South Africa: Desmond Tutu’s daughter Rev. Mpho A. Tutu marries

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s daughter, the Rev. Mpho A. Tutu, has married her female partner, Professor Marceline van Furth. The couple tied the knot in The Netherlands last week, in what’s been described as a small and private ceremony.

“The couple are very grateful to their families and friends for their love and support‚” said the family in a statement.

The marriage is expected to be further celebrated in Cape Town in May. The Rev. Tutu is the Executive Director of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation and is an experienced preacher, teacher and public speaker. Van Furth is a professor in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the Vrije University in Amsterdam.

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LGBT People Reveal Why David Bowie Was So Important To Them

On Monday, LGBT people celebrated the scope of Bowie’s identity revolution by paying tribute to an artist who proved that to give gender constraints the middle finger was the ultimate liberation. To be different no longer meant being a victim; it meant triumphing.

“He was an artist that made me feel OK to be trans, bi, and an outsider.”  Read more via Buzzfeed 

Taiwan: "We Are Not Monsters. We Are Full of Love."

Monster. The words on the medical record, scrawled in a doctor’s messy English script, said “pseudo hermaphrodite.” But what 18-year-old Hiker Chiu read on the paper was monster. 

Hiker’s parents finally told her/him that s/he was born both male and female—the word intersex never came up. Read more via Alturi

Australia: Atari launches new LGBT game ahead of worldwide release

An original mobile LGBTI game inspired by pride marches around the world was recently launched by Atari in Australia ahead of its worldwide launch. Pridefest sees players work through missions as the mayor of a city that has lost all of its fun and colour overnight.

Atari chief executive Fred Chesnais said the game was inspired by the LGBTI community and aims to bring their colourful atmosphere and inclusive spirit to a game for the first time: “Pridefest provides the first LGBT-focused game that represents a passionate cause...Pridefest is designed to emulate that sense of joy and fanfare year-round through a social-sim mobile game."

“Our vision for Pridefest is that it can also become a means for isolated LGBT individuals lacking a supportive LGBT network to come together in a safe, welcoming, and fun atmosphere.”

Chesnais said the gaming landscape has changed in recent years around LGBT representation: “GaymerX [queer gaming convention] is in its third year now and growing, which speaks volumes to the number of gamers out there that are interested in playing games that include characters or themes specifically relevant and relatable to the LGBT community.” 

Read more via Star Observer
 

How Twitter quietly banned hate speech last year

Seven years ago, Twitter began its rise to prominence by billing itself as a space where people could speak freely because nobody was censored. The company's rules enshrined this ideal, promising "we do not actively monitor and will not censor user content, except in limited circumstances." But in 2015 all of that changed.

There were changes in Twitter's rules here and there before 2015, usually to make it easier for the company to ban people engaging in spam and fraud. But as more high-profile Twitter users began to experience abuse and harassment firsthand, the company began to reverse its earlier policies.

Without ever touching the language in its rules page, Twitter began to add links out to other documents that explained the "limited circumstances" that could lead to censorship. In March, the company banned revenge porn. In April, they banned any speech that could incite terrorism, or violence against people "on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, or disability."

Essentially, writes Jeong, they banned hate speech. Read more via Ars Technica 

Netherlands: Advertising watchdog defends gay hook-up ads at train stations

Adverts for a gay hook-up app will not be banned in the Netherlands, despite a number of complaints. Gay cruising app Squirt had put up the large signs and posters at major train stations across Rotterdam, Amsterdam Utrecht and The Hague. 

Despite a number of complaints, the Advertising Standards Board has ruled in favour of the site – and will allow the campaign to continue.  One complainant claimed that the ad was designed to entice children into visiting the website, while a third said it was “truly sickening and shocking”.
The ASB found that the ads met “the necessary precautions… in the context of good taste and public decency.”

The app’s ads were previously removed from trains in Canada – after the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) claimed they encouraged gay commuters to “break the law”. TTC spokesperson Danny Nicholson said: “The ad was taken down as it promoted sex in public places, which is against the law.” Read more via PinkNews

UK: Crimes linked to Tinder and Grindr increase seven fold

Crimes linked to dating apps Tinder and Grindr, including rape, child sex grooming and attempted murder, have increased seven fold in just two year. More than 400 offences with a connection to users of the apps were reported to police last year and campaigners warned many more could go unreported.

Andy Cooke, deputy chief constable of Merseyside Police national police lead on violence and public protection, said: "The rising popularity of online dating apps and websites has contributed to an increase in the number of recorded crimes. We strongly encourage users to report offences and seek support if they become a victim of any type of crime.

