Awkward! France not backing down on gay Vatican ambassador
France appears to be standing firm in its posting of an openly gay man as its ambassador to the Vatican, despite the pope’s disapproval. France appointed Laurent Stefanini, a highly respected senior diplomat and a practising catholic, as its representative to the church back in January. Although the Vatican usually approves such appointments in six week, Stefanini […]
LGBT groups condemn xenophobic violence
LGBT groups have condemned the ongoing attacks on foreign nationals and the looting of their shops in Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal. Triangle Project (Cape Town) and the Gay and Lesbian Network (Pietermaritzburg) joined other civil society groups such as the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Ndifuna Ukwazi and Sonke Gender Justice in expressing their outrage on Tuesday at […]
Hollywood studios “out of touch” on LGBT characters
An annual report on LGBT characters in Hollywood movies has found a slight improvement, but the major studios are falling behind television offerings. According to GLAAD’s Studio Responsibility Index, of the 114 releases from the major studios in 2014, 20 (17.5%) included LGBT characters. This is compared to 16.7% in 2013. There were however no transgender […]
Hunk could become 1st Mens Health trans cover model
A transgender man is in the lead to win a competition to become a cover model for an issue of Men’s Health magazine. Aydian Ethan Dowling, a 27-year-old artist, activist, entrepreneur and fitness trainer from Oregon, currently has over 22,000 votes in the Ultimate Guy Search contest, more than double his nearest competitor. If he […]
Egypt bans foreign student for being gay
An Egyptian court has backed a government decision to bar a Libyan from studying in the country because of his sexuality. The Interior Ministry had banned the un-named gay man in 2008 from returning to Egypt to resume his studies at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport. An official told AP that […]
Anglican Church slammed for appointing anti-gay leader
The global Anglican Communion has been slammed for selecting an anti-gay Nigerian bishop as its new secretary general. The church announced earlier this month that Josiah Atkins Idowu-Fearon, Bishop of Kaduna in Nigeria, has been appointed as the next Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. He was selected from a field of other applicants from […]
New antibody therapy shows promise in fighting HIV
Researchers have shown that a new experimental therapy can dramatically reduce the amount of HIV present in a patient’s blood. The results stem from HIV patient trials of a new generation of so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies, conducted by Rockefeller University researchers in New York. The work, reported this week in Nature, brings fresh optimism to […]
Meet the men of Mr Gay World 2015
Here they are! The 21 gorgeous men from around the world who’ll be travelling to Cape Town and Knysna in South Africa to compete in the Mr Gay World 2015 contest. They’re a diverse mix – from their twenties to their forties, from technicians to models, hailing from progressive and oppressive nations – all determined […]
Watch: Hillary Clinton campaign launch features gay couple
A gay couple has been featured in the long-awaited campaign video announcing Hillary Clinton’s run for the US presidency in 2016. The video, titled Getting Started, depicts a group of diverse Americans speaking about their plans for the future. Included are Jared Milrad and Nate Johnson, who are seen walking down the street hand in […]
Obama praises LGBT activist during Jamaica visit
President Obama has highlighted the plight of LGBT Jamaicans during his brief visit to the island nation last week. Obama attended a youth leadership forum held at the University of the West Indies in Kingston on Thursday. At the event, the American president praised Angeline Jackson, co-founder of LGBT rights group Quality of Citizenship Jamaica, […]