George Michael, who has died at the age of 53, was one of the UK’s greatest and most soulful singers and songwriters of the last 35 years. Here are six key songs that shed light on his life and career. Yes, he eventually became another Gay Icon and an LGBT hero! Careless Whisper (1984) This was […]
Fidel Castro is no more. Love him/hate him. Whatever. The world cannot ignore him, especially in death. He was one of India’s greatest supporters during the non-aligned movement. He was also, undoubtedly, one of those are world leaders who later in life, publicly denounced his government’s homophobia and his own ‘neglect’ of LGBT persecution. In […]
Tens of thousands of people sashayed through the streets of Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, to participate in Asia’s biggest gay pride parade. Many of those who attended carried placards calling on the government to legalise same sex marriage. Dressed in colourful costumes and carrying rainbow flags, they paraded in front of Taiwan’s presidential palace. Taiwan is more […]
They blamed Gaeten Douglas (Patient Zero) as the one who brought the HIV virus to America. They demonised the Gay community because Douglas happened to be gay. Now research shows that Douglas was actually a scapegoat. One of the most demonised patients in history – Gaetan Dugas – has been convincingly cleared of claims he […]
Long before the term LGBT came into vogue, Japan went its own way regarding gender definitions, before the Meiji restoration in the 19th Century opened Japan to Western ideas and concepts, including a more Victorian attitude towards sex roles. Victorian attitudes are changing rapidly in Japan, led by big business seeking to tap into the […]
NEW DELHI – The Centre on Wednesday (Aug 24) approved plans to ban the booming commercial surrogacy industry, a move that would block thousands of foreign couples who flock to these centres to have a baby. India will join several other countries who have made ‘rent-a-womb’ facilities illegal. Commercial surrogacy is banned in most developed […]
Israel: More than 2,000 persons demonstrated on Thursday evening outside the Be’er Sheva (Beersheba) City Hall building instead of marching in the city’s now-cancelled first ever Pride parade. Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev”, it is the centre of the […]
Pope Francis has said that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them. He also said that he had heard that when some Church officials had gone to Pope Benedict (the former Pope who resigned) to complain that Francis was too liberal, Pope Benedict “sent […]
Well, well, well, dearies! The international day against homophobia has passed us by without a whimper, except for some overweight desi aunties posting some sentimental stuff on social media. Some in the print media did a couple of stories. The usual stuff, bleeding heart Obama, the Canadian Prime Minister, and all that jazz. First we […]
Flying in the face of the dastardly IPC 377, South Asia’s biggest rainbow film festival is on! Short-sighted court ‘mis-judgements’ haven’t stopped Mumbai’s Liberty Cinema, Alliance Francaise de Bombay and Max Mueller Bhavan from supporting KASHISH, South Asia’s biggest and India’s only mainstream LGBTQ film festival. The festival will screen 182 films from 53 countries […]
NEW DELHI: In the face of right wing conservatives who would sacrifice human rights at the altar of tradition, two top leaders of BJP and Congress on Saturday came out in support of LGBT rights, saying that the Supreme Court must reconsider its decision upholding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Speaking at the […]
For a decade, Orthodox priest Artyom Vechelkovsky taught at a religious seminary in the city of Samara. He says that his colleagues knew that he was gay, but accepted him and valued his work. But in the current climate of rising antigay sentiment in Russia, church officials suddenly decided to dismiss him, according to a […]
