Gay IDF soldiers slam LGBTQ protesters’ ‘fake understanding’ of human rights: ‘Queers cannot exist in Gaza’

Three gay Israeli Defense Forces soldiers, in the Big Apple to celebrate Pride week, slammed the group Queers for Palestine for its “fake understanding of human rights.” READ MORE

What is queer food? We asked LGBTQ foodies and chefs to define it

NBC News talked to academics, chefs and the founders of LGBTQ potlucks about queer food, including what it means and how the term has evolved over time. READ MORE

Anal sex & your prostate?

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ-_lvMHAvE

The shame of sex: growing up gay

Dr. Tyler & Gabriel discuss their experiences growing up gay, and the difficulties of understanding sex.

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUaTJeWl9iA

Spiritual leader ‘Buddha Boy’ found guilty of sexual assault on a child

Some believe Ram Bahadur Bamjan is the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism. READ MORE

‘I don’t have to be caged for your happiness’: Why I find hope in today’s queer youth

Gen Z and Gen Alpha are already telling us they’re queerer than the rest of us, with about a quarter of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+, according to recent polls. They’re also facing a growing wave of anti-queer bigotry nationwide. READ MORE

7 queer books by African writers

These writers revolt against institutionalized homophobia and proclaim, “look, I am here and I will live". READ MORE

‘No pride in occupation’: queer Palestinians on ‘pink-washing’ in Gaza conflict

Israel presents itself as an LGBT haven in the region, but for Palestinians it offers neither refuge nor solidarity. READ MORE

I want love and intimacy – but I am struggling with my sexual identity

I came out as gay and set out to explore my sexuality without worrying what other people think. Even with this freedom though, I feel lost. READ MORE

Pope Francis: The unintentional star of Rome's 2024 LGBTQ Pride parade

Pope Francis was unintentionally the star of Rome's 2024 Pride parade, where more than one million people took to the streets of the Eternal City on June 15, with scores of marchers holding signs seeking to both protest and reclaim a word the pope has reportedly used twice in the last month that sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ community. READ MORE

LGBTQ soldiers in Ukraine hope their service is changing attitudes as they rally for legal rights

Several hundred LGBTQ Ukrainian servicemen and their supporters marched in central Kyiv Sunday to demand more rights and highlight their service to their country in its war with Russia. READ MORE

Pride flags were again vandalized at the Stonewall National Monument

It’s the second year in a row the monument’s flags were damaged during Pride Month. READ MORE

Maldives' mainstream media spews blatant misogyny

(NOTE: This is a translation of a Dhivehi language report by Maldivian newspaper Dhenme titled ‘Be wary of women. No others are more unleashing damage to men than women’ found at this link dated June 20, 2024: https://dhenme.com/8072/. A big THANK-YOU to a Maldivian woman who translated this article into the English language for this blog. The international community has a right to know where their taxpayers' money is going.)

Holy Islam is a religion of joy and prosperity. A religion of standards and principles. A religion of good and evil.

Allah (God) created humankind into two sexes where one needs the other. And especially, women were created for men.

The view of contemporary Maldives brings to mind the Prophet (PBUH)’s following Hadith (saying):

“I have not unleased a worser danger on men other than women. Surely, (as a source of blessings), the world is a sweet and green place. And verily, Allah SWT has created you as a populace of generations. That is with a view to judge your behavior. Be wary of the Earth. And be wary about women. Indeed, women became the first danger to the Children of Israel.”

How true are his words!

The whole nation has become tired due to the dangers of certain women. Islam is the religion of the middle path. In everything we have to subscribe to moderation.

Queer observations #49

(NOTE: Poem generated through GEMINI)

Through colored glass, the world we see,

A spectrum cast, uniquely me.

Our past, a lens that shapes our view,

Defines the truths we hold as true.

Life's twists and turns, a gentle nudge,

May crack the frame, a mental budge.

A glimpse beyond, a world unknown,

Our limited view, we're not alone.

No need for labels, sharp and cold,

A chance to learn, a story told.

Sharing our sights, a tapestry bright,

Weaving new threads, with borrowed light.

Choices we make, the best we know,

From seeds of doubt, a garden grows.

The will to change, a guiding star,

Kindness to self, no matter how far.

Growth unfolds in winding ways,

Embrace the stumbles, learn each day.

