Holding Out for a Gay Hero: Are we bucking the cinematic miserable-queers trope at last?

As author Michael Musto says, "Cinema’s track record in handling gay issues has been splotchier than a twink on a high-gluten diet." 

Good news arrives this week with the premiere of The Imitation Game. The film features Benedict Cumberbatch as a real-life gay hero: Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician who famously broke the Enigma code and, in the process, helped bring about the end of World War II. Winston Churchill later said Turing made the single greatest contribution of anyone when it came to defeating the Nazis.

That’s pretty major, though this isn’t totally a feel-good story. The man who knew secrets had his own, since this wasn’t exactly a time for Pride parades and Drag Race reunions. In fact, Turing (who was socially awkward to an extreme) was prosecuted for homosexuality, suffered chemical castration as a punishment, and was found dead in 1954 in an apparent suicide. It wasn’t until last December that Queen Elizabeth II pardoned him for his transgressions. (Mighty white of her.) But still: He was gay! And a hero! And they made a movie about him! Read More

Parents of transgender kid post heartwarming births notice

Queensland mum Yolanda Bogert placed a heartwarming birth notice in the classifieds section of the Courier Mail newspaper on Tuesday, retracting her daughter’s birth and celebrating her transgender son’s “arrival”. Read More

AIDspan releases first-ever documentary, "I didn't want to bring shame on my family": growing up gay in Ghana

The documentary short is the story of a young HIV positive gay man in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, whose journey through the public health system -- which is largely supported by international donors led by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and malaria -- reflects the challenges inherent in reaching those who are most vulnerable to infection by the disease. Watch Now

Debate on sexual orientation should be mainstream: Hansal Mehta

Top Indian director Hansal Mehta is producing and directing a movie inspired by the true story of a gay professor as he feels the debate on sexual orientation should be a part of mainstream. His film is based on an Aligarh Muslim University professor, who was suspended for allegedly having gay sex, weeks before his retirement in 2010. S R Siras was later reinstated after Allahabad High Court revoked the suspension. He died the same year.

"The film is based on many such true incidents which are happening in our country for a long time. Marginalisation of people based on religion, caste, gender and sexual orientation is not new. Read More

Nigeria: Country's Homophobic Law Driving Gays Into Shadows

Award-winning Nigerian writer Jude Dibia’s first novel, Walking With Shadows, has as its central character a gay man who lives his life as a married family man. Dibia’s novel is one of the first to deal with the taboo subject of homosexuality in Nigeria. 

“People have gone further underground, but they still are trying to survive. And, I think maybe that is why online now on the Internet and on blogs you are seeing more stories coming out,” he says.

“There is a lot of anger festering in the underbelly. … But, more stories are popping out there because of this law. And, I think it is a good thing. In its own way, it is a good thing,” Dibia says.   Read More

The Economic Case for Supporting LGBT Rights

What’s the secret to convincing the world to back a movement? Figure out how it could impact the global bottom line. Economic reasoning is part of what propelled the modern women’s empowerment movement.

And now, it’s informing an emerging argument for LGBT inclusion. Discriminatory laws hinder the size of the workforce, employees' mental health, and international tourism. How could they not impact a country's GDP? Read More

Conservative Paper Attacks Turkish MPs Who Attend LGBTI Conference

Conservative Turkish newspaper Milli Gazete attacked the Turkish MPs who participated in the conference titled “Fundamental Rights, Non-Discrimination and the Protection of Vulnerable Groups, Including LGBTI” organized by the European Parliament. Following reporting on the event, “Parliament gives pass for immorality,” three MPs withdrew their participation. Read More 

25 Powerful Pictures From India’s Largest Gay Pride Parade Since Section 377 Was Reinstated

In December 2013, India’s Supreme Court overthrew a 2009 ruling by the Delhi High Court that had decriminalised gay sex, effectively making homosexual sex illegal. On November 30, New Delhi saw the largest demonstration of gay pride since said ruling, and since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India. Below are some of the parade’s most poignant images. See more

India's Gay And Lesbian Community Demands End To Discrimination

Nearly a thousand gay rights activists marched through central New Delhi on Sunday to demand an end to discrimination against gays in India's deeply conservative society. Many at the parade said the recent Supreme Court decision criminalizing gay sex was a denial of their human rights. Read More 

Pastor Calls for LGBT Holocaust to Eradicate AIDS by Christmas

In the U.S., even the most right-wing of religious fundamentalists, even if they believe Scripture condemns LGBT people as deserving of death, usually pull their punches (or stones) and stop short of actually calling for the execution of anyone based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

But one Baptist minister in Arizona has not only called for an LGBT holocaust but put forth the claim that such a mass killing would wipe out AIDS by Christmas. Read More

Latvian Ruling Party Official Laimdota Straujuma Resigns After Praising Nazi Extermination Of Gays

In a Twitter discussion with party colleagues that included former Welfare Minister Ilze Viņķele, the subject wandered onto the possibility of same-sex partnerships being introduced in Latvia. Challenged on the point, Laimdota Straujuma said she approved of homosexuals having to leave the country as a result of opposition to homosexuality in society at large.

"Thank god - at one time, the Germans shot them. It improves fertility," Priede said in a tweet that was subsequently deleted and replaced with a call for "Christian values." Priede was immediately warned by Viņķele and others that her comments were inappropriate and might amount to a incitement to hate crimes. Read More

Rights and repercussions: The paradox of LGBT life in Georgia

Former Russian republic makes progress on paper as discrimination continues. “It is becoming a dangerous trend in Georgia to condone and leave unpunished the acts of violence against religious and sexual minorities if they are perpetrated by the Orthodox religious clergy or their followers.

It is simply unacceptable for the authorities to continue to allow attacks in the name of religion or on the basis of anyone’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia program director at Amnesty International, in the aftermath of the chaos. Read More