Here’s Southern Africa’s NEW Mr Gay World 2018 representative
Capetonian Karabo Morake will take the place of Juan Pinnick in the Mr. Gay World™ 2018 contest after the latter withdrew from the event due to a knee injury. On Monday, Mr Gay World made the shock announcement that Pinnick, the current Mr. Gay World Southern Africa, will no longer be able to take part […]
South Africa abuzz over interracial gay TV wedding
The latest episode of Our Perfect Wedding, featuring an interracial gay couple and a polygamous bisexual pastor, has both charmed and outraged South Africans. On Sunday night’s Mzansi Magic reality show, viewers were introduced to Simphiwe, 26, and Riaan, 43, an engaged couple who first met on Facebook. “One day we were chatting and chatting […]
Urgent! Cope needs your help to revise the Civil Union Act
The Congress of the People is calling on LGBTQ individuals and allies for their support in ending the discrimination faced by many same-sex couples in South Africa. In January, Cope MP Deidre Carter tabled the Civil Union Amendment Bill in Parliament to repeal the provision in the law allowing Home Affairs marriage officers to refuse […]
Man agrees that painkillers didn’t actually ‘turn him gay’
A British man who claimed that taking pain medication had “made him gay” has admitted he may have misunderstood what happened to him. Scott Purdy, 23, made headlines this week after he said that taking the drug Pregabalin had resulted in him losing interest in his girlfriend and developing an attraction for men. Purdy start […]
IPU 138th Session – a step backwards for LGBTI rights?
Openly gay MP Manny de Freitas recently participated in a gathering of parliamentarians from around the world in Geneva, where the topic of LGBTI rights caused a furore. Some delegates from the Middle East and Africa even threatened to walk out. He reports on the events that unfolded. Between the 22nd and the 28th of […]
Missing gay man Ruan Uys is reported safe
The mother of missing Gauteng man Ruan Uys has confirmed that he has reached out to her and is safe. Ruan disappeared in January after he was last seen with Alberto Dejesus in Boksburg. According to a June 2017 Facebook post, the two were in a relationship. Ruan’s desperate parents, Johan and Hantie Uys, launched […]
Drag Race star Bianca Del Rio heads to South Africa
After sold out performances in the USA, Australia, the UK and Ireland, Bianca Del Rio, the self described ‘clown in a gown’, is heading to Africa! When it comes to insult comics, Bianca is in a class of her own. Fierce, funny, and fabulous – a would-be love child sired by John Waters and birthed […]
Anger as LGBTQ rights ignored by Commonwealth leaders
Protesters have condemned Commonwealth leaders for refusing to discuss the persecution of LGBTQ people who live in Commonwealth countries where being gay is a crime. On Thursday, around over 120 LGBTQ rights defenders protested outside Marlborough House, the Commonwealth HQ in London, where Commonwealth heads of state gathered for their biennial summit. The activists demanded […]
Study links religious faith to suicide among LGBQ youth
A distressing study has shown that LGBQ youth who have strong religious beliefs may be more prone to suicide. The research, published in the the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, aimed to asses the links between the importance of religion and suicidal thoughts and attempts among young LGBQ people. The researchers used information collated by […]
LGBT voices from Middle East and North Africa speak out
LGBT activists from Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa are defying state-sponsored repression and social stigma by speaking out about their experiences. The Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE) and Human Rights Watch have released a series of videos in which Arabic-speaking LGBT activists describe their journeys of self-acceptance. The clips […]