LGBT+ - The African Mirror

Oct

21

2020

‘It got scary’: Gloria Estefan’s daughter on coming out as a lesbian

LGBT+

HUGO GREENHALGH FORBIDDEN by her global superstar mother Gloria Estefan from coming out as a lesbian to her grandmother, singer Emily Estefan said she contemplated suicide. The second child of multi-Grammy award-winning Cuban-American singer of hits like "Rhythm is Going to Get You" said her "anxiety went through the roof" when her grandmother died a few months later in 2017. "It got scary, it got pretty bad," the 25-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a joint video call with her mother. "I was disconnected from my music, so I was really feeling that I just didn't want to be…

Oct

20

2020

By The African Mirror

‘I see myself’ – Stars of ‘Equal’ Samira Wiley, Billy Porter on LGBT history

LGBT+

OSCAR LOPEZ EMMY Award-winning actors Samira Wiley and Billy Porter may be among the most well-known LGBT+ stars in Hollywood, but when it comes to queer history, even they admit there's a lot to learn. Wiley and Porter are featured in an upcoming documentary series, "Equal," which mixes archival footage and dramatic reenactments to depict some of the lesser-known moments in LGBT+ history. The series focuses on the U.S. gay rights movement in the 1950s and '60s, looking beyond iconic moments like New York City's Stonewall riots in 1969 that kickstarted modern gay activism to sing the glories of what…

Oct

18

2020

By The African Mirror

Demos planned as Italy mulls LGBT+ hate crime law for the sixth time

LGBT+

UMBERTO BACCHI WHEN Marlon Landolfo kissed his date on a night out, onlookers started heckling, a fight broke out and his friend ended up in hospital - the latest in a series of anti-gay attacks in Italy where plans to combat homophobic violence are hotly contested. "They hurled insults at us," said Landolfo, 22, describing how he and Mattias Fascina, 26, were pushed to the floor, kicked and punched, in the northern Italian town of Padua last month. "When a friend who was with us told them off, one guy headbutted him," he said, adding that the friend was then…

Oct

14

2020

By The African Mirror

How Trump’s Supreme Court nominee applies the law to LGBT+ rights

LGBT+

MATTHEW LAVIETES US PRESIDENT Donald Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court has alarmed many LGBT+ advocates, who fear the appointment of another conservative judge would jeopardise the rights of gay and trans people. If confirmed, Barrett, who has described conservative judge Antonin Scalia as her mentor, would push the country's highest court to a 6-3 conservative majority. At 48, she could serve for decades in the lifetime job, potentially leaving a lasting conservative legacy. "Confirming Barrett will drag America backwards," Sarah Kate Ellis, head of the LGBT+ advocacy group GLAAD, said in a statement when…

Oct

13

2020

By The African Mirror

How young, queer Nigerians use Twitter to shape identity and fight homophobia

LGBT+

PAUL ONANUGA, Lecturer, Federal University, Oye Ekiti NIGERIA continues to be largely homophobic, mainly as a result of cultural and religious conventions. Negative perceptions of homosexuality led to the criminalisation of same-sex relations in 2014. The Nigerian environment is therefore toxic for LGBTI people. They become easy prey to oppressive and exploitative state security apparatus. They are also vulnerable to public “moral police” who seek to make homosexual performance invisible and closeted. One may assume that the marginalised Nigerian same-sex community and its allies have conceded to the widespread societal ostracisation. But that would be to ignore the vigorous advocacies…

Oct

10

2020

By The African Mirror

Record number of LGBT+ candidates set to run in U.S. election

LGBT+

MATTHEW LAVIETES A record number of LGBT+ people will run for office in next month's U.S. election, reflecting stronger support for LGBT+ rights among Americans that is eroding concerns about the electability of gay, bisexual and transgender candidates. A report by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which seeks to elect gay, lesbian, bi or trans lawmakers, said this week at least 574 openly LGBT+ candidates would appear on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election. That would be a third more than the number who contested the 2018 midterm elections. "LGBTQ people are running for office in numbers thought unthinkable just…

Oct

06

2020

By The African Mirror

America’s ‘Drag Ambassadors’ aim to register voters one brunch show at a time

LGBT+

NATHAN FRANDINO In front of a single lighted mirror, 'Kylie Minono' meticulously applies shades of foundation, powder, and eye and lip liner, transforming into her drag queen persona with each stroke. "It's exciting to be able to step into a world of hope and positivity with my drag," said Minono, a nonprofit worker in San Francisco whose legal name is Kyle Levinger. After years of stepping into drag for benefits and fundraising shows, Minono is bringing her act to the 2020 election campaign, joining the nonpartisan, nonprofit Drag Out the Vote organization to help register Americans to vote. "With so…

Oct

06

2020

By The African Mirror

New Zealand ruling party vows to ban efforts to alter sexual orientation

LGBT+

NEW Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's centre-left government vowed on Monday to ban conversion therapy, which aims to change a person's sexual orientation, if returned to power, as widely expected, in polls on October 17. The globally discredited treatment, which harms and stigmatizes members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans community has adherents in New Zealand, however. A recent survey showed more than one in six respondents reported being subjected to the efforts of psychiatrists, psychologists or counsellors to stop them being trans or non-binary, Labour Party leader Tāmati Coffey said. "Conversion therapy has been linked to severe adverse…

Oct

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Transgender figures in politics around the world

LGBT+

TOM HAYNES PETRA De Sutter, a gynaecologist serving as a Green party member of the European Parliament, was named as deputy prime minister in Belgium this week - becoming the most senior transgender government official in Europe. With LGBT+ rights becoming more accepted worldwide, gay and trans politicians have gained greater prominence in recent years, and Pauline Ngarmpring became Thailand's first trans candidate for prime minister last year. Here are some trans people who serve in high-level politics and government around the world: - Tamara Adrian, alternate deputy in Venezuela's National Assembly Adrian, 66, a member of the small Popular…

Oct

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Intersex surgery ‘abuses’ condemned by 34 states at U.N. rights forum

LGBT+

RACHEL SAVAGE MORE than 30 countries have condemned "medically unnecessary surgeries" on intersex children as a human rights violation, amid mounting efforts to ban such operations. It is the first time that unnecessary surgeries on children born with an indeterminate sex have been criticised at the United Nations, advocates said, with 34 countries signing the statement at a U.N. Human Rights Council session. "Intersex people - that is, individuals who are born with sex characteristics that do not fit the typical definition of male or female bodies - continue to face serious and widespread human rights violations and abuses," the…