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Houthis, Iran' allies, must stop executions and persecution of gay people in Yemen
2024-04-16 21:35 Ben Aquila

The Houthi authorities in Yemen increased persecution of people based on their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, after two courts sentenced more than 40 people either to death, flogging or prison over charges related to same-sex conduct.

A criminal court in Dhamar, in northern Yemen, sentenced nine people to death, with seven sentenced to be executed by stoning and two by crucifixion, while 23 others were handed prison sentences ranging between six months and ten years on charges including “homosexuality”, “spreading immorality”, and “immoral acts”.

Besides, another court in Ibb, in southern Yemen, handed down death sentences against 13 students and flogging sentences to three others on charges of “spreading homosexuality”.

At present, Houthis are the best friends of Iran, and they have become key partners in Tehran’s quest for regional dominance. Iran is considered one of the most dangerous places to be gay. Under the Islamic Shariaa law practiced in Yemen and Iran, same-sex relations are a criminal offence and the punishment ranges from flogging to the death penalty.

The Houthi authorities must immediately quash the death sentences against these individuals and drop all charges related to their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. They also must immediately and unconditionally release all individuals who are held solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Nicholas Galitzine proves he is more than just a pretty face
2024-04-15 18:27 Ben Aquila

Mary & George is inspired by the “outrageous true story” of Mary Villiers, played by Academy Award winner Julianne Moore, who “moulded her beautiful and charismatic son” George (Nicholas Galitzine) to become King James’ “all-powerful lover”. As The New York Times wrote, Galitzine is more than just a pretty face and he is now outstripping the limits of his debonair onscreen identity and looking for what’s beyond them.

Based on The King’s Assassin by Benjamin Woolle, the series is described as an “audacious historical psychodrama about a treacherous mother and son who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of its King”. 

The official synopsis reads: “Through outrageous scheming, the pair rose from humble beginnings to become the richest, most titled and influential players the English court had ever seen, and the King’s most trusted advisors.

“And with England’s place on the world stage under threat from a Spanish invasion and rioters taking to the streets to denounce the King, the stakes could not have been higher.

“Prepared to stop at nothing and armed with her ruthless political steel, Mary married her way up the ranks, bribed politicians, colluded with criminals and clawed her way into the heart of the Establishment, making it her own.”

The series boasts an ensemble cast, with supporting players such as: Nichola Walker (The Split), Niamh Algar (The Wonder), Trine Dyrholm (The Legacy), Sean Gilder (Slow Horses), Adrian Rawlins (Chernobyl), Mark O’Halloran (The Miracle Club), Laurie Davidson (Guilty Party), Samuel Blenkin (Atlanta) and Jacob McCarthy (SAS: Rogue Heroes).

Two new LGBTI teams in the Spanish Soccer
2024-04-13 13:26 Ben Aquila

Soccer is one of the most closed sports: few active male professional footballers have declared themselves openly homosexual. Furthermore, in lower categories it can be difficult to practice this sport if you are gay. 

Aware of this, two LGTBI football teams were born in Spain: Orgullo Hispalense in Seville and Rinos Fútbol Club in Granada. The desire to enjoy football in a safe environment free of homophobia was one of the motivations of these teams for their foundation.

"Most of us end up leaving football due to issues of rejection, homophobia, discomfort in the locker room and some annoying comments," explains Jose, a player on the Sevillian team.

"The intention is to have this safe space where all people integrate without problem and can live together and enjoy this sport without any type of rejection from anything or anyone," says José María River, founder, president and player from Rinos Fútbol Club.

Now, one of their main objectives is to participate in different competitions in Spain, seeking to federate, and begining to play more continuously. In June, they will play in the Pride Games in Madrid and would also like playing in some edition of Euro Games.

There are no openly gay footballers in any of the major male leagues in the world, except Josh Cavallo in Australia, an anomaly considering the increasing number of professional athletes that come out of the closet in recent years, we all may be wondering why they take so long in soccer.

