Tag Archives: LGBT Community

Bisexual And Questioning Young Women More Susceptible To Depression

A study exploring the prevalence of mental health symptoms in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) community, found that the oft-overlooked questioning and bisexual youth face significant challenges, particularly when it comes to depression, anxiety and traumatic distress.

Annie Shearer, a research assistant with Drexel’s Family Intervention Science program within the College of Nursing and Health Professions, explained

I think the failure to include bisexual individuals in research studies reflects a larger culture of bisexual invisibility. And with regard to questioning individuals, I think people assume that is a temporary identity, causing them to be overlooked, too. But during adolescence and young adulthood, when many individuals are still exploring their sexuality, it’s particularly important to include both the bisexual and questioning groups.”

Shearer and a team from Drexel’s Department of Couple and Family Therapy published their findings in the Journal of Adolescent Health under the title, Difference in Mental Health Symptoms Across Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Questioning Youth in Primary Care Settings.

During routine visits with physicians, participants in the study – numbering 2,513 between the ages of 14 and 24 – took a survey through Behavioral Health Screen, a tool designed to uncover mental health concerns in patients.

Every participant was screened for depression, anxiety, traumatic distress, substance use and suicide ideation, both current and over their lifetime.

Each was also asked to report their sexual attraction, which was organized into the categories of gay, lesbian, bisexual or questioning.

Data from the screening indicated that female bisexual and questioning people had significantly higher scores for depression, anxiety and traumatic distress than female heterosexuals.

When it came to suicide, bisexual, questioning and lesbian female respondents reported significantly higher scores for lifetime suicide ideation – meaning whether they’d ever thought about suicide – than heterosexual females; bisexual females reported the highest scores for current suicide ideation.

Shearer explained

I think one point is important to point out: with the exception of lifetime suicidiality, women who reported exclusive attraction to other women were actually no more at risk than women only attracted to men for depression, anxiety, traumatic distress, current suicidiality or substance abuse. I think this contradicts previous findings that same-sex attraction is always a risk factor for mental health symptoms. This may reflect an increasing societal acceptance of same-sex attraction and relationships.”

On the male side of the study, gay and bisexual respondents displayed significantly higher scores for depression and traumatic stress.

Gay males also scored significantly higher for anxiety than heterosexual males.

Bisexual males trended higher than heterosexual males for anxiety, but only slightly. Their lifetime suicide ideation scores were significantly higher than heterosexual males, however.

A key difference between the male and female survey-takers was that questioning males did not exhibit any significant risks for the mental health symptoms in the screening.

In the Journal paper, the research team admitted it wasn’t sure why the difference existed, theorizing that the “intersectionality of sexual and gender identity creates unique risks for women who are questioning” which may not exist as distinctly for men.

The team believes that its study demonstrates a clear need for medical providers and researchers to be sensitive to differences across the LGBQ community without lumping them all together. While a general risk of mental health issues remains for the entire community, it would be best to stay mindful of certain groups’ susceptibility to particular issues.

I think bisexual persons and, perhaps, questioning individuals as well, experience prejudice and stigma from gay and lesbian communities in addition to heterosexual communities. Furthermore, some people still refuse to acknowledge bisexual and other non-binary identities as legitimate, which I think can be very harmful to those who can’t — and shouldn’t have to — identify as exclusively heterosexual or homosexual.”

One Million Moms Go Into Meltdown Over ‘Once Upon A Time’ Lesbian Storyline

Hate group One Million Moms have gone into melt down about a recent episode of ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” that featured a lesbian kiss .

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According to their press release:

ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” introduced a lesbian couple during this week’s episode which 1MM and parents find completely unnecessary. On the other hand, the producers said the inclusion of homosexuality in a show popular with kids was “important.” Many families watch the program based on beloved children’s fairytales, but unfortunately, ABC has distorted and twisted the storylines in these fables.”

The offending episode, named Ruby Slippers, aired on April 17th and featured Ruby from Little Red Riding Hood and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz kissing, making them the first-ever gay couple to appear on the show.

One aspect that really makes One Million Moms angry is the fact that “the munchkins from Oz watch.”

The press release continues:

True Love’s kiss has been a staple of this show since the beginning. This past Sunday’s episode was just another example of how in a fairytale, as in life, love is love,” co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis said in a statement about the LGBTQ storyline. Horowitz added that the storyline will be as “exciting, emotional, and heartfelt as any other love story.”

“Once Upon a Time’s” executive producers have also said their gay advocacy is “important to do” and something that needs to be “normalized,” not “marginalized.” Last year, when hinting the coming storyline, they said, “It (the LGBTQ relationship) is something we think is due and important to do on the show. This is the world we live in.” The producers repeated the mantra “love is love” and again admitted that their goal was to normalize and push gay relationships “as a part of everyday life.”

Homosexuality continues to be over-represented in the media because producers want people, and especially kids, to think it’s normal and everyday life. In reality, that is their fairytale.”

So there you have it — this month’s generous helping of stupidity, courtesy of One Million Moms.

 

‘Once Upon A Time’ Introduces First Same-Sex Relationship

Once Upon a Time has been teasing us for years, but now they have finally introduced us to the shows first same-sex couple.

Alas SnowQueen fans, it isn’t Emma and Regina.

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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead, if you have not watched episode 18 of Once Upon A Time.

The new couple on the block is Ruby aka Little Red Riding Hood and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

In a series of flashbacks, Ruby and Mulan team up with Dorothy in Oz to take down the Wicked Witch.

Romance blossomed between the two women after a fateful sleeping curse lead Ruby to the Underworld to bestow true love’s kiss on Dorothy to wake her.

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Executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz originally revealed an LGBT couple would be joining the show after a screening of the season premiere last year.

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Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Kitsis said

We know that community have been big supporters of the show and we would love to be able to tell a love story that reflects that”

Horowitz added.

It’s something we want to do this year. It’s something we think is due and important to do on the show. This is the world we live in.”

Viewers originally speculated that the relationship could occur between Mulan and Aurora – after it was hinted that the pair loved each other – but Kitsis and Horowitz did not reveal which characters the arc would feature until the episode aired.

Watch a sneak peek below.

What Being LGBT+ Is Like Around the World

The world at large has come a long way over the last few years, especially as it pertains to the queer community. Many places now have full marriage equality, and many more have at least decriminalized the act of coming out. There’s still a long way to go, though, especially for certain countries. How are we doing, on average?


Australia

Australia is home to one of the most “gay friendly” cities in the entire world (it’s right up there with San Francisco!), but also some very conservative views that still seek to hide homosexuality, for alleged “moral” reasons. All in all, opinions are bound to vary from one person to the next, but most native Aussies are pretty supportive of gay rights.


Spain

A research study was actually done by the Pew Research Center a few years ago, which actually showed that a higher percentage of Spanish citizens feel that homosexuality should be accepted by society than those in the United States (at 60% acceptance), the United Kingdom (at 76%), and even in super-progressive Canada (at 80%). We think this means that Spain is probably the best country to be gay in – who’s moving with me?


Russia

I’m sure you’ve heard about the controversies in Russia lately – where it’s still legal to use violence against anyone with “non-traditional gender presentation”. The subject of the anti-LGBT atmosphere in Russia has made the news within the queer community repeatedly these days, and for good reason: Things need to change.


Canada

We already touched on the fact that Canada is one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world. Same-sex marriage has been legal throughout all of Canada since 2005, a full ten years ahead of when the United States legalized love. Truthfully, Canada has made probably the most significant progress of any country over the last fifty years; in the 1960s, Canada wasn’t really ahead of the rest of the world with gay rights, but look how great they’re doing now!


Puerto Rico

They’re not quite the beacon of equality just yet, but in March of last year, the ban on gay marriage was effectively lifted – or, at least, it won’t be enforced anymore. This is definitely huge news for the queer community in Puerto Rico, but every little success for any of us is a success for all of us.


