US: What’s marriage equality got to do with intersex?

Professor and author Georgiann Davis describes the challenge many intersex people go through in discovering and identifying with a gender and how marriage plays a part. excerpt: 

Intersex people have, consciously or not, been queering marriage long before activists were fighting for marriage equality. Some intersex people, encouraged by medical providers who wanted to make sure our gender identity aligned with the sex they surgically constructed, looked to heterosexual partnering to validate their gender identity.

As it was in my case, marriage was a path by which intersex people learned to accept themselves as “real” women, or in some cases “real” men, while also pleasing their parents, medical providers, and others in their lives by assuring them they made the correct medically unnecessary and irreversible surgical decisions.

When the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, my social media exploded with excitement. Many of my intersex friends from around the world also shared these celebrations. But marriage has historically functioned as a heteronormative institution, and one of the primary ways intersex people have validated their gender assignment and normalized their selves. So I wasn’t surprised that the marriage equality ruling also seemed to cause some uneasiness among a few, albeit a minority, of intersex people and parents of intersex children.  Read More

Asians respond to question: ‘Would you tell your parents if you were gay?’

Asian adults have revealed how their parents would respond if they came out as gay, in a video created to educate others about Asian culture and values. Titled ‘Would You Tell Your Parents If You Were Gay’, in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, a range of adults of all ages answer three important questions: ‘What do Asians think of same-sex marriage?’, ‘Would you you tell your parents if you were gay?’ and ‘What would you do if your son or daughter was gay/lesbian?’

Despite many negative attitudes, some video participants were more accepting. ‘It’s up to the younger people to do their research and see if they can change the minds of the generations before them,’ one woman explained. Read More

Vietnam: Navigating the streets of Ho Chi Minh City

I’ve always been rather skeptical of those who claim to be on Grindr to ‘network’ or ‘look for a room’. Like – really? But having now used Grindr to find a tour guide in Vietnam, I’ve been forced to review my cynicism.
I was in Ho Chi Minh City – formerly known as Saigon, and now often abbreviated to HCMC – with one of my best friends from London. All the organized tours seemed rather expensive. There’s also that feeling of being on a tourist hamster wheel when being shown around a city by an official guide.

My friend suggested I ask the cute Vietnamese guy I’d been flirting with on Grindr if he would be interested in being our guide for the day. A few of the familiar bleeping purrs of Grindr later and the deal was done. Read More

Hungary: In Europe, Pride is a key political barometer. Budapest’s was safe, at times even joyful.

When Pride marchers had filled Elizabeth Bridge, the people walking in the front released hundreds of multicolored balloons, and the thousands of participants let out a happy cheer. I realized it was the first such cheer I had heard since the march began two hours earlier. “You see, it's a hybrid,” said Katalin Orban, a media studies professor who marched with her partner, Zsofia Ban, a prominent Hungarian fiction writer. “It's not like Moscow or Kiev, but it's not like Vienna, either—it's not a celebration.”

Something odd has happened in Europe: The continent's political dividing line seems to have become defined by the way the Pride march proceeds there—if it proceeds at all. In Moscow, an attempt to stage Pride in May was punished with beatings and jailings. In Kiev, Ukraine, in June, the police failed to adequately protect marchers, some of whom were beaten. Later in June, police used water canons to disperse the Pride march in Istanbul, Turkey.

Hungarian pride organizers have worked to normalize the event by attracting corporations, straight allies, and gay celebrities. Unlike last year, marchers did not walk through a tunnel of police in riot gear. But it also meant that spectators were too far away to see anything. This march was a statement, not a spectacle. The gathering place, in front of the opera house, stank of excrement. Shit had apparently been strewn along the bottoms of the trees that line Andrassy Street. This was a milder form of the tactics of Moscow's self-proclaimed Orthodox activists, who consistently throw human waste at LGBTQ demonstrators. Read More

US: Op-ed: LGBT work, housing protections needed now, says NAACP leader

The fight for full equality has been a long and winding journey. It has taken us from the Stonewall Riots and the AIDS pandemic to this moment in time, this place, an America when LGBT Americans have the right to marry in every state in the union. I am proud to have stood with so many on the right side of history, aligned with those who believe that all Americans deserve the dignity of equal treatment.

But our journey is nowhere near over. Because for millions of Americans, you can finally wed the person whose love sustains you, but that marriage could cost you your job, your home, and your basic rights. Because transgender Americans must still battle everyday discrimination in places that most people access without blinking an eye, and no one should be humiliated at the grocery store or dentist. Because for so many, true and lasting equality is still so far away. 

Every American has the right to build their lives on the bedrock principles of hard work and determination, with the full knowledge that if they can get a fair chance, they can earn a living, provide for their families, and protect the ones they love. But for LGBT people living in 31 states, those rights could be denied because of who they are or whom they love. They are judged, not on their performance, but on their personhood.   Read More

India: op-ed Why are we afraid of gays?

When Manabi Bandopadhyay became India's first transgender principal of a Kolkata college, we praised it as a gender-sensitive revolution. However, same-sex marriage in India remains a criminal offence. The attitude of the mainstream society, including political parties towards the Queer Pride March organised by Queer Pride Keralam in Thiruvananthapuram is a reflection that we are a homophobic society. 

There is high level of prejudice against homosexuality in the state though we claim to be progressive. The role of so-called progressive movements should be blamed for this, says P Surendran, who has exhaustively studied the issue of the third gender and the hijada community in the country . "While we cannot expect Gandhians to support such social realities, the communists too have failed to address the rights of LGBT community because they are afraid of such micro narratives," he says. "When you analyse society in terms of class struggle, you cannot comprehend the essence of gender identity and your thinking will end up being monolithic," he explains. 