Open your heart, let perspectives blend,

This journey of truth, that has no end.

‘We got more viewers than some royal weddings!’ Five decades of reality TV marriages – all still together

What’s it like to share your big day with millions? From Blind Date to Married at First Sight, reality TV couples relive the thrills, fears and regrets – and reveal what’s made their relationships last. READ MORE

Maldives, famous as a honeymoon destination, is evolving

The Maldives, including family trips, friendship trips, and silver trips, is becoming an all-weather destination. READ MORE

LGBTQ+ animals: Many dolphins, penguins, bonobos are naturally queer

It's Pride month, a good time to share this reminder: It's natural to be queer in the animal world.

Why it matters: Looking at animals strictly through a heteronormative lens has long limited scientific understanding and contributed to the othering of members of the LGBTQ+ community, per science experts. READ MORE

Winning the culture war against queer kids’ books

Michael Leali Imagines a World Where Queer Kids Have Access to Books That Celebrate Their Identities. READ MORE

Quote of the day

Can you name one good, practicing transvestite in the Senate? No! These people have been without representation long enough. Their plight is a national, a global disgrace.

- John Kennedy Toole, 'A Confederacy of Dunces' 

Maldives Israel ban backfires after country realises 2m Muslims would be barred from entry

EXCERPTS:

The island nation threatened the ban last month over Israel’s war in Gaza.

And last week the nation’s attorney general Ahmed Usham who referred to Arab-Israelis as ‘Palestinians’ was concerned about the new law affecting them.

He reportedly said: “The biggest concern is that there are many Palestinians with Israeli passports, millions of them. What happens when we impose the blanket ban on them?” READ MORE

Friends Reveal How They Spent 7 Days in 'Unaffordable' Maldives on a Budget

Tourists are also required to dress modestly on a local island, unless you're at a bikini beach, which is becoming increasingly common on the local islands. READ MORE

‘We’ve never had idols to look up to,’ Queer Muslims in Toronto aim to amplify representation with annual show

Creating a space for a frequently ostracized community to celebrate their entire identity, Muslim Pride is an annual show celebrating queer Muslim culture. READ MORE

Pilsen's queer prom celebrates 20 years of providing a safe space for Latino youth

This year, the event was put on by Yollocalli, the museum’s youth outreach program in Little Village, and CALOR, an LGBTQ advocacy organization focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness in the Latino community. READ MORE

CNN BREAKING - ‘Monumental step forward’: Thailand to become first Southeast Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage

EXCERPTS:

"Love is love".

“It is a basic right to choose who to love”.

The result of the vote means that Thailand will become only the third place in Asia to allow for marriage equality after Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019 and Nepal in 2023.

The marriage equality bill was supported by all the major parties and marks a significant step in cementing the country’s reputation as one of the friendliest in the region toward gay, lesbian and transgender people. READ MORE

The importance of smiling

Just smile at them and see what happens...

WATCH: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8Cvpppo74E/

"The left are worth listening to in this country"

WATCH: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8CrdHDo0z3/

Avoid the Maldives: Israelis, you aren’t missing much

EXCERPTS:

... But in the honeymoon stage of my relationship with my new young mistress, I was keen to show her a good time.

... But a country needs something more than beaches if it’s not to be boring – and the Maldives does not. This is because they isolate their tourists, seeing them as somewhat less than human. 

Only Muslims are allowed to be Maldivian citizens; no tourist may practise their religion in public. Capital punishment is a legal punishment for defendants over seven years old – though, to be fair, no one has actually been executed since 1952. However, things are getting worse rather than better. In 2013, a 15-year-old girl was sentenced to 100 lashes after being raped by her step-father; in 2015, a woman was sentenced to death by stoning after she was convicted of committing adultery (although the sentence was later overturned)...

Only a half-wit would claim that any Islamist country treats women decently, and the same goes for our LQBT cousins, no matter how much Queers For Palestine may stamp their little feet and wave their little banners. Homosexuality is criminalised by Maldivian law. Under Shariah, which is part of the country’s penal code, gays face fines, prison sentences, and lashings. But don’t think that being extravagantly straight is going to get you into your island hosts good books, you heathens... 