Gay and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "Closeted gay and bisexual men who use Grindr may be especially vulnerable to targeting because criminals know they will be less likely to report crimes to the police. I suspect these figures are just the tip of the iceberg." Read more via Telegraph

China: Gay dating app Grindr gets $93-million investment from Chinese company

Grindr has handed majority ownership to Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology Co. for $93 million, valuing the Hollywood start-up at $155 million post-investment.

The app has become a go-to hookup app for men looking for same-sex relationships, getting about 2 million daily users. But the company has sought to play a bigger role, beyond matchmaking, in the lives of its users and the investment is aimed at accelerating that process. Grindr, launched in 2009, also has faced competition from apps like Scruff and Tinder since then.

The investment is noteworthy because Chinese authorities do not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions, and being publicly gay remains taboo in China. But Chinese gay rights activists have scored some recent victories, and the increased pressure may begin to open some doors. Read more via LA Times 

Davos 2016: US Vice President Joe Biden urges world business leaders to do more for LGBT rights

Speaking at WEF, Joe Biden has urged business leaders to do more to promote the rights of LGBT people in the workplace. The Democrat said: "When it comes to LGBT rights in workplace, the world is looking to you. I know that sounds like hyperbole, sounds like an exaggeration. But they look to you. You have more impact than anything the federal government has done, or the Supreme Court of the United States has done, or that Barack Obama or Joe Biden have done lighting up the White House. You have more impact. You have more impact in countries around the world than we do on those social issues".

Speaking to a number of business leaders from companies including Microsoft, Google and Coca-Cola, the 73-year-old also addressed issues of human rights and discrimination around the world.

He said: "Mistreated by cops, denial of health care, isolation – always in the name of culture. Culture never justifies rank, war, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification – none, none, none. And think of the countries behind 'this is our culture'.  Watch his remarks via IBT

Switzerland: Global LGBTI rights to be discussed at Davos 2016

LGBT issues have made it onto the official agenda of the World Economic Forum in Davos for the first time. LGBT issues have been slowly making an appearance in the past couple of years, with the topic touched on in private discussions behind closed-doors as part of what I call the Davos Fringe and passing mentions on Davos panels around more general discussions of diversity and inclusion.

Topics don’t get added to the agenda lightly. New issues must have global importance and there must be high profile senior executives willing to talk about them on a pubic stage. The 2016 agenda includes two public sessions with a clear LGBT focus, signalling that LGBT issues have come to the fore with champions who are ready to speak clearly and openly on the topic.

There is a feeling among parts of the business community that through their global presence, with strong policies across their entire workforces around the world, and the ability to use their economic clout to influence governments, they can play a positive role either through acting as a role model or by using their soft power to encourage greater levels of acceptance and equal rights for LGBT people in countries where rights are not enshrined.  Read more via BBC

SA: Community to march over horror murder of lesbian matriculant

The horrific murder of a young lesbian woman who had just passed matric has left the LGBTI community in the Vaal Triangle up in arms. Cedric Davids, from the Young Communists’ League, said the body of Motshidisi Pascalina was discovered in an open field near her home on 18 December.

According to Davids, who spoke to Pascalina’s mother, the young woman suffered brutal injuries and disfigurement: “They tied her up – her neck and arm were tied up. They removed her eyes, breasts and vagina and set her alight,” he said. “She had just matriculated last year,” Davids added.

The YCL, together with activists from Vaal LGBTI, are holding a march to the Mafatsana Police Station to protest against crimes against LGBTI people and the perceived inaction by the local authorities.

“This is not the first crime reported against the LGBTI in the area. There are also two rape cases which have not seen the perpetrators being brought to book,” said Davids. “We are not going to allow people to harm other females because of their gender identity and sexual expression.” Read more via Mamba Online

Slovenia: Newspaper honors gay man for refugee work

Slovenia’s largest newspaper has named as its person of the year for 2015 a gay dentist who works with refugees. Delo honored Jure Poglajen during a ceremony in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. President Borut Pahor and the newspaper’s publisher were among those who attended the event.
Poglajen and his partner of more than four years have spent weeks providing food, water and clothing to the hundreds of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other countries who were crossing the narrow Mytilini Strait from Turkey to Lesbos.

Poglajen and his partner returned to Lesbos last fall with Adra Slovenia, a Protestant relief group that is raising funds to assist refugees who continue to flood into Europe. The two men also offered assistance to those who entered Slovenia from Croatia after Hungary closed its border with Serbia. 

Read more via Washington Blade