LGBTQ

Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome (L) and Alicia Kearns, the Conservative MP for Rutland and Melton, attended the debate. (Screen captures via YouTube) Tory and Labour MPs urged the government to legislate a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban in an impassioned parliamentary debate. On Monday afternoon (13 June), MPs debated a petition signed by more than 145,000 people calling for trans people to be included in the proposed ban on conversion therapy. MPs from across the political divide, including Conservative Party backbenchers, united in defence of trans rights –...

Uzbekistan LGBT+ continue to face violent human rights violations. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP) (Photo by MONIRUL BHUIYAN/AFP via Getty Images) A new report has found that the LGBTQ+ community in Uzbekistan is under renewed threat as many face persecution, imprisonment, abuse, and brutal human rights violations. Thirty-six LGBTQ+ people were convicted under the Article 120 of the Uzbek Criminal Code, which criminalises homosexuality in the majority Muslim country, in 2021, found a new report by the International Partnership for Human Rights, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA),...

LGBT+ communities in the US are rising especially amongst ethnic minorities. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) New data has confirmed that young Hispanic Americans are driving an increase in the LGBTQ+ population. The percentage of Americans who identify as LGBT+ is now 7.1 per cent, more than double the 3.5 per cent that did in 2012, according to a survey from Gallup released in February. The polling company released new analysis on 8 June, showing that this growth is being driven by young Hispanic adults. In 2020 only eight per cent of Hispanic...

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. (Getty) Lynda Carter, AKA Wonder Woman, flawlessly shut down anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorist and Republican Colorado representative Lauren Boebert. On Monday, Boebert took to Twitter to wade into the latest bizarre debate favoured in US religious conservative circles – children and drag performances. This month has seen Republican Texas state representative Bryan Slaton announce plans to ban children from attending drag performances, and Florida state representative Anthony Sabatini, supported by the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ governor Ron DeSantis, say he wants to make it a felony offence and “terminate...

A montage of the 49 lives lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Twitter) It’s been six years since the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida that stole 49 lives and left 53 more people wounded, in one of the darkest days in American history. Around 320 people were inside Pulse nightclub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, in the early hours of 12 June, 2016, when a 29-year-old man entered the building with two guns. The venue was hosting a “Latin Night” at the time, meaning most of those present were Latinx. As...

A rally against increasing legislative attacks on transgender kids across the US. (Universal Images Group via Getty/ UCG/ Michael Siluk) A Texas judge has granted a temporary restraining order blocking “child abuse” investigations into some families who support their trans kids. In February this year, anti-LGBTQ+ Texas governor Greg Abbott issued a directive ordering the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate families and doctors pursuing or providing gender-affirming care for trans youth for “child abuse”. When a mother sued the state over the directive, a temporary injunction...

Members of the LGBTQ-inclusive Portland Mennonite Church. (Facebook/ Portland Mennonite Church) The Mennonite Church USA has passed a resolution acknowledging the harm it has done to LGBTQ+ folk, and removed a ban on same-sex marriage. The denomination is the largest Mennonite denomination in the United States, with 530 congregations and more than 60,000 members. On the first day of Pride month (1 June), the Mennonite Church USA announced that its delegates at the Special Session of the Delegate Assembly last month had narrowly passed “a resolution for repentance and transformation”.  The resolution...

Ariana DeBose performed an amazing mash-up opening number at the 2022 Tony Awards honouring some of Broadway's biggest shows. (Theo Wargo/Getty for Tony Awards Productions) Queer icon Ariana DeBose kicked off the Tony Awards with an absolute banger mashup performance of songs from Broadway’s biggest shows.  The West Side Story star performed a rousing musical number to open the 2022 Tony Awards on Sunday (12 June) night. Ariana DeBose, who was also the host of this year’s awards, paid tribute to musical theatre classics including Cabaret, Pippin, The Wiz, The Sound of Music, Rent, A Chorus Line and Hamilton all while...

Patriot Front participate in an anti-abortion march in January 2022 in Washington, DC. ( Los Angeles Times via Getty/ Kent Nishimura) A group of 31 people, suspected to be members of the white supremacist neo-Nazi group Patriot Front, have been arrested at a Pride parade in Idaho. On Saturday (11 June), North Idaho Pride Alliance held the Coeur d’Alene Pride in the Park event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a “family-friendly, community event celebrating diversity and building a stronger and more unified community for all”.  There was a large police presence at...

Tony Award winners: Six's Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, and A Strange Loop creator Michael R. Jackson and producer Jennifer Hudson. (Getty) A Strange Loop was the among the big winners at the Tony Awards 2022, with producer Jennifer Hudson completing her EGOT, while Six: The Musical composer Toby Marlow made history as the first out non-binary winner. Hosted by Oscar-winning actor Ariana DeBose, the Tony Awards returned to New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night (12 June), and LGBTQ+ talent proved to be the star of the show . Michael...

Rebel Wilson has responded to an attempt by an Australian newspaper to publish an article about her relationship before she could address it publicly herself. (Vivien Killilea/Getty for Netflix) Rebel Wilson has addressed attempts by an Australian newspaper to ‘out’ her, saying she’s handling the “hard” situation “with grace”.  The Pitch Perfect star revealed on Instagram Thursday (9 June) that she is in a relationship with fashion designer Ramona Agruma, gushing that she finally found her “Disney Princess”.  However, it hasn’t all been a Disney fairytale for Wilson. A Sydney Morning Herald article written by...

Miia Love Parker, described by friends as gentle and joyous, was shot to death. (Facebook) Police have launched a “manhunt” after a Black trans woman was shot dead in a car as an “epidemic of violence” tightens its hold on the US. Miia Love Parker, a model described as a “brilliant light” who loved puppies and Pose, was found shot in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennslyvania on 1 April. Friends rushed her to a nearby hospital where she passed away from her injuries, according to CBS Philadelphia. The City of...

Previous runner-up Mahmood will represent Italy at Eurovision Song Contest 2022. (Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images) Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is taking place next month – and this is everything you need to know. The annual event will see 40 countries participate to win the coveted song contest. This year the event is taking place in Turin, Italy, the home country of last year’s iconic winners, Maneskin. It’ll take place across a week in May, firstly with the semi final heats and then the grand finale, which will award one country...