September Edition

Hi everyone and welcome to the first blogpost of my blog Gays Around The World! My name is Ilana and I’m 21 years old. Originally from the North Shore, Auckland, I have spent the last three years abroad in Connecticut, USA pursuing a degree in Psychology and the History of Science and Medicine. In my spare time all I do is read about LGBT news from around the world and so on this blog, my dear readers, I will bring you a monthly round up of what is happening in our community on an international level. I’ll mix news stories with updates in the entertainment world and hopefully bring you up to speed on what’s going on in this crazy world of ours.
 

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Big news just in from our friends in the UK: the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood was lifted Sept. 8! As you may know, during the 1980s AIDS crisis, many countries permanently banned gay men from donating blood due to the high prevalence of hepatitis and HIV in the community. Twenty-three countries, including Canada, Norway and the United States, still have this ban in place today. The UK now joins six other countries in requiring that gay men abstain from sexual intercourse for 12 months prior to donating blood, a requirement that LGB rights charity Stonewall says still discriminates against gay men who engage in low-risk sexual activity. The New Zealand Blood Service will not accept donations from men who have had sex with men (even with a condom) in the previous five years.
 

Kevin McHale, the wonderful Artie in the hit TV show Glee, has paired up with the Trevor Project, a U.S. organisation devoted to preventing LGBT youth suicide, for National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 4-10). See his video for the Talk to Me campaign below:

 

The Advocate recently published an article with one of the best, most happy-making headlines I’ve Tseen in a long time — NOM’s $100K Fund-raiser: $98,000 Short. For those of you who don’t know, NOM, or the National Organization for Marriage, is an antigay U.S. organization that actively works to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage. They’re a delightful bunch. But thankfully, it seems they have very little support.

 
 

Another AMAZING headline graced the pages of the New York Times on Aug. 22. No Surprise for Bisexual Men: Report Indicates They Exist details a recent study from Northwestern University in which researchers found *gasp* that bisexuality is real!

 
 In South Africa, LGBT and women’s activists are worried about the appointment of Mogoeng Mogoeng as chief justice of the country’s highest court. Mogoeng, who is a conservative Christian, belongs to Winners Chapel International, a church that believes homosexuality is a disease that can be cured. He has been widely criticized for his light treatment of rape cases, throwing out jail sentences of men convicted for marital rape, and reducing the sentences of men convicted of raping children.

 

 

 

 Three gay men have been attacked in the U.S. state of Utah since Aug. 26. LGBT community activist Eric Ethington told the Salt Lake Tribune: “This is what happens when our legislature and our local government refuse to take the problems in our state seriously. Violence based on sexual orientation is not acceptable.” (from PinkNews.co.uk). Utah is the home of the Mormon Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 A wonderful new website, gayhomophobe.com, tracks the number of days since a prominent public figure has been caught in a gay sex scandal.

 

 

 
 Our favourite lesbian couple are teaming up to create a new NBC comedy about duelling sisters, according to entertainment site Deadline. Ellen DeGeneres will produce the sitcom, while her wife Portia De Rossi will star as one of the lead characters.
 
And for a final touch of adorable, check out this great blogpost that is making the rounds here in the States. Love supportive parents. And Blaine, obvi.
 
See you next month!

 

 

  

Posted by Editor on 09/16 at 12:36pm
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