Category: Sexual Equality

Birmingham LGBT row: ‘Homophobic protests must stop’ – BBC News

~ mcequality

Protests against LGBT teaching at a Birmingham primary school are “homophobic” and must “stop now”, the West Midlands mayor has said.
Andy Street said he was in “disbelief” at material distributed by protesters outside Anderton Park Primary.
The mayor, who is gay, told the BBC he had thought homophobia was a “non-issue in our city”.
A High Court injunction is in place banning protests, which have been going on for months, outside the school.
Parents started to gather at the gates over concerns children were “too young” to learn about LGBT relationships. They also said the lessons contradicted Islam.

via Birmingham LGBT row: ‘Homophobic protests must stop’ – BBC News

Google will work with LGBTQ+ groups on harassment policies

~ mcequality

In the wake of YouTube’s controversial decision not to pull videos containing homophobic and racist attacks, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote an internal email acknowledging that “the LGBTQ+ community has felt a lot of pain and frustration over recent events.” While a few Google execs have already apologized for YouTube’s decision, Pichai’s email carries more weight given his position. The email, obtained by The Verge, also suggests that Google plans to conduct more internal discussions aimed at addressing its harassment policies.

via Google will work with LGBTQ+ groups on harassment policies

Anti-Abortion Group Live Action Absurdly Claims Censorship by Pinterest

~ mcequality

Yesterday morning, the anti-abortion group Live Action launched a Tweetstorm alleging that Pinterest was discriminating against it for its beliefs. The group, which rose to infamy with heavily edited Planned Parenthood undercover “sting” videos, said that it had been put on Pinterest’s domain “block list” and had its account permanently suspended for spreading “misinformation.” Lila Rose, Live Action’s founder, suggested that the group had been wrongly censored out of partisan bias.“Pinterest Logic: You can freely pin if you’re Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider,” she tweeted. “But if you’re a pro-life group & pin about the beauty & humanity of a baby in the womb, you’re banned bc you’re a threat to ‘Pinner’s health or safety.’”

via Anti-Abortion Group Live Action Absurdly Claims Censorship by Pinterest

Banned From The Chinese Internet, LGBT Fanfiction Writers Find New Home On U.S. Website

~ mcequality

In China, writing fanfiction can be dangerous. In the United States, although some authors used to be pretty litigious towards derivative works, fanfiction writers here don’t usually have to worry about anything more serious than a cease and desist. In China, creating fanworks can sometimes come with significant legal consequences, especially if what you’re writing is homoerotic. That’s why Chinese users are flocking to Archive Of Our Own, a fanfic site that allows broad free expression to fans who want to write fanworks, including LGBT fans.

Last year, the Chinese novelist Tianyi was sentenced to ten years in prison for publishing homoerotic fiction. Although making and selling pornography in China is illegal, The New York Times reported that even Chinese users on the site Weibo, which is basically Chinese Twitter, thought that the sentence was too harsh.

via Banned From The Chinese Internet, LGBT Fanfiction Writers Find New Home On U.S. Website

Disney May Stop Filming in Georgia Depending on Abortion Ban

~ mcequality

If crippling the rights of women isn’t concerning to the Georgia state government, which earlier this month signed into law its version of the cruel “heartbeat bill,” maybe this will send a message: Disney’s chairman and CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday it would be “very difficult” to continue filming in Georgia if the new law takes effect, since many people won’t want to work in the state.

Georgia, apparently a very popular location for filming major blockbusters like Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame thanks to a tax credit offered there, probably won’t be seeing that sweet, sweet entertainment money if the ban takes place. According to Reuters:

via Disney May Stop Filming in Georgia Depending on Abortion Ban

Inside the Warwick University rape chat scandal – BBC News

~ mcequality

“Rape the whole flat to teach them a lesson,” one message read.
“Oh god. I would hate to be in the firing line if I had a vagina,” said another.
Anna – not her real name – was scrolling through hundreds of sexually violent messages on a Facebook group chat.
To her horror, she and her female university friends were mentioned dozens of times.
The men writing the messages were – like Anna – studying humanities at Warwick University.
But they weren’t just her coursemates. They were her close friends.

via Inside the Warwick University rape chat scandal – BBC News

Taylor Swift Does Not Have to Answer Questions About Having Kids Just Because She’s Almost 30

~ mcequality

For women (or at least for me), 30 is the age when the world becomes allowed to ask questions about whether or not we’re going to dust off the old uterus and put it to work. As my twenties wound down, questions about kids sped way up; family members, grad school professors, even relative strangers, like my hairdresser, began to think it entirely appropriate to ask me if I’d made any plans to get some sperm in these eggs. For some reason, 30 looms large in our cultural imagination as the age when women need to grow up and get a baby in us.

via Taylor Swift Does Not Have to Answer Questions About Having Kids Just Because She’s Almost 30

House Republicans Describe Abortion as ‘Second Violent Act’ Experienced By Survivors of Rape and Incest

~ mcequality

A messaging document on Alabama’s abortion ban compiled by the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, recommends that its members describe abortions people receive after being raped or in cases of incest as a “second violent act” that could “physically or psychologically wound her further.”

VICE News obtained the document, which was distributed to members of the RSC at a recent meeting. Calling the Alabama ban “bold new pro-life legislation,” the talking points in the document defend the near-total ban on abortion passed by the Republican-controlled state.

via House Republicans Describe Abortion as ‘Second Violent Act’ Experienced By Survivors of Rape and Incest

9 queer comics that go beyond pride

~ mcequality

Pride month is all about celebrating the queer experience and showing the world that there’s no shame in loving who you love, but being queer isn’t always glitter and rainbows. Sometimes it’s tears and secrets and a seemingly never-ending stream of challenges. Over the years, comic creators have shown an eagerness to explore these different facets of queerness in their work, whether they’re telling grounded autobiographical stories or heightened genre tales. There’s a wide world of queer comics to explore, and these 9 picks offer strong starting points that approach LGBTQ+ content from different angles.

via 9 queer comics that go beyond pride