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Transitioning is not currently illegal in Ghana, but it will be if an anti-LGBT+ bill is passed into law. Activist and artist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi is fighting what she describes as "anti-human" legislation. https://youtu.be/vy7I-3vHGmQ
FRANCIS KOKOROKO IN a dimly-lit room with racks of women's clothing, Ghanaian artist and LGBT+ activist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi flipped through photo self-portraits illustrating her transition to womanhood. Transitioning is not illegal in Ghana, but it will become so if a new law is passed, intended to tighten already strict anti-LGBT+ regulations which render same-sex relations illegal. Homophobia is pervasive in the West African country and trans people are generally considered to be gay. Fiatsi first exhibited the photographs, dubbed "Rituals of Becoming", in 2017. Supportive audiences flocked to see the show in Ghanaian galleries. Her work reflects how LGBT+…
ITALY’S Olympic bronze medal-winning boxer Irma Testa has come out as gay, saying her success at the Tokyo Games earlier this year gave her the strength to make her sexual orientation public. The 23-year-old boxer won bronze in the women's featherweight category at Tokyo 2020. She previously competed at Rio 2016 where she lost in the quarter-finals while she also won gold in the 2019 European Championships. "The people who are close to me have known for years but I think it is right to tell everyone now," she told the Italian edition of Vanity Fair. "Speaking of sexual orientation…
CARL COLLISON IN a drab room in the cavernous basement of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Braamfontein, a colourful group of queer folk are catching up on gossip. Lockdown restrictions mean it has been a year since they’ve been able to meet face to face. So on this particular Sunday afternoon, there is much to catch up. “Shall we pray?” Dumisane Dube, 49, says firmly, putting an end to the idle chatter and kick-starting the meeting. “We ask you, Lord, to guide us and protect us,” the person tasked with praying implores in closed-eyed supplication. Thus begins another meeting…
SYDNEY BAUER and RACHEL SAVAGE THE International Olympic Committee's move to drop its advice on testosterone levels for transgender athletes in the absence of scientific consensus leaves sports bodies facing tough decisions on who can compete, some experts have warned. The IOC this week reversed its 2015 guidance that transgender women should be allowed to compete in women's sport provided their testosterone levels are below a certain limit for at least 12 months before their first competition. It said there was "no definitive answer" on whether testosterone conferred a competitive advantage for trans and some intersex women and that its impact on…
