LOS ANGELES – Gay rights activists pledged a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel today, citing the hotel owner’s state-sponsored homophobia. The hotel is owned by the nation of Brunei, a country in South East Asia where male homosexuality is a crime. A video made by the group calls on supporters to “break up” with…
Mesa, Ariz. (CNN) — Two Arizona high school students were forced to hold hands in front of their classmates as punishment this week for fighting. Now that punishment is drawing criticism. The students at Westwood High in Mesa, Ariz. were apparently given the option to hold hands instead of being suspended. “Kids were laughing at…
ATHENS, Greece – Following weeks of protests by priests and right-wing groups, including members of Parliament (MP) from the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn Party, a production of Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi in Athens was forced to close earlier this month. Now, actors and the producer and director of the play have been charged with blasphemy. RTE…
THE NETHERLANDS – The Dutch Football Association (FA) – the governing body of professional soccer in The Netherlands – is running a TV commercial highlighting the lack of openly gay footballers. The ad, which has been shown on Dutch television shows a man in a closet playing soccer and then enjoying drinks with his team…
A Web site launched to track the use of homophobic words on Twitter has revealed some startling statistics. NoHomophobes.com launched by The Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services (iSMSS) at the University of Alberta in July has tracked over 2.5 million uses of the word “faggot,” nearly 1 million uses of “so gay” or…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has unveiled a collaboration with rugby superstar Ben Cohen, MBE to encourage everyone to come out and stand up for LGBT equality. Known for his athletic prowess and status as a gay icon, Ben Cohen is a champion on and off the rugby pitch. Having successfully led England…
As part of its bid to “curb the problem of homosexuality,” the Malaysian government has begun holding seminars aimed at helping teachers and parents spot signs of homosexuality in children. According to a report in the Guardian, the Malaysian government is particularly targeting Muslims who make up more than 60 percent of Malaysia‘s population of…
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Indianapolis Public Schools’ (IPS) discriminatory treatment and failure to protect an openly gay former student who faced severe and relentless harassment at Arsenal Technical High School (Tech) throughout the 2011-2012 school year. Rather than address the constant harassment and…
Half an hour after rock radio station 105.3 aired a homophobic ad, Canvass for a Cause took the issue on directly, mobilizing activists to call-in and formally complain. Within two hours, the station stated they were pulling the ad. The ad, which publicized 105.3, not only made fun of men touching each other, but terminated…
(CNN) – In a move that he admits could cost him some fans, hip-hop artist Yitz “Y-Love” Jordan, considered “the first black Jewish MC,” has come out publicly as a gay man of color. “I feel like I have wasted years of my life worrying that my ‘public reputation’ will be negatively impacted by my…
