9 Tips for Coming Out to Your African Family in 2017
“It’s one of the hardest things most of us, as a community, will ever have to do and has the capacity to irrevocably change our lives… for better or worse.”
africa
Writer Lesley Nneka Arimah Captures Our Extraordinary Existences as Daughters of Africa
Arimah’s short story grapples with grief, immigration, neo-imperialism, and our never-ending obsession with defining ourselves by countries and borders; all the while telling a cross-continental African lesbian love story.
Being Lesbian While Black & How Five African Women Saved My Life
There’s just something about feeling inauthentic, impossible and insignificant that really makes life a burden, and that’s where I was for years. I was sick of living and wavered between a fear of and desire for death. I’m better these years; so far so good. I’m still here, I’m Rwandese, I’m queer and these are my mentors.
“You Don’t Sound African”: The Search for A Place to Call Home
See, home isn’t for people like me — it is not for lesbians, or queers. I cannot return to a country that criminalizes and attempts to further oppress my personhood. One that publicly accepts psychological assaults on my being, while leaving no legal safeties or recourse for its state sanctioned actions.
Jacqueline Nantumbwe Must Stay: Why the Current UK System For LGB Asylum Seekers is Broken
The UK Border Agency has detained Ugandan asylum seeker Jacqueline Nantumbwe, placing her at risk of abuse and deportation unless she can “prove” she’s gay.
UK LGBT Politics Crash Course: 2013 Was A Real Banner Year for Colonially-Influenced Homophobia in the Commonwealth
From India to Uganda, the legacy of British colonial sodomy laws live on today in many countries around the world. What can or should the Commonwealth do about this, if anything at all?
Cameroonian LGBT Activist Found Dead In His Home
“We do not know who killed Eric [Lembembe], or why . . . but his friends suspect that in killing him, someone wanted to kill a movement. “
Malawi Might Be One (Small) Step Further On The Path to Gay Rights
“Whether [President Banda] will be able to overcome centuries of entrenched homophobia and help Malawi become one of the few African countries without anti-gay laws remains to be seen, but her political savvy and credentials in the women’s rights movement make her a fairly strong candidate.”
UN Chief Calls On African Union To Hop On The Gay Tolerance Train
“One form of discrimination ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long has been discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
I Am Alike: A Nigerian Boi’s Reflection on ‘Pariah’
“I remember holding my breath during pivotal scenes in the movie. I wondered nervously if my brother saw then the direct parallels to his own sister’s life.”
Also. Also. Also: Darlene Has a New Girlfriend And Other More Important Stories
Nigeria passes an appalling anti-gay law, Sara Gilbert & Linda Perry get together, TI thinks gay people are too sensitive and SO MUCH MORE!
Uganda Drops “Kill The Gays” Bill – Something That We Did Worked [UPDATE: JK NOT REALLY]
Online petitions had over 1.4 million signatures as of yesterday afternoon, and the impending vote on Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” bill is temporarily called off.
Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill: Why Now, What Happens Next, What You Should Sign
Sign this petition, for starters.
Postcards from Uganda: An American Lesbian Abroad
The incredibly true story of my first two months in Kampala, Uganda, where I really can’t tell anyone that I’m gay.
“Corrective Rape” in South Africa: Not Getting Better
The contempt, and rage, felt toward the lesbian community in South Africa is pretty devastating, and the meeting with the LGBTQ activists wasn’t the catalyst we’d hoped for…
South Africa Government Hears Out LGBT Activists On Corrective Rape
A common practice in South Africa, corrective rape is an act of violence where lesbians are raped in order to “fix” them… as charming as that sounds, it is time to wave goodbye to that policy, for real this time.
Leading Ugandan Gay Activist Murdered, Antagonistic Newspaper Clarifies “We Said [Gays] Should Be Hanged, Not Stoned.”
“We want the government to hang people who promote homosexuality, not for the public to attack them. We said they should be hanged, not stoned or attacked.”
Riese’s Team Pick: Vanguard’s “Missionaries of Hate”
As you may or may not know, Current TV is a channel on your teevee if you live in the U.S., and it’s better than all the other channels. It’s responsible for That’s Gay, which you probably love, and Target: Women with Sarah Haskins, which isn’t on anymore, but which you probably also loved at […]
Pardoned Malawi Trans Bride Gone Missing, Queer Pakistani Couple Facing Similar Fate. WTF.
One half of the queer couple pardoned in Malawi has gone missing. Another couple — a trans woman and gay man — were arrested in Pakistan for trying to get married (allegedly). Gay haters use the Bible as an excuse, not a legit argument. There’s a lot of the top 10 cute animals harmed by the oil spill. Arizona’s immigration law targets women. And thank god for Jon Stewart for bringing the lulz and the awesome social commentary & Barack Obama for tweeting his love for gays this month.
Malawi “Gay” Couple Pardoned, Ceding to U.N. & International Pressure (No Homo)
GOOD NEWS! Following a meeting with U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned the “gay” couple who had been sentenced to 14 years of jail and hard labor, announcing, “I have done this on humanitarian grounds but this does not mean that I support this.” Also,