Longtime British LGBTQ-rights activist Peter Tatchell is the subject of the new Netflix documentary Hating Peter Tatchell. According to an op-ed he penned for The Guardian, Tatchell has "been violently assaulted [more than] 300 times, had 50 attacks on my flat, been the victim of half a dozen murder plots and received tens of thousands of hate messages and death threats over the last five decades, mostly from homophobes and far-right extremists." He added that "[b]y telling my story, I wanted to show that social change is possible and how to do it, to inspire the next generation. My goal was to highlight freedom struggles through the lens of my own direct action."
Canada's House of Commons voted in favor of a bill criminalizing LGBTQ+ conversion therapy in the country, DW.com reported. Lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor, passing the measure 263 to 63. Half of the main opposition Conservative party voted against it, despite support from party leaders. The bill is a win for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government, which had pledged to end the discredited practice. It will now proceed to Canada's Senate.
Same-sex couples in Hong Kong will now be allowed to own subsidized housing together after a landmark High Court ruling which saw a gay widower take on the government, PinkNews reported. Henry Li was not able to inherit the government-subsidized flat his late husband, Edgar Ng, bought in 2018 after they wed in the United Kingdom because the city's housing policies deny same-sex partners joint occupancy and ownership rights. The court said that the refusal to acknowledge married same-sex couples in Hong Kong's subsidised housing policies "constitute[s] unlawful discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation."
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, in partnership with PepsiCo and Baker McKenzie, launched a first-of-its-kind resource in Mexico to help businesses advance inclusive policies and practices for transgender and non-binary employees, titled "Transgender Workplace Inclusion: A toolkit for employers and businesses in Mexico," a press release noted. Modeled after HRC Foundation's Trans Toolkit for Employers, this resource is tailored to assist employers address the existing gap between employers and policies and practices related to transgender and non-binary workplace inclusion in Mexico. The toolkit provides a comprehensive overview of the practical guidance and legal framework required to create an inclusive workplace for transgender and non-binary employees by exploring best practices and protections related to transgender and non-binary inclusion; tools, guidelines and procedures for businesses; and a review of the civil code, federal, state and regional protections. See https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/EquidadMX-ManualInclusi%C3%B3nPersonasTransv062021.2.pdf?mtime=20210621164247&focal=none.
The Bank of England began circulating its new 50-pound bank notes featuring gay World War II codebreaker Alan Turing on June 23, which would have been the pioneering math genius' 109th birthday, NBC News noted. Often referred to as the "father of computer science and artificial intelligence," Turing was hailed a war hero and granted an honor by King George VI at the end of the war for helping to defeat the Nazis. Despite this, however, he died as a disgraced "criminal"—simply for being a gay man. In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for indecency over his relationship with another man in Manchester; Turing pled guilty and, to avoid imprisonment, had to agree to be chemically castrated. Disgraced and disenfranchised, he took his own life by cyanide poisoning June 8, 1954, in his home in Manchester; he was 41.
Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics after being selected by New Zealand for the women's event at the Tokyo Games, Reuters reported. Hubbard will compete in the super-heavyweight 87+-kilogram (191+-pound) category, her selection made possible by an update to qualifying requirements in May. The 43-year-old, who will be the oldest lifter at the Games, had competed in men's weightlifting competitions before transitioning in 2013.
A Malaysian government task force proposed amendments to sharia law that would allow action to be taken against social-media users for insulting Islam and "promoting the LGBT lifestyle," targeting posts celebrating Pride Month, CNN.com noted. The task force includes representatives from the country's Islamic Development Department, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, the attorney-general's office and the police. Sodomy and same-sex acts are illegal under Islamic law in Muslim-majority Malaysia, although convictions are rare.
Reboot Digital PR Company (www.rebootonline.com/digital-pr/&; issued a report focusing on which European countries offer the best workplace prospects for LGBT+ professionals, a press release noted. Based on figures from FRA and Eurostat, Reboot analyzed factors that contribute to workplace inclusivity to create a points-based index. Belgium came in first place with one of the highest employment rates for LGBT+ professionals in Europe (54%), followed by Luxembourg and Denmark; Cyprus and Lithuania tied for the bottom, in 26th place.
New University of Sydney research revealed how the LGBTQ community has achieved groundbreaking advancements over the past two decades, according to a press release. Among the details is that Lambda Legal and the ACLU were ranked the most effective LGBTQ organizations. The study is part of a new book, LGBTQ Lobbying in the United States, authored by Dr. Christopher Pepin-Neff, LGBTQ researcher and Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Sydney and released by the academic publisher Routledge in advance of LGBTQ Pride Month.
Spectators carried out a rainbow-colored protest at a Germany-Hungary Euro 2020 football match in Munich, in support of LGBT rights, the BBC reported. Uefa blocked the Allianz Arena from lighting up in rainbow colors, due to an anti-gay law passed in Hungary. In protest, a spectator wearing a German shirt ran onto the field with a rainbow flag while the Hungarian anthem was played before the game. Other fans also waved multicolored flags during the group stage match.
In a related item, German football stadiums were lit like rainbows June 23 after the UEFA banned the ground hosting a Euro 2020 match against Hungary from using pride colors, the Metro reported. The European governing body was slammed for refusing to allow Munich's Allianz Arena to be illuminated with rainbow lighting, following a widely-criticized new anti-LGBTQ law in Budapest, Hungary. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen slammed the "disgraceful" legislation, passed by Viktor Orban's government, which bans the "promotion" of homosexuality to children.
After being delayed by the global pandemic, British music icon Elton John announced the tour dates for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour, according to out.com . The newly announced dates will start on May 27, 2022 in Germany. The European leg of the tour will continue on in Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands and France, and end with five shows in the U.K. From there, John will move to North America. The tour will then end in 2023, following two shows in Auckland, New Zealand, and then several yet-to-be-announced dates in Australia.
New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde announced a 2022 headline world tour set to kick off in February, NME.com noted. The "Solar Power" tour—which will support her upcoming new album of the same name—will take in dates in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, kicking off Feb. 26 at Electric Avenue Festival in New Zealand and ending in Berlin at the Verti Music Hall on June 23.
Kenneth Branagh's Belfast; Edgar Wright's Last Night In Soho; Celine Sciamma's Petite Maman; and Theodore Melfi's Netflix dramedy The Starling, starring Melissa McCarthy and Kevin Kline are among the first announced official selections of the 46th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival taking place Sept. 9-18, Deadline noted. In addition to emphasizing the availability of the live screenings, the fest is touting the return of the digital TIFF Bell Lightbox and TIFF Bell Digital Talks Platforms.
Matt Hancock resigned as Britain's health secretary one day after he apologized for breaching COVID regulations, CNN.com reported. The married politician was pictured kissing and embracing his adviser, with whom British tabloid The Sun alleged he is having an affair. The newspaper reported that the images were from May 6, two weeks before cross-household contact was allowed indoors in England. Hancock was appointed secretary of state for health and social care in 2018, according to his official biography at gov.uk.
UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver announced he will stop using the name "kaffir lime leaves" in his recipe books and on TV shows due to concerns over the word's racist connotations, according to Page Six. Derived from the Southeast Asian citrus hystrix plant, the leaves are a popular ingredient in everything from Indonesian traditional medicine to Thai coconut curry, to which they add a dash of zest. However, "kaffir" is a highly offensive slur that was historically used to refer to Black people, particularly in South Africa during the Apartheid era of the 20th century. Oliver now will just say "lime leaves."