The Netherlands

Another super-gay-friendly corner of the world, the Netherlands actually prioritizes safety of the queer community – rather than silently allowing mistreatment and hate crimes. Not only that, but the government website even specifically mentions that they “champion improvements in the legal position and safety of [LGBT people] worldwide”. Yep, you read that right – they don’t just want the Dutch LGBT community protected – they want all of the LGBT community protected.


Nepal

Even though the nation is largely conservative, Nepal decriminalized homosexuality in 2007.


Mexico

Given the rest of North America’s near-constant improvements for the queer community, Mexico has unfortunately not kept up with expectations. Discrimination against “sexual minorities” is a real problem, especially as it pertains to education. We even hear of children of same-sex parents being denied access to education, as well as homosexuals and transgender individuals facing violence at educational institutions – an estimated 74% of gay men, 50% of lesbians, and 66% percent of transgender respondents (out of 1,032 total respondents) had personally experienced violence in a place of learning. There’s even a report of some gay tourists being asked to leave an establishment after kissing, and being greeted by policemen with machine guns. Talk about excessive use of force!


Kenya

Kenya is definitely not on the list of good places to be gay. Anti-gay discrimination runs rampant in the country, and the government has “no clear commitment […] to deal with the issue of homophobic instances of violence”, according to Human Rights Watch. This is a scary thought, because you expect your government to protect you from unfair treatment… Right?


Israel

It’s probably not much of a surprise that Israel isn’t particularly gay-friendly. Not only are equal rights not even a topic of discussion for most people, but in the 2015 Pride parade in Israel, there were six members of the LGBT community stabbed, in what the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to as a “despicable hate crime”. Possibly the saddest part about this is that a 16-year-old ally was killed in this incident, too, simply for associating with the queer community.


Italy

While homosexuality isn’t a criminal offense in Italy, only about 31% of Italians actually support equal rights. We feel positive that this situation can improve – after all, decriminalizing love is the first step on the way to legalizing it completely – but there’s still a long way to go.


Ireland

Ireland is known for having some of the most liberal atmospheres for the queer community – in fact, they were the first country to pass same-sex marriage legalization by popular vote, rather than someone in charge implementing it on their own. It might not seem like a big difference – after all, the end result is the same – but it definitely speaks for a progressive society if the people made it happen.


Germany

According to the previously-mentioned Pew Research Center study, Germany is in second place in terms of gay acceptance, with 87% of respondents fully supporting equal rights. Additionally, the Berlin Pride Celebration is one of the largest pride parades in all of Europe. PS, gay marriage is completely legal there, too.


France

Even though same-sex marriage was legalized in 2013, that didn’t exactly help the LGBT community in the country. According to The Guardian, anti-LGBT violence in France actually went up after the bill was passed. (This is exactly why popular vote is so important – legalization without acceptance isn’t much of a win. Just look at the current state of the US, with presidential candidates threatening to overturn the vote, and actually gaining strong support!)


Brazil

Since Brazil made same-sex marriage legal in 2013, they have quickly climbed to one of the most “gay friendly” countries in the world. But as Ellen Page recently showed us on Gaycation, just because that’s the “average” response doesn’t mean it’s the only response – and there are still people who admit to killing homosexuals just for being gay. (By the way, if you don’t watch Gaycation yet, you definitely should – and not just because I have a crush on Ellen Page.)


What about your country?

We’re interested in hearing what LGBT+ life is like in the countries our readers live in, too. Drop us a comment and let us know what it’s like in your corner of the world!


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Ellen Degeneres Slams Mississippi’s New Religious Discrimination Law (Video)

Ellen Degeneres is making a stand against the recent spate of laws allowing discrimination against LGBT people in America.

Ellen Degeneres Slams Mississippi’s

Speaking on her show this, Degeneres addressed Mississippi‘s new law on and the impact it has on us all.

Now, I’m not a political person, I’m really not. But this is not politics this is human rights.And I mean, when I see something wrong, I have to talk about it. It’s the same thing that I do when I see men wearing Spandex in line at Starbucks. It’s wrong and I need to discuss it.”

Mississippi’s religious freedom bill, which was passed earlier this week, allows businesses to discriminate against LGBT people.

However, unlike bills passed in other states, Mississippi’s House Bill 1523 only protects people with anti-LGBT religious views, making it the most anti-LGBT bill to date.

It states that it’s acceptable to discriminate someone who identifies as LGBT, if the view is held that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, sex should only happen in marriage and male and female refer only to someone’s anatomy.

Watch Ellen take a stand against bigotry below.

9 Battles We Still Need to Win

I can’t help but feel a tremendous sense of pride when I think about all the big strides for equality that I’ve seen in my lifetime. It’s inspiring, and honestly it gives me a sense of purpose in life. Ten years ago, the world was a much different place for the queer community, and we’re making obvious moves in the right direction.

Then I think about how much we still have left to do, and it makes me want to cry. I mean, the world has been changing so rapidly, but there are still parts of the world where lesbians stay in the closet for fear of being raped “until they’re straight”. There are still parts of the world where the gay community is fetishized while simultaneously being shoved back in the closet. And there are still people who don’t even have the option of coming out, because they’ll be thrown on the streets, fired from their jobs, or even worse.

I feel so fortunate that I haven’t ever been in one of these situations, and my heart goes out to those who are dealing with this type of environment. If we want true equality, we still have a long way to go. Here are 9 fights that we still have to fight. Will it happen in my lifetime? I hope so – but it can’t happen without everyone’s help and support!


1. Increased worldwide anti-violence measures for the LGBT community

While some places are becoming more and more gay and trans friendly, some places aren’t, and that’s a problem. Entire governments seek to hide the fact that people are still beaten and killed for something they can’t change. Until it’s done everywhere, we haven’t won yet.


2. Homeless youth initiatives for the LGBT community

Even in places where discrimination has been criminalized, there is a chance that teens will end up on the streets when their parents or guardians find out about their sexuality. If we can’t stop it from happening, there needs to be somewhere these teens can go to make sure they’re taken care of and protected. This is the future generation, and we haven’t won yet.


3. Better testing and sexual education for the LGBT community

Sexual education in general has made some progress over the last few years, but teens and young adults in the LGBT community are drastically underserved. There are a great deal of places around the world where sexual health classes are heteronormative or abstinence-only – neither of which is a realistic education for the vast majority of teenagers. By not giving teens the appropriate ways to protect themselves, society is practically guaranteeing that STDs will spread in these communities.


4. STD-positive shaming needs to be abolished for everyone

There are so many stigmas associated with testing positive for an STD, and truly these stigmas do nothing for anyone. The people who have heard about the shameful associations will think that they don’t need to be tested because they don’t participate in “high-risk behaviors”, which ignores the fact that there are not “high-risk behaviors” that make infections more common. You don’t need to sleep around or use intravenous drugs to have an STD – get tested regularly! In addition, this shaming leads tested-positive people thinking that they need to hide their status… Which, of course, has a high risk to spread the infection further. Talking about STDs and demystifying them will help increase the likelihood of catching the infection early enough to treat it effectively.


5. “Religious freedoms” need to be treated as discrimination when appropriate

There’s a big difference between religious freedoms and bigoted discrimination – and the lines need to be made clearer for those who abuse the grey areas. No one should have the right to impose their beliefs on others, and that needs to go both ways. My god doesn’t say I’m going to hell – so my money should be worth just as much as anyone else’s. (Although, to be honest, I probably wouldn’t want to shop at any establishment that felt I was a second-class citizen because of who I loved, so… Maybe I’m the one confused here.)


6. A restroom is for going to the bathroom, and no one should think otherwise

All the trans discrimination laws being passed – where bathroom laws say that a trans woman should use the men’s room, and a trans man should use the women’s room – are trying to invalidate real, decent people. The vast majority of people – whether gay, straight, bi, trans, cis, or what have you – are not going into the bathrooms to peep on other people. Sure, there are rare exceptions, and you’ll never truly be able to weed them all out. They’ll come in every label you can think of, and their common trait isn’t that they’re gay or transgender – it’s that they’re creeps. (And, more than likely, they’re white cis men –  but that’s just statistics speaking.)


