Lily Wakefield

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Miss Myanmar is the First Openly Lesbian Contestant in Miss Universe History

This year’s Miss Universe pageant will include the first openly gay contestant in the competition’s 67-year history, who bravely came out despite homosexuality being illegal in her home country. Swe Zin Htet is the reigning Miss Myanmar and she came out publicly on a beauty blog just a week before she is due to take part in the final of the pageant on Sunday (December 8). LGBT+ people face violence and persecution in Myanmar, also known as Burma, which has no anti-discrimination laws of queer people and criminalises same-sex relations with a sentence of up to life in prison. The 21-year-old, who […]

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More Daters are Identifying their Gender as other than ‘Man’ or ‘Woman’, Study Finds

Research by Tinder has shown that more daters than ever are this year identifying with a gender other than “man” or “woman” on the app. The dating app’s annual “Year in Swipe” showed that use of its “more genders” function was up 30 percent compared to last year. The research also showed that during LGBT+ Pride month, otherwise known as June, more users matched with each other than during any other month. Use of the rainbow emoji in Tinder bios also increased by 15 percent from 2018 to 2019 all over the world. The “more genders” feature was introduced in […]

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Self-described ‘Snarky Bisexual’ Lawyer Shined at Impeachment Hearing

Pamela Karlan, a Stanford Law School professor and self-described “snarky bisexual”, stole the show at Donald Trump’s impeachment hearing with her scathing and quick-witted put-downs. Karlan specialises in constitutional law, once served as US deputy assistant attorney general for voting rights, and lives with her partner, writer Viola Canales.ADVERTISING At Wednesday’s (December 4) hearing, she was part of a panel of legal experts debating whether the president should be impeached, and in her opening statement referred to Trump putting pressure on Ukraine for political favours. She told the House Judiciary Committee: “Based on the evidentiary record before you, what has happened in […]

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Third Judge just Blocked Trump’s Rule allowing Healthcare Discrimination against LGBT People

In a rule change announced on Friday, November 1, the Trump administration said that health programmes receiving grants from government Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) would no longer have to abide by nondiscrimination guidelines protecting LGBT+ people. The Trump administration changed the regulations in the name of “religious freedom”, and it would also apply to abortions, contraception, gender confirmation surgery, or any other services or people healthcare providers might disagree with “on moral or religious grounds”. This week, US district judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California joined two other judges in writing off Trump’s new […]

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Hong Kong LGBT Community Banned by Police from Marching during Pride

For the first time, the LGBT+ community in Hong Kong has been banned by police from marching in its annual Pride parade amidst violent protests in the city. According to South China Morning Post, organisers of the march were told that the event on Saturday November 16 would be reduced to a standstill gathering. Director of the parade’s organising committee, Yeo Wai-wai, said the police had informed them just 48 hours before the event, rather than the usual month in advance, so they were left with little time to inform guests. The police cited disruption in other areas amidst violent protests […]

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Trump is Abandoning Vulnerable LGBT Migrants to Face Abuse at Mexican Border

Vulnerable LGBT+ migrants are being kept in Mexican border cities to face violence and abuse, despite the fact that they are supposed to be excluded from Trump’s Remain in Mexico program. Remain in Mexico, technically know as the Migrant Protection Protocols program (MPP), was implemented in January 2019 and means that asylum seekers and migrants waiting to be processed by the US government must wait on the Mexican side of the border. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that “individuals from vulnerable populations” would not be subject to the Remain in Mexico, and that it would only send back those […]

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Jamaica’s Anti-gay Laws are Costing it $11billion per Year

Archaic anti-gay laws in Jamaica and discrimination against LGBT+ people are costing the nation around $11billion per year, according to the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI). CAPRI held an event on Tuesday, October 29, called “Paying for Prejudice”, at which it looked into the financial costs to the country as a result of anti-LGBT+ discrimination. In Jamaica, anal sex is prohibited and punishable by life imprisonment for any individual, any sexual encounter between men is illegal, and there are no protections for LGBT+ people against discrimination. According to The Gleaner, although a lack of LGBT+ visitors to the tourism-dependent country is causing […]

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Man Sues Gay Video Site for Selling his Private Information

A man is suing a gay porn site after he received “a barrage” of junk mail because he said it sold his information without written consent and violated his privacy rights. Dennis Chiamulera is also seeking class action status on behalf of other subscribers to the site who he thinks are in a similar situation.ADVERTISING He said his privacy rights were violated by the site, owned by TLA Entertainment Group, under the Video Privacy Protection Act and the New York Video Consumer Privacy Act According to Out, the New York plaintiff is asking for $5 million for “wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or […]

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LGBT and African American Homeless Youth at Huge Risk of Human Trafficking, Study Says

More than half of homeless young people in Atlanta, Georgia, have been victims of human trafficking and LGBT+ and African American youth are most at risk, according to a new study. The Atlanta Youth Count 2018 study by Georgia State University sociology professor Eric Wright found that there were an estimated 3,372 homeless young people in Atlanta between the ages of 14 and 25.ADVERTISING Human trafficking is defined in the report as “acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them either for sexual acts or labour services”. Overall, 54 per cent […]

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Host City for WorldPride in 2023 has been Announced

WorldPride 2023 will be held in Sydney, InterPride has announced, marking the 50th Anniversary of Australia’s first Gay Pride Week. InterPride is the international association of Pride organisations, and it voted on Sunday, October 20, at its Annual General Meeting in Athens on the bids for 2023 WorldPride. Sydney’s bid, submitted by Sydney Lesbian and Gay Mardi Gras, focused on LGBT+ rights in the Asia Pacific region where many countries see extreme violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people. In 2014, Brunei introduced a law allowing death by stoning for same-sex sexual activity, although it was later revoked. The bid said that WorldPride […]

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