A new study has found that 6.5% of Australians in their 20s identify as gay, more than any other age group surveyed. The survey asked 18,000 Australians aged 14 and over to agree or disagree with the statement: “I consider myself a homosexual.”
The general trend shows a steady increase in people identifying as gay across all age groups. The figure increased from just over 4%t in 2006 to 2008.
Roy Morgan Research chief executive Michael Levine said that the overall rising numbers reveal a cultural shift. “Finding out the ‘real’ number, therefore, is less about getting a head-count and more a gauge of just how open we are." Read More
US: Protecting students from homophobic bullying
Students who are bullied because of sexual orientation have willing defenders in their classmates -- motivated by leadership, courage, their beliefs in justice, altruism and having lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender friends, according to a Boston College professor and co-author of a new report on bullying at school.
With as many as eight out of every 10 LGBT students enduring bullying at school, the findings can help shape new programs to make schools safer, said Lynch School of Education Associate Professor Paul Poteat, who presents the study today at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
"Homophobic behavior often goes unchallenged, and there has been little attention to the large segment of students who witness homophobic behavior," said Poteat. "It is important to distinguish those who actually intercede or support students when homophobic behavior occurs."
An eight-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found between 12 to 28 percent of LGBT students reported they had been threatened or injured at school the prior year. The 2011 Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network national survey found 82 percent of LGBT. Read More
UK: Phrase 'that's gay' acceptable to nearly half of young people
The last 15 years have seen some big changes to the laws on sexuality, from equal age of consent to same sex marriage. But over that time the words we use to talk about the subject have changed and social media allows people to make mistakes more easily. It also allows people to react to possible offence more quickly & easily.
Of the words about sexuality which put to the audience, "faggot" was the one that people found most offensive. Many agreed the context in which a word is used is as relevant as the person who is using it. Some young people were also confused about which words people would find offensive when talking about sexuality. Around 15% didn't know if "queen" was an inappropriate term while almost 10% believed using the word homosexual was not acceptable in any circumstance. Read More
Guam: Half of university students support gay marriage, according to poll
A poll of students at the University of Guam found 55% of students support same-sex marriage while 29% oppose it. About 16% had no opinion.
"Almost everybody you talk to on Guam has an uncle or an aunt or a cousin or a sister ror brother who is gay, and so this is a readily understandable sort of issue. So one of the things, when we focus group people on this particular topic, having gay people in stable relationships is preferable to having them in unstable relationships, so this may be an extension of that kind of view," said the researcher. Read More
Russia: Court won't reinstate fired lesbian teacher
A district court in St. Petersburg refused to reinstate a lesbian music teacher who was fired in December from a local school for “immoral conduct.” The teacher sued the school, seeking reinstatement to her job and 300,000 rubles (roughly $6,000) in compensation for moral damage. In its ruling, the court drew from an expert evaluation of the teacher’s photos from social networks.
The dismissal of the teacher was the result of efforts from anti-gay activist Timur Isaev, who was engaged in “forced outing.” This means he searched for lesbians and gay people on social networks and reported them to their employers. At least 29 teachers were dismissed as a result of his activities before he was arrested on charges of embezzlement.
Isaev repeatedly appealed to the principal of the school, demanding that the teacher be dismissed. In firing the teacher, her principal mention the the social media photos, given to him on a CD by Isaev. Read More
US: Pennsylvania high school students organize “Anti-Gay Day”
Students at a Pennsylvania high school held an “Anti-Gay Day” protest on Thursday, wearing coordinated flannel shirts, writing “anti-gay” on their hands, and sticking Bible verses on LGBT students’ lockers. The anti-gay protest occurred a day after students with the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance held a “Day of Silence,” an event aimed at drawing attention to anti-gay bullying.
“I got called a dyke, a faggot,” Johnson said. “They were calling us every horrible name you can think of.” The national Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network organized a “Day of Silence” around the United States. As part of their protest, Johnson and the other dozen members of the GSA arranged to wear black, paint rainbows on their faces, and stay silent for much of the day.
“This is a troubling turn of events,” wrote Sue Kerr, editor-in-chief of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. “These kids didn’t just spontaneously pull a homophobic move. They have a plan. They have coordinated outfits.” Read More
This LGBT Activist Shamed Her Trolls By Posting Their Pictures Online
This is Elena Klimova. She runs a support group for Russian LGBT teens online called Children-404, where she posts letters from young people about coming out and dealing with discrimination.
The group’s name is a reference to the “page not found” online error and Russia’s law banning “gay propaganda” among minors. One of its slogans is “LGBT Teens: We Exist.”
Klimova gets lots of hate mail for supporting LGBT teens. Yesterday, she posted some of it, with photos of her detractors, in an album called “Beautiful People And The Things They Say To Me” on the Russian social network VKontakte. Read More
Indonesia: Inside the Islamic Boarding School for Transgender People
UK: Union of Jewish Students examines faith and sexuality at NUS conference
The annual NUS Conference in Liverpool brought over 1,000 delegates together to discuss important issues for UK's students. During the conference, Jewish students hosted a fringe event titled ‘Faith not Fear: Fighting for LGBT and Religious Freedom’. Over 200 students attended the event aimed at exploring diversity in religion and the LGBT experience. Read More
Germany: Religious freedom? Catholic school dumps lesbian principal
The sudden termination of the work contract for a lesbian head of a kindergarten in this Bavarian town has sparked widespread criticism. When the woman told her employer at the Catholic-run school of her plans to marry her partner this coming summer, she had to sign a severance agreement.
Though the principal is apparently abiding by a confidentiality agreement, local politicians are taking up her cause. Ulrike Gote, a Green Party’s spokeswoman in the state of Bavaria, accuses the Catholic Church of "hypocrisy."
"The Church should actually be delighted that someone wants to marry their partner," Gote says. "These are the kinds of double standards that we have had to deal with for a very long time." Read More
SA’s first transgender teen novel published
A local novel about a transgender teen coming to grips with his true identity has been released in South Africa. It’s believed to be a first.
Miscast, written by Charmaine Kendal, is published by Junkets Publisher. In it, Kendal tells the story of Cathryn, a teenager born as a biological girl, who has always felt that she was in the wrong body, and how she journeys to her real identity. Read More
India: Panjab University to introduce 'third gender' category
Panjab University (PU) will soon introduce a column for transgenders (TG) under 'gender' category in all its application forms, academic testimonials and other relevant documents that are processed or issued by the university.
According to a notification issued by the PU registrar, the PU vice-chancellor has approved certain measures to remove discrimination against the transgender community, to be implemented with immediate effect. In addition, PU will also create transgender-friendly infrastructure like washrooms, restrooms, etc, in its campuses. PU will hold sanitization programmes and awareness workshops for students, teachers and non-teaching staff to bring members of the TG community in the mainstream of life. Read More