7. Better elder care in the LGBT community

Maybe the homeless youths from #2 can help step in and take care of the estimated 1.5 million LGBT seniors in the United States alone – or any of the aging queer community in any country. Studies show that this demographic is likely to suffer from increased mental illness rates, extreme poverty, physical disabilities, isolation from their biological families, and harsher discrimination than their heterosexual peers. This is the generation that raised us, and our parents (depending on how old you are) – shouldn’t we treat them with care and respect? We haven’t won until our seniors are taken care of, too.


8. Nondiscrimination protections need to be put in place, everywhere

It’s a scary thought: In almost every US state, it’s still entirely legal to be fired on the basis of your sexual orientation or identity, and in places where this type of discrimination is illegal, there are often “loopholes” – namely that the boss doesn’t need to say why you’re being let go. I’ve actually dealt with it at a few previous jobs, and it really is this hurtful thing that you don’t want to believe is real. What’s even worse is that society has conditioned us to think it’s all in our heads – even when it’s as clear as day.


9. Criminalize hate groups worldwide

Criminalizing hate groups isn’t something that helps just the queer community – most of our world has someone who’d hate them for something. The idea that you can rightfully hate an entire group of people without knowing the first thing about them is horrible, and it perpetuates a violent culture hell-bent on revenge. That’s not the type of world I want to live in, and we haven’t won until these groups are gone for good.


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9 Things You Need to Know Before Dating a Trans Woman

Some people may be scared about dating a trans woman, because the expectation is that there are certain differences that you need to be aware of first. Well, that’s not necessarily the case. Just because someone started life with a different identity than they have now doesn’t automatically mean that she’s a different person than she used to be – only that she’s more comfortable expressing herself now.

So… What do you need to know when you’re dating a trans woman?


1. Dating a trans woman is just like dating anyone else.

Trans women deserve respect – just like any other woman. No more, no less. Any girlfriend you have should be treated with love, empathy (when necessary), and respect as a human being – and trans women are no different. If you have dated anyone before, you should already know what a relationship requires. Why would it be any different when you’re dating a trans woman?


2. You need to understand what trans means.

The word “transgender” itself does not imply perversion, or mental illness, or confusion. It simply means that their gender (which is a mental construct) is different from their anatomy at birth, and in some cases it may still be different than their anatomy now.


3. Sexuality and gender are not the same thing.

Her gender identity does not automatically mean that she’s interested in women. It doesn’t automatically mean she’s interested in men. In some cases, she may be bisexual or pansexual – but that’s not automatic either. Someone’s appearance has nothing to do with their sexuality either – so instead of basing your assumptions on her outward appearance, focus instead on the signals she gives you – or even better, don’t make assumptions about people.


4. Know who you are (and what you want).

While dating a trans woman is really no different than dating any other woman, you should definitely make sure to make her feel safe before you’re alone together. It’s sad that in 2016 we still have trans women being killed simply because they’re trans, but we do. Do your best to show her that she doesn’t need to be afraid of you. The more open and honest you are about this from the start, the better the relationship will be for both of you.


5. Her genitals are not your business unless she chooses to show them to you.

Okay, here’s a little difference between trans women and cis women… Most people don’t obsess over the genitalia of their cis partners. There may be some exceptions here, but it’s 2016 – time to understand that you really have no right to ask intrusive questions to people you don’t share an intimate relationship with. Even when you are in a relationship, not all questions are entitled to an answer – so do your best to exercise respect.


6. Don’t fixate on her trans identity.

If she goes out on a date with you, it’s most likely not so she can teach you all about what being trans means. If she told you she was trans, it wasn’t so she could get your validation, your approval, or to get you to hang up your own ignorance. She’s most likely under the impression that you got all that out of the way before you asked her out (or before you accepted her date proposal). If you focus on the fact that she’s trans the whole date, it’s going to be really boring for her, and you probably won’t get a second date.


7. She is a woman – so treat her like a woman.

No matter how she looks, acts, speaks, or dresses, she is a woman. She’s not “partially a woman”. She’s not “almost a woman”. She is a woman. If you ordinarily pay for the date, offer to pay for her, too – especially if you did the asking. If you get to cuddle, keep in mind she might want to be the little spoon too. Most trans women don’t expect to be treated like princesses, but they do deserve to be treated like a lady.


8. Educate yourself – that’s not her job.

You should take the time to educate her before you go on a date with her. In this day and age, it only takes a few minutes on the internet to turn up more information than you could ever possibly need – take advantage of that! Some of the key things to read about are “gender dysphoria”, “transgender pronouns”, “cisgender”, and “non-binary”. Not all of these topics will apply in every scenario, but if she isn’t willingly offering to educate her, you should assume that she doesn’t want to. And she doesn’t have to – this is a date, not a tutoring session.


9. It’s not necessarily a secret – but if she comes out to you as trans, act like you were worthy of the trust she thought you were.

Most women don’t consider their trans identity a secret, but they may be hesitant to share it with new people, due to the treatment it can result in. If she does confide in you (which really isn’t required anyway – remember, these rules of respect apply to anyone, whether trans or not), you should do everything in your power to show her that it wasn’t a mistake confiding in you.

Don’t “out” her unless she specifically asks her to. Don’t misgender her. Use the pronouns she wants you to use. (This article has assumed that she goes by “she/her” pronouns, but that might not be the case – always make sure you’re going along with her wishes.) Don’t reassure her that you approve – she’s not there for you to approve of her. And do not ever assume that you had the right to know she was trans. It’s a privilege to be told – she is under no obligation to disclose it to you.

Has Misogyny in the Gay Community Become an Epidemic?

When we think about the unrealistic expectations set for women, we often overlook the actions of gay men. After all, they’re not sexually attracted to women, so that means they most likely aren’t going to judge us based on our attractiveness. Likewise, they’re used to being in a position of minority, so they’re less likely to hold us into our little box. Right?

Well, not necessarily. According to Séan Faye of Broadly, gay men might even be more sexist and misogynistic than their straight male counterparts – and it’s almost worse, because it’s not coming from a desire to claim the women involved, but rather, to be more powerful than them.

Think about it. When’s the last time you were inappropriately groped by a gay man, whether as a joke or out of curiosity? Many gay men forget the general rules of personal boundaries, and may grab a woman’s breast or bum without even asking first. It’s generally regarded as not sexual in nature, so it isn’t seen as a problem.


But that doesn’t make it okay.

In some ways, this may be a retaliation. Lesbians often subscribe to feminism, so it’s assumed that we would embody the “femi-nazi” stereotype of the man-haters. This would, naturally, upset the balance in the gay community – unless, of course, the gay men retaliated by being woman-haters, too. But it’s important to realize that not all women believe in female superiority – and in fact, most are just looking for equality.

But gay men aren’t the only ones guilty of this misogyny, either – I’ve seen in in my lesbian friends as well. We make sexist assumptions about each other all the time, and it’s really not fair. I’ve even caught myself doing it before – reposting pictures that fall outside of what I find attractive, with captions that would seriously hurt if the person in the picture were to read them.


Is it right? Definitely not.

Is it something we all need to work on? Yeah, I think so.

Is it something that’s going to happen any time soon? Well, probably not.

The truth is, any big movement is going to be hard to coordinate, and I don’t think the world is really ready to accept true gender equality. Maybe we never will be – being part of a patriarchal society for so long has most of us pretty set in our ways. Even those of us who consider ourselves feminists are subject to occasional bouts of woman-hating-ness, whether we outwardly vocalize them or not.


What can you do to fix it in your own local community?

If we’re being completely honest here, there’s not a lot that can be done to fix it on a wide scale – each person would have to change their own behavior, and in time the “old ways” of doing things will die out. Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I don’t see it happening in my lifetime.