Homophobia has no place in football, not in Australia, not anywhere
2024-04-10 11:51 Ben Aquila

Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson has been suspended for three matches for making a homophobic slur towards an Essendon player. 

The player accepted a three-match ban for a homophobic slur the Australian Football League (AFL) decreed was “hurtful and totally unacceptable”. The League took his contrition into account when determining the penalty.

“I unreservedly apologize again to the Essendon player, my teammates, Port Adelaide members and supporters and the LGBTQIA+ community for the distress I have caused,” Finlayson said in a statement. 

In addition to the three-game ban, Finlayson will also complete a Pride in Sport education course, at his own cost.

AFL general counsel Stephen Meade reiterated the AFL's stance that there was no place for homophobia in football. "Everyone, including Jeremy, understands the word he used is both hurtful and totally unacceptable in any setting, ever," he said.

"The AFL is very clear that homophobia has no place in our game, nor in society. We want all people in LGBTQI+ communities to feel safe playing or attending our games and we know the incident that happened on the weekend does not assist this goal. As a code we will continue to work together to improve our game as a safe and inclusive environment for all," Meade added.

Football is for everyone!!!

Books about LGBTQ people were among the most challenged books, subject to ban attempts, in the U.S.
2024-04-08 21:38 Ben Aquila

The American Library Association (ALA) has released its list of the 10 most challenged books of 2023, and seven of the 10 were challenged, that is, subject to ban attempts, at least in part for LGBTQ content. Several of them are by or about people of color.

“In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” ALA President Emily Drabinski said. “At ALA, we are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read,” she added.

The top 10 list, released Monday during National Library Week, consists of these books:

• Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; reasons: LGBTQ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson; reasons: LGBTQ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
• This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson; reasons: LGBTQIA content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQ content, rape, drugs, profanity.
• Flamer by Mike Curato; reasons: LGBTQ content, claimed to be sexually explicit.
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; reasons: rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, equity, diversity, and inclusion content.
• Tricks by Ellen Hopkins; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQ content.
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity.
• Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQ content.
• Sold by Patricia McCormick; reasons: claimed to be sexually explicit, rape.

The fight to protect access to books comes amid a book banning boom, with an alarming increase in attempts to censor books in K-12 schools, universities and public libraries. Many of these efforts seek to pull books with LGBTQ characters or themes and are part of a broader, Republican-led movement to chisel away at the rights and status of LGBTQ Americans.

Each attempt to ban a book represents a direct attack on every person’s right to freely choose what books to read and what ideas to explore, and to suppress the voices of LGBTQ community.

HRW requires Ghana President to veto anti-LGBTQ bill
2024-03-07 00:30 Ben Aquila

Human Rights Watch required Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo to unequivocally reject The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 and refuse to sign it. 

The bill was passed last month by the parliament making it illegal to identify as LGBTQ in Ghana. 

Under the passed bill, anyone identifying as LGBTQ could face up to three years in prison, while anyone who forms or funds LGBTQ groups could face up to 5 years in prison. 

The bill awaits assent by the president before it becomes law. However, Akufo-Addo said his government will wait for a Supreme Court ruling before taking action on the bill. 

LGBTQ people in Ghana have historically faced serious human rights abuses including discrimination, and  they are living in constant fear of being attacked in public because of their sexual orientation. 

No way, Ghana!!!

Ron DeSantis, Let Us Live in Florida!
2024-03-03 10:49 Ben Aquila

Transgender activists from across Florida marched on the state Capitol with a simple demand: “Let Us Live!”

At a rally on the steps outside the building, LGBTQ leaders and progressive lawmakers slammed legislation HB1639 threatening to erase trans identities. 

If passed, the legislation could reportedly make it easier for health insurance providers to refuse to offer gender-affirming care for trans people. It might also require medical insurers that cover transition procedures to cover “de-transitioning”.

In addition, the proposed law would mandate that state-issued IDs, such as driving licences, display the person’s sex assigned at birth in Florida. 

