‘Pride’ Warmly Epitomizes The LGBT Movement’s Success In Partnering With Other Causes

UK film, Pride tells the very true story of how a group of gay and lesbian activists from London raised money to support striking coal miners in the small Welsh village of Dulais Valley. 

The story conveys the sincerity of gay and lesbian activists' intentions: even though its members were facing their own struggles related to their identities, they remained firmly committed to supporting the miners. The rapid success of LGBT rights over the last half-century is largely due to the partnerships LGBT people have made with other movements. Read More

LGBTQ….I? Intersex Awareness

Intersex Awareness Day was last week and it was brought to our attention by aqueens college student who stressed it’s importance and why we should take notice of it. Since many of us knew very little on the subject, I felt compelled to research and talk about it. What does it mean to be intersex [otherwise known as hermaphrodite]? Why it’s so important and whyshould it be LGBTQI verses LGBTQ?

The Intersex Society of America defines Intersex as :

“….a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.” Read more

Facebook Apologizes To LGBT Community For Controversial Name Change Policy

After weeks of negotiation with drag queens and transgender people whose accounts were targeted as using "fake" names, the site now claims it will honor chosen names stating: "The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life."  Despite the announcement no changes have been made. Read More

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Solidarity with Egypt LGBT Protests Initiative

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We invite you to participate in the demonstration that will take place on 18 October 2014 in front of every Egyptian embassy around the world (If accessible) to protest against human rights violations committed by the Egyptian government, relying on unlawful and unethical media tools, towards those of differing sexual orientations and gender identities. Read more

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Egypt Begins Surveillance Of Facebook, Twitter, And Skype On Unprecedented Scale

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Egyptians’ online communications are now being monitored by the sister company of an American cybersecurity firm, giving the Egyptian government an unprecedented ability to comb through data from Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, among others.


See Egypt, the sister company of the U.S.-based Blue Coat, won the contract over the summer, beating out the British Gamma System, and the Israeli-founded Narus System. See Egypt has begun monitoring Egyptians’ online communications, according to several Egyptian government officials who spoke to BuzzFeed News.


“See Egypt has already worked with the government and has strong ties to the State Security Services,” said one official. He asked to remain anonymous, to protect his position within the government. “They were a natural choice and their system is already winning praise.” Read More

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Grindr urges LGBT community to hide their identities as Egypt persecutes nation's gay community

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Grindr has warned users to hide their identities on social media following the arrests of scores of gay men and fears Egyptian police are using the social network to seek out members of the country’s LGBT community.

“Egypt is arresting LGBT people and police may be posing as LGBT on social media to entrap you,” Grindr warned users in an on screen message. Read more

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Pro-gay ‘open mosque’ burnt by arsonists

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A Cape Town mosque which preached acceptance of gay people has been damaged in an arson attack. The controversial Open Mosque opened its doors last month, causing outrage among hard-line Islamists, as it allows women to lead prayers, does not segregate based on gender, and accepts gay people.


However, the mosque, whose founder Taj Hargey said he hoped to counter radicalism by being more inclusive, was damaged in an arson attack last night. Dr Hargey told AFP that the attack – which caused substantial damage to the building – was caught on CCTV on the eve of the Muslim holy festival of Eid. Read More

South Africa’s First Gay-Friendly Mosque To Be Closed

South Africa’s first gay-friendly mosque could be shut down barely a week after it opened its doors to the public, a Cape Town local official has announced, saying that the Open Mosque had violated municipal by-laws by not having any parking spaces.


The mosque has come under heavy criticism from other Muslim believers who feel allowing gays into a place of worship was not ‘pure’. The mosque, which officially opened its doors last Friday, also allows women to lead prayers something that is uncommon in mosques across Africa.
“We have freedom of religion and expression in this country. No-one has the right to tell anyone what to believe in. This is a gender equal mosque, autonomous and independent and will remain so,” Open Mosque Founder Taj Hargey told BBC. Read More

 

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Brazil schoolboys wear skirts to support trans classmate

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A group of boys at São Cristóvão do Colégio Pedro II high school in Rio de Janeiro wore skirts to class after a transgender student was fined for breaking the school's dress code. Seventeen-year-old Maria Munez, born Mario Munez, recently came out as transgender by wearing a skirt to school but was fined for not wearing trousers. Read More