Chantelle Billson

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Where does Ireland’s new president Catherine Connolly stand on LGBTQ+ rights?

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Newly-elected Irish leader Catherine Connolly has vowed to be an “inclusive president for all”. The independent left-winger secured 63 per cent of the first-preference votes last week, and will become the Republic of Ireland’s 10th head of state, succeeding Michael D Higgins, who has served the maximum-allowed two terms in office. The result was announced from Dublin Castle. Speaking in Irish and English, Connolly said: “I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change.”  She also promised to advocate for those who have no […]

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What is the ‘Gender Unicorn’ diagram and why are right-wingers so annoyed about it?

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Anti-LGBTQ+ right-wing activists are notorious for getting annoyed about almost anything, and the latest addition to the ever-growing list is the Gender Unicorn diagram.  Don’t believe that they’ll get annoyed about anything? Buckle up: we’ve got receipts.  In June, right-wingers hit out at a member of staff at Office for National Statisticsfor wearing a Pride flag badge, with one critic describing it as the “flag of transgender activism”. The year before, right-wing news outlets were left “outraged” by a trans artwork, funded by London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, for London’s Trafalgar Square.  A Christmas advert featuring Black actress Adjoa Andoh as Mrs. Claus, that saw her […]

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Trans woman who was viciously attacked says Trump ‘greenlit this type of violence’

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Trans woman Nikki Armstrong was violently assaulted in Renton, Washington in the US earlier this month. She told PinkNews that the attack, which occurred on 15 September at around 8:20pm in the 200 block of Burnett Ave S, followed an argument between her and a group of teens who she said were harassing “everybody waiting on their bus.” She says that she simply asked them, “Don’t you have anything better to do?” According to Renton Police, later that evening, after walking back through the area to the bus station, Armstrong was then confronted by the teens. She said she attempted to pepper spray […]

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US TikToker thanks supporters as he continues to battle to free boyfriend from ICE detention

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A man has thanked his followers for their support as he battles to free his boyfriend from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.  Eric Duran has been recording his efforts to free boyfriend Juan since 21 July. In a TikTok posted on Sunday (31 August), he said Juan, with whom he has been in a relationship for more than a year, is being held in Louisiana, having been moved from Colorado and Arizona. “I got a call from someone whose brother-in-law is with Juan and shared they were transferred to this facility,” Duran wrote. “I was then able to confirm through the ICE […]

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Books: ‘Zambia hasn’t evolved on LGBTQ+ acceptance, it’s going in the opposite direction’

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Iris Mwanza’s debut novel The Lions’ Den is inspired by a real criminal case from Zambia that has stayed with her since the 1990s. The book follows rookie lawyer Grace Zulu, who takes on the pro bono defence of Willbess “Bessy” Mulenga, arrested for an offence “against nature” and facing 14 years in prison. For Mwanza, who grew up in Zambia and now works in the US as a staunch advocate for gender equality, the case is emblematic of wider struggles against injustice. “Police brutality is a manifestation of impunity,” she tells PinkNews. “It’s happening everywhere, not just in Zambia or developing countries, […]

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Cuba’s huge leap forward in trans rights – citizens can now legally choose gender without surgery

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Cuba has taken a significant step forward in trans rights by approving a law that allows individuals to self-declare their gender without requiring surgery. The law, approved earlier this month by The National Assembly of People’s Power, also amends Cuba’s national civil registry, giving legal recognition to common-law partnerships and setting out a process for digitising paper records.  Minister of justice Oscar Silvera Martínez wrote on X/Twitter last week that the law “will allow the country to have a modern civil registry,” including “the issuance of digital documents with full validity and efficiency”. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1946311383659720937&lang=en&origin=safari-reader%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepinknews.com%2F2025%2F07%2F28%2Fcubas-huge-leap-forward-in-trans-rights%2F&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, also took […]

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Australian hockey stars wear rainbow socks to support gay teammate

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Members of Australia’s national field hockey team have sported rainbow socks to mark Pride month – and support a gay teammate.  Davis Atkin was accidentally outed as gay to his coach at the University of Canberra by a team psychologist in 2021. The following year he told Outsports: “Last year, I was in a pretty dark place.”  The midfielder has now played for the Kookaburras 20 times, including in the 4-3 win over England in an FIH Pro League game on Saturday. A photo of the team posted on Instagram revealed they were all wearing Pride rainbow socks.  Atkin told Hockey Australia: “I said […]

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Tennessee trans woman beaten in ‘terrifying’ attack at storage unit

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A Tennessee trans woman who was beaten in a “terrifying” attack at a storage unit has spoken out about the horrific incident.  Professional makeup artist Tyler Flanagan visited the Extra Space storage facility in Nashville on 30 May when an employee of Black Tie Moving verbally and physically assaulted her.  Flanagan claims she and her friend were moving items in their storage unit when five men wearing branded Black Tie Moving shirts began shouting hateful slurs and misgendering them.  Taking to social media, Flanagan shared horrendous CCTV footage which showed the men attacking her. ‘Loud, hateful, and terrifying’   She shared that […]

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London-based scientist lured on Grindr before being killed and dismembered, police say

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A “warm-hearted” London-based scientist was lured on Grindr before being killed and dismembered, police in Colombia have said. Alessandro Coatti, 38, was last seen leaving his hostel in Santa Marta on 4 April.  The microbiologist, who had recently left his role at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) after eight years as a senior policy officer, had told staff at his hostel that he wanted to learn about the local flora and fauna.  On 6 April, Coatti’s head, hands and feet were found in a suitcase near the Sierra Nevada Stadium. His other body parts were found the following day in […]

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Bells Larsen forced to cancel US tour dates due to trans visa rules

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Trans Canadian singer Bells Larsen has been forced to cancel his US tour over the administration’s anti-trans visa rules.  Larsen cancelled his tour following the Trump administration signing legislationthat required IDs, including passports and visas, to show a person’s sex as “either male or female”. The requirement has already been implemented by US citizenship and Immigration Services.  Taking to Instagram, Larsen confirmed that his tour will be cancelled following the American Federation of Musicians stating that he can no longer apply for a visa that aligns with his gender.  The post added: “To put it super plainly, because I’m trans (and […]

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