Beyond fighting transphobic bills, trans leaders and allies also promised to seek office and sit more queer lawmakers in the halls of the Capitol to fight Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-LGBTQ policies.

Florida has become infamous for passing anti-LGBTQ legislation, with the “Don’t Say Gay” law affecting classrooms across the state. The Republican Floridian lawmakers have also tried to ban public drag performances, as well as bar trans people from using public toilets consistent with their gender.

Not one step back in Florida!!!

No way, Ghana!
2024-03-01 11:01 Ben Aquila

Ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ. It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups.

It is the latest sign of growing opposition to LGBTQ rights in the conservative West African nation. Gay sex is already against the law in Ghana - it carries a three-year prison sentence.

The bill, which had the backing of Ghana's two major political parties, will come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law.

Last month Amnesty International warned that the bill "poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms" of LGBTQ people.

Also United Nations rights experts condemned arbitrary arrest of LGBT human rights defenders in Ghana and urged their release.

Activists fear there will now be witch-hunts against members of the LGBTQ community and those who campaign for their rights, and say some will have to go into hiding.

28% of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ in the U.S.
2024-03-01 10:26 Ben Aquila

The report, titled “A political and cultural glimpse into America’s future,” released by the Public Religion Research Institute, sought to highlight the cultural and political views of Gen Z adults, compared with older Americans. 

About 20% of Americans are Gen Z, which the survey’s researchers specify as those ages 18 to 25, 

28 percent of Z adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, dwarfing the percentages of LGBTQ Americans in older age groups, according to a report 

The report found about 10% of all adults, 16% of millennials, 7% of Generation X, 4% of baby boomers and 4% of the Silent Generation identify as LGBTQ. 

Besides, 20 percent of Gen Z adults say they have personally experienced hostility or discrimination based on their race, age, gender or gender expression, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. 

Check the report here.

New trailer of Challengers, starring Zendaya
2024-02-26 15:50 Ben Aquila

The new trailer of Challengers, a queer romantic sports comedy, starring Zendaya (Euphoria), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), and Mike Faist (West Side Story), has been released.

Directed by film director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) and written by American playwright and novelist Justin Kuritzkes. In the film Zendaya, O’Connor, and Faist play members of a love triangle.

The synopsis reads, “Tennis player turned coach Tashi (Zendaya) has taken her husband, Art (Mike Faist), and transformed him into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a “Challenger” event —close to the lowest level of pro tournament— where he finds himself standing across the net from his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend (Josh O’Connor).”

Challengers is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 26, 2024, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer through Amazon MGM Studios.

Watch the trailer below:

37 schools across Ireland awarded for completing LGBTQ+ Quality Mark programme
2024-02-24 12:49 Ben Aquila

37 schools across Ireland have been awarded for championing LGBTQ+ inclusion. The post-primary institutions are the first cohort to complete Belong To LGBTQ+ Quality Mark programme, and received their accreditation.

The initiative saw the participating schools supported in implementing evidence-based actions across key areas, which have been proven to benefit the wellbeing and safety of LGBTQ+ students. 

These include ensuring that staff are equipped to support queer pupils, creating a safe and inclusive school culture and environment with student input, developing and implementing effective policies, plans and curriculums that champion diversity and respect, and working with parents, community organisations and LGBTQ+ youth projects or groups to promote inclusion.

Moninne Griffith, CEO of Belong To, stated: “Today is about celebrating 37 brilliant schools who have shown leadership and outstanding commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion through participation in the LGBTQ+ Quality Mark. I want to thank the entire school community in each of these schools and, in particular, recognise the incredible efforts of each LGBTQ+ Quality Mark Coordinator and Principal. Thank you for showing up for LGBTQ+ students and for demonstrating commitment, courage and leadership. Congratulations on being the first schools in Ireland to receive the LGBTQ+ Quality Mark!”

