In its announcement, the French Rugby Federation acknowledged that World Rugby – the global governing body for the sport – implemented a ban on trans women last year.
However, the World Rugby ban was only advisory, meaning individual countries’ governing bodies can put in place their own policies around transgender participation in sport.
In a statement, the French Rugby Federation said it is committed to the inclusion of trans people in rugby.
The group said its steering committee had voted unanimously in favour of allowing trans women to participate on women’s rugby teams following a recommendation from an equality commission.
Under new rules, trans women who have had gender-affirming surgeries and those who have received hormone treatment for at least 12 consecutive months will be allowed to play on women’s teams.
However, the rule will come with a number of conditions. Trans women must also have been legally recognised in their correct gender, and their testosterone levels must not exceed five nanomole/litre.
“Rugby is an inclusive, sharing sport, without distinction of sex, gender, origin or religion,” said FFR vice president Serge Simon.
“The FFR is against all forms of discrimination and works daily to ensure that everyone can exercise their free will in rugby without constraint.”
The news comes months after World Rugby announced a ban on trans women playing at an elite level following a months-long review process.
A high school in Indiana has ordered teachers to remove Pride flags from their classrooms to “maintain viewpoint neutrality”, and students have slammed the decision.
The principal of Pendleton Heights High School, Connie Rickert, ordered three teachers to remove Pride flags from their classrooms, local newspaper The Herald Bulletin reported.
“Teachers are legally obligated to maintain viewpoint neutrality during their official duties to ensure all students can focus on learning and we can maintain educational activities and school operations,” she stated. “Our counselors are trained to respond to any student who desires support.”
Despite outrage from students, other senior staff also issued statements about the ban, with one comparing the Pride flag to a white supremacy flag. One student slammed the comparison, telling The Indianapolis Star: “One is about inclusiveness and the other is about hate.”
The president of the board of trustees for the local district wrote in an email to parents: “The issue with displaying the flag in a school is a double-edged sword.
“If an LGBTQ+ flag is allowed to be displayed, then any other group would have the same ability. That could include such flags as supporting white supremacy, which is in direct conflict with LGBTQ+. I hope we can model equality and support through our actions.”
Student Bryce Axel-Adams started an online petition, calling for the school board to officially allow Pride flags in classrooms. At the time of writing, it has more than 3,500 signatures.
Bryce wrote: “Having a pride flag is one of the clearest ways to say, ‘I support you, and I’m here for you. You are loved.’
“That is so important for LGBTQ+ youth, we have always been told that teachers will always be there for us, and being able to easily identify teachers we can safely go to is extremely important to our mental health.”
Bryce later added that they had received an update from the school administrators saying they had changed their stance, and weren’t banning the flags because they are “political speech”, but to “avoid a discrimination lawsuit”.
The petition received a number of heart-warming responses from teachers in other districts, Pendleton alumni and other students.
GayCities encourages you to stay safe during the Covid 19 pandemic. If you choose to travel, we recommend that you follow all CDC Travel Guidelines and adhere closely to all local regulations regarding face coverings, social distancing and other safety measures.
The risk of transmitting Covid is known to decrease outdoors. Therefore, planning a trip to a gay campsite is not only one way to get a little closer to nature, but also the possibility of socializing with others a little more safely.
Don’t know where to start? There are dozens of gay campgrounds across North America. Here are just a few recommended ones.
Roseland Resort in West Virginia
Bear weekend fun at Roseland Resort (Photo: Roseland Resort)
Roseland is one of the best-known gay-owned and operated campgrounds in the US. It’s set amongst 222 acres of West Virginia countryside. Besides stunning views, it offers bed and breakfast style cabins and tent sites. There’s also a pool, bar area and the Walnut Tree restaurant. It’s aimed at gay men over the age of 21. It scores highly on Trip Advisor for its clean facilities and friendly staff.
“This place is amazing. Beautiful scenery, great facilities, but most importantly very, very nice people. I can’t stress that enough. Just a lot of fun, easy going energy,” says one reviewer.