On a smaller scale, though, we can actively work to suppress our anti-feminist thoughts, by stopping to think before we say things that could be taken a negative way. Sure, this won’t actually fix the problem, but it’ll help you to acknowledge the “bad” behavior and put an end to it.

Some feminists would prefer to think that you can dismantle the patriarchy simply by defying the traditional gender roles… But I don’t think that’s necessary, nor is it the only way to do things. If you truly like the things that are traditionally attributed to your gender, perhaps the most feminist thing you could do is to be unapologetically yourself – even if it goes along with what society expects of you. Isn’t it more important to be real than to be novel?

The only way we’re going to fix this is if we all stand up against the expectations – all expectations. Don’t expect anything from anyone based on things you aren’t sure of. Stereotypes aren’t always right, but even if they are, that doesn’t mean that the person is necessarily sacrificing themselves, their dignity, or their self-respect.

In short, the best way to beat misogyny is to stop caring what everyone else thinks about you- and stop assuming everyone cares what you think, too.

What Would You Say To Your Closeted Self? (VIDEO)

Most of us have been in the closet at some point or another, and as we all know its a period of time that we don’t look back on with joy.

So what would you say if you could go back in time and talk to your fearful, closeted self?

This new video from BuzzFeed LGBT team discusses what it was like being in the closet and what advice they would give to their younger selves.

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The video opens with a woman describing it feels to be gay and how she would tell herself not to come out sooner.

I don’t have any time in my life where I recollect not feeling gay. Stop stressing out, just be gay and be out about it.”

What follows is a candid insight into what coming out meant to these people and what advice they would give their former selves if they had the chance.

The first thing I would say to my closeted self is that everybody knows already, the jig is up, you’re not fooling anybody”

Watch the video below:


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Obama Finally Backs Law To Protect LGBT Workers In All 50 States

Though same-sex marriage is now legal across all 50 US states, there is still a lot need to do to protect LGBTs in American.

Anti-discrimination laws vary from state to state – meaning that you can still legally be fired for being LGBT in 28 states.

However, now President Obama is throwing his weight behind a proposed anti-discrimination law, which would protect LGBT workers in all 50 states.

Obama previously signed an Executive Order outlawing discrimination, but this only extends to federal contractors.

The President had declined to openly back the Equality Act last month – but this week vowed to support the law, which already has backing from most Democratic lawmakers.

His press spokesperson Josh Earnest said:

The administration strongly supports the Equality Act. That bill is historic legislation that would advance the cause of equality for millions of Americans.

We look forward to working with Congress to ensure that the legislative process produces a result that balances both the bedrock principles of civil rights… with the religious liberty that we hold dear in this country.”

Over 100 Democrats have co-sponsored the bill – which would outlaw discrimination and ensure a range of protections for LGBT people – and it also has numerous endorsements from large corporations including Google, Microsoft and Apple.


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Top UK Army General Says LGBT Soldiers Make For More Effective Army

According to Lt Gen James Everard, recruiting more gay people into the Army makes it more effective.

His comments come as commanders try to widen the pool of potential recruits for the UK’s armed forces.

Lt Gen James Everard said “diverse teams” of people, if well led, are “far more effective than bog-standard teams.”

The Army’s push to seem more welcoming to the LGBT community comes as commanders believe they have to work harder to recruit from “non-traditional” parts of society.

The Army is already holding a review into whether it should open up combat jobs to women and is also trying to attract more recruits from Britain’s ethnic minorities.

… [Diversity] in our ranks gives us a breadth of understanding and capability we don’t get in any other way … we need to reach into [places] that probably people would have said were non-traditional – away from the working class of Middlesbrough and all that sort of stuff and into a more diverse and broader range of characters. That’s hugely important for us.”

The UK dropped its ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people openly serving in 2000.

At the start of this year if started to record soldiers’ sexuality on a voluntary basis. So far only 230 serving troops have come out as gay or bisexual.

Lt Gen Everard said the Army was still struggling to change attitudes among some soldiers and some gay recruits found the “lived experience” was not ideal.

He added:

Like most problems, [fixing] the first 70 per cent is quite easy. It’s closing out the last 30 per cent [which is hard] … and that’s to do with attitudes.”

He said the Afghan and Iraq wars to the past 15 years, where gay troops had served openly for the first time, had changed attitudes on the front line.

Those that were slightly frightened of what they didn’t understand; what they learned from those wars, there they fought alongside gay people, was that you can be homosexual and extremely brave … people came back saying, these guys are part of the team.”

Stonewall Gets Terrible Reviews, Bombs at the Box Office

Based on the Stonewall riots of 1969, an event which is regarded as the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement, Stonewall stars Jeremy Irvine as fictional gay white man Danny Winters. In director Roland Emmerich’s take on the historic events, Danny threw the first brick of the riots and was a leading and important figure in the protests.

Backlash to the film has been widespread, from were actually at the Stonewall riots as well as members of the LGBT community who feel that the film does not, in any way, accurately portray the real events.

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Many of the leaders in the riots, which saw police clash with patrons of New York’s Stonewall Inn bar, were trans women and trans women of colour such as Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, while a black butch lesbian, Stormé DeLarverie, was the first person at the riots to throw a punch.

However, Emmerich’s Stonewall only features Marsha P. Johnson (played by a cis man, no less), making no mention of the others, despite Emmerich’s comments that the movie “honors” Rivera and the rest of the real-life activists who were there.

As a result, many critics have panned the film, calling it an abominable bungling of what happened, and that, even as a dramatised retelling of the events, it just doesn’t hold up.

Over on The Heights, Hannah McLaughlin says that the film “couldn’t be more whitewashed than if it was doused in Clorox Bleach and thrown into the laundry three times over”. Meanwhile, Andrew O’Hehir at Salon compares the film to “saying that Rosa Parks was a tired lady who decided she’d rather rest her feet” and says that “the process of forgetting “Stonewall” begins now, and the erasure will be total”.

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Meanwhile, Richard Lawson at Vanity Fair calls Stonewall a “disaster movie” and that it’s “perhaps even worse than some feared it would be—more offensive, more white-washed, even more hackishly made”, and “it’s so bad that it’s hard to know where to begin a catalogue of the film’s sins”, says the writer.

These are just excerpts from a handful of absolutely abysmal reviews, but the majority of reviews about the film have called it atrocious in some way, shape or form. Movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has Stonewall at just 10% (which is essentially a rating of 1 out of 10), indicating that this one is well and truly rotten.

And though Roland Emmerich has responded to the criticisms of his film, the director seems to suggest that those who watched the film just didn’t seem to ‘get it’. In an interview with Buzzfeed, the director explains that

I didn’t make this movie only for gay people, I made it also for straight people. I kind of found out, in the testing process, that actually, for straight people, [Danny] is a very easy in. Danny’s very straight-acting. He gets mistreated because of that. [Straight audiences] can feel for him”.

People having responded negatively to this too, saying that a film about LGBT history, that features LGBT people shouldn’t have to ‘pander’ to straight viewers and that if that’s what straight viewers need to sympathised with an oppressed group of people, then that’s their problem, not ours. However, Emmerich has also said that once people see the film, they’ll feel positively about it.

Unfortunately, it seems that few people are interested in seeing Stonewall as, in what many would call a ‘karmic balance’, the film has utterly tanked at the box office. It cost over $15 million to make but it raked in just $112,414 during its opening weekend and with 129 theatres showing it, that’s an average of $871 and 107 people per theatre.

Stonewall’s box office embarrassment and the backlash, while it has led to people (both LGBT and cis/straight) researching what actually happened during the riots, has raised questions about the future of LGBTQ+ focused films. Does this mean that fewer Hollywood companies will be willing to make them due to a perceived risk?