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations Vanity Fair for the anniversary... and for Keoghan's appearance
2024-02-23 01:53 Ben Aquila

For the 30th annual Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair, the publication created an in-motion cover featuring several A-list Hollywood stars. The cover includes Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Jodie Foster, Lily Gladstone, Greta Lee, Charles Melton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jenna Ortega, and Barry Keoghan.

Keoghan’s in-motion Vanity Fair cover appearance is standing out for obvious reasons: the actor appears bare-ass naked in it. After making a huge splash with his performance as Oliver Quick in Saltburn, Keoghan has been having a moment as The Internet’s Boyfriend. 

Congratulations Vanity Fair!!!

Watch the Vanity Fair's cover below:

'Close to you' with Elliot Page
2024-02-21 14:18 Ben Aquila

Close to You is Dominic Savage and and Elliot Page’s improvisational drama about a transgender man named Sam (Page) who, after being invited to his ageing father’s birthday party, makes his way back to his small home town for the first time since coming out.

His well-meaning family try to make him feel welcome, but misgendering and mistakes follow. It’s a story that those in the LGBTQ community know all too well, but there is a salvation: Sam manages to reconnect with his closest friend from school days, played Hillary Baack, in a moving reunion.

With an honest and fully felt performance, Page shows us Sam’s fraught process of trying to reconnect with the people he grew apart from as he became more himself, and coping with the dread of returning to a space that never felt fully welcoming to begin with. 

Watch the interview below:

Greece approves same-sex marriage and adoption
2024-02-18 01:20 Ben Aquila

Greek Parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption, with 176 members in favor, 76 against, and two abstaining, major media outlets report.

Greece “is proud to become the 16th European Union country to legislate marriage equality,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted after the vote. “This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values.”

The nation has offered civil partnerships to same-sex couples for a decade, but those came with parental rights only for the biological parents of the couple’s children. 

Now both spouses will be legally recognized as parents. But same-sex couples still won’t be able to access surrogacy in Greece, although they can be legally recognized as parents of children born by surrogacy abroad.

Polls indicated a majority of Greeks supported marriage equality, but there was strong opposition from conservative lawmakers and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Congratulations, Greece!!!

Polish TV host issues apology over state media’s anti-LGBTQ broadcasts after 8 years of right-wing government
2024-02-13 22:39 Ben Aquila

A host on Polish state television has apologised on air for homophobic propaganda aired by state media.

During the eight years of rule by the national conservative Law and Justice party, state media promoted the party’s line that LGBTQ people were threats to Polish families.

Poland’s right-wing government became increasingly anti-LGBTQ and same-sex couples or LGBTQ activists were not allowed to be shown on the TV stations.

Last October 2023, the majority of voters in Poland’s general election supported opposition parties that promised to reverse democratic backsliding and repair the nation’s relationship with allies, including the European Union and Ukraine.

The approach has changed under a new centrist government led by Donald Tusk, elected by Poland's Parliament in December 2023, who moved quickly to eject the Law and Justice supporters from positions of power over state media.

Two LGBTQ activists were invited on air when the state TVP host Wojciech Szeląg apologised to them for the rhetoric directed at their community. Bravo!!!

Watch the historic moment below:

Houthis sentence 13 to death on homosexuality charges in Yemen
2024-02-12 19:00 Ben Aquila

A court of the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen has sentenced 13 people to public execution on homosexuality charges. Another 35 people have been detained for similar charges.

The ruling was made in Ibb, a Houthi-controlled province from which the jihadist group has been launching attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. 

According to Amnesty International, the rebels continue to target LGBTQ people with arbitrary arrest and torture, including rape and other forms of sexual violence. 

A UN Security Council report in 2023 relayed that the Houthis are reportedly detaining children as young as 13 years old, some of whom are accused of 'indecent acts' for their alleged homosexual orientation.

In addition, the Houthis continues to ban women from travelling without a male guardian. The restrictions on travel have affected women’s ability to work, resulting in many being unable to access healthcare.