One recent visitor praised the local landscape: “One of the most under appreciated aspects of Roseland is how much amazing hiking there is,” said Mike (@thedreamofthenineties)
Enjoying the scenery around Roseland (Photo: @thedreamofthenineties/Instagram)
You’ll find it at 925 Nolte Lane, Proctor WV 26055. It’s quite a drive into West Virginia and the owner do recommend you check the route on Google Maps as some GPS systems don’t track all the small local roads.https://www.instagram.com/p/CCT830NjKdo/embed/?cr=1&v=13&wp=1080&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaycities.com&rp=%2Foutthere%2F53815%2F10-best-gay-campsites-us%2F%3Futm_source%3Dqueerty%26utm_medium%3Ddirectlink%26utm_campaign%3Ddirectlink%26utm_content%3D10%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bbest%2Bgay%2Bcampsites%2Bin%2Bthe%2BUS%2Bfor%2Bsummertime%2Bfun#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1501%2C%22ls%22%3A1016%2C%22le%22%3A1033%7D
Sawmill Camping Resort, Florida
Sawmill has won several awards as a camping resort (Photo: Supplied)
One of the most highly-rated gay and lesbian camping grounds in the south-east, “where camping meets nightlife.” Sawmill offers it all: Four bars, Woody’s Nightclub, a clothing-optional pool, plus nature trail, lakeside walks (around Ricki Lake!), and local Zip Lines and antique shopping. There’s also a nightly campfire and regular entertainment on the courtyard stage.
“How wonderful is it to find a place where you can go and be you,” said one visitor on TripAdvisor. “Very welcoming and inviting. Along with all the amenities, one could want while camping … Sawmill Campground is truly the best”
‘Ricki Lake’ at Sawmill Camping Resort (Photo: Supplied)
You’ll find Sawmill Resort at 21710 US Highway 98, Dade City, FL 33523. You can rent a cabin, or space for your RV or tent. Membership is required, which costs $35 and lasts for 12 months.
Vitambi Springs in Florida
(Photo: Vitambi Springs)
Near the tranquil Lake Vitambi, you’ll find Vitambi Springs at 28280 Etumakee Way, Clewiston, FL 33440. Once again, do check Google Map before setting off on your drive as it’s quite out there in the wilderness! It’s around 90 minutes to Miami, Naples or Fort Lauderdale.
Around two-thirds of this huge site are clothing optional. It offers a range of accommodation, including inn room, private cabins, military barracks, plus space for RVs and tents. There’s a pool, a lakeside dock with canoes, a bar, gym, café, ‘Big Oak Lodge’ and plenty of wild deer wandering around. There’s also a regular calendar of event, such as Bad Bear weekend.
Nestled in a hidden valley of the Superstition Mountains, it offers bed and breakfast accommodation along with camping facilities. Amenities include a hot tub and pool, BYOB Saloon, full food menu, karaoke, community fire pit and 40 acres of trails. It’s also clothing optional!
Local attractions include the Tonto National Forest, Hike Peralta Trails and the town of Superior.
There’s also an airport shuttle service if you’re flying not driving to the resort. It hosts regular events, such as its upcoming Wellness Weekend and Drum Circle on May 14, and ‘Cowboy Fling’ weekend.
“You get to meet new people and everyone is so nice and very welcoming!” one customer, Cesar Alonso Borey, told GayCities. “They don’t treat you like a stranger even if it’s your first time there. Uncle Bobby and Rich always do their best to make you feel very comfortable! You get to really talk to people like we used to! A totally wonderful, relaxing, fun experience!”
Copper Cactus Ranch Men’s Retreat, 4516 North Elephant Butte Road, Queen Valley,
Campit Resort in Michigan
Campit Resort bills itself as an “affordable getaway and vacation destination” for the LGBTQ community, their friend and allies. “We are all affirming, with a reputation as a very friendly, welcoming and safe place to relax and play.”
It offers 33 acres to explore and roam, ten minutes from the towns of Saugatuk and Douglas. The Lake Michigan beaches are also not far away.
Besides space for tent and RV’s, there are also 22 log cabin which can be rented, plus a five-bedroom bunkhouse. It also offer a clubhouse with regular entertainment, swimming pool and nature trails. Themed weekends are aimed at both gay men and lesbians.
Someone who’d visited several times told GayCities he liked it for its range of sleeping options, while nearby Saugautuk is also very gay-friendly and offers a number of cider mills, breweries and a winery to visit.
Campit Outdoor Resort is at 6635 118th Ave, Fennville, MI 49408.
The Woods Camping Resort in Pennsylvania
The pool at The Woods Camping Resort (Photo: Supplied)
Nestled in the Pocono Mountains, and open since 2004, the Woods Camping Resort in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, is another of the country’s best LGBTQ camping grounds. It’s set amidst 161 private acres with its own streams and four-acre lake.
