India talk show changes views on gays

Indian actor Aamir Khan’s hit talk show Satyamev Jayate last night tackled the taboo subject of ‘alternative sexualities,’ with many viewers saying the program changed their perception of LGBTI people. Guests included transgender woman Gazal Dhaliwal and her parents, popular psychologist Deepak Kashyap and LGBTI activists.

Khan listened sympathetically as his LGBTI guests told their coming out stories. Several stressed the importance of parental relationships in shaping their lives and fighting depression and suicidial thoughts. Read More

Apple CEO Tim Cook Speaks Up About Being Gay

While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. [...] I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.  Read More 

Elton John AIDS Foundation makes $300,000 (€236,000) donation to the HRC

Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish announced a donation to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the US. The money will be used for HIV awareness and prevention programs, with a focus on young bisexual and gay men and transgender women.  Read More 

Malaysia paper tells Muslims backing opposition is backing gay rights

A right-wing Malaysian newspaper has said supporting opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim means supporting the international LGBTI rights movement ahead of his sodomy trial. Anwar has been prosecuted under the country's colonial anti-gay law four times in what LGBTI groups have called a politically motivated prosecution. He is appealing his March sentence of five years in jail.  Read More

Armenian Activists Sue Over Article Outing Several LGBT People

The editor of an Armenian newspaper is awaiting judgement in a lawsuit brought by several individuals after he published an article naming them as “gay rights lobbyists” and calling for them to be fired from their jobs and ostracized. The article was titled, “They serve the interests of international homosexual lobbying: the blacklist of country’s and nation’s enemies,” and named more than 50 individuals. Read More 

South Africa: Gay rights in the classroom

Several South African women have been murdered for being lesbian, in most African countries you're a criminal if you're gay, and in Sudan and Mauritania you can be put to death for homosexuality. Meanwhile the University of Western Cape graduated its first students from the continent's first course on sexual orientation and the role of educators in dealing with sexual orientation issues in the classroom.  Read More

School teacher Who Referred To Student As “Fag Number One” Quickly Fired

A photography teacher at a school in Helsingborg, Sweden has learned the hard way why you shouldn’t hurl antigay slurs at students. “When I found out what the photographer said, I felt that this required immediate action,” the principal told media. “He did not respect our values and offended a student. As an adult, you must think about what you say to students.” Read More 

Chile’s LGBT movement marches united

Chile has celebrated a historical moment: for the first time, the LGBT movement marched united to demand equal rights. Although collaborating will always be difficult, the success of this march has added new momentum into the LGBT movement in Chile and stands for a powerful collaborative force. Just days ago, the front was awarded a grant by UNESCO and the Chilean National Institute for Human Rights, which aims at strengthening collaboration between NGOs.   Read More

'The Red Umbrella Diaries' Documentary Shares Stories Of Queer Sex Workers

Why do individuals make the decision to engage in sex work? The Red Umbrella Diaries is different from other explorations of sex work because its driven by first person stories and though we collaborated with filmmakers who are not sex workers, we had the final say about the content and representations in the film. It's also unique in the spectrum of sex worker media representations because of the variety of people in the film - all are LGBTQ identified, three are women of color (one of whom is trans), and two are men. Read More

Gays complain of HIV prevention overdose

Homosexuals in the Chennai, India have complained that they are being given overdoses of messages on HIV prevention and that programmes concerning the community should address their psychological needs more.

Though the study says that gay men in India have an HIV seroprevalence rate that is 22 times higher than the country's general population, those surveyed have a different take. "It is better not to keep concentrating on HIV... I think it is important to raise the low self-esteem of MSMs," one of the interviewees said.  Read More