Asia
Queering the pitch, deliberately
Dr Peter Jackson discusses what it means to be queer in a Thai context The US academic Rosalind Morris once praised a book on Thai studies by noting that “it offers a relentless repudiation of those saccharine tropes through which Thailand has mainly been read”. This is a rousing comment and one that suggests great… Read more »
LGBT travel steps out of the closet at ITB Asia
With gay and lesbian travel being one of the fastest growing market segments in the industry, ITB Asia, Asia’s largest travel trade show, has for the first time set up a “Pink Corner” at the 3-day event in Singapore. It’s the first time a Pink Corner is being hosted at ITB Asia, a major travel… Read more »
Philippines: UN Human Rights Committee Identifies LGBT Rights Violations
Justice Secretary Declares Interest in Moving Forward as Regional LGBT Rights Leader (Geneva)—The United Nations Human Rights Committee completed its fourth periodic review of the compliance of the Government of the Philippines with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Geneva this week. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC),… Read more »
Asia’s first gay sports tournament in Nepal–Photo Gallery
Click here to access photo gallery Source – NDTV
Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian Leader Through Shifting Allegiances, Dies at 89
Norodom Sihanouk, the charismatic Cambodian leader whose remarkable skills of political adaptation personified for the world the tiny, troubled kingdom where he was a towering figure through six decades, died early Monday in Beijing. He was 89. The death was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nhiek Bunchhay, quoted by news services. The former king had… Read more »
Malaysian transgender women lose legal challenge to dress as… women
A Malaysian High Court has dismissed an application by four transgender women who had sought to have an Islamic law that bars Muslim men from wearing women’s clothes reviewed. The secular High Court in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan state, on Thursday rejected a bid by four Muslim male-to-female transgender persons who sought to have the court… Read more »
Asia’s first gay sports tournament begins in Nepal
Hundreds of athletes Friday took part in Asia’s first-ever sports tournament for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, organisers said. The three-day event at the national football stadium and other venues around Kathmandu kicked off with a football match between local teams. The tournament features basketball, volleyball, football, martial arts and… Read more »
Malaysian Court Rejects Challenge to Cross-Dressing Ban
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — A challenge to a law barring Muslim men from dressing or posing as women was dismissed on Thursday by a Malaysian court, prompting concern that more transgender people in the Muslim-majority country may be prosecuted. In Malaysia, Muslim men can be fined and jailed for transvestism under the country’s dual legal… Read more »
Boxing champion lauds Cruz for becoming first openly gay boxer
Manila, Philippines – Puerto Rican boxing champion Miguel Cotto has commended his fellow boxer, friend and countryman Orlando Cruz for announcing that he is gay. “For many years, Orlandito and I spent time together on the national team in Puerto Rico,” Cotto said in a radio interview, as quoted by Boxing Scene. “We went to… Read more »
Louganis boost to South Asia’s first LGBTI games
Nepal is set to host South Asia’s first sports festival exclusively for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered and intersexes -LGBTI in short-a three-day event which will kick start this Friday. But more than the 350 athletes from Nepal and 150 others expected from 17 countries, the main attraction of the festival would be Olympic legend Gregory… Read more »
The ASEAN declaration – Good news or bad news?