Or does it just mean that filmmakers will take the time to consider what the community wants, rather than catering to the (already well catered to) needs of straight, cisgendered moviegoers? For now, the answers are unclear but we’ll be quick to update you on all of the silver screen’s relevant goings on.

Northern Ireland Same-Sex Couples Are Being ‘Left Behind’ On Equal Marriage

We are only a couple of months away from same-sex weddings in Ireland, after the Republic of Ireland’s Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald brought forward a Marriage Bill, following the country overwhelmingly voted in favour of equality in a public referendum on same-sex marriage.

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However, the same cannot be said for Northern Ireland, where marriage equality continues to be blocked.

The Democratic Unionist Party has vetoed equality bills in the Stormont assembly four times, using powers granted by the country’s peace agreement to file a ‘petition of concern’ on the issue.

Amnesty International has now stepped, and spoken out against the country’s continuing ban on same-sex marriage.

Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International, said:

The move by the Irish government is a welcome step towards equality for same-sex couples in the Republic of Ireland.

However, it also underlines the extent to which Belfast has been left behind by London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff when it comes to equality for gay people.

Soon Northern Ireland will be the only part of the UK or Ireland where the government bans same-sex couples from getting married and refuses to recognise same-sex marriages conducted elsewhere on these islands.

Most people in Northern Ireland want to live in a country where unequal laws are consigned to the history books. If Northern Ireland’s politicians continue to fail on equal rights to civil marriage, then it will be left to the Courts.”

In a bid to break the deadlock on the issue, the UK Labour Party recently called for Northern Ireland to follow in the footsteps of the Republic of Ireland, by holding a binding public referendum on the issue.

A number of leading LGBT groups in Northern Ireland have rejected Labour’s calls for a referendum on same-sex marriage.

In a joint statement, a number of LGBT organisations – The Rainbow Project, HereNI, Cara-Friend, SAIL and Gender Jam NI – said that the idea of putting equality to a public vote was fundamentally wrong, and that their resources are better spent helping LGBT people than running an election campaign.

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While the Republic of Ireland needed to make constitutional changes to permit same-sex marriage, requiring a referendum, the groups say equality can be passed in Northern Ireland through normal legislation – as was the case in England, Wales and Scotland.

The joint statement said:

We greatly appreciate the time taken by the Shadow Secretary of State to meet with our sector.

We welcome any and all opportunities to speak with political leaders about the state of LGB&T equality in Northern Ireland and Ivan was very willing to listen to our objectives and concerns not only on marriage equality but on wider issues of homophobia, transphobia, health care provision and education. We hope to continue these engagements with Ivan and his party colleagues.

However, we fundamentally disagree with Labour’s suggestion that the on-going and unlawful denial of the right to marry for LGB&T people in Northern Ireland should or could be resolved by a public referendum.

Of course we were delighted to see the ‘yes’ victory in the Republic of Ireland and many of us were deeply involved with that campaign but it would be inappropriate to suggest that the referendum campaign could be replicated in the North.

We believe that the current patchwork of marriage laws across the UK is wrong and that it went wrong in Westminster.

Not only did the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act create the untenable situation where some marriages are only recognised in some regions of the UK but it placed unacceptable burdens on trans individuals to seek the permission of their spouse in order to access legal recognition of their gender.

We believe that, were a referendum to be called, equality would win – but it is wholly unacceptable to expect the LGB&T community in Northern Ireland, in the face of the most organised opposing forces in the UK, to secure a win in a referendum which would not be proposed in any other region of the UK.”

Uganda’s President Says He Will Not Pursue Further Anti-Gay Legislation In The Country

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has declared that he will not pursue further anti-gay legislation, after previous attempts to strengthen the country’s anti LGBT legislation were defeated.

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Museveni told reporters last week.

That law was not necessary, because we already have a law which was left by the British which deals with this issue.”

The long-standing leader signed the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill last February. The law called for repeat offenders to be sentenced to 14 years in prison and to make it a criminal offence not to report someone for being gay.

However, the country’s Constitutional Court later struck down the bill, finding that the speaker of parliament acted illegally by moving ahead with a vote on the law despite at least three lawmakers objecting to a lack of quorum.

Uganda’s dreadfully homophobic legislation already punishes gay sex with up to life imprisonment under a colonial-era anti-sodomy law. Same-sex marriage is also banned as part of the country’s constitution.

An asylum seeker from Uganda covers his face with a paper bag in order to protect his identity as he marches with the LGBT Asylum Support Task Force during the Gay Pride Parade in Boston

The law was heavily criticised in the west, with the US announcing sanctions against Uganda, following the implementation of the law.

In July, a Ugandan presidential candidate made history – by affirming that he opposes homophobia.

With the 2016 election approaching, former prime minister Amama Mbazazi stated that he opposes homophobia – making him one of the only Ugandan politicians to ever do so.

Last month, a small but visible group of people took to the streets of Uganda to celebrate Pride – a year since the controversial anti-gay law was scrapped.

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Why Are The ‘Stonewall’ Movie Makers Trying to Rewrite Our Queer History?

Things have never been completely easy for LGBTQ people in society, but this was especially clear during the 1960s.

During this time, it was custom for gay/LGBT-friendly bars in the United States to be raided by the police and in the summer of 1969, iconic New York bar The Stonewall Inn was such a target.

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Unlike the usual raid process, in which women would be taken to the bathroom so that a police officer could determine their sex (with trans women being arrested) and men having to produce their ids. Many trans women refused to be checked and men refused to hand over their ids, and so the police planned to take many of them to the police station.

However, with transport having not yet arrived and with those who hadn’t been arrested staying, a crowd began to grow outside of the bar.

As tensions rose between Stonewall Inn patrons, LGBTQ bystanders and the police, violence soon ensued, with LGBTQ folk being assaulted and verbally abused and with bricks, bottles and more being thrown.

With chanting and singing, the events soon erupted into a full on riot and in all, there were three days of further rioting and protests as LGBTQ people were fed up of being mistreated by both the police and the mafia (who ran The Stonewall Inn at the time). The Stonewall Riots were also the basis for the gay pride events that we know today.

It’s these events that filmmaker Roland Emmerich aimed to capture in his upcoming movie Stonewall.

The film follows a character named Danny Winters (a white, cisgendered, gay man) and his involvements in the riots. But Danny is fictional; the character doesn’t exist and Emmerich created him for the sake of the movie, something that doesn’t sit right with many of the people who were both there and have also learnt about the original events.

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Emmerich explained to Vulture that he created Danny as “if you can cast a central character with one or two famous actors, you have a good chance to get the movie financed” but the Stonewall riots didn’t have a central character (according to the filmmaker).

Many have disagreed with this statement, point out that there were key figures in the events, particularly trans women of colour such as Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, who are regarded of leaders of the event. And there’s also butch lesbian Stormé DeLarverie who is believed to have thrown the very first punch of the riots.

The frustration comes not just from the fact that a white gay man is taking centre stage, as often happens in LGBTQ-themed media, but it’s that the film is just historically inaccurate.

In a statement, Emmerich says that when Stonewall is released, “audiences will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there — including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Ray Castro”, but the filmmaker clearly fails to realise that Sylvia Rivera isn’t even portrayed in the film at all.

Those in favour of the film are keen to note that the film is highly dramatised and isn’t meant to be historically accurate, but one big question is: then why did Emmerich decide to use the Stonewall riots as a foundations for the movie? Why even call it ‘Stonewall’ if it didn’t try and stay true to what actually happened?

Others have criticised the backlash to the movie as people being unfair to white, cis, gay men, but given that trans women of colour are the most common target of anti-LGBTQ violence, are often left out of the LGBTQ rights conversation and are also massively underrepresented in the media, you can understand why people are furious why they’re being written out of their own history too.

Photographer Chronicles the Struggles of LGBT People Around the World

We are told the world is a safer and more welcoming place for those of us in the LGBTQ community, than it was ten years ago.

But there is still a growing number of national and regional governments have passed laws legalising gay marriage and unions between people of the same sex.

