On Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18, academic and activist speakers from a range of national contexts came together in Glasgow for a groundbreaking conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender…
These colours don’t run. Or do they?
Stefan Rousseau/PA
In her new book Straight Expectations, radical feminist writer and campaigner Julie Bindel has recently and very publicly claimed that she’s not convinced by the scientific argument that sexual orientation…
You wanted a gay rights cake? Why didn’t you come to me?
Anthony Upton/PA
The recent furore over a Northern Ireland bakery’s refusal to make a cake bearing the iced message “support gay marriage” is just the latest in a series of incidents in which conservative Christians have…
The United Nations Human Rights Council is tasked with the universal protection and promotion of human rights, and is the UN’s principal human rights body. Yet it is being used by known rights abusers…
So much so that it doesn’t matter any more?
andres musta
The phrase “that’s so gay” has traditionally been understood as homophobic. Stonewall’s School Report argued this position, and it will be discussed in their upcoming Education Conference. Stonewall argues…
Georgian soprano Tamar Iveri wrote a homophobic letter to her country’s president, praising anti-gay violence.
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Opera Australia (OA) has dealt with what was becoming a significant boycott threat by sacking the Georgian soprano Tamar Iveri. The company had planned to bring her to Australia to perform the role of…
RuPaul’s Drag Race: season six queens.
Logo TV/Mathu Andersen
A siren sounds in the workroom and the contestants, still in their street clothes, stop their conversation. “Oooh, girl! You’ve got She-Mail,” says a shrill voice. For those of you just tuning in, you’re…
The standard image of domestic violence doesn’t fit everyone.
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Services for women fleeing domestic abuse and sexual violence in the UK have developed over the past 40 years, from grassroots services staffed by volunteers to a professionalised (if still small) sector…
A woman protests in Britain against the stoning of people for sexual ‘crimes’. Brunei is moving to apply the Sharia law penalty to gay people.
EPA/Facundo Arrizabalaga
Although Australia does not yet allow same-sex couples to marry, it is not a country that is generally described as homophobic. The days of it being a crime to be gay here are, thankfully, a relic of a…
Modern Family, ABC’s sitcom juggernaut, is adept at capturing the zeitgeist without ruffling too many feathers. Unashamedly conservative in its family-sitcom structure, it also excels at moments of quiet…
Recent reports have suggested that Section 28-style bans on the promotion of homosexuality are on the rise in UK schools, causing concern among teachers’ unions. Based on research by the British Humanist…
Across newspapers and social networks the images of happy couples will bear a striking resemblance to those published nine years ago. In 2005, the first civil partnerships took place. This weekend the…
The Sydney Star Observer won’t appear in a weekly print format any more – but the community it’s helped build is thriving.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
Last week’s announcement that Australia’s oldest and most respected lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) weekly newspaper, Sydney Star Observer (SSO), will change to a monthly print…
For British gay rights campaigners, 2014 is becoming a year to remember. England and Wales will join the small club of nations that allow same-sex couples to marry; meanwhile, the Sochi winter Olympics…
A violent clash last year at Sydney’s Mardi Gras raised old questions about the complex relationship between police and LGBTQI communities.
AAP/Toby Mann
Hundreds of thousands of people will be drawn to Sydney’s Mardi Gras festival this weekend. This world-famous event celebrates gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, intersex (LGBTQI) and other sexually…
Education minister Christopher Pyne’s national curriculum review has the potential to erase the realities and lives of LGBT people and the discrimination they face from our classrooms.
AAP/Stefan Postles
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Kevin Donnelly, one of the men tasked with reviewing Australia’s national curriculum, had argued in a 2004 book that “many parents” think the “sexual practices…
Michael Sam (right) just wants to play ball, but his ambitions are affected by how the global sport/entertainment/media complex processes his sexuality.
EPA/Chris Lee
Any lingering doubts about the political power of popular culture have surely been dispelled in the last couple of weeks. When actor Ellen Page courageously fought tears to come out before a global audience…
A German protester wears a mask of Vladimir Putin – one of thousands protesting Russia’s stance on gay rights ahead of the Sochi Winter Games.
EPA/Axel Heimken
This week, the largest, coolest and most promising Australian Winter Olympics team to ever leave these shores landed in Sochi. But there’s more than gold on their minds – they want their presence to mean…
Looking the other way: India’s LGBT community campaigned for privacy.
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Prompting international outrage, the Supreme Court of India has overturned a “reading-down” of the notorious Section 377 of the India Penal Code. This, in effect, reinstated a law that is widely understood…