Stories about LGBTQ+ from August, 2009
Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS
To combat the spread of AIDS, many organizations and activists worldwide are engaged with innovative and localized campaigns and initiatives. Today we will discuss some of them who use ICT and citizen media to augment their cause.
Pakistan: Lone Gay Blogger Stops Writing
LGBTI Bangladesh Blog informs that “the lone Pakistani who blogs about gay travails has decided to stop writing”. “Not in Pakistan. I cannot. Sorry,” Jalaluddin, who blogs at Tuzk-e-Jalali, wrote in his latest and perhaps last post on June 28.
Trinidad & Tobago: Gender Policy
From Trinidad and Tobago, gspott asks: “Where's the Gender Policy?”, noting that while they can't say what exactly the new version of the Policy contains, they can can “offer…a special preview of all the really scary stuff on homosexuality that’s caused the Policy to turn into such a national mess...
Armenia: Homophobia turns deadly
Even if homosexuality was decriminalized in Armenia in 2002, society remains largely intolerant and traditional in its values. With blogs providing LGBT activists with a medium through which to voice their concerns, such fears can now be highlighted more openly than before.
Armenia: Ultra-nationalist homophobic death threat
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on a death threat made against a prominent LGBT writer by an ultra-nationalist group in Armenia. The blog says that this latest development in what still remains a traditionally homophobic society marks a new move to create internal enemies and hopes that law enforcement agencies will...
Serbia: Threats to LGBT Population
Serbia's gays are facing plenty of problems - and on Sept. 20, they are planning to hold a gay pride parade in Belgrade. Sinisa Boljanovic reviews some pro and contra reactions published on Serbian blogs and in other online venues.
Armenia: Newspaper promotes homophobia and hate crimes
In an extended post, Unzipped: Gay Armenia reacts in horror to an article published by one local newspaper which not only displays its own homophobia, but also appears to advocate hate crimes — including murder — against gays in the country.
Blogger of the Week: Haute Haiku from Kenya
Haute Haiku is one of Global Voices' newest Sub-Saharan African authors. He writes about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) blogosphere in Africa.
Blogging with HIV: “Love is still possible”
A growing number of HIV-positive bloggers around the world are using citizen media to express how they live with the virus, although speaking openly about HIV/AIDS can be difficult.
Bangladesh: Stigmatizing Homosexuals
Ashok Deb at LGBTI Bangladesh shares an email from a gay activist where he told how he was physically abused by his homophobic family members. He went to the police but they refused to file his complaint.
Serbia: Belgrade Mayor's Remarks on Sexuality
Belgraded comments on Belgrade mayor's seemingly “bizarre statement” on sexuality and the upcoming gay pride parade (scheduled for Sept. 20): “His statement is actually well calculated because it is the opinion of the majority of Serbs – that sexual orientation should not be shown in public. The problem is that...
Trinidad & Tobago: Gay Pride
As 2009 gay pride season winds down, Trinidad and Tobago's gspottt clearly reiterates its goals: “It’s an issue of openness, acceptance and equality…it’s about having the right to be…no more, no less, just human.”
Bangladesh: Social Status And Definition Of Sexuality
Delwar Hussain at Unheard Voice informs: “in Bangladesh, how you define your sexuality can depend on class, education and family circumstances.” Read the post for details.
Trinidad & Tobago: LGBT Rights
“Just a few years ago, the courts in Trinidad & Tobago were not a place GLBT people looked to with much hope of justice on matters of sexual orientation”: gspottt suggests that things may be changing.
Bangladesh: Helping The Hijras
Husain Amer writes in The Bideshis about a small group called Hijras (transvestites and transsexuals) who are shunned from the conservative Bangladeshi society. A support group runs three learning centers for them where they also get free STD and HIV education and testing.
Israel: LGBT center shooting in Tel-Aviv
It is becoming ever more evident that Saturday's deadly shooting at a Tel Aviv LGBT center was a product of pure hate. Gilad Lotan sums up from reactions from Hebrew blogs.
Trinidad & Tobago: Do The Right Thing
“Are our leaders more focused on pappyshowing for an international audience than doing the right thing by us here at home?”: Trinidad and Tobago's gspottt contends that “on the question of sexual orientation and human rights, that certainly seems to be the case.”
Armenia: HIV-AIDS education and awareness
Unzipped: Gay Armenia commends the general manager of a local mobile telephone operator for his philanthropic work in Armenia. The blog says that despite the sometimes shady business environment in the country, Ralph Yirikian impresses many people and not least with his latest initiative to raise awareness of HIV-AIDS.