While lesbian women were technically banned from serving in the Australia Defence Force until 1992, many before then found that military life was a place to express their love and desire for the first time.
A sign at a march in Soweto, South Africa, shows just how important social support is for lesbians.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Family support, being valued in their own homes and enjoying strong support from their social structures helped instill lesbians in a conservative South African province with a strong sense of self.
Mental health continues to be a problem among sexual minority teenagers.
Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
The strongest resistance to the United Nations resolution to promote LGBTI rights came from Muslim and African states. Many of these countries still criminalise same-sex relationships.
Policy changes and face-to-face conversations are part of the plan.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
The massacre at an Orlando gay club is a savage reminder that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people still face harsh prejudice in America and lack full equal protections under the law.
The progressive present came after many years of struggle.
Tata Chen
Given the conservative stand of the Catholic Church on gays and lesbians, Pope Francis had a wonderful opportunity to extend his message of tolerance to both the religious and social realms.
Carol and Therese in the store at Christmas time.
STUDIOCANAL
At a time when queer culture is big business in mainstream film and television, two dedicated film festivals have appeared in Scotland this year. Here’s an explanation.
The highest IVF success rates are reported in women under 30 who have an around a 26% chance of having a baby.
Philippe Put/Flickr
Thanks to IVF and donor conception, infertile couples, single women and lesbian couples now have a better chance of starting families. But while common, it’s rarely openly discussed.
Young gay teens forced into conversion “therapy” may suffer mental health issues.
Pekic/Shutterstock
The history of “cures” for homosexuality reveals how discredited conversion therapies for gay and transgender children can irreparably harm young minds.
The institute of marriage can only be made stronger by recognising all marriages.
Danielle
Little progress has been made on debates about marriage equality in Australia – even though a majority of the population is in favour of it. How might ethical frameworks help us better understand the issues?
The area of how sexual orientation affects pay rates is under-researched.
Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com
Gay men earn less than heterosexual men, but lesbians earn more than straight women. The reasons may surprise you.
‘It is difficult to convey the exhilaration that can be received from recognising elements of your own intimate life magnified on a cinema screen.’ Anatomy of a Love Seen screens at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
MQFF
The curators of queer film festivals undertake a challenging task, assembling as best as possible a cinematic selection that reflects what is a very diverse community. Too often, lesbians are left out.
Why is it that women can retain their heterosexuality if they kiss, but if men do the same they’re labeled gay?
David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons
If women can kiss women and still be straight, what about men? Some scholars have argued that female sexual desires tend to be fluid and receptive, while men’s desires – regardless of whether men are gay…