LGBTQIA+ - The African Mirror

Sep

18

2020

Barbados pledges same-sex marriage vote, but supporters doubt reform

LGBT+

ANASTASIA MOLONEY THE island nation of Barbados has pledged to put same-sex marriage to a public vote, but campaigners said on Wednesday they were wary about any hope of major reform in a nation that still has laws punishing sex between men on its books. LGBT people suffer discrimination, verbal abuse and harassment in Barbados, where the Catholic Church and evangelical groups are vocal in their opposition to giving legal rights to the gay and trans community, supporters say. Barbados Governor General Sandra Mason said in a speech to parliament this week that the Caribbean country would hold a public…

Sep

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Disney, Google, Microsoft back trans rights amid fierce British debate

LGBT+

RACHEL SAVAGE DOZENS of organisations including Disney, Google and Microsoft weighed into a fierce debate over transgender rights in Britain on Monday, writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask him to support making it easier for people to legally change gender. Trans rights have become a contentious issue since the government launched a consultation into reforming the Gender Recognition Act in 2018, with opponents saying easing the rules could potentially let predatory men into women-only spaces. Multinational companies were joined by universities and trans advocacy groups in the open letter to Johnson, which drew 83 signatories. Dozens more, including…

Sep

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Flying straight and level as an African lesbian

LGBT+

ENID OTUN AS a Black, female commercial pilot in Nigeria in the 1980’s and 90’s, I was starting to grapple with the big questions. What am I? Who am I? I never used the word gay. I never used the word homosexual. I had no issue with those words in themselves, I had just never thought about relating them to me. I realised that something inside me was saying that I was perhaps drawn more to women, but I certainly wasn’t in the right location for that to be happening. In Nigeria being gay is not well received. That’s putting…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

Australian fights homophobia with World Gay Boxing Championships

LGBT+

SEB STARCEVIC Lying sick in hospital, Martin Stark was not only worried about his poor health - the gay boxer was also crushed by the news that boxing had been dropped from the 2022 Gay Games. So the 45-year-old Australian decided to create another LGBT+ sports festival to achieve his dream of competing on the world stage. "I was calling myself the future world gay boxing champion, I was going to go and win gold for Australia," Stark told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview. "I was in my hospital bed, and I thought, 'I can't stop this…

Sep

07

2020

By The African Mirror

Blackmailed with nudes, Nigerian lesbians find safety outside the closet

LGBT+

VINCENT DESMOND and RACHEL SAVAGE AFTER swapping nude photos with Blessing on WhatsApp, Chioma set out to meet her prospective lover but was accosted on the road by a man in military uniform who accused her of "lesbianism". The man told Chioma he was going to strip her naked and take her to the Nigerian police, as instructed by Blessing's father, a senior army official, as same-sex relations are a crime punishable by up to 14 years in jail in the West African nation. "I started begging him and asking him what he could do to help me because I…

Sep

07

2020

By The African Mirror

Reports of racism, homophobia in UK football soar

LGBT+

RACHEL SAVAGE REPORTS of racist and homophobic abuse at football matches in Britain soared to a record high in the last year, despite the disruption to the season from the coronavirus pandemic. Recorded discrimination in the 2019/20 season at professional games rose 42% to 446, with homophobic abuse almost doubling and reports of racism increasing by 53%, according to Kick It Out, an advocacy group that collates incidents. The rise comes amid global pressure over racism sparked by the Black Lives Matters protests, though advocates and LGBT+ fan groups said it was partly due to fans being more willing to…

Sep

03

2020

By The African Mirror

British boxer scores TV first with same-sex dance debut

LGBT+

SONIA ELKS 06BISEXUAL British boxer Nicola Adams will become the first person to compete with a same-sex dance partner in the hit show 'Strictly Come Dancing', the BBC announced on Wednesday, in a coup for LGBT+ representation on primetime television. "It's amazing to be a part of the movement for change, diversity and breaking boundaries in the entertainment industry," the double Olympic gold medal winner said in a statement. The long-running show pairs celebrities with professional dancers who teach them a routine each week, with varying degrees of success, and one couple is eventually crowned victor for prowess in everything…

Aug

31

2020

By The African Mirror

J.K. Rowling returns award over criticism of transgender stance

LGBT+

SONIA ELKS BRITISH author J.K. Rowling has said she will return a prestigious human rights award after the organisation that bestowed the prize criticised her posts on transgender rights. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation gave the "Harry Potter" writer a Ripple of Hope award last year for her work to protect children's rights by highlighting abuse in the orphanage system. But this month Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert Kennedy and president of the U.S. organisation, criticised the author for "transphobic" online posts which she said served to undermine an already vulnerable group. "J.K. Rowling's attacks upon the transgender community are…

Aug

29

2020

By The African Mirror

With record wins, LGBT+ candidates celebrate ‘rainbow wave’ in U.S. election

LGBT+

MATTHEW LAVIETES AS the U.S. Democratic National Convention drew to a close, Pete Buttigieg, the party's first openly gay presidential candidate, took to the virtual stage to note the historic significance of his campaign. "The day I was born, close to where I'm standing here in South Bend, the idea of an 'out' candidate seeking any federal office at all was laughable," said Buttigieg, who came out in 2015 after being elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in 2012. "Yet earlier this year I campaigned for the presidency, often with my husband at my side, winning delegates to this very…

Aug

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Pride in Africa is for those who come after us

LGBT+

MARLINE OLUCHI SHARING about visibility, the struggles, the triumphs, the wellbeing and the needs of LGBT+ people in Africa is a creative struggle between emotions, sensibility, objectivity and the need to write from a deep place of hurt, layering down my vulnerabilities. It is first of all, an inner struggle to validate yourself, rationalize your feelings, and follow your passions, without having to worry about people frowning at your choices, to adequately capture what it means to be different from the acceptable societal norm our people have been preconditioned to expect, in a bid to promote bigotry, homophobia, transphobia, discrimination…