... But the ghastliness of the Maldives doesn’t just extend to disapproval of the way visiting foreigners may choose to live their personal lives; law-abiding Maldivian Muslims have also had what little freedom they enjoyed trampled all over in recent years, as is generally true of Islamic countries, where democracy is seen to be a decadent remnant of western influence. Going right back to the depopulation of Havaru Thinadoo in 1962, when ethnic cleansing killed two-thirds of the 6,000 islanders through murder and starvation, the Maldives are a savage patchwork of violent suppression behind the commercial facade. 

... The Maldives was forced to convert to Islam in the 12th century, but only began to suffer from an extreme version of the religion since 2004, when a Saudi-funded influx of preachers arrived to tell them that the tsunami was their fault for not being devout enough. It’s all been downhill since then, with the reversal of progress which can principally be seen in the way women who once let the sun shine upon the bodies the Lord gave them now scurry about in shrouds. And now Israelis are to be banned from entering this heavenly hell-hole in a ‘protest’ over the war in Gaza... READ MORE

Queers For Palestine

WATCH: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C74VVEqok5K/

Science may have a new way for men to ejaculate responsibly

A male birth control gel is one step closer to reality, and that’s worth celebrating. READ MORE

Why do I keep falling in love with totally unavailable people?

There may be unfinished business from your infancy or early childhood that you are trying to conclude by longing for something unobtainable. READ MORE

The moment I knew: I burst into the living room with his letter held high and screeched, ‘I’m getting married!’

Leigh Shelley was smitten with Tanner but feared he’d never want a future with her. Then, forced apart by distance, they both put pen to paper. READ MORE

She thought she found love in a Japanese host club. Then the bills ballooned – and she was coerced into sex work

Yu felt a rush of excitement as she walked into his bar for the first time – eager to meet the charming young host she’d been following for years online. READ MORE

Trans teen describes jaw getting broken during attack at school

WATCH HERE

Dead in 6 hours: How Nigerian sextortion scammers targeted my son

Sextortion is the fastest-growing scam affecting teenagers globally and has been linked to more than 27 suicides in the US alone. Many of the scammers appear to be from Nigeria - where authorities are defending their actions and are under pressure to do more. READ MORE

Let's read another piece by Nada from Gaza

WATCH: https://www.tiktok.com/@taipeiqueen/video/7377872211585060127 

Lifeguard who refused to fly Pride flag suing L.A. county for religious discrimination

The plaintiff is Jeffrey Little, a Los Angeles County lifeguard of over 22 years, who is being represented by attorneys from the Thomas More Society, a conservative, catholic public-interest legal group known for taking up cases that promote its anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage beliefs. READ MORE

A brand new male birth control worked astonishingly well in mice — are humans next?

This novel, non-hormonal pathway prevents proper sperm formation. READ MORE

What is "manufactured freedom"?

WATCH: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C707fs1OTUi/

Gender in Bugis society

The Bugis people are the most numerous of the three major ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, with about 3 million people. Most Bugis are Muslim, but many pre-Islamic rites continue to be honoured in their culture, including the view that gender exists on a spectrum. Most Bugis converted from Animism to Islam in the early 17th century; small numbers of Bugis have converted to Christianity, but the influence of Islam is still very prominent in their society.

In contrast to the gender binary, Bugis society recognizes five genders: makkunrai, oroané, bissu, calabai, and calalai. The concept of five genders has been a key part of their culture for at least six centuries, according to anthropologist Sharyn Graham Davies, citing similar traditions in Thailand, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh. READ MORE

Queer observations #48

My homoerotic fascination seems to center on men who have menial jobs, especially construction site workers because I like to observe their posture and other movements of the body. I sometimes imagine what it would be like to observe men doing normal activity while in the nude. Perhaps this is a form of harmless voyeurism on my part - as long as I make sure they don’t catch me gawking at them which may cause discomfort to them.

There's a cashier in a South Asian capital who I am growing fond of everytime I visit there. I have bought soft drinks from his shop only on few occasions because he always smiles at me for more than the casual amount of time that could avoid our interaction become awkward. Yes, there is a limit to how long you can keep gazing at a man when he is gazing at you. This awkwardness on my part also is a result of my fear and anxiety that they might stop acting friendly if they realize I am gay while they are not. I have to be extra careful if such people are part of the place I have to visit regularly – like the shop this particular dude works at.

So I stopped visiting that convenient store and even while passing, I avoided looking through the glass door and glass windows lest he catch me looking inside; would he think that I am searching for him? I don't have an answer for that question.

