Category Archives: Sexual + Gender Minorities

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | Black Trans Women

Trans woman of color in killed in Florida, tenth in 2015’s increase in violence against trans individuals
  • India Clarke was found murdered in Tampa by blunt force trauma to the upper body.
  • India is the ninth trans woman of color and tenth trans person killed so far in 2015, which is consistent with a trend of year-over-year increases in violence rates experienced by the trans community.
  • Local police and media have persistently misgendered Clarke in reports and stated gender identity is not considered a factor in her death, instead focusing on Clarke’s history of sex work and drug activity.

“India Clarke’s death is a tragedy that is made worse by egregious misgendering by local police and media.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

Nationality + Migration, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Thailand News | Gay American

Aside
Thai surrogate attempts to block departure of gay couple with infant
  • A U.S.-Spanish binational couple has retreated to a secret location with their infant daughter after the surrogate they contracted through a Thai surrogacy agency refused to sign the papers for the child’s passport.
  • The woman alleges she was unaware the child was going to a gay couple and is not obligated to turn over her rights to the couple, despite contracts regulating the process and her lack of biological connection to the child.
  • After the present situation’s process had already begun, surrogacy was banned in Thailand following high-profile scandals that drew attention to the largely unregulated industry.

“She said she thought she was doing this for an ‘ordinary family’ and when she found out that it wasn’t an ordinary family she was worried for Carmen’s wellbeing.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Gordon Lake/Facebook, via the Guardian)

Religion + Belief, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Philippines News | LGBT

Aside
Manila church provides haven for gay Filipinos
  • The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) offers sanctuary to Manila’s downtrodden in the red-light district of Cubao.
  • While other religious proscriptions like divorce and abortion are legally enforced, the Catholic-majority Philippines has seen a gradual increase in the social visibility and acceptance of its gay population.
  • The Manila church is one of five operated in the Philippines by the MCC, a network of churches founded in the U.S. under the mission of social justice and inclusion.

“I don’t have illusions of assimilation into the mainline Catholic Church. They will always resist anything that disrupts their order. … We have a long way to go… but we must never lose hope, fighting for what is right and what is ours.”

Read the full AFP story at The Jakarta Post.

(Image Credit: Noel Celis/AFP, via The Jakarta Post)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Italy News | LGB

European human rights court rules same-sex partnership rights fall under international human rights law
  • The decision responded to a lawsuit from Italian same-sex couples, who live in the only remaining Western European country lacking some form of same-sex partnership rights.
  • Italy’s own courts have ruled in favor of such rights with support from the Italian PM, but Parliament has largely ignored the issue, refusing to create the framework establishing such rights and protections.
  • Arguing that partnership rights fall under the “right to respect for private and family life,” the ruling technically compels compliance from the 47 Council of Europe member states, though its rulings have been ignored in the past.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

(Image Credit: Virginia Mayo/AP, via BuzzFeed)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGB

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rules existing civil rights law covers sexual orientation
  • The EEOC found that discrimination claims lodged by lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals against employers fall under sex discrimination, which is covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • The decision applies directly to federal employees but impacts nationwide employment security more broadly because the EEOC investigates discrimination claims from the private sector as well.
  • The development follows the commission’s 2014 ruling that gender identity was protected under Title VII, which the Justice Department joined later in the year.

“'[T]he question is not whether sexual orientation is explicitly listed in Title VII as a prohibited basis for employment actions. It is not,’ the commission found. Instead, the commission stated that the question is the same as in any other Title VII sex discrimination case: ‘whether the agency has “relied on sex-based considerations” or “take[n] gender into account” when taking the challenged employment action.’”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

(Image Credit: via BuzzFeed)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. Feature | Gay

Video

(Dis)connecting Speech and Sexuality

The New York Times takes a look at the cultural perceptions and scientific realities of speech and sexual identity’s intertwining.  Featuring two men with different speech patterns and experts in the social origins of speech, the short op-doc investigates early speech formation and its social effects.

Follow more from the Times on YouTube.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Paraguay News | LGBT

Paraguayan LGBT activist becomes first to attend meeting with Pope Francis
  • Simón Cazal, executive director of advocacy organization Somosgay, was invited to attend the event that saw representatives of 1,600 organizations to see the Pope in Asunción.
  • He became the first professional advocate to meet publicly with the Pope, who has previously visited LGBT prisoners and had private meetings.
  • Cazal reported that the Pope spoke of dignity for all, in line with similar pronouncements he has made with regard to diversity in the Church.

“The local church insisted on talking about the family and other conservative issues. … He distanced himself from this discourse and highlighted diversity in its place. … The pope’s speech was very productive.”

Read the full story at the Washington Blade.

(Image Credit: Jeon Han, courtesy Wikimedia Commons; via the Washington Blade)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

E.U. News | LGBTI

European Parliament adds LGBTI rights to European relations policy
  • The European Neighbourhood Policy, which organizes relations between the European Union and its non-EU neighbors on the continent, now includes the LGBTI community in its promotion of minority rights.
  • Rights advocates lauded the move for giving a mandate for EU representatives to promote protections and inclusive policies in non-EU European countries.

“In a world where some countries make homophobia an active part of their domestic policy, I’m pleased to see Europe using the full clout of its economic power to counter these attitudes.”

Read the full story at PinkNews.