We now know what the draft ASEAN Human Rights Declaration will say. Is it good news or bad news for LGBTI? Douglas Sanders looks at the issues. First the bad news. We are not named. In the anti-discrimination provisions there is no reference to “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” or “gender expression.” Perhaps we don’t… Read more »
Guidebook promotes safer sex for gay men
Anal sex, gay bathhouses and recreational drugs. Those are among the topics that readers of Gay Sex Guru: Safer Sex Guide For Gay Men will learn about as they flip through the pages of the new guide. Published by Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, the manual is designed to promote sexual health and disease prevention in… Read more »
Taiwan broadcaster fined US$10,000 for lesbian kissing scene
A Taiwanese broadcaster LS Time has been fined NT$300,000 (US$10,255) for broadcasting a film that featured a scene that showed two women kissing, the China Times and Liberty Times reported. The 1992, locally produced film The Silent Thrush was broadcasted on 25 Feb 2012 at 7pm during a time-slot designated for films that have received… Read more »
Kyrgyzstan: Rights Activists Condemn Ban on Gay Muslim Documentary
Democratization activists in Kyrgyzstan are worrying about a roll-back of basic freedoms after a Bishkek court prohibited a film festival from screening a Dutch documentary about homosexual Muslim men. “I Am Gay and Muslim,” was scheduled to screen on September 28 at the sixth annual Bir Duino (“One World”) human rights documentary film festival in… Read more »
Over 1,000 in flash mobs in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to support LGBT rights
Over 1,000 people participated in three “flash mob” dance events held simultaneously in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang on Sunday afternoon to increase the visibility of the LGBT community. Organisers Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE) and Information Connecting and Sharing (ICS) – a Vietnamese LGBT rights NGO that… Read more »
Coming out
More gay teenagers are gaining acceptance by their parents Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in China a decade ago, but prejudice remains deep. So when an editor at the government education department in the city of Hangzhou was compiling a pamphlet recently to help parents guide their children through puberty, she included a… Read more »
Govt-endorsed parental guide to “identify” gay and lesbian children slammed
The guide to “help” parents identify gay and lesbian “symptoms” in their children says one indication is that gay men have muscular bodies and like to show their body by wearing V-neck and sleeveless clothes… The Education Ministry-endorsed “guidelines” to “help” parents identify gay and lesbian “symptoms” in their children so they can take early… Read more »
Hong Kong’s first openly gay lawmaker: Raymond Chan Chi-chuen
Newly elected lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen publicly acknowledges his sexual orientation a day after winning Sunday’s election. Hong Kong now has an openly gay lawmaker. Newly elected People Power (????) representative Raymond Chan Chi-chuen (???) received more than 38,042 votes to win a seat in New Territories East in Sunday’s election, beating incumbent and Democratic… Read more »
Hong Kong AIDS group blames Grindr for rise in infections
Last quarter saw the highest ever numbers of new HIV infections in Hong Kong, AIDS Concern say the popularity of Grindr is contributing to the rise AIDS Concern, the oldest HIV awareness group in Hong Kong, has blamed gay hook-up app Grindr for the highest number of new HIV infections in the former British colony.… Read more »
Self-perception of stigma and discrimination among men having sex with men.
Self-perception of stigma and discrimination among men having sex with men. Abstract Background: Men having sex with men are hidden population in Nepal due to existing of stigma and discrimination in social, economic and others aspects. Due to present stigma and discrimination majority of men having sex with men do not have access to HIV/AIDS… Read more »
Nepal to host LGBTI sports festival Oct 12-14
In what organisers have dubbed to be a first for South Asia, Nepal will host a LGBTI sports festival in Kathmandu from October 12 to 14 that will see the participation of at least 200 local amateur athletes from the LGBTI community and some 150 foreign athletes from 17 countries. which are organised by “lesbian,… Read more »
Thai lesbian movie ‘Yes or No 2’ hits theatres
Thailand’s first lesbian movie Yes or No, which was a surprise hit in China and Taiwan, returns to the screen with a sequel this month. Doug Sanders, who reviewed the first on Fridae, reports on the new two hour-long film. In early 2010 the first Thai movie in which a tom (Thai term for butch… Read more »
Mothers of LGBTs protest sexuality education textbook in Hangzhou
Following complaints from 18 mothers of gay children and gay groups over a sexuality education booklet targeted at parents of teenagers that describes homosexuality as a type of “sexual deviance”, the publisher has agreed to revise the sections about homosexuality in its second edition. About 50,000 copies of Parents, Please Walk Your Children Through Puberty… Read more »
Japan to take official steps in support of LGBT youths
Following in the footsteps of the United States, where the “It Gets Better” project started two years ago in order offer support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youths thinking of suicide, a new program in Japan hopes to do the same. Fumino Sugiyama, a co-founder of the project, which loosely translates to “Connected… Read more »
Update Regarding The Situation With Sagarmatha TV
Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal’s leading human rights organization which has been fighting for the rights of sexual and gender minorities since 2001 strongly condemned the sensational piece of yellow journalism broadcast by Sagarmatha TV starting on August 14, 2012. Sagarmatha TV’s Khoj Khabar program which bills itself as “investigative journalism,” put a black mark… Read more »
An openly gay Olympian, Greg Louganis, confirmed to be the guest of honor for South Asia’s First LGBTI sport festival…