Iran also executes gay men on homosexuality charges.

NFL team up with GLAAD for ‘A Night of Pride’ ahead of Super Bowl 2024
2024-02-11 14:42 Ben Aquila

The NFL and GLAAD hosted a Night of Pride ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, designed to showcase the NFL’s commitment to the LGBTQ community and welcome gay, lesbian, bi, trans and other queer fans.

Several hundred people attended the celebratory event, hosted in the Legends Lounge in Caesar’s Palace. The event included music superstar and West Hollywood impresario Lance Bass, in addition to other people across sports, entertainment and social media. 

NFL Chief Diversity and Inclusion officer Jonathan Beane, as well as GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, welcomed the crowd.

Also featured was CBS Sports’ LGBTQ flag football segment Football For Everyone that will be airing on the CBS Sports Network this weekend, and which has garnered acclaim, including former Dallas Cowboys player Jeff Rohrer calling it “well done” at the event.

Over 250 teams across 27 cities in the U.S., united by a love for the game.

Greeks mostly accept marriage equality, new poll shows
2024-02-09 20:27 Ben Aquila

Greeks appear to be accepting the marriage of same-sex couples. The findings of a recent poll shed light on the legalisation of civil marriages in Greece.

A percentage of 62 per cent is in favour, with only 36 per cent opposed, indicating that same-sex marriage is now widely accepted.

The poll results show that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ legislative initiative, which has divided his party New Democracy, encounters clear and majority acceptance from society on the issue of civil marriage.

The analysis of attitudes based on the political self-placement of respondents shows that, concerning rights issues, the left-right axis aligns with the progress-conservative axis.

Acceptance rates are much higher among those who identify as left-wing (81 per cent) and center-left (75 per cent), while declining in the center and center-right, although remaining clearly in the majority.

Only those choosing a “pure” right-wing identity are majority opposed.

It's time Greece!!!

Shamefully, wearing rainbow earrings means a jail sentence in Russia
2024-02-07 15:07 Ben Aquila

A Russian court has sentenced a woman to five days in jail for wearing rainbow earrings as the country’s absurd crackdown on the so-called “international LGBT movement” ramps up.

A court in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, sentenced a woman to five days of detention for reportedly wearing frog-shaped earrings with an image of a rainbow.

The woman was charged and found guilty of publicly displaying “the symbol of an extremist organization.” The judge explicitly cited the Supreme Court’s November ruling.

Remember that Russia’s Supreme Court banned what it called the “LGBT movement” last November, designating it as “extremist” and “banning its activities on the territory of Russia”.

In Putin's Russia, any and all queer expression is effectively against the law. The country passed its infamous laws banning “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” in 2013 and expanded them in 2022.

Shame on you Putin!!!

Justin Trudeau says Alberta policies are the ‘most anti-LGBT in the country’
2024-02-05 16:07 Ben Aquila

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Alberta’s new proposals on the treatment of transgender youth are the “most anti-LGBT of anywhere in the country.”  

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith  announced earlier this week her plans to change rules for transgender children in Alberta. She said the fall sitting of the legislature would bring a ban on gender reassignment surgery for those 17 and under. And there would be no puberty blockers or hormone therapies for the purposes of such surgery for anyone 15 and under, unless they’ve already begun such procedures.

Smith said the changes are to protect children from the consequences of choices they may later regret. It’s also to preserve the role of parents in the lives.

Some parents of transgender children say the Alberta government's policy changes affecting transgender and non-binary youth will interfere with the medical treatment their children need.

And The Alberta Medical Association's pediatric section says there are benefits for patients to start puberty blockers as soon as they show signs as it will make future surgeries less invasive. Bottom surgery is always performed on patients 18 and older. 

Besides, the province would clamp down on transgender female athletes competing in women’s and girls’ sports.

Trudeau had a different assessment. “Danielle Smith has now moved forward with the most anti-LGBT policies of anywhere in the country,” he said.