Features

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Trump Administration Restricts HIV Testing and Research with New Policy

On Wednesday (5 June), the Trump Administration implemented a new policy ending research done by government scientists using fetal tissue. This severely limits research done on HIV. According to the Washington Post, the Administration also canceled a university’s multi-million dollar laboratory contract. The university used fetal tissue in testing new HIV treatments. ‘Promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration,’ the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement. The tissue used in such research comes from elective abortions. Many scientists and researchers say there are no other alternative approaches […]

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YouTube Says Anti-gay Slur ‘Does Not Violate’ Harassment Rules

YouTube have insisted that a right-wing influencer who targeted a journalist for years with homophobia did not violate the website’s hate speech policies. Carlos Maza, a videographer for US news site Vox, publicly complained about the persistent abuse from a right-wing YouTuber, Steven Crowder. The Twitter thread went viral, prompting the Google-owned platform to review Maza’s claims. However, the company concluded that Crowder’s comments did not violate guidelines. What happened? In a winding Twitter thread posted last week (31 May), Maza sketched out a situation that has spanned years involving homophobic and racist epithets thrown in videos. This included when the host attacked […]

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‘We Are Concerned’: Dallas Police Chief Says of Second Transgender Woman’s Death in a Month

The body of a black transgender woman pulled from White Rock Lake in northeast Dallas on Saturday evening “showed obvious signs of homicidal violence,” the Dallas police chief said. The victim, identified as Chynal Lindsey, 26, is the second black transgender woman to be found dead in Dallas in less than a month. “We are concerned,” Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall told reporters at a news conference Monday. “We are actively and aggressively investigating this case and we have reached out to our federal partners to assist us in these efforts.” Police released photos of Lindsey, who was also known […]

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New Bud Light Pride Bottle to Raise Funds for GLAAD

Bud Light has released a limited-edition rainbow coloured aluminium bottle to raise funds for GLAAD to celebrate World Pride. The bottles will be available in bars across the United States during the month of June, and Bud Light will donate $1 to GLAAD for each case sold up to $150,000. Bud Light debuted the bottles at the GLAAD Media Awards, which took place last weekend in New York City. The campaign marks the latest in a 20 year partnership between Bud Light and GLAAD. Bud Light is ‘for everyone to enjoy’ Andy Goeler, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, said the company has […]

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Beheaded, Gunned Down and Stoned to Death: 369 Trans People Killed this Year

Trans people have been beheaded, gunned down and stoned to death, according to a new report. It highlights the 369 trans, non-binary and gender-variant people, at least, who were murdered in the 12 months from 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018. 28 of the trans murder victims were reported to be teenagers, with some as young as 16. There were five beheadings. Nine people were stoned to death.The majority of the people killed were trans women of color, often gunned down or beaten to death. The Transgender Murder Monitoring Project has released this update in time for Transgender Day of Remembrance tomorrow (20 […]

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Why Do 0% of American Muslims Identify as Gay or Lesbian?

A recent survey has found 0% of American Muslims identify as gay or lesbian. The ISPU research interviewed 804 American Muslims. They found not one identified as gay or lesbian. Around 4% identified as bisexual and 2% said they were ‘something else’. Another 2% refused to answer the question’.D There are, of course, LGBTI people who identify as Muslim in the United States. CNN interviewed members of progressive mosques, like Masjid al-Rabia. The mosque is intended to be women-centered, anti-racist, LGBTI affirming, and welcoming to many Islamic traditions. Muslims for Progressive Values have eight ‘inclusive communities’ in the United STates. Berkeley’s […]

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Nearly Half of LGBTI Employees Believe Being Out Will Hurt their Career

According to a new survey of LGBTI attitudes in the US workplace, nearly half of all LGBTI employees fear being out will hurt their careers. Glassdoor, a website specializing in workplace reviews, published the survey on Thursday (30 May). The Harris Poll conducted the survey from 26 April – 6 May on behalf of Glassdoor, speaking to 6,104 US adults. A total of 515 identified themselves as LGBTI and employed in the survey. Ultimately, respondents reported witnessing anti-LGBTI attitudes in the workplace, which affects their own anxieties about being out. Bad attitudes lead to bad workplaces for LGBTI employees Attitudes are different between LGBTI and non-LGBTI […]

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Trans Activists Denounce Mental Health Assessments

Doctors should ditch the requirement for a mental health assessment of transgender teens and adults before prescribing them hormone treatment, argues an activist and bioethicist, drawing on their own personal experience in the Journal of Medical Ethics, MedicalXPress reports.  The practice is dehumanizing, unjustified and turns the process of transformation into the treatment of a mental illness, says Florence Ashley of McGill University, Montreal, Canada. It should instead be replaced with informed consent, which respects a patient’s lived experience and autonomy, they insist, MedicalXPress reports.  The informed consent approach is becoming more common, they acknowledge. But many doctors still require an assessment and referral […]

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AIDS Drugs Prevent Sexual Transmission of HIV in Gay Men, Study Finds

A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms — where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it — has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples. The study proves, the researchers said, that using antiretroviral therapy to suppress the AIDS virus to undetectable levels also means it cannot be passed on via sex, the researchers said. “Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men […]

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Zeta Phi Beta Bans Trransgender Women from Membership

Zeta Phi Beta, a historically black sorority founded at Howard University, says transgender women are not eligible for membership.  A “diversity statement” adopted by the Zeta Phi Beta International Executive Board on Jan. 12 states “an individual must be a cisgender woman” to join the organization. The statement at the same time says the sorority “values all people, regardless of race, age, gender, gender expression, ability, disability, creed, religion, or walk of life.” A source earlier this month sent the Washington Blade a copy of the statement. Zeta Phi Beta has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Five women […]

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