You’ll find it open between May and October, with a whole calendar of events to explore and activities such as yoga and volleyball. In addition to plenty of space to rent for tents and RVs, it offers 30 cabins and three resort homes.
Events include an annual bears gathering, leather/country weekend, and Christmas in July weekend, among many others. To make a reservation, you’ll need to take out a membership.
The resort’s ethos is simple: less digital interaction and more real-life interaction!
(Photo: The Woods Camping Resort)
“In an era when old methods of meeting people have dwindled, The Woods has risen.
“At The Woods, you are among like-minded people in an inviting atmosphere which encourages face-to-face interaction. You can choose from a variety of activities and places where you’ll be among real live people! Talking, laughing, dancing and yes, cruising if you so choose.”
The inclusive resort welcomes everyone from the LGBTQ spectrum: “The only people not allowed at The Woods are bullies, racists, fighters, immature jerks and those who get overly intoxicated.”
The Woods Camping Resort, 3500 Forest Street, Lehighton, PA 18235.
Triangle Recreation Camp in Washington
Triangle Recreation Camp (47715 Mountain Loop Highway, Granite Falls, WA 98252) in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, 21 miles east of Granite Falls, has a history dating back to 1975.
Situated in a beautiful, extremely rural part of the country, this clothing-optional site tends to pull in visitors from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, as well a further afield.
It is regarded as the premier “recreational campground that is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer owned and operated” in the northwest of the US. It’s open from mid-April to October, and offers 80 acres to set up your tent or RV.
@wolfie_braden and @bigbrojacks enjoy the amenities at Triangle Recreation Camp (Photo: @wolfie_braden/Instagram)
There’s stunning scenery to enjoy, including a local waterfall, beach and forests dominated by huge, centuries-old trees.
Freedom Valley in Ohio
Camping at Freedom Valley (Photo: @thepupodin/Instagram)
Freedom Valley is an acclaimed camping ground in Ohio, about 57 miles from both Akron and Cleveland.
It offers a large bunkhouse, a handful of cabins and trailers, plus plenty of space for tents amongst its flowery meadows. It is aimed at “all Men of all backgrounds, sizes, and ages (over 21).” It offers a pool, firepit, plus several themed weekends throughout its summer season.
A bunkhouse at Freedom Valley (Photo: Supplied)
In 2017, respondents to a survey in the South Florida Gay News voted Freedom Valley their second favorite campground in the US (behind Sawmill). It’s been praised for its appearance, accommodations and community atmosphere. You’ll find it at 1875 U.S. 250 South, New London, OH 44851.
Jones Pond in New York
Jones Pond in Angelica, NY, has a history as a gay camping ground going back to 1991. You can choose from a bunkhouse or cabin, while there’s an expansive area to rent space for a tent or RV (175 camping sites!).
An all-day cafe takes care of all your food needs, while there’s over 100 acres of rural, Western New York State to explore.
Aimed at men aged over 21, it’s clothing optional around the pool area. Like the other sites mentioned here, there are plenty of themed weekends throughout the summer, like an annual Pride weekend celebration and Cowboy Weekend.
Jones Pond camp site is at 9835 Old State Road, Angelica, NY 14709.
Camp Camp in Maine
Camp Camp is not a camping ground but a big, annual LGBTQ camping event that takes place every August in southwestern Maine (45 miles west of Portland, Maine).
It’s been running for over 25 years and routinely attracts around 200 attendees.
Activities include everything from hiking, zip-lining, rock wall climbing, and canoeing to pottery and stained glass workshops. You sleep in bunk beds in cabins named after LGBTQ icon like Ellen DeGeneres, Harvey Milk and Oscar Wilde.
The organizers say that around 75% of those who attend return for at least a second visit: a testimony to the unique and special atmosphere fostered by this inclusive event.
Humans have used symbols and iconography to communicate and identify things going back to when cave people made the first drawings on the cave walls. This use pre-dates language and the written word, but symbols have remained in use even after language became commonplace.
This use includes symbols and icons used to identify, segregate, promote intolerance and hate for groups of people. This use was especially true when it came to the persecution and systematic targeting by the Nazis under Hitler. The SS created a unique classification system to identify Jews who had to wear a yellow star formed by two triangles and criminals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and anyone deemed nonconformist, including homosexuals who wore the pink triangle. As with other groups, the Nazis forced anyone known or suspected to be engaged in homosexual behavior to don the Pink Triangle, proven or not. This behavior included bi-sexuality and those who were transgender men. Typically, this did not include lesbians and transgender women.
