In a recent landmark ruling in Kenya, a judge has just confirmed that a trans woman’s rights had recently been violated, and in response has ordered his government to either introduce a new transgender rights act or amend the current Intersex Persons Bill. Considering Kenya’s poor track record on queer rights – it criminalizes same-sex […]
Men publicly punished in Indonesia for same-sex physical affection
Two young men aged 20 and 21 were recently whipped in the same park where they were caught kissing and hugging in a bathroom by police in April. This happened in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province – the only province in the country where Sharia law is still practiced. The men initiated contact with each other […]
Reproductive rights under threat around the world
The Guttmacher Institute – a research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally – recently published a report that reviews the damage the Trump administration has wreaked thus to SRHR services and programs. It’s not just the cuts to foreign aid that are a problem, but U.S. foreign […]
Will conversion therapy make a comeback in the U.S.?
Although a total of 27 states – in addition to the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and more than 100 municipalities – have banned the practice of conversion therapy as well as on governmental funding for it, all mostly within the last ten years, there is growing paranoia that popularity for the pseudoscientific and downright abusive practice […]
Paying for Pride: A Queer Conundrum Continued
Dr. Daniel Conway – Reader in Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, UK and a Research Associate at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg – participated in the 13th Annual Conference of the Sexuality Studies Association in Toronto earlier this summer. His presentation was based on research from […]
St. Lucia Decriminalizes Homosexuality
The island nation of St. Lucia is the latest to join its neighbors (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica) in moving to decriminalize same-sex relations. Colonial throwbacks like “buggery” and gross indecency” had previously been punishable by up to 10 years in prison under St. Lucia’s Criminal Code. Regional advocacy groups […]
On Canada’s commitment to civility, tolerance, and diversity
Nations across the globe have had to contend with Donald Trump and his unorthodox (I’m being very generous here) ways of governing the most powerful (although declining) country. Canada, in particular, has been especially tested by the menace south of its border. Francesco MacAllister-Caruso, a PhD candidate at Concordia University, makes a very important point […]
China cracks down on gay fiction as “obscene”
Dozens of young Chinese women writing manga-style fiction about androgynous gay male characters have been arrested, fined, and in some cases imprisoned for obscenity, on the grounds that homosexuality is a “sexual perversion.” Once relatively tolerant of low-key gay sex when their concern was to limit the birth-rate, Chinese authorities have become increasingly hostile to […]
This ain’t no parade
Although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government banned Pride gatherings in his country recently, around 100,000 people showed up to March on the 28th in a significant “fuck you!” showing of fierce resistance and solidarity. The amendment to Hungary’s constitution that led to the Pride ban was motivated by “child protection” according to the government. More […]
Terror threats cancel sex law conference
The June 26-29 conference of the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) in Grand Rapids has been indefinitely postponed at the last minute due to a bomb threat against the hotel, which chose to cancel the contract rather than run the risk of an attack. The threats came from individuals associated with the […]