I shopped from his shop only three times because he smiled, or rather grinned, at me. The fourth time I just went in because I wanted to shake his hand, say a friendly “Hello” in return for his courteous smiles at me, and in the process gauge his behavior towards me in terms of his interpreting my interaction with him. Fair enough, there was no awkwardness when he accepted my handshake.

But the fifth time I went there to greet him without intending to buy anything but just to give him a smile, he appeared uncomfortable; that was what I interpreted from his smile which looked forced, like you would when your manager tells you to be friendly to all customers even if you are having a bad day.

So I decided not to visit his store thereafter. But then one morning I was passing and while distracted in thought I happened to glance at the window and he was standing close to it and smiled; it was a smile of comfort, no doubt about that.

Then the next day when I passed I made sure that I wouldn't look towards his window but then I accidentally looked through the door and he was standing there watching me. I guess cashiers do observe what's happening outdoors because of the monotony of being inside a closed space such as a shop.

I waved to him but did not stop to make sure he had in any way reacted to my action but I was walking too fast and I had already turned away from him and could not be sure how he reacted. 

Then of all the things that this universe could concoct, one day later, I caught him at a park ten minutes away from his store. At first I was passing while observing the trees and shrubs. I wasn’t looking at any people hanging out there. Then I somehow sensed that someone was observing me as I passed a man who was sitting on a bench near the pavement.

I looked in his direction and it took me by surprise when I noticed that it was HIM! Well, it's a small world after all when you consider that it was a tiny capital where a lot of parks existed among the built environment.

He was gazing at me with his face turned halfway towards me but I would say that there was nothing coy about it. 

I went over to him but didn't sit beside him because he might not like his privacy being invaded. I told myself that people go to parks to relax in the privacy of their thoughts. That said, I gauged that there was about a ten-year gap between him and me, me being the senior.

He was smiling at me so I went over to him and asked him "How?" in the language spoken in that South Asian capital. He just kept smiling and I guessed that was him saying he was doing well, so I gave him the thumbs-up sign and went on my way.

I wasn't expecting to meet him again so soon but the next day as I was passing by his shop he happened to be exiting. His back was to me and I prayed he wouldn't turn around; for some reason I just didn't want to ruin those platonic subtle communications we had been having through just smiles which I believe are expressions of affection, strangers or not.

So you can guess my exhilaration when he in fact turned around to go in the opposite direction and thus was headed toward me. In other words, there was no way I could avoid facing him. 

I smiled but was careful not to grin. When our eyes met, he grinned. I was almost near him, in hearing distance, and I asked him "Good?" in the language spoken in that South Asian country.

I wasn't expecting him to actually say anything because during all the time I had been interacting with him over those several days, it was not verbal, it was just his smiles: it was me asking him how he was doing and he responding with a smile as if to say “Yes”. 

As I passed him, I asked him in that South Asian country’s native language: “Good?”

He smiled, again that non-verbal answer of answering in the positive. 

And it was to my great surprise that he actually spoke to me - in English.

"You?" he asked me in way of inquiring into my wellbeing. 

"Good," I replied and gave him the thumbs-up sign and we went our way, into the opposite directions he and me were heading.

For the remainder of that day, I was overcome by an inexplicable sense of happiness. I was wondering about the mysterious nature of human affection towards one another. Sure, there was nothing permanent that could result in a casual acquaintance of platonic love like that but an unspoken bond of friendship made all the difference and brought to me tons of happiness if joy can be measured on a physical scale.

Queer observations #47

(NOTE: Poem generated through ChatGPT)

In a South Asian capital's narrow lane,

Amidst the flavors, I dined again.

A dish from home, a taste divine,

Yet, in this moment, fate did intertwine.

From the kitchen, a man appeared,

Handsome, with eyes that strangely peered.

Twice he passed, a lingering glance,

A silent exchange, a subtle dance.

But thrice, I dared to meet his gaze,

To challenge norms in hidden ways.

Yet, his smile vanished, no warmth to find,

In a world where truths are oft confined.

In South Asia's tapestry, hues unfold,

Where heteronorms and queerness hold.

A complex dance of acceptance and fear,

In a glance, a moment, our truths appear.

Happy Pride Month!

Be more extra than usual. (Cloud Atlas)