It is important to note that early on, we were not singled out for who we were but instead lumped in with criminals or political prisoners and made to wear a colored triangle representing that group of individuals, perhaps giving us more “cover.” Later, the Pink Triangle became one of many colored triangles used to identify individuals and were often combined to show those belonging to more than one group.
It is no wonder that Hitler would target our community given the prominent and visible gay and lesbian culture in Berlin at the time. Even though homosexuality was technically illegal before the rise of Hitler under the Paragraph 175 statute, it was rarely enforced. As was true of so many groups of people, Hitler saw us as a threat to his creation of the perfect race. Similar in many ways to what we continue to face politically and socially today, Hitler was afraid of us. As a result of that fear, he used hate and fear as his weapon and the Pink Triangle as a way to identify, shame, and target us.
Like others persecuted by the Nazis, individuals wearing the Pink Triangle were easily identifiable, making them instant targets by other prisoners and guards in the concentration camps. The Pink Triangle also made it easy to continue the persecution even after the war ended. Many who wore the Pink Triangle were transferred from concentration camps to prisons because it was illegal to be a homosexual.
What is unique about the Pink Triangle, compared to other symbols of identification, segregation, and hate, is that it was reclaimed and turned into a symbol of perseverance, strength, and unity.
Heinze Heger’s 1972 book “The Men With The Pink Triangle” brought greater awareness to the origins and use of the Pink Triangle by the Nazis. As a result, a German gay liberation group used the symbol as a memorial to those early victims and a new symbol of protest. After the Stonewall rebellion, our community took what had once been a symbol of hatred and turned it into a symbol of pride. We have also used it as a symbol of protest, as was seen during the early years of AIDS.
While it has been a small minority, it is important to note that some have criticized using a symbol that originated from hate to represent us. In 1993, senior editor Sara Hart of the gay magazine 10 Percent expressed this and received significant backlash.
As unique as it is to have reclaimed the Pink Triangle as our own, it is easy to overlook its historical significance as time goes by. I look at my lack of knowledge and understanding as a young gay man coming out in the early 1980s and how I initially just knew it to be a symbol of our community without proper context.
Yes, the Pink Triangle is now a symbol of pride, but it should also serve as a reminder of how easy it is to have all we have fought for and earned stripped away from us. As we come upon another season of Pride, we need to understand what our community’s symbols represent now, but we also need to understand their origins and what they represented before.
After a doctor’s visit, three court appearances, five trips to the bank and having her name and address published in a newspaper, Billie Simmons finally got a debit card with her chosen name.
As a transgender woman, that meant she didn’t run the risk of outing herself every time she used her card for routine expenses like buying groceries.
The legal process to change her name and her gender on identity documents took several weeks. Yet four years on, Simmons still receives her monthly credit report in an email addressed to her dead name.
She hasn’t been able to change her online banking username and her credit score is incomplete, only reflecting transactions made after she legally changed her name.
“It’s a constant emotional reminder that the system will always see me as the person I used to be and it won’t let me move on with my life,” the 27-year-old said.
“On tough days that’s a really hard thing to grapple with. These banking systems are not designed for us.”
Hoping to address some of these issues, Simmons has co-founded Daylight, an online banking provider focused on the LGBTQ community that is set to launch this summer.
Among its features, it allows users to set up an account online with their chosen name, regardless of what appears on their ID documents, and receive financial coaching focused on goals common among many LGBTQ consumers, such as saving for surrogacy or adoption.
Daylight estimates there are 30 million Americans who identify as LGBTQ. It is among a cohort of new digital banks in the United States targeting communities where many people say their needs have not been met by mainstream lenders.
Such startups include First Boulevard and Greenwood, both focused on serving Black Americans, Cheese Financial aimed at the Asian community and Majority serving immigrant groups.
“Historically, community banks have focused on cheaper customer acquisition by focusing on an underserved geography,” said Ian Kar, founder and CEO of research firm Fintech Today.
“The internet removes geographical restrictions. Developing banking services around people’s identity, like race and sexual orientation, is a modern approach.”
Digital banking startups that target specific demographics raised a collective $318 million from investors in 2020, according to data provider CB Insights.
They’ve raised $86 million in eight deals in 2021, including a $40 million cash injection for Greenwood from U.S. financial institutions including Truist Financial Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp.
Yet such startups are entering an increasingly crowded market for digital banking, where many rivals offer similar basic services and pricing, like no monthly fees, overdraft fees or minimum balance.