(Image Credit: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images, via PinkNews)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Turkey News | LGBT

LGB Turks facing outspoken opposition from political figures and call for their murder
  • The government crackdown on this year’s Istanbul Pride is the latest in a series of official condemnations of LGB organizing, advocacy, and inclusion.
  • A group called the Young Islamic Defense has been putting up posters around Ankara calling for the murder of LGB people.
  • Politicians including the president, prime minister, and MPs have denigrated the inclusive People’s Democratic Party (HDP), which won important victories in this year’s elections, and cast LGBT support as anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim.

“This country’s order might be secular, liberal democrat, etc. but no one should forget that the overwhelming majority of our society is Muslim, which accepts homosexuality as immoral, homosexuals who explain themselves cannot join the community of honorable and virtuous people, the ‘fault’ they have committed will be met with disgust as a shameful act. A Muslim cannot defend a regime that equates homosexuals with people of the faith.”

Read the full story at LGBTI News Turkey.

(Image Credit: via LGBTI News Turkey)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. News | LGB

New poll indicates significant support in Northern Ireland for legalization of same-sex marriage
  • The latest Ipsos MORI poll indicates 68% of adults in Northern Ireland support same-sex marriage, even higher than the 62.1% in favor in the Republic of Ireland at the time of its recently passed marriage referendum.
  • Support is highest among 16- to 34-year-olds at 82%, while 75% of those between 35 and 54 and 47% of those over 50 expressed favor.
  • Northern Ireland remains the only country in the British Isles where same-sex marriage is still illegal, with the constituent components of the U.K. left to establish their own marriage laws.

“The people have spoken and it’s clear they don’t want Northern Ireland to be left behind on marriage equality. … Continuing resistance to bringing Northern Ireland in step with all our neighbours is unacceptable. It’s high time Northern Ireland said a big ‘we do too’ to equality.”

Read the full story at the Belfast Telegraph.

(Image Credit: Kevin Scott/Presseye, via The Belfast Telegraph)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Spain News | Gay Men

A decade after same-sex marriage legalized in Spain, couple faces ongoing familial insecurity as legal challenges to their parental rights continue
  • The couple had twins via surrogacy in 2013, but Spain’s National Institute of Social Security (INSS) denied one of the fathers’ request for leave benefits specifically due to the method of conception.
  • The administration argued that surrogate parenting is excluded from leave benefits for fathers because it entails none of the burdens that childbirth, adoption, or foster care do.
  • Two years later, a court sided with the new parents, ordering the INSS to pay the couple the withheld benefits, and after an appeal led to an additional ruling in favor of the couple, the INSS is appealing to the Supreme Court.

«Está claro que yo no he parido ni adoptado a mis hijos, pero ¿cómo vamos a conciliar nuestra vida familiar y laboral? ¿Pretende el INSS que renuncie al cuidado de mis hijos o que renuncie a pagar mis facturas e hipoteca?»

Translation: “It’s clear that I haven’t given birth or adopted my sons, but how are we going to reconcile our family and work life? Does the INSS expect me to give up caring for my sons or give up paying my bills and mortgage?”

Read the full story at La Verdad (in Spanish).

(Image Credit: Pablo Sánchez/AGM, via La Verdad)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Kenya News | LGBT

Anti-gay demonstration takes place in Nairobi ahead of Obama visit
  • Dozens gathered in the Kenyan capital to protest LGBT rights and advocacy and warn President Obama against attempts to speak out on the issue in Kenya following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.
  • MP Irungu Kangata spoke outside of the Kenyan Parliament at the rally billed as pro-family.
  • Rights activists have called on the U.S. president to show solidarity with their struggles in the country, setting the stage for conflict regardless of the president’s actions.

“We are telling Mr Obama when he comes to Kenya this month and he tries to bring the abortion agenda, the gay agenda, we shall tell him to shut up and go home.”

Read the full story at Reuters.

(Image Credit: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Sexual + Gender Minorities

South Korea Perspectives | Black Lesbian

Video

Charly | South Korea

Charly provides a glimpse of Pride in South Korea, documenting singing, dancing, and anti-gay demonstrations at the event back in 2014.

Follow Charly and find similar first-person accounts from around YouTube through Outlas’s collection First Person: Black in East Asia.

Individuals associated with curated content are not affiliated with Outlas, and their inclusion is not an official endorsement of any opinions expressed but is rather a part of a representation of diverse perspectives on global multicultural life.

Religion + Belief, Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGB

U.S. Episcopal Church assembly votes to enable clergy to perform same-sex marriages
  • Episcopal leaders overwhelmingly voted in favor of the change to gender-neutral language from “man and woman” in its marriage canon.
  • The vote does not compel clergy to perform same-sex marriages, only allows for their doing so without repercussion.
  • The Episcopal Church joins the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church in allowing all of its clergy to perform marriages regardless of partners’ gender.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed.

(Image Credit: Rick Bowmer/AP, via BuzzFeed)

Ideology + Affiliation, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Iran News | LGBT & Allies

Iranian actor apologies after summoning by authorities following LGBT-supportive tweet
  • Bahram Radan tweeted in support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of nationwide same-sex marriage, leading to his summoning by Iran’s ministry of culture and Islamic guidance.
  • The reaction to the U.S. ruling highlights the division in Iranian society and the diaspora over LGBT rights, seeing online debate stirred after many added Facebook’s rainbow filter to their profile pictures in solidarity with the decision and many others condemned the action.
  • Iran’s hardline conservative authorities have relaxed some punishments against homosexual acts, but they are still criminalized and treated as manifestations of mental illness.

“They’re afraid that people in Iran are beginning to talk about homosexuality as a sexual minority, not an illness, and they don’t want that to be normalised.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua Press/Corbis, via The Guardian)