Tag: ban

A mobile phone advert featuring diver Tom Daley has been banned for a strange reason. The Advertising Standards Authority acted to remove the ad from phone brand HTC, which starred the diver. The advert promoted the phone’s selfie-taking ability, showing Daley snapping photos after he jumps from a diving board, just before hitting the water. The diver was then again pictured with the phone after leaving the water. There’s just one problem… the phone isn’t waterproof enough to be taken the pool. The HTC...

Some 2,500 people attended Starkville, Mississippi's inaugural Pride celebration. Thousands marched through the streets of Starkville, Mississippi, on Saturday for the town’s first-ever LGBT Pride parade. Making the event all the more poignant is that it almost didn’t happen. https://instagram.com/p/BguY20dlaaH/?utm_source=ig_embed Despite widespread support, including from Mayor Lynn Spruill, the Starkville Board of Aldermen voted 4-3 last month to deny organizers a special permit to host the parade. The event posed no security or logistical problems, but council members gave no reason for...

Doctor found guilty of trying to 'cure' patients of their homosexuality A psychiatrist has been found guilty of trying to ‘cure’ his gay clients with gay sex. Dr Melbyn Iscove is a renowned spokesperson in Toronto for the condemned practice of conversion therapy. The 72-year-old was found to have sexually abused two of his male patients, promising to ‘cure’ them of their homosexuality. Psychiatrist tried to ‘cure’ his gay clients with gay sex He had oral and anal sex and mutual masturbation with some...

Last summer, we talked to you about how the Gay, South African film Inxeba was publicizing an African tribe’s secret practices without their permission. Now, we have an update about that film. Inxeba, or The Wound, follows a factory worker named Xolani who helps train the young men of his tribe (the amaXhosa) for their coming-of-age ritual. On top of that, the story depicts Xolani’s gay relationship with another tribe member. While many Westerners were excited for the film, to the point...

Over 300 people in Orange City, Iowa have signed a petition calling for a local library to get rid of any books with LGBTQ themes. A Board of Trustees for the public library met on Tuesday and heard the arguments of Reverand Sacha Walicord of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church. Walicord led the argument in front of a crow of over 100 people that the library was “pushing an agenda”. The reverend called for the books to either be banned or labelled and...

Fan Chunlin is a 30-year-old Shanghai citizen who just filed a lawsuit Wednesday demanding China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) to specify why gay content has been banned from tv and the internet. Thankfully, Beijing’s No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court has accepted this case, will hold hearings, and will come to a decision within the next six months. Fan’s lawsuit is a reaction to the policy placed last summer that banned gay content on the internet. Fan’s...

BiNet USA's AdWords account was flagged for using 'sexually explicit' words A Google team has apologized for incorrectly banning the use of the words ‘bisexual’ and ‘gay.’ Faith Cheltenham is the VP of BiNet USA, an American nonprofit organization for the bisexual community. She tweeted a picture of an email she received yesterday about BiNet USA’s AdWords account being flagged. Google AdWords told her they flagged the account because they were using ‘sexually explicit’ keywords. The specific words mention were bisexual and gay. In the...

Bermuda is trying to become the first country to re-ban same-sex marriage. The first gay couples to get married in Bermuda did so only in May of this year. This was after the island’s Supreme Court ruled the ban on same-sex marriage to be discriminatory. Bermuda’s legislative branch however has introduced a bill that would take away same sex-marriage (which was only legalized a few months ago). The bill, titled “Domestic Partnership Bill,” was introduced by the Minister of Home Affairs named...

Science teacher Joshua Onduso has been convicted of saying offensive and homophobic words to his Berkshire students at The Reintegration Service for Moorside Community Center. When asked by a pupil what he thought of gay people, Mr Onduso allegedly responded by saying: “Gay people have a disease.” He then pointed to his head and said: “They have something wrong upstairs.” When another student then asked whether he thought gay people were like animals, Mr Onduso nodded and said that he did....

You might be surprised by some of the Western countries who voted against The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted to condemn countries who use the death penalty on gay people. Although the resolution passed with 27 countries voting for the measure – 13 countries including the United States voted against. In the vote on Friday 27 September, seven countries also abstained. Being gay is still punishable by death in six countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. Although not countrywide, there...

Radio host calls for rainbow flag to be banned because it’s ‘offensive’ to straight peopleBryan Fischer made the claim on his American Family Radio ‘Focal Point’ show. Amid ongoing unrest across the US surrounding the status of Confederate flags and monuments, Fischer suggested rainbow flags should be pulled down. He said: “There’s a lot of effort right now to get rid of the Confederate flag. There’s a public school system in North Carolina because it is divisive. No more Confederate flag. “There’s...

The Senate are next looking to implicate a ban on any 'public demonstration of support for homosexuality' A vote by the Haiti Senate has banned gay marriage. The approved bill says any ‘parties, co-parties and accomplices’ of a gay marriage can be jailed for three years and fined $8,000 (€6,746). The state approved the text on Tuesday. Senate President Youri Latortue told AFP: ‘All senators are opposed to same-sex marriage, so this simply reflects the commitments they made during their campaigns.’ Latortue also...

The film which explores sexuality and religion was banned because it was offensive to Hinduism A film about a gay love story that was previously censored might get the green light to screen in India. India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) banned Ka Bodyscapes earlier this year. It said the film ‘portrayed Hindu gods in an obscene light and had contents of nudity’. Hindu is the main religion in India and Ka Bodyscapes explores both homosexuality and religion. The movie tells the story...

How cool is this? It turns out when it comes to breaking gender norms, both adults and school boys are getting in the action in hot weather. Soaring temperatures have sent the UK and France sweating, with temperatures up to 38C. In the western city of Nantes, the bus drivers’ union CFDT said their uniform that includes trousers was ‘not appropriate’ for such high temperatures. ‘Given that skirts are an authorised outfit in the company, we are wearing skirts,”‘one driver told the local...