They’re betting their branding and tailored offerings for their target groups will trump the wider range of services offered by big banks. Yet they may need to swiftly expand their customer bases to challenge larger lenders who enjoy scale and cheaper sources of capital, according to some industry experts.
Yawning wealth gap
Kansas City-based First Boulevard, founded in the wake of George Floyd’s murder last year, says it aims to help customers build wealth and reinvest in the Black community.
The inequality in the United States is stark: the average wealth of Black families is $24,100 – less than 15% that of white families, at $142,500, according to Federal Reserve data.
Just 6% of Black business owners surveyed in 2020 by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity said their primary source of credit came from banks, versus 23% for all businesses. When approved, the median loan amount for Black business owners was less than half of the loan amounts extended to white peers, according to the survey.
“We are one of the only communities in the world that were considered property when our financial system was built,” said Donald Hawkins, First Boulevard’s CEO.
Among its offerings, First Boulevard is building a marketplace which gives users cash back for buying at Black-owned businesses.
Prentiss Earl, a teacher and entrepreneur in Kansas City, said he’d never felt comfortable asking his mainstream bank for financial advice, but would at a lender like First Boulevard.
“I want to feel I sense that my money is going to business ventures and people who look like me,” Earl said.
First Boulevard is launching on Juneteenth – an annual holiday on June 19 commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States – and says it has a waiting list of 200,000 users.
It recently raised $5 million in seed funding from backers including UK banking giant Barclays Plc and fintech investment firm Anthemis Group.
“If you see more attention to this segment it is because it has been lacking for so long,” said Amy Nauiokas, founder and CEO of Anthemis, referring to minority groups.
‘It’s intimidating’
Given the challenges facing such entrants into the competitive digital banking market, success could hinge on how quickly they can grow their customer base by building a brand that resonates as authentic with the communities they aim to serve, according to analysts.
“You could make a mistake very easily as you will never appeal to every single person in that community. It’s a community but not everyone is a carbon copy,” said Sarah Kocianski, head of research at fintech consultancy 11:FS.
Houston and Stockholm-based Majority provides banking services to immigrants in the United States, a diverse group spanning multiple nationalities, cultures and languages, and says it signed up 5,000 subscribers in its first 3 months since launching.
The company began by offering financial services to the Nigerian community in Houston, later expanding to Cubans in Miami. It now plans to target immigrants from Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia in Washington DC. It hires employees from the same communities who can act as local advisers.
CEO Magnus Larsson said many migrants go to physical stores in their communities to access basic financial services.
“Why do people go there when it’s expensive? Because of the cultural context,” he added. “They are uncomfortable or not feeling welcome (in mainstream banking). It’s intimidating.”
Financial access
For some people, specialized banks can be crucial, according to Ken Lian, who lacked a credit profile and struggled to open a checking account after he moved to the United States from China in 2008. He ended up paying more than $1,000 in various fees like ATM withdrawals and overdrafts.
He now has a 800 FICO credit score, which is considered above average, but says he can still get rejected by mainstream banks because of his relatively new status in the country.
This year Lian co-founded Cheese Financial, a digital banking service for the 21 million Asian Americans.
Tailored to be accessible for customers with no credit history, the company is also working on being able to take on new customers without requiring a social security number.
It offers 10% cash back at more than 10,000 stores and Asian-owned businesses and has pledged to donate $10 for each new user to a non-profit organization focused on helping the community.
“Given the current environment the Asian community is facing, we built Cheese as a new banking platform with a social cause,” Lian said, referring in part to a spike in attacks on Asian Americans over the past year.
MICHAEL BARNETT’S thought-provoking documentary about the trials and triumphs of trans teenager athletes was made in the Trump era where society was encouraged to express rampant transphobia. In fact, violently oppose everything that was not about white cis-gendered men.Whilst the topic of trans sportsmen and women may surface in the media quite often, it is being confronted by the reality of what they face on a daily basis helps us understand how very serious it all is. And that’s exactly what this documentary does Barnett follows three teen trans in different US States. That in itself is important as each State has different rules of what these teenagers can and cannot do. In Texas where MACK BEGGS a high school wrestler lives, he is forced to wrestle girls even though he is very much a boy.Beggs is being raised by his very loving grandparents. Whilst his elderly grandpa still struggles with Mack’s pronouns, his Grandma. a devout Christian, Republican, and a gun-totting Sherriff’s Deputy could not be more supportive of her grandson. She confesses to studying the bible at great length and when she found that God would acceptMack without question, she decided to do the same.