It is a reality that homosexuals and transgender are prevalent in rural areas but they are afraid of coming out of the closet. Even Malayali women who openly declare their sexual identity abroad are afraid of doing so in their own native place. If we fail to recognize homosexuality as a social reality, which is genetically determined, the society, including police, will keep on hunting homosexuals.  Read More 

Kenya: African LGBTIQ youth speak out

Young African LGBTIQ activists from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda attending the Fifth Changing Faces Changing Spaces conference in Kenya gathered together to discuss issues affecting LGBTIQ youths in Africa. The participants shared our collective observations that the voices of young LGBTIQ Africans are quite often not heard even within LGBTIQ spaces.

There is the erroneous belief that young people lack the ability and capacity to organize due to lack of professional experience as well as misconception about their ability for self-determination around their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. These among other factors have silenced the voices of young LGBTIQ Africans in the struggle for LGBTIQ rights in the continent.

We, young LGBTIQ Africans are a huge part of the movement and in so many instances lead organizations that are not necessarily youth focused but are at the forerun in the struggle for LGBTIQ rights in our regions and countries. We have proven to be a driving force of the movement in Africa; both as leaders and as beneficiaries and are changing the notion that young people are being “recruited” into homosexuality in Africa. Read More 

Ireland: Standing up, being counted in Ireland

Jensen Byrne describes their experience returning home for the marriage referendum--excerpt: Hundreds, possibly thousands, of overseas citizens returned home to vote. #Hometovote trended on Twitter with over 72k mentions in 24 hours. Citizens travelled from as far afield as Namibia, Thailand and Canada and flights to Ireland sold out. Those returning were joined by the 100,000+  primarily young and first-time voters registered  as part of a drive spearheaded by marriage equality campaigners.

LGBTI people and their allies started a 'Call your Granny' movement where people called their elderly relatives and spoke to them about the upcoming vote and what a 'Yes' would mean to them. For many it was the first time they had discussed their sexual orientation or gender identity with a grandparent.

My grandparents all passed when I was young, but my parents are both in their 60’s. My mother, a quiet woman who, while accepting, never spoke about LGBTI issues, broached the topic with friends and acquaintances. She spoke to a friend, my neighbour, who had reservations. She said to her "You never know who your children or grandchildren will be, don't make that assumption now. You might regret it later. Vote with that in mind." Read More

Philippines: ‘Ang usaping manggagawa ay usaping LGBT’ – Claire

In Cabuyao, Laguna, the workers of Tanduay Distillers Inc. who were dismissed from their work continue to fight for their rights. But perhaps not as widely known is how this struggle also affects members of the LGBT community who also continue not to have secure employment because of a pervasive (even if illegal) practice. 

When both Claire and her partner were dismissed, their issue became part of the bigger issue on labor practices in the Philippines – particularly, the contractualization of labor in the country. As Claire said: “This is no longer just an issue of being LGBT. This is an issue of the lack of rights for LGBT & for non-LGBT people.” Read More

Nigeria: Acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people slowly increasing

A new poll conducted by NOI Polls in partnership with Bisi Alimi Foundation and The Initiative for Equal Rights in Nigeria, has mapped awareness, perception, and acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual, people and same-sex relationships among the Nigerian population. While considerable opposition remains for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and their relationships, the poll found that acceptance has grown over previous polls. The findings also suggest that many Nigerians are unwilling to reject lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in their families.

“This poll tells us that Nigerians are not inherently homophobic, but that in the absence of accurate information around gender and sexuality, people are left to believe myths and misinformation,” said Bisi Alimi, founder of the Bisi Alimi Foundation. “The trend in this survey has shown that with a conducive environment to provide unrestrictive and unbiased information about gender and sexuality in Nigeria, we will be able to create a platform for discussion and dialogue where views can be shared and opinions expressed without fear.”  Read More

Jamaica: Police sharpen to work with vulnerable groups

With two weekends of training seminars completed, members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are expected to be more aware of the diverse groups in society and to better understand the safety and security issues facing them. 50 members of the JCF underwent diversity training.

The training sessions made police aware of how to deal with vulnerable groups in carrying out their duties. The areas of focus were women and girls, people living with disabilities, marginalised youth and the LGBT community.

Harrison Henry said that the Jamaican legal framework has been slow to recognise the increasing diversity in the population. She called on participants to make use of the training which will enhance their skills and allow them to carry out their duties conscientiously. She reminded the police that to serve and to protect was not only a moral duty but also a legal one. Read More

Poland: For Poland's gay community, a shift in public attitudes, if not laws

Many European Union nations are enhancing rights for their LGBT citizens. But not Catholic Poland. This former Soviet satellite constitutionally restricts marriage to a man and a woman. Recent efforts to pass laws to protect the LGBT community in Poland from discrimination and violence have gone nowhere.

But there is one notable change these days — in Polish attitudes. Homophobic attitudes were prevalent among Polish lawmakers when Robert Biedron was elected as a MP in 2011. "I was the first member of the Polish parliament who was openly gay," Biedron says, "and they would not be brave enough to shake hands publicly because somebody would think they're gay."

Polish gay rights activists note other changes, too, including the opening of central Europe's first homeless shelter for LGBT teens earlier this year in Warsaw. Marianna Szczygielska, the project coordinator for the Warsaw-based Campaign against Homophobia, says attitudes toward gays began to change in 2004: "With [the] opening of borders after joining the European Union, things have changed, especially for queer youth," she says. "Even LGBT characters being featured in popular TV series, that already makes a difference in social acceptance."  Read More