Matthew Vines loves God and happens to be gay. When reality won out during his sophomore year and he finally admitted to himself that he was gay, he was both relieved and crushed — relieved because everything that hadn’t made sense about his life finally did, and because love no longer seemed like an impossibility [...]
A Chosen Lifestyle?
, August 14th, 2012 1 Comment
Elaine Sommers, a trustee of Changing Attitude England, contributes this blog: ’Stop messing about; you’re on the road to hell.’ ‘What you’re doing is sinful and against God’s laws. You need some serious prayer ministry.’ ‘You need to repent of your chosen lifestyle. ‘ Who made these strongly worded statements and to whom were they [...]
Episcopal Church Welcomes Transgender People
, July 9th, 2012 Be
July 9 was a historic day for the Episcopal Church as it declared that gender identity and gender expression are not reasons for excluding someone from the discernment process for ordination, nor from any other activity or lay position in the Church. At its triennial General Convention in Indianapolis, the church House of Deputies approved [...]
AMSHeR outraged at the shutting down of a human rights workshop in Uganda
, June 19th, 2012 Be
The African Men for Sexual Health and Rights [AMSHeR] strongly condemns the unlawful shutting down of a human rights workshop in Kampala on Monday, 18 June 2012 by the police under the auspices of Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister, Simon Lokodo. The training workshop, organized by the Kampala-based East and Horn of Africa Human Rights [...]
Kenyan media house bans hate speech targeting LGBTI in adverts
, May 28th, 2012 Be
Election time is looming in Kenya and there is a sense of guardedness as the country moves from the dark past of post election violence in 2007 that resulted in the deaths of over 1,500 people. The upcoming election is also a litmus test of the new people-driven constitution that Kenyans came up with in [...]
Korea – homophobia, transphobia is violence
, May 17th, 2012 1 Comment
Today, May 17, is the day when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental diseases. It is also the International Day Against Homophobia. Today, LGBT people living in many countries around the world come out to the streets and rallies to convey the message that homophobia is violence that cannot be [...]
Indian city to get first clinic for gender reassignment
, May 15th, 2012 2 Comments
Next month, Andheri will get its first Gender Reassignment Clinic at Kolkilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. The clinic will cater to those who suffer from dysphoria – a gender identity disorder. Such patients face a conflict between their actual gender and the gender they identify with — and want to undergo sex reassignment surgery. In June, Kokilaben [...]
Nepal’s Third Gender and the Recognition of Gender Identity
, April 25th, 2012 Be
On December 27, 2007, the Supreme Court of Nepal issued a decision that has been called “arguably the single most comprehensive judgment affirming protections for gender identity anywhere in the world.” The decision in Pant v. Nepal was overwhelmingly in favor of the petitioners, a group of local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) [...]
Miss Universe stance on Botswana trans woman gives community reason to hope
, April 20th, 2012 Be
After the Miss Universe pageant recently changed its rules to allow trans women to enter, Botswana’s trans people are hoping they might be in a stronger situation to change things in their country. Today Tshepo Kgositau a self-identifying trans woman has appeared on local radio stations talking about the breakthrough at Miss Universe and how [...]
Opinion: I refuse your label – a human rights activist is a SOGI activist
, April 18th, 2012 Be
Joseph Sewedo Akoro is Behind the Mask’s Arcus correspondent in Lagos, Nigeria Human Rights advocacy in Africa can be a challenging task for anyone to engage in. My six years experience, from the age 18, has brought me closer to the reality of advocacy than the ideals. During my initiation in the human rights advocacy [...]