Even living in an accepting household like this, Beggs must still deal with the hostility hurled at him …. mainly by adults, … when he is out competing. His grandmother tells Barnett that she feels if they had not fully accepted Mack he would definitely have been part of the 40% of trans teens in the US who commit suicide or attempt it, every single year.
Begg’s very supportive Coach suggests that the whole subject of being a champion is what irritates people most, they would be more willing to accept him if he didn’t win every time.
In New Hampshire, trans SARAH ROSE HUCKMAN gets to ski with the other female skiers. She talked about often holding back from winning her events to avoid the inevitable outcry of ‘unfair’. The very articulate Huckman becomes an activist and a major force in the movement who successfully get the State to pass legislation to level the playing field and stop discrimination.Huckman’s actions are a gamble and could have backfired. Most trans would prefer to remain under the radar and out of the glare from the (mostly reactionary) media, yet she was actively encouraging it.The third athlete that Barnett features is a champion runner ANDRAYA YEARWOOD. After one of her runs, she is met by a woman screaming and accusing Yearwood of single-handled undoing women’s rights that she had fought for. Every adult who vents such anger at these teens likes to suggest that the basis of their complaints is what they allege is the unfairness of (the success of) trans athletes but you can sense it is based in a much deeper inbred hatred.One of the school Principals summed up her own attitude very succinctly She claimed that it is impossible to accept these teens transitioning in everyday life, but then demand they revert back when it comes to playing sports.In a world where coming out as gay has gotten much easier, we now need to turn our attention to support trans kids living their true identity We have an incredibly long way to go to ensure that no teen again is ever so unhappy, that they end their own lives. Getting rid of Trump is only the first step.
New York’s Stonewall Inn will kick off LGBTQ Pride Month with a star-studded streaming concert on June 1 to benefit The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Safe Spaces Initiatives. Presenters and performers for the event, produced by Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora and Victoria Varela, include Billy Eichner, Chelsea Clinton, Margaret Cho, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Julianne Moore, Fran Drescher, Lea DeLaria, Alexandra Billings, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Poehler, Randy Rainbow, Jordin Sparks, Lance Bass, Sophia Bush, Jackie Cox, Sasha Velour, Debra Messing, Laith Ashley, Omar Sharif Jr., Rita Wilson, André De Shields and more.
The Safe Spaces Initiative will identify and designate entertainment venues, food and beverage locations, stores, businesses, and other public venues, as safe spaces for LGBTQ members of the community.
“The Stonewall Inn is one of the original safe spaces, and it’s important that we create more Safe Spaces for the LGBTQA+ community across the country,” said Stonewall Inn co-owner Kurt Kelly.
“We need to make sure that public venues, stores, business, etc. that say they are LGBTQA+ friendly and a safe space for the community are putting in the work and have the policies, procedures, and training to make sure they truly are a safe and affirming space for our community,” said Stonewall Inn co-owner Stacy Lentz, who also serves as CEO of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative.
The concert is sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery, FCB Health New York, Hawkins Mikita, Jagermeister USA, Jennifer Brown Consulting, JetBlue, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Video Out.
Stonewall Day Celebration
Pride Live is teaming up with Outloud: Raising Voices for the fourth annual Stonewall Day celebration, a three-day concert at Los Angeles’ Memorial Coliseum June 4-6. Adam Lambert is set to curate and perform at the event, which will also feature Chelsea Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Kim Petras, Geena Rocero, Angelica Ross, Rafael Silva, Sam Sparro, Ryan Jamaal Swain, George Takei, VINCINT, Chely Wright and Conchita Wurst.
May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia and Intersexphobia (IDAHOBIT). Along with Pride month, it is a time when the global spotlight shines on LGBTIQ equality. Every year we need that spotlight, because, while progress has been inspiring in recent decades, the levels of exclusion, discrimination, harassment and violence LGBTIQ communities around the world continue to face every day are harrowing. Over the last year and a half they have only been amplified by the pandemic.
In recent weeks we hear more and more about increasing COVID-19 vaccine access in the USA, in the U.K., and elsewhere. We hear about restrictions easing, and about life going back to a semblance of normalcy. What we hear less about are the countries where vaccines are a long way from being available, and the people being left behind from recovery efforts. Among them, LGBTIQ people.
So on this IDAHOBIT, I want the spotlight to shine on that.