Kathmandu, Nepal – In what is a ‘first’ for South Asia, Nepal will be hosting a LGBTI sports festival at the Dasharath Rangashala stadium and the National Theater Hall in Kathmandu from October 12 to 14 this year. This unique sporting and social awareness event is modeled on the global Gay Games which are organized… Read more »
Gay Policy In Thailand: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Care”
By day, Thung Si Mueng may appear as any old standard park in Northeast Thailand, but by night, it transforms into the ultimate high school hang out. There’s a public fitness center, an aerobics classroom as well as badminton, soccer and basketball courts. It’s a place for families to go that don’t have a backyard.… Read more »
My Name is not ‘waria’: Tiara Tiar Bahtiar
Fridae’s Ng Yi-Sheng speaks with transgender writer, entertainer and activist Tiara Tiar Bahtiar, who had recently launched a book of anecdotes, poems and photographs of local transgender culture, about growing up and how the Bugis people traditionally believe that humans can be grouped into five different gender categories. It’s tough to be a woman today,… Read more »
HIV infection falls among men who have sex with men
Phnom Penh – HIV infection among men who have sex with men has fallen from an estimated 8.7 percent in 2007 to 2.2 percent, National AIDS Authority Secretary General Teng Kunthy said Thursday. Dr Kunthy said the latest estimate by Family Health International was still high and compared with 0.8 percent of the overall population… Read more »
Singapore Court of Appeal: “Continued existence of s377A causes gay men to be unapprehended felons”
In a judgment that has taken nearly a year, Tan Eng Hong and his lawyer M Ravi are now one step closer to challenging the constitutionality of section 377A of the Penal Code that prohibits sexual relations between men. Singapore’s Court of Appeal today overturned High Court judge Lai Siu Chiu’s decision on 15 March… Read more »
Head of Taiwan’s Centre for Disease Control says marriage equality will help prevent spread of STDs
1,062 cases of HIV were reported in Taiwan so far in 2012 The deputy director-general of Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control (CDC) is the first senior official in the country to publicly come out in support of marriage equality. As reported by Focus Taiwan, CDC’s Shih Wen-yi said on his personal Facebook page earlier this… Read more »
Thai uni allows trans grads to wear female gowns
Oxbridge of Thailand will allow five transgender students to graduate in female attire this year The Higher Education Commission in Thailand has agreed to allow five transgender women graduating from the country’s most prestigious university to wear female clothes in their graduation ceremony on 30 August. ‘I’ve dressed in a female student uniform since I… Read more »
First AIDS Walk planned for China
China will have it’s first AIDS Walk in October, along the Great Wall near Beijing Beijing Gender and Health Education Institute is planning the first AIDS walk in China. Organizers hope that around 150 people will walk together along the Great Wall of China just north of Beijing on Saturday 13 October to raise money… Read more »
The man making marriage happen in Vietnam
Five years ago, the media in Vietnam regular reported on the social evil of homosexuality, now the government are looking into legalizing same-sex marriage, Gay Star News talk to the man who made it happen Earlier this month the news that Vietnam might become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage made headlines… Read more »
Nepalese LGBT rights group condemn ‘brazen thuggery’ of ‘biased and malicious’ TV programme
The Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal’s leading LGBT rights organisation, have issued a statement condemning “a biased and malicious” news report about their activities, which was screened on a national television station this week. Sagarmatha TV’s Khoj Khabar programme – which is described as an “investigative journalism” show – allegedly accused BDS of corruption and… Read more »
First national LGBT conference in China draws 80 LGBT activists
More than 80 LGBT activists, representing 53 organisations and over 23 different regions in China attended the first ever national China LGBT Community Leader Conference in June. Watch Video here. On 16 and 17 June 2012, more than 80 LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) activists, representing 53 organisations and over 23 different regions from as… Read more »
Marriage equality on the cards for Taiwan
Two women were married in a Buddhist ceremony in Taiwan last weekend, in the first known ceremony of its kind to be held in the country. While no Asian countries have actually fully legalised marriage equality, Taiwan – along with Vietnam and Nepal – is one of the few that have taken a forward-thinking stance… Read more »
Private viewing for male nudes
Part of a new art exhibition at Hotel 1961 featuring male nudes can only be viewed in a private room because the gallery owner is concerned the “almost very homoerotic” paintings may be too provocative. The exhibition, titled Embody, is by young Khmer artist Chhai Kakkada, and celebrates the Khmer male form, from buff young… Read more »
Pensions for the transgender community in Tamil Nadu
The state government of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu announce a pension scheme for transgender residents The government of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has announced the introduction of a pension scheme specifically for the transgender community. The state’s chief minister J Jayalalithaa said earlier this month that 11.7 million Rupees ($211,000,… Read more »
Most young Thai MSM define as heterosexual, even if they mainly have sex with men
A large, randomised sample of 21-year-old Thai men, presented at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington recently, has found that by far the largest risk factor for HIV infection is gay identity. Contrary to the oft-quoted saying “it’s not who you are, but what you do,” actual male/male sexual behaviour, while still an important… Read more »
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