Meet the cast of season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race!
RuPaul’s Drag Race is returning for a new season, and the next royal court of Queens competing for the crown has been revealed. Executive producer and host RuPaul Charles proclaimed that the ninth season would boast “more than ever!” as the Logo TV channel announced the 13 contestants on Thursday. The upcoming premiere episode, set to […]
SAHRC confirms investigation into “no gays on date night” restaurant
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has officially instituted an investigation into the Ekurhuleni restaurant that bars same-sex couples from attending its date night events. According to Gushwell Brooks, SAHRC Communications Coordinator, the commission has to date not actually received any formal complaints about the Lake Restaurant’s discriminatory policy. “However,” he told Mambaonline, “due […]
Frank Ocean sued by his dad over anti-LGBT slur claim
Frank Ocean’s father, Calvin Cooksey, is suing him for $14.5 million over the R&B artist’s claim that he heard him use an anti-LGBT slur as a young boy. Ocean made the assertion in a June 2016 blog post about the Orlando massacre that addressed the hate faced by LGBT people. The musician wrote: “I was […]
Pigeons vs anti-gay hate speech: Equality Court process questioned
An LGBT hate speech case in the Equality Court in Johannesburg has become bogged down in details about the safety of pigeons, leading activists to question the efficacy of the system. Tim Trengove Jones, an English literature lecturer and cultural commentator, last year sued his neighbour, Elvira Oelofse, for allegedly making anti-LGBT slurs against him. […]
Queer film: The roots of Moonlight
It’s not often that a film like Moonlight – about a black queer experience – makes it to the world’s screens. And it’s even rarer when it wins the Golden Globe for best drama and is nominated for eight Academy Awards. Moonlight chronicles the life of Chiron, a young African American man in a tough […]
Finally! Tens of thousands of UK gay men pardoned
Thousands of men have been posthumously pardoned by the UK government for past convictions under historic laws that made consensual gay sex illegal. The pardons officially came into effect on Tuesday after amendments to the Policing and Crime Bill received Royal Assent. The legislation, known as Turing’s Law, will also allow convicted offenders who are […]
Surprise as Trump keeps Obama’s LGBTQ federal employee protection
President Trump says he will not overturn former President Obama’s order protecting LGBTQ employees of federal contractors from discrimination. President Obama signed the historic order in July 2014 to extend all basic protections, benefits and policies to these workers. On Tuesday, The White House said in a statement that the Trump administration will continue to […]
Is homosexuality now legal in Lebanon?
There are reports that Lebanon’s highest court has ruled that homosexuality is not unnatural and thus can no longer be deemed illegal. Various local and regional media say that Lebanon’s Court of Cassation has agreed with a lower court that found in 2014 that consensual adult gay sex is not against the “order of nature.” […]
About turn as Boy Scouts of America agrees to accept transgender boys
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has staved off legal action after it announced that it will allow any child who identifies as a boy to join its programmes. The move followed a discrimination lawsuit against the New Jersey Boy Scouts’ Council by eight-year-old Joe Maldonado and his mother, Kristie Maldonado. He was kicked out […]
One LGBT person is killed almost every day in Brazil
A shocking and tragic record has been broken: More LGBT people were murdered in Brazil in 2016 than in any of the 36 previous years that these hate-based attacks have been documented. According to the Gay Group of Bahia (GGB), 343 LGBT individuals were killed in the past year. That equates to approximately one LGBT […]