Vulnerable communities are always more deeply affected in times of crisis. In the U.S., Black and Latinx people continue to become infected and die from COVID-19 at much higher ratesthan white people. The United Nations highlights that millions more women worldwide have lost jobs in the pandemic and have had to bear more of the burden of caring for children and elderly family members.
For LGBTIQ people, the marginalization that we experience on a day-to-day basis was amplified during the pandemic. Due to overrepresentation in informal sector jobs caused by employment discrimination, LGBTIQ people experienced a devastation of livelihoods. Loss of homes and an inability to leave resulted in higher rates of domestic violence. We’ve experienced amplified challenges accessing health care, and increasing mental health issues due to separation from communities. Moreover, LGBTIQ people, as in other crises, have been blamed and scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic, further amplifying already prevalent levels of LGBTIQ-phobia around the world.
Compounding that even further is the fact that humanitarian responses often exclude LGBTIQ people by using narrow definitions of family, binary definitions of gender, unsafe locations, or biased staff for emergency interventions.
In April 2020, OutRight launched a COVID emergency fund to support LGBTIQ communities around the world. Reflecting the ongoing crisis the LGBTIQ community is facing, the latest call for applications, launched last month, received 1,500 applications from 111 countries, totaling $26 million in need. Applications highlighted a deepening crisis as LGBTIQ people continue to be out of jobs, continue to have to live with abusive family members, and face challenges accessing life-saving care for HIV, gender affirming treatment, or, indeed COVID-19. One applicant highlighted a dramatic loss of funding as a result of which they are on the brink of shutting several community centers providing crucial services to the community. Another highlights an exponential growth in calls for help to their hotline, with most callers asking support for shelter and food, as well as psychological support due to abuse and violence in the home.
At the same time, while vaccines have become widely available across North America and Europe, the same is not true for the majority of the world. This vaccine tracker shows less than one dose administered per 100 people across Africa, one to two in parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The picture looks more hopeful in Latin America, with over 80 people out of a 100 having received a dose in Chile, and just over 20 in Brazil.
What does this mean? That most people in the world have not reached the end of the pandemic. And, as the Global South has more of the world’s population and more of the world’s laws criminalizing same-sex relations, the majority of LGBTIQ people in the world will continue to be in a crisis within a crisis, feeling amplified effects. Experience also shows that when recovery efforts do take on more speed, LGBTIQ people will not be among the first to feel the effects — they will be among the last.
Days like IDAHOBIT are a time for reflection. A pandemic hurts every one of us. It cannot be overcome unless everyone is included in the recovery effort. These days can also be a time to honor interdependence, and to recognize that we are stronger together. At this moment in the pandemic, LGBTIQ people, other marginalized communities, and people across the Global South are being forgotten. Until everyone is included normalcy will not return, the pandemic will continue to evolve, and we will continue to be at risk.
Maria Sjödinm is Deputy Executive Director, OutRight Action International.
Pride organisers in Melbourne, Australia, have been called to ban uniformed police officers from an annual parade because the force “pose a risk” to LGBT+ attendees.
Midsumma Pride, run by the decades-old arts and culture organisation Midsumma Festival, is facing fierce calls from two top state and local advocacy groups to ban cops from its annual parade on 23 May.
For almost two decades, the authorities have taken part in Midsumma Pride, with a contingent from the Victoria Police and Sheriff’s Office Of Victoria set to march in the emergency services wave this year.
But the Victorian Pride Lobby and the Sydney-based Pride in Protest groups have both sought a response from the board of Midsumma to prevent police from marching.
In their letters, activists spoke of the historically fraught relationship between the LGBT+ community and law enforcement. To the groups, the police are simply out of place to considering Pride’s roots as a defiant anti-police uprising.
“Police pose a risk to the safety of many LGBT+ community members, particularly First Nations people, people of colour, poor people, sex workers, people with disability and trans and gender diverse people,” the letter from Pride in Protest stated.
“To expect people who have survived police violence to march with their oppressors denies their right to justice and safety at Melbourne Pride.
“Inviting police to march actively excludes the most vulnerable in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Such calls were amplified by the Victorian Pride Lobby in its own letter. “Pride march should be a safe space for all LGBT+ Victorians, but sadly, due to a long history police violence, harassment and discrimination, this isn’t the case,” the letter stated.
Victorian Pride Lobby co-convenor Nevena Spirovska added in the letter: “The LGBT+ community has a fraught history with the police.
“And that’s why the Victorian Pride Lobby does not support police officers and corrections officers marching at Pride in uniform.
