Features

/ /

Methodist Church To Split Over Same-Sex Marriage

The New York Times reports: Leaders of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant domination in the nation, announced on Friday a plan that would formally split the church after years of division over same-sex marriage. Under the plan, which would sunder a denomination with 13 million members worldwide, a new “traditionalist Methodist” denomination would be created, and would continue to ban same-sex marriage as well as the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. A separation in the Methodist church had been anticipated since a contentious general conference in St Louis last February, when 53 percent of church leaders and lay members […]

/ /

Trans Kids Are as Sure of their Gender as Cis Kids at a Young Age, Study Says

There are almost no differences between young trans kids and young cis kids when it comes to the strength of their gender identity, new US research shows. The findings from the largest-ever study of socially transitioned trans kidsshow that gender identity and gender-related preferences manifest similarly in both cis and trans kids. This finding, from researchers at the University of Washington, was true even for trans kids who have only recently come out and socially transitioned (changed their name, pronouns and gender presentation in terms of clothes and hair). The researchers found that children who identify with the gender that they […]

/ /

Facebook Removes Some Misleading PrEP Ads

The Washington Post reports: Facebook has quietly started removing some misleading ads about HIV prevention medication, responding to a deluge of activists, health experts and government regulators who said the tech giant had created the conditions for a public-health crisis. The ads at issue — purchased by pages affiliated with personal-injury lawyers and seen millions of times — linked drugs designed to stop the spread of HIV with severe bone and kidney damage. LGBT advocates long have said such claims are “false,” pointing to multiple studies showing the class of medication, known as PrEP, is safe. GLAAD reacts via press release: “It’s […]

/ /

A Study of the World’s most Dangerous Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel

Instead of relying on hearsay and anecdotes from other travelers, we took a deep look at LGBTQ+ rights, country by country. We’ve gathered data from a variety of trusted international sources to create a “LGBTQ+ Danger Index” that will help you find the worst (and safest) countries for LGBTQ+ travel. At the end of the article we also have 37 LGBTQ+ travel safety tips shared by four travel experts.Correction 11/20/19: Sweden has now moved to #1 and Canada has now moved to the #2 spot. We were alerted to the fact that Sweden does have hate crime protections and Canada does have constitutional protections which […]

/ /

Hilton Offers Free Wedding to Gay Couple who Faced Homophobia at Rival Marriott

Hotel giant Marriott has issued an apology after a same-sex couple were told to take their wedding booking elsewhere. Travel YouTuber Josh Rimer and husband-to-be Heath spoke out after booking a wedding at the Marriott-owned Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center in the gay-friendly city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.ADVERTISING Hotel claimed it is ‘not specialised’ to carry out gay weddings Rimer explained that while making arrangements for the wedding, he had mentioned to staff that the couple would not need a bridal bouquet – only to later be told via email that the hotel “is not specialised to carry out” […]

/ /

Media’s ‘Detransition’ Narrative is Fueling Misconceptions, Trans Advocates Say

In early October, the United Kingdom’s SkyNews ran a story about the “Detransition Advocacy Network,” a new charity founded by Charlie Evans, a former transgender man who detransitioned in 2018. Evans told SkyNews that “hundreds” of young trans people were seeking her help to return to their sex assigned at birth, and she said more resources are urgently needed for people experiencing post-transition regret. “I’m in communication with 19- and 20-year-olds who have had full gender reassignment surgery who wish they hadn’t, and their dysphoria hasn’t been relieved, they don’t feel better for it,” Evans told SkyNews. “They don’t know what their […]

/ /

First Living HIV-positive Gay Man Donates Kidney

Being a longtime nurse Karl Neumann of Norfolk, Va., understands just how critical it is to have a robust community blood supply available. However, as a sexually active gay man, he is banned from donating blood because of a federal law.  “It’s frustrating that there are shortages of blood, but certain people are still restricted from giving blood at a time when modern medicine can easily test for diseases.”  Karl worries confusion or resentment regarding the “blood ban” might prevent gay men from realizing that they have another opportunity to heal and save lives – by registering to be organ donors.  “I’ve […]

/ /

PrEP’s Unexpected Side Effect: Reduced ‘HIV Anxiety’

When HIV first tore into America’s gay male community in the early 1980s, quotidian questions of sex, love, lust and trust transformed into weighty decisions with potential life-or-death consequences. The decision to stop using condoms with a serious partner? Only as reliable an HIV-prevention method as your partner’s fidelity. A single instance of cheating? An indiscretion that carries the risk of an incurable and deadly disease. A random hookup? A nagging sense that, perhaps, this time was the time. Todd Faircloth, 52, remembers those days well. In 1987, when gay men were still dying from AIDS in large numbers, Faircloth moved […]

/ /

Hallmark Wants to Reinstate Same-sex Marriage Ad after Pulling it

,

The Hallmark Channel said Sunday that it would “re-establish” its relationship with the wedding company behind a same-sex commercial, just days after Hallmark pulled the ad amid pressure from a conservative advocacy group. In a statement Sunday, the president of Hallmark Cards, Mike Perry, said Hallmark’s parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, had been “agonizing” over its decision to remove the ad and the “hurt it has unintentionally caused.” Hallmark added that it would work with an LGBTQ advocacy group, GLAAD, to “better represent … the community” while working to reinstate the commercials. After Hallmark’s reversal, GLAAD’s president, Sarah Kate Ellis, […]

/ / /

Transgender Latina Makes History as Evangelical Lutheran Pastor

Before coming out as transgender, Nicole Garcia prayed daily that God would “fix” her. When her prayers weren’t answered and the feeling in her gut didn’t go away, she gave up on religion. Now, nearly four decades later, Garcia stands behind the pulpit at Westview Lutheran Church in Boulder, Colorado, and delivers weekly sermons to a congregation of more than 100 faithful as their ordained pastor. “Nobody can question my faith, my devotion to Christ, my devotion to the church. That’s why I’m the pastor here,” Garcia,who turned 60 Thursday, told NBC News. “Being trans is secondary.” Garcia, who delivered her first […]

«‹ 190 191 192 193›»