Other countries have tightened legislation that prohibits anti-gay discrimination and hate speech targeted at people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch wrote earlier this year.

There’s been enormous progress globally and locally. It’s important to note that the fight for LGBT rights is not a Western phenomenon; many of the governments at the forefront of the defence of LGBT rights are from the developing world.”

But while LGBT rights may be generally improving around the world, many more people live in countries where homosexual acts or identifying as gay can lead to state-ordered physical punishment.

Human rights groups say that in some of these countries — including Russia, Nigeria and Uganda — governments have targeted LGBT people as a way to redirect peoples’ anger from the governments to a vulnerable minority. All three countries have introduced anti-gay legislation in the past three years and in all three countries human rights groups have reported simultaneous increases in attacks on LGBT people.

Photographer Robin Hammond, who is from New Zealand, first started documenting these issues when he was on assignment in Lagos, Nigeria, and read about five people who had been arrested for being gay. He then decided to expand his work to seven countries, photographing LGBT people of 15 different nationalities.

Hammond says he wants to improve peoples’ lives rather than simply chronicling their suffering and is today launching a non-governmental organization named Witness Change, which aims to kickstart social media campaigns and put on traveling exhibitions to help raise funds for grassroots organizations that are dealing with the highlighted human rights issues, including LGBT rights.

He described the process he has developed for taking his portraits — and for asking his subjects to write down their personal stories:

Evangelical Pastor Apologises for Preaching Hatred Towards LGBT Community

An evangelical pastor is begging forgiveness for spending much of his life preaching that homosexuality is wrong.

In post written on Reddit, he writes

I almost feel like I owe a debt to the LGBT community or an apology perhaps. Ya see, I spent years as an evangelical pastor, and as I’m sure we’re all aware, this didn’t afford me a lot of freedom in neither my sexuality, nor the world views I projected.”

His message continues:

I always felt strange, almost wrong, telling teenagers that ‘homosexuality is wrong’ and quoting other things that I was taught to quote to discredit the freedom of sexual expression or gender identification.

A year ago, I left that career path because I couldn’t hide that I can no longer support many of their perspectives. The one thing that has torn at my heart is that I taught and encouraged a younger generation to have a negative worldview of any LGBT individual or organization.

I fight back tears now as I regret that there are some who grew passionate about opposing this wonderful group of individuals. I know that if I stayed quiet, no one would miss a wink of sleep and I don’t think that I am changing anything.

But I want to tell anyone who may read this that I love you for who you are.

When I left the church, everyone turned their back on me, including my now ex-wife, who discovered that I am attracted to men and women equally.

So I don’t really have anyone to say this to. And if only two or three people read this, that’s okay. But I’m on course to genuinely love people and accept all walk of life from here on, and LGBT individuals need more people to turn to the rainbow side.”

Obama Faces LGBT Rights Challenge in Kenya

As the United States has grown more tolerant during Obama’s presidency, African countries have imposed harsher laws on gays and lesbians.

However, in an interview with BBC’s John Sopel prior to his visit Africa, the President spoke openly of his support for the global LGBT community, before rebuking comments made by the Kenya’s deputy leader, William Ruto.

When asked about the difficulties he may face during his visit, Obama said he has been “very blunt” about his beliefs surrounding the subject of LGBT rights, and voiced his distaste for Mr Ruto’s comments, saying he is “not a fan” of discrimination on any level, including discrimination “on the basis of sexual orientation or gender.”

Responding to a question on Kenya – and how he will deal with Mr Ruto, who recently stated, “We have heard that in the US they have allowed gay relations and other dirty things”

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President Obama said:

Yeah. Well, I disagree with him on that, don’t I? And I’ve had this experience before when we’ve visited Senegal in my last trip to Africa. I think that the president there President Sall, is doing a wonderful job in moving the country forward – a strong democrat. But in a press conference, I was very blunt about my belief that everybody deserves fair treatment, equal treatment in the eyes of the law and the state.

And that includes gays, lesbians, transgender persons. I am not a fan of discrimination and bullying of anybody on the basis of race, on the basis of religion, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender.”

He also said that he believes his personal connection to the country will aid him in his efforts to convince them to change their stance on homosexuality.

And as somebody who has family in Kenya and knows the history of how the country so often is held back because women and girls are not treated fairly, I think those same values apply when it comes to different sexual orientations.”

The President’s comments echo that of the US Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons, as well as the path other countries like the UK are going down to promote LGBT rights at home and abroad.

Obama said:

This job is an important new tool for us because it allows us to engage in a globally consistent manner at a reasonably senior level with governments overseas to explain our views and our policy projection here, which is actually not very controversial.”

A White House spokesperson had previously stated that the President had every intention of discussing gay rights on his trip to Kenya – despite the country’s warnings not to.

Anti gay protesters have made repeated attempts to discourage the President to from promoting gay rights during his visit to the country, taking to social media and the streets of Nairobi in an attempt to dissuade any discussion on the matter.

A Kenyan political group had also planned to protest the President’s upcoming visit by asking 5,000 people to march naked through the streets – however, the march was cancelled after the Kenyan security forces intervened.

New Film About Stonewall Riots to Get a September Release

We are very excited to hear director Roland Emmerich’s film about the 1969 Stonewall riots, is set to open in US theatres on 25 September.

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Emmerich who also produced the movie, said in a statement

I was always interested and passionate about telling this important story, but I feel it has never been more timely than right now.”

Emmerich, also points out that less than 50 years ago being gay was considered a mental illness, gay people could not be employed by the government, it was illegal for gay people to congregate and police brutality against gays went unchecked.

Today, thanks to the events set in motion by the Stonewall riots, the gay rights movement continues to make incredible strides towards equality. In the past several weeks alone, the Boy Scouts of America has moved to lift its ban on gay leaders, the Pentagon will allow transgender people to serve openly in the military, and SCOTUS has declared that same-sex marriage is legal nationwide in all 50 states.”

Emmerich points to the Stonewall riots as ‘the first time gay people said “Enough!”‘

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Something that really affected me when I read about Stonewall was that when the riot police showed up in their long line, these kids formed their own long line and sang a raunchy song. That, for me, was a gay riot, a gay rebellion. … It was the kids that went to this club that consisted of hustlers and Scare Queens, and all kinds of people that you think would never resist the police, and they did it.”

The film – written by openly gay writer Jon Robin Baitz, and stars Jeremy Irvine and newcomer Jonny Beauchamp – focuses on fictional young man who is kicked out of his parent’s home for being gay.

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The man flees to New York, where he befriends a group of street kids in Greenwich Village who soon introduce him to the local watering hole The Stonewall Inn.

He and his friends experience discrimination and are repeatedly harassed by the police and a rage begins to build until it erupts in a storm of anger.

The film was shot in and around Montreal with an elaborate set recreating the interior and exterior of the Stonewall Inn and the entire Christopher Street neighbourhood.

Poll Finds Nearly 70% of Northern Irish People Support for Sam-Sex Marriage, Despite Political Opposition

A new poll has shown that support for the legalisation of gay marriage in Northern Ireland currently sits at almost 70%, despite a recent Northern Ireland Assembly motion to recognise it being voted down.

Despite the introduction of same-sex marriage in England, Scotland and Wales, the DUP government in Northern Ireland continues to block all legislation on the issue.

However, a poll has this week found that same-sex marriage has overwhelming popular support.

The Ipsos MORI survey found 68% of people in the country now support same-sex marriage – even higher than the 62.1% who voted ‘Yes’ in the Republic of Ireland.

Support is much higher among young people, with 82% of 16 to 34-year-olds and 75% of 35 to 54-year-olds supporting same-sex marriage.

There was a large division in support for same-sex marriage along religious lines – Ipsos MORI found that 75 per cent of Catholics supported it, compared to 57 per cent of Protestants.

When broken down by party support, Sinn Fein voters were most likely to support same-sex marriage, with 80 per cent being in favour.

