Is this British man a gay dating app serial killer?
A forty-year-old British man has been charged with drugging and killing four young men he met on a gay dating app. Stephen Port is accused of poisoning the men with fatal doses of party drug GHB. It’s believed that he lured them to his East London flat through Grindr. After allegedly giving them the drug, […]
Gay and lesbian parents spend more time with their kids
A major study has found that gay and lesbian parents tend to spend much more time interacting with their children than heterosexual parents. According to study author Kate C. Prickett, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Population Research Centre at the University of Texas, female same-sex parents in particular “spend 40 percent more time engaged in child-focused activities […]
Almost a million Americans came out on Facebook last year
In honour of last week’s Coming Out Day, Facebook has revealed that more people than ever came out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender on its site. The company defines “coming out” as updating one’s profile to express a same-gender attraction, being in a same-sex relationship or specifying a custom gender. Over the past year, […]
Kenyan president: Gay rights will take time in Africa
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta says that while gay people should not have to face violence it will take time for most Africans to accept LGBT rights. Kenyatta addressed the contentious issue in an interview on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS programme. When asked by Zakaria why the country persecutes “people for something that they have ultimately […]
Indian high court says being LGBT is a fundamental right
In a ruling relating to a transgender youth held captive by his family, the Delhi High Court has affirmed the right of individuals to be LGBT. The ruling earlier this month concerned the case of Shivani Bhat, a 19-year-old trans man studying in the US, who claimed that his parents had forced him to stay […]
US gov report calls for end to “conversion therapy” for minors
In a damning report, America’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has condemned attempts to “cure” gay or transgender teens. In the document, titled Ending Conversion Therapy: Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ Youth, the SAMHSA said that, “conversion therapy is not an appropriate therapeutic approach based on the evidence.” It also called for “alternative […]
Elton John’s husband says President Putin’s a “genuinely lovely” guy
Elton John’s husband, David Furnish, has praised President Putin after the Russian leader phoned the singer last month. The star was at first the victim of a Russian prankster pretending to be Putin calling him to talk about the plight of LGBT people in Russia. The president then later genuinely phoned John and discussed meeting […]
Gay activists welcome at Zim Aids conference, but not protests
Zimbabwe’s health minister has told journalists that LGBT rights activists will be allowed to attend Africa’s biggest AIDS and STI conference, which will be hosted in Harare in late November. The decision earlier this year to hold the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STI’s in Africa (ICASA) was met with criticism. Some activists said they would […]
Controversial African LGBT activist Joël Nana passes away
Joël Gustave Nana Ngongang, a well-known pan-African LGBT activist who lived and worked in South Africa for a number of years, passed away on Thursday night in a hospital in Cameroon after a short illness, aged 33. Mwangi Githahu contributed this obituary to Mambaonline. Known by most as Joël Nana, his life and work touched […]
SA gay filmmakers feared for their lives after Zim threats
The makers of a South African lesbian-themed film were forced to cancel their trip to its screening in Zimbabwe after receiving threats. Mlungisi Msomi, co-director of My Name Is Rose, told Mambaonline that he and his husband (and co-director), Sekara Mafisaand, were invited to attend the historic Harare screening on 4 October. Showing as part of […]