but there are so many culturally entrenched ideas about testosterone—that it is a "male hormone," that it doesn't belong in women—I knew we were up against those ideas too, and I wasn't sure that we could overcome them. Read More 

Malaysia: A gorgeous, stirring cartoon about the status of trans people

When cartoonist Kazimir Lee Iskander learned that 17 Malaysian trans women had been arrested by the Islamic police in June 2014 for the crime of “impersonating women,” he was both riveted by the case and inspired to write about it. He wanted to show how trans people are harassed in Malaysia but also how effective LGBTQ organizing can be. Read More 

Europe’s biggest LGBT sporting event EuroGames 2015 begins

Today marks the start of EuroGames 2015 – one of the world’s largest LGBT – sports events. Over 5000 athletes from 71 nations are to gather in Stockholm to compete in 27 different sporting events.

“Sport is not as far ahead as the rest of society when it comes to LGBT issues. We hope to improve and change that through these competitions”, says Jakob Jansson, President of this year’s event. EuroGames Stockholm 2015 will begin today (August 5) with an open event allowing visitors to try out some of sports that will feature in the four day event – with wheelchair basketball, running and boxing all available. Read More 

US: The queers left behind - How LGBT assimilation is hurting our community's most vulnerable

On the evening of June 28, two very different celebrations took place to mark the most historic New York City Pride week in decades.

The flashier of these celebrations was the iconic Dance on the Pier. As the Pride Parade came to a drizzly end, an exuberant crowd of young, gay and mostly white men made their way to Pier 26, where Ariana Grande headlined a big-budget outdoor mega-party. The event was a brazen testament to the newfound trendiness of urban gaydom. Admission started at $80, but that didn't stop 10,000 enthusiastic fans from snatching up tickets to what organizers billed as one of the world's top-tier LGBT events.

If any of those 10,000 attendees had taken a break from the dancing and glanced across the river, they may have seen the outline of the Christopher Street Piers, where a celebration of a very different kind was taking place. Here, a motley crowd of queer homeless youths -- who definitely could not afford admission to Dance on the Pier -- decided to throw an impromptu party of their own. With the bass from the Ariana Grande concert pulsing in the background, the youths -- male, female, cisgender, transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, black and Latino -- drank, smoked, sang, vogued and played cards under the dim light of the street lamps.  Read More

Germany: Facebook banned from enforcing its real name policy in country

Facebook may not stop users in Germany creating accounts under false names, a Hamburg privacy watchdog has said. The Hamburg data protection authority said the social network could not change people's chosen usernames or ask them to provide any official ID. The ruling came after Facebook blocked an account set up by a woman using a pseudonym and changed it to her name. 

The company's real-name policy has been the subject of recent protests from demonstrators, including drag queens, Native Americans and domestic violence victims who believe anonymity is crucial to their personal safety. Some drag queens want to use their stage names on the site, while Native Americans' names often incorporate animals, natural features or other elements that can be wrongly identified as pseudonyms.

In October 2014, Facebook clarified its real-name policy, saying users would have to "use the authentic name they use in real life". But the company has been slow to change its rules. The Hamburg watchdog, which regulates the social network in Germany, said making users sign up under their real names violated an individual's privacy rights. Read More

Cuba: Stands out as a tourist paradise for gay community

Amid the "boom" in tourism that Cuba is experiencing with over 2 million foreign tourists, the island is emerging as a destination for the gay community. Cuba's "Mi Cayito Cuba" is the first online travel agency specializing in tours geared towards the LGBT community. 

"The island has great potential as living space. We are open to all, and we believe in a free and tolerant space where respect is valued," says director Alain Castillo. Despite being a society still dominated by a patriarchal and sexist vision, Cuba is already seeing noticeable advances in LGBT rights.

"It's vacation time. It is time to Cuba. The new gay paradise", you can read the brochures promoted on social networks. Read More

GALZ disputes prison claim

Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has come out against the statement, with director Chesterfield Samba, urging that "prison culture encourages men to have sex with men" and that it isn't a homosexual issue. Furthermore, he says "Not providing condoms to prisoners has serious implications that when prisoners are released and come back into society to wives and girlfriends they may infect healthy partners and spread HIV." Read More

Zimbabwe: HIV prevalence in prisons alarms Health Minister

Speaking at a prep meeting for the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections, Health and Childcare Minister David Parirenyatwa said, "The rise of HIV prevalence in prisons shows that it is either these prisoners are infected already before they get into prison and if not then it means homosexuality is rampant in prisons." 

According to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, HIV prevalence among prisoners is 28%. Dr. Parirenyatwa said it was important for the government to address the prevalence of HIV and Aids in prisons. He said although Zimbabwe had its own cultural expectations, the country could not run away from the idea that homosexuality "is happening in our prisons". Read More

Rwanda: HIV prevalence among female sex workers, gays rises

HIV/AIDS prevalence is increasing among female commercial sex workers and the gay community, according to a report by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. Findings reveal one reason behind high HIV among the Rwandan gay community is stigma and resentment, which has made them continue practising their lifestyle discreetly and dangerously. Many of members of the LGBT community who live with HIV do not seek treatment, while others do not get HIV tested because they fear mistreatment from the public and medics.

The survey also indicates that some MSMs are involved in commercial sex. Some 42.5% reported having ever been paid with money, goods, or services for sex. “It is true, commercial sex among LGBT is high,” said Enoc Ndahenyuka, member of Rwanda Rainbow Rights, an association for gay rights. “It’s because most of them are really vulnerable; some have no jobs, others have been rejected by their families & others have kept their orientation secret so that they don’t get thrown out of home."

Authorities at Rwanda Correctional Services recently confirmed the existence of homosexuality in prisons, raising concerns that many of those who are HIV-positive go on to spread it when they are released. However, calls to distribute condoms in prisons have been suppressed by state health authorities. Read More

Thailand, South Africa, US: High risk groups adhere to daily PrEP

A recent study reports that those with a high risk of contracting HIV — including gay and bisexual men and transgender women — will adhere to a daily pre-exposure prophylaxis regimen to prevent HIV, shutting down critics who've said PrEP won't work because of adherence issues.

The study looked at adherence among transgender women and gay and bisexual men in New York and Thailand as well as young, single black women in South Africa. All of these groups successfully adhered to daily dosing.

Some previous placebo-controlled PrEP clinical trials had found challenges with adherence, but in this HIV Prevention Trials Network study, 76% of women prescribed PrEP adhered to the daily regimen. Trans women and men who have sex with men from Harlem and Bangkok showed adherence rates of 65% and 85% respectively. Read More 

South Africa: Sub-Saharan African HIV advocates meet government to strengthen HIV response for MSM

The MSMGF co-hosted a workshop of advocates, government officials, healthcare providers and public health practitioners from twelve African countries. Regional advocates discussed the HIV needs of men who have sex with men with their government officials, armed with guidelines by the WHO. In some instances, this is the first time advocates sat across the table with government officials in their respective countries.

“We have a groundbreaking opportunity to scale-up high quality sexual health services for MSM in Africa”, said Dr. George Ayala, executive director of the MSMGF, “We have sound technical guidance from the WHO, as well as a wealth of program experience from community-led organizations around the world. These have been used in developing a practical guidance for implementing WHO recommended interventions, which we discussed at the meeting.”  Read More