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Even among DUP supporters, 45% of people disagree with their own party’s stance on the issue.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, said:

The people have spoken and it’s clear they don’t want Northern Ireland to be left behind on marriage equality. This poll shows support in Northern Ireland for equal marriage is even higher than in Ireland’s landslide referendum.

Northern Ireland’s politicians are badly out of step with the people on marriage equality. Continuing resistance to bringing Northern Ireland in step with all our neighbours is unacceptable. It’s high time Northern Ireland said a big ‘we do too’ to equality.

The Stormont Executive should bring forward marriage equality legislation without further delay.”

However, even though support in Northern Ireland is currently much higher than both of these figures, it seems unlikely that a motion to recognise it would pass in the Assembly while the DUP continue to oppose it.

Northern Ireland is currently the only nation in the UK where same-sex marriage is not allowed.

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LGBT Rights Campaigners Tackle Job and Housing Discrimination Following Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

Last month, history was made when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 in favour of same-sex marriage. While some states around the county have been steadily bringing same-sex marriage into law, in many others it remained illegal to marry a same-sex partner, meaning that same-sex couples may have to travel across the other side of the country just to get married.

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s ruling, same-sex marriage is now legal in all of the United States, and same-sex couples can get married wherever they would like.

This is a monumental achievement and it follows the growing acceptance of the LGBT community  – something also signified by the fact that many straight allies and many companies have turned their social media icons ‘rainbow’ in support. However, it’s not the be all and end all of the LGBT rights movements and much needs to be done.

For example, in 27 states, employees can still be fired for being gay. While President Obama did recently sign an executive order that banned federal agencies and contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity, that doesn’t include everyone.
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Furthermore, some local governments have antidiscrimination laws (even if the state does not) but Ruth Colker, an expert on discrimination law at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, told The New York Times that

typically, the penalty for violating a city ordinance is more akin to a traffic violation” and that “state-level penalties can be much more significant.”

As a result, LGBT rights activists will be tackling job and housing related discrimination as their big, post-marriage equality fight. While there has been a lot of push back previously, specially from right-wing religious groups who feel that discrimination law will be used to persecute them for their religious beliefs, things do seem to be looking up.

Chai R. Feldblum, a commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, says that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, LGBT discrimination is illegal and that they have pursued over 200 cases based on this. Meanwhile, Shannon P. Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says that

I think there’s a very strong consensus now among advocacy groups that we need a broader bill that puts discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity on the same footing as race, religion and gender”

It is yet to be seen how activists’ efforts will pay off, or the work of politicians such as Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon (who wants to specifically add LGBT protections to the Civil Rights Act), but hopefully the Supreme Court’s ruling will snowball into comprehensive equality.

 

Mormon Church Donates to LGBTQ Charity

Mormons and the LGBTQ community historically haven’t gotten along.

The church has been active in efforts to end gay marriage, and even the Supreme Court’s most recent opinion hasn’t deterred them from fighting. So it came as a surprise to almost everyone that the anti-gay church just made its first donation to an LGBT cause.

While the church still doesn’t approve of homosexuality, that didn’t stop them from making a recent donation to the Utah Pride Center, an organisation that helps to serve homeless LGBTQ youth.

LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented in the homeless population. Over 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT, and the number of youth has always outpaced the number of beds.

The Mormon Church donated approximately $2,500 to help fund the Pride Center’s food pantry, which serves close to 40 homeless youth every week.

However, as the donation was being processed, the church’s governing body sent a letter to congregational leaders reminding them that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Student Bravely Wears Rainbow Flag and Comes Out at her Graduation Ceremony in China

Wan Qing made sure her graduations was a big occasion, and brought the fight for equal rights to her academic ceremony.

Pictures show 22-year-old Wan hugging the university president, with both of them holding up fists in solidarity with the LGBT community, reports Shanghaiist.

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Wan Qing, who was graduating from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, took the opportunity to come out as a lesbian, draped in a rainbow flag.

Wan said on her Weibo account:

I’m a lesbian and I hope the legalisation of gay marriage will not be the end but a starting point for equal rights.

Those who don’t want to get married receive respect too.”

Her emotional post was shared more than 3,500 times.

Inspired by the US Supreme Court ruling legalising same-sex marriage, she said:

The dean of media and entertainment studies shook my hand and complimented my action. Many other professors didn’t even know what the rainbow flag stands for! I had to explain.”

A journalist with the university newspaper alleged that Communist Youth League Committee professors at the school asked for pictures of Wan’s rainbow flag to be pulled from their WeChat account, but Wan says she has only received positive messages.

The UK’s Capital Gets Ready for London Pride 2015

Thousands of people are expected to turn out in the UK’s capital today, for one of the world’s largest LGBT festivals.

This year the London Pride march has taken on the theme of ‘heroes’ and will celebrate those who have made the biggest difference to the LGBT community.

The parade begins at Baker Street at 1pm and moves through Oxford Street, which is closed for the event, before finishing at Whitehall at 4.30pm.

More than 250 group will be taking part in the parade with prizes for the best costumes and best campaign group.

As well as the parade there is also three musical venues taking place from 1pm.

Entertainers include Blue, Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro and Rebecca Ferguson, who will appear on the main stage in Trafalgar Square from 1pm – 8pm.

There will also be a Women’s Stage in Dean Street and a Cabaret Stage in Wardour Street.

The annual parade marks the end of a week of Pride events and celebrations.

The route:

  • The Parade assembles on Baker Street at 1pm
  • It turns left into Oxford Street, past Selfridges, Bond Street Underground Station
  • At Oxford Circus it turns right into Regent Street and continues down to Piccadilly Circus
  • Then down Lower Regent Street and into Waterloo Place, then left into Pall Mall, heading right into Cockspur Street and across the south-western end of Trafalgar Square
  • It turns into Whitehall, before ending at Whitehall Place at about 4.30pm

The parade starts at 1pm and ends at 4.30pm

The Parade:

  • More than 15,000 spectators are expected to join the party
  • The theme of this year’s parade is Pride Heroes
  • It features more than 250 community groups, dancers and performers
  • Individuals cannot join the Parade unless they are in a registered group
  • There is a suggested donation of £3 for Trafalgar Square participants

Yogurt Advert Feature Lesbian Couple Prompts Homophobic Backlash from ‘One Million Moms’

The group ‘One Million Moms’ have history of going after the LGBT community.

A few years ago it was Ellen, because how dare a lesbian be a spokesperson for JC Penney.

Now it is the new TV advert for yoghurt company Chobani.

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Chobani Attempts to Normalize Sin.”

In the new ad, a tousled and clearly undressed blonde relaxes in bed, enjoying a carton of Chobani. She languidly licks the spoon, scoops out the remains with her finger and looks slyly over at her sleeping bedmate, whose foot she teasingly strokes.

Then she gets up, pulling the sheet with her, and her partner — who like her is clearly wearing a wedding ring, by the way — rouses gently and smiles.

As the Moms put it,

This commercial not only promotes same sex relationships by including two lesbians, but also same sex marriage because the two women wear matching wedding bands. The ad states, ‘To Love this Life is to Live it Naturally.’ There is nothing natural about homosexuality.”

Chobani’s chief marketing officer, meanwhile, says,

We’re a national food company that has beliefs, from animal welfare to equality.”

The Moms do ask, somewhat reasonably,

What does selling yogurt have to do with gay sex?”

and of course the answer is not a whole lot.

That’s what makes the Chobani ad unique and important. God knows using sex in ads in nothing new. Even using sex in yogurt ads is nothing new. Using gay people in ads in increasingly common, too — but the trend of the past few years has been steadfastly portraying them as your safe, family-friendly neighbours.

Honey Maid’s sweet Love ad from last year rode on the tagline of “This is wholesome,” and more recently, Wells Fargo has been running a spot featuring a pair of nice lesbians learning sign language in preparation of adopting a deaf child.