“It is important to note that no individual, no matter their occupation or background, is being excluded from participating in Pride March and that people have the opportunity to join other community floats that are involved.”
It comes after New York City Pride last week took steps to ban police and correctional officers from its annual Pride march until at least 2025.
While from Wisconsin, US, to Toronto, Canada, Pride organisers banning uniformed police officers from taking part in parades is in no way uncommon.
As much as some Pride events, such as London’s, continue to grapple with barring officers, such decisions highlight the increasing pressure law enforcement now faces to address longstanding grievances about diversity.
Transgender people in Japan face continuing barriers to changing their legally recognized gender, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Japanese government should heed increasing calls from activists and experts to revise its abusive and outdated transgender recognition law.
The 43-page report, “‘The Law Undermines Dignity’: Momentum to Revise Japan’s Legal Gender Recognition Process,” documents the persistent barriers transgender people face in Japan under the Gender Identity Disorder (GID) Special Cases Act. The procedure for changing one’s legally recognized gender, which requires sterilization surgery and an outdated psychiatric diagnosis, is anachronistic, harmful, and discriminatory. Many transgender people in Japan and domestic medical, legal, and academic experts, as well as international health and human rights bodies, have said that the law should be substantially revised.May 25, 2021
“Transgender people are courageously speaking out against Japan’s abusive and discriminatory transgender law, and increasingly gaining support from experts in medicine, law, and academia,” said Kanae Doi, Japan director at Human Rights Watch. “Tokyo officials should embrace public opinion and local-level policies and update the law to reflect current medical and legal perspectives.”
The current law has five requirements for a transgender person to be legally recognized according to their gender identity. They must be: at least 20 years old; unmarried; not have any children under age 20; not have gonads or permanently lack functioning gonads; and have a physical form that is “endowed with genitalia that closely resemble the physical form of an alternative gender.”
Each of these requirements contravenes Japan’s international human rights obligations, and is opposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other medical expert bodies. The medical requirements in particular underpin widespread prejudice against transgender people. The diagnosis requirement rests on an outdated and pejorative notion that a transgender identity is a “mental disorder” and the surgery requirements force transgender people who want legal recognition to undergo lengthy, expensive, invasive, and irreversible medical procedures. Forcing people to divorce and not allowing those under 20 to change their legal gender is discriminatory.
Itsuki Dohi, a transgender woman and teacher in Kyoto, told Human Rights Watch: “The five requirements of the GID Law all narrow down the life choices that transgender people have. This undermines our dignity.” Miho Mitsunari, a professor at Nara Women’s University, said: “The five requirements are based on the idea of changing transgender people’s sex from ‘deviations’ to ‘normal.’ It promotes prejudice against transgender people who cannot, or do not want to, change their body.”
This is the third report by Human Rights Watch since 2016 addressing transgender issues in Japan. The 2016 and 2019 reports documented the stories of transgender people who described their struggles to fit into rigid school systems designed around strict gender binaries, to seek and obtain employment, to access health care, and to raise families in accordance with their basic rights.
Japan’s GID Special Cases Act was drafted in 2003 and came into force in 2004. For that era, it is not unique. Other legal regimes around the world from that period contain similar discriminatory and abusive provisions. Legislatures, domestic courts, and regional human rights courts and bodies have in recent years found that such requirements violate international human rights law. Governments around the world have removed sterilization requirements, or drafted laws without surgery requirements at all. Some countries, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, have recognized compulsory sterilizations of transgender people that took place in the past as rights violations, and compensated survivors.
Medical expert bodies have similarly urged governments to remove medical requirements from legal gender recognition procedures. In 2019 the WHO, in its revised International Classification of Diseases, removed “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorder” as “mental disorders.” Reacting to the changes, the prominent Japanese transgender activist Fumino Sugiyama wrote: “The WHO says I don’t have a mental disorder, but in Japan my government says I do.” Sugiyama, who co-chairs Tokyo Rainbow Pride, the annual festival, said: “I underwent a mastectomy in 2009 because I wanted the surgery to affirm my identity and shape how my body felt. But like many other trans people I know, I don’t want to be sterilized.”
Over time, an increasing number of trans people in Japan have taken the legally prescribed steps and changed their legal gender. In 2019, 948 people were approved for legal gender change, but activists have said the law limits the number of people who are willing to undergo the full procedure.
“The five requirements in Japan’s legal gender recognition law need to become a thing of the past,” Doi said. “Japan’s government should urgently turn to revising the law.”
