Thousands turn out for Brisbane Pride’s 2019 march
Several thousand LGBTIQ community members and supporters flooded Fortitude Valley with rainbows on Saturday for this year’s Brisbane Pride march. A huge rainbow flag was unfurled on Brunswick Street above the crowd, made up of families, friends and pets, as well as LGBTIQ community groups, businesses and public servants. The crowd heard from Brisbane Pride’s …
Gay couple claps back at religious protesters outside ‘Rocky Horror Show’
Religious protesters rallying outside a theatre production of the Rocky Horror Show have gone viral thanks to a gay couple’s response to their bigotry. The protesters were reportedly from the nearby Zion Tabernacle Protestant Evangelical Church in the English city of Chester. They slammed the Story House Theatre’s production as “vile” and “unholy, sexual and …
New Indonesia sex ban a ‘disaster’ for LGBTIQ people
New laws proposed by Indonesia to ban sex between unmarried couples are a “human rights disaster” for LGBTIQ people, advocates say. Human rights groups have slammed a bill extensively overhauling Indonesia’s criminal code. The parliament will likely vote on the bill before the end of the month. The bill would make consensual sex between unmarried …
WATCH: Lesbian couple gets engaged on US ‘Bachelor in Paradise’
US Bachelor in Paradise contestants Demi Burnett and Kristian Haggerty are the first same-sex couple to get engaged on the dating franchise. During the show’s finale this week, Demi dropped to one knee and popped the question. “Demi, you changed my life forever,” Kristian said as the two held hands on the beach. “I think …
UQ academics back transgender students after dean’s comments
Academics at the University of Queensland’s law school have pledged support for transgender and gender diverse students after comments from the head of the school. Professor Patrick Parkinson is dean of UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law. He recently told a religious freedom conference faith schools should be allowed to reject a student’s gender identity …
Gay man bashed in ‘bloodthirsty, homophobic’ Gold Coast attack
A gay man says he won’t return to Queensland after he claims he and his brother were brutally bashed at a Gold Coast shopping centre. The victim, named Joshua, told the Gold Coast Bulletin he was up from Melbourne visiting family when he and his 16-year-old brother were targeted by teenage thugs at Coomera Westfield …
Merriam-Webster adds non-binary pronoun ‘they’ to dictionary
Merriam-Webster has officially added the non-binary definition of “they” to its dictionary. The dictionary now defines “they” as “used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary,” along with three other definitions. Merrian-Webster’s definition for pronoun “themself” also states it is “now used chiefly in place of ‘himself or herself’ as a …
New problem in Morrison government’s religious discrimination bill
The government’s controversial religious discrimination bill may “relegitimise” harmful “conversion therapy” practices, LGBTIQ advocates warn. Attorney-General Christian Porter unveiled the draft religion bill in late August. After a consultation period, the government is expected to introduce it to parliament in October. But a group representing survivors of harmful “conversion” practices say they’re concerned about some …
Gay man ‘dropped from Married At First Sight just days before filming’
A gay man has claimed he was dropped from Married at First Sight Australia just days before filming started because producers “could not find a match” for him. On the Channel Nine show, “relationship experts” match couples, who get married the first time they meet at the altar. Over the rest of the season, the …
Transgender people experiencing high rates of sexual violence
Over half of transgender and gender diverse Australians have been victims of sexual violence or coercion, according to a new Kirby Institute report. The 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey involved 1,613 people and is the largest study of its kind. The report was launched in Perth on Tuesday. The study found …