Tag: homophobia

Happy early-Halloween! With only a week and a half left till the ever awaited holiday of tricks and treats, there’s one video out that’s looking to use our need be frightened for good. Ask yourselves, what’s really scary? Answer? The fact that there are still countless countries and places in the world where being gay can end up getting you hurt or killed. That’s what award-winning short “PYOTR495” wants you to remember (while also entertaining you and freaking you out at the...

On Saturday, a protest march was held in New York City in solidarity with the LGBT people of Chechnya. It was organised by the grassroots group Voices 4 Chechnya, standing up in peaceful protest against the abduction, torture and killing of Chechen LGBT+ people and demanding humanitarian visas for those that have escaped to Russian safe houses. The group was founded by LGBT+ activist Adam Eli who fronted the protest, marching alongside hundreds of Voices 4 Chechnya supporters, including RuPaul’s Drag...

A complaint claimed "drug use is thought to be fundamental in such indiscriminate sexual encounters." Four cops in Sydney claim they were singled out for investigation on drug charges simply because they are gay. In early 2015, New South Wales (NSW) police officers Christian McDonald, Christopher Sheehy, Shane Housego, and Steven Rapisarda were told of an anonymous complaint that they had used illegal narcotics. The citation stated the four were “notorious for their promiscuity” and claimed “drug use is thought to be...

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan, for allowing adoption services to refuse same-sex couples. Michigan pays private agencies to provide child welfare services, providing children with foster care and looking to find them foster and adoptive families. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is allowing these services to turn away homes for the children on the grounds of religious objections, because the prospective parents are gay. Despite Michigan having 13,000 children in...

The Danish Football Association is working with the Players Association, Amnesty International Denmark, LGBT Denmark, and Danish Football Fan Clubs for an anti-homophobic campaign. The goal is to fight homophobia in sports across the country. The campaign includes players wearing rainbow armbands and shoe laces, and appearing in rainbow face paint on bus posters. Members of pro teams also marched in Copenhagen Pride in August, with the hashtag #FootballForAll being a rallying cry. Mathias “Zanka” Jørgensen, FC Copenhagen captain, said, “Homophobia is...

A gay Australian couple has said that they intend to vote against marriage equality in the upcoming postal vote. The couple, Mark Poidevin and Ben Rogers, met 15 years ago on a website appropriately named ‘Gay.com’. They say it was love at first sight. Poidevin explained that he loves his partner “dearly” and that “there’s no-one else I’d like to spend my life with than him”. Despite their love, they will be voting against marriage equality, they told ABC Australia. “I used to...

It appears that neighbors ignored Pottinger's cries for help. Dexter Pottinger, a Jamaican fashion designer and gay activist who became known as the “face of Pride” in the nation, was found stabbed to death Thursday in his Kingston home. Police said Saturday that they have arrested a suspect and expect to bring charges, the Jamaica Observer reports. A neighbor reported hearing screams of “Help!” and “Murder!” from Pottinger’s house early Wednesday morning but did not immediately notify police, according to another paper,...

When Colton Haynes came out in 2016, the gays rejoiced. After fawning over him for years, we all wanted it to be true. When it was, we couldn't contain ourselves. Haynes, who rose to fame on MTV's Teen Wolf and CW's Arrow, took to Twitter yesterday to speak out on homophobia in Hollywood. He talked about some of the issues he's faced since coming out. He said in his first tweet, "Hollywood is so f*cked up. So much of the...

“Welcome to our hotel, how may I help you?,” the front desk clerk said as I stepped up from the quickly moving queue to register for my stay. Those words greeted me in October when I went to Las Vegas for a conference. The hotel was a mix between over the top décor, a huge casino, a convention center and shopping mall. Looking around, the place didn’t scream homophobia. In fact, quite the opposite. The mall that was part of the...

The UK's recent political developments put the fire back in Pride, writes Hadley Stewart. We’re all sitting at our desks strategically searching for some #MondayMotivation on Twitter, fishing out glitter from our underwear, and trying to piece together the hazy memories of Saturday night. London Pride is over, but we’re getting the occasionally shower of rainbow-filled videos on our newsfeeds to keep us going. This year, like every year, the usual complainers, haters and all-round boring people took to social...

'I don't mind gay people, I just don't like it shoved in my face' Yesterday, on the 17th of May, was the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, or IDAHOT. It’s a day when I feel especially grateful I didn’t grow up gay in places like Iraq, where ISIS is throwing gay men to their deaths, or Chechnya, where gay concentration camps have cropped up, or Bangladesh, where this refugee fled from after Muslim extremists threatened his life. Indeed, it’s a...

'And I truly believe that Nepal would be an LBGTIQ paradise for everyone, soon.' The rainbow flag has flown for the first time in Nepal to mark this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT). The flag was at the United Nations House in Nepal at an event attended by LGBTI people, rainbow families, dignitaries and government officials. Blue Diamond Society is a local LGBTI organization and its president, Pinky Gurung, gave a powerful speech. ‘Today is about families and we...

A closeted footballer faces homophobia on the pitch in short film WONDERKID. Broadchurch star Chris Mason plays a gay professional footballer at the launch of his new career in a fictional London team, as he struggles with his sexuality in the masculine and often homophobic sporting world. WONDERKID came about as part of the #BEYOURSELF campaign to raise awareness about homophobia in sport, particularly the lack of openly gay footballers out of the 5,000 players in the UK. The film has been...

A group of five lesbians were set upon by more than 15 men in a homophobic beating which left some missing teeth. One woman said she feared she would die from the attack, another lost seven front teeth from a single punch and a third had a fit after she was left bleeding. The women, who published photos of their injuries in The News, but said they didn’t want to be named, had left the Blue Anchor pub. After singing ‘I’m in...