Miley Cyrus Launches #InstaPride to Share Stories of Transgender and Gender Expansive People

Pop star Miley Cyrus is using her media strength to aid the trans acceptance movement, by partnering with Instagram to help non-cis people share their stories.

The singer announced the #InstaPride hashtag on Monday (June 15) to get the conversation going.

Shooting @isupersheng for #happyhippiepresents #instapride ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

A photo posted by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on

Cyrus wrote on Instagram, accompanying a photo of smiley-faced balloons — a design that has become Miley’s logo lately.

I’m launching #InstaPride today, in partnership with @Instagram, to share stories of transgender and gender expansive people from around the country. Over the next 2 weeks, you’ll meet them and the people in their lives who support them, as we highlight their stories of resilience.”

Her Happy Hippie Foundation, an organisation that offers services to homeless and LGBT youth, also supports the effort. Miley, who has been vocal about her own gender fluidity recently, invited different people around the country to take part in the project. The first story revealed on the #InstaPride hashtag is of Leo Sheng, a transgender man who has been transitioning for the past year and a half.

Matching tats with @isupersheng 💪⚓️#happyhippiepresents #instapride @instagram @happyhippiefdn

A photo posted by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on

For the past year and a half, my Instagram photos have been about my transition-filled life — graduating high school, starting college, making new connections. But the most obvious theme has been my transition from female to male. For me, a picture really does say a thousand words.”

Miley Cyrus Says She Identified as Bisexual While Filming ‘Hannah Montana’, But had to Keep Relationships with Women Private

Miley Cyrus has opened up about her sexuality and gender identity, revealing she told her mother Tish Cyrus she was bisexual at age 14.

Cyrus has always made it clear that she’s very comfortable with her sexuality, but for the first time she’s revealing that she realised at just 14 years old that she was bisexual.

In a new interview with Paper magazine, Cyrus reveals that she realised she was sexually attracted to girls as well as boys when she was still filming her hit television series, Hannah Montana.

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She added she considers her sexuality and gender identity as fluid, saying she doesn’t ‘relate to being a boy or girl’ and doesn’t need her partner to relate to being a boy or girl either.

I remember telling [my mom] I admire women in a different way. And she asked me what that meant. And I said, I love them. I love them like I love boys. And it was so hard for her to understand. She didn’t want me to be judged and she didn’t want me to go to hell. But she believes in me more than she believes in any god. I just asked for her to accept me. And she has.”

Cyrus also opened up about her sex life, revealing

I am literally open to every single thing that’s consenting and doesn’t involve an animal and everyone is of age.

Everything that’s legal, I’m down with. Yo, I’m down with any adult – anyone over the age of 18 who is down to love me.’

Although Cyrus had opened up to her mom, she was still just 14 years old and the star of Disney’s Hannah Montana — so sharing the news publicly was not an option.

Interestingly enough, Miley also told the magazine that she’s had some very serious relationships with women that were never made public.

People never really looked at it, and I never brought it into the spotlight.”

Cyrus launched the Happy Hippie Foundation, a non-profit organisation aiming to raise awareness for issues facing homeless and LGBTI youth.

In particular, she aims to help young people who have run away from, or been rejected by their families.

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Same-Sex Relations to be De-Criminalised in Mozambique

The Mozambique, situated in southern Africa, will officially be added to the list of countries with no law against same-sex relations as from 29th June this year.

Legislators specifically revised the penal code that allowed ‘security measures’ to be taken against people ‘who habitually engage in vices against nature’. A clause used to discriminate against and prosecute LGBTI people. Punishment could have been up to 3 years in ta workhouse. However, officials say this was done rarely it was considered by many to be a meaningless clause in the statute books.

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique said:

The new Penal Code sweeps away a great deal of the musty colonial legacy, including the mention of “vices against nature” Now not even the most contorted of arguments could claim that acts of gay sex between consenting adults are somehow illegal.”

Lambda, the country’s LGBTI rights group, has pushed for the government to fully recognize same-sex relationships. While gay sex may be legal come the end of June, this does not mean LGBTI people are guaranteed equality.

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Our primary interest is to precipitate a change in society so that it becomes more favourable to the free expression of sexual orientation and gender identity. The silence of the Mozambican state legitimises discrimination and strengthens the stigma to which LGBT people are subject in the communities, workplaces, schools, etc.

Above all, it perpetuates the idea that LGBTI citizens are less important than all other Mozambicans, thus placing them in a situation of inferiority, disadvantage and inequality.”

In the past, Joaquim Chissano, president of Mozambique, has pleaded for African leaders to be respectful of the human rights of sexual minorities and move away from discriminating against them.

Chissano, the current co-chair of the High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) made the comments in an open letter published by The Africa Report as African leaders finalise a document that will replace the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for Africa after 2015.

Gap’s LGBT Employees Share Their Stories For GLAAD’s ‘Got Your Back’ Pride Month Campaign (Video)

Thirteen Gap employees have shared their coming out stories in a powerful new video for GLAAD’s #GotYourBack campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=7WnP3c9EpOk

The video is the latest instalment in GLAAD’s on-going efforts to encourage allies to speak out in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community throughout Pride Month.

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Paul Tew of Gap Inc.’s GEAR (Gay Employees, Allies and Resources) said told the Huffington Post, the project was in line with his corporation’s beliefs.

Lifting voices out of isolation — and vocalizing support — is a critical step in achieving equality. As a global company, it’s important to us that all of our employees and customers feel this support, from a local colleague to a Gap associate across the world,”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis echoed those sentiments, noting,

From classrooms to board rooms, locker rooms to living rooms, it’s critical that allies take an active role in accelerating acceptance of their LGBT friends, family and neighbours.”

She then added,

By sharing the moving stories of LGBT employees, Gap Inc. is sending an important message about the power of love and acceptance.”

New Report Underlines Fierce Inequalities American LGBTs Face

While marriage equality may become a nationwide phenomenon this summer, LGBT Americans will still suffer many inequities, a new report from the Movement Advancement Project points out.

Sixty-one percent of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population in the U.S. will continue to live in states with medium or low legal protections — or that have outright hostile laws.”

Mapping LGBT Equality in America ranks U.S. states by their LGBT rights policies, rating them as high, low, medium, or negative in regard to equality.

The state rankings derive from their policies in a variety of areas, including anti-discrimination law, relationship recognition, health care, parenting rights, and much more.

California ranks highest of all states, Louisiana lowest.

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Twelve states and the District of Columbia, collectively home to 39% of the LGBT population, rank in the high equality category; 10 states, with 9% of LGBT Americans, medium equality; 13 states, encompassing 23% of LGBT people, low equality; and 15 states, with 28%of LGBT Americans, negative equality.

The report notes that even if the Supreme Court makes marriage equality the law of the land when it rules on the cases it heard in April, 52% of LGBT people would be at risk of being fired from their jobs, kicked out of their homes, or denied access to doctor’s offices and restaurants; 86% would live in states where their child is not protected from discrimination in school for having LGBT parents; and 81% would live in states that allow harmful “conversion therapy” to be used on minors.

The proportion of LGBT people living in states with high and medium overall equality would remain unchanged, but 12 states would shift from negative equality states to become low equality states.

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MAP executive director Ineke Mushovic said in a recent press release

Without question, a victory at the Supreme Court would be a transformative in helping advance equality for LGBT people. “However, many other laws are needed to fully protect LGBT people and their families. For example, while same-sex couples may soon be able to marry in their home state, that same state’s laws may fail to protect LGBT youth from being bullied in schools, lack non-discrimination laws covering LGBT workers, or lack laws and policies that help transgender people update the gender marker on their identity documents. One state may have high equality while a neighbouring state has hostile laws. Or a state may have high levels of equality for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people while offering almost no legal protections to transgender people.”

Read the full report at MAP’swebsite, which also offers continually updated information on individual states’ LGBT policies.