Sports and Culture

40 LGBTQ-Friendly Picture Books for Ages 0-5

Adults can debate endlessly about when it’s appropriate to “expose” children to “sensitive” topics like sex and sexuality, gender expression and diversity, non-conventional methods of conception and so on, but kids don’t live in isolated bubbles — they’re right here in our complex, messy world with us. Read More

African women against homophobia

Check out this Facebook page for African women to connect in a safe environment to voice their support for their LGBT brothers and sisters facing discrimination: "A forum for positive action and hope; a place to share experiences of victories, no matter how small pay tribute to people who are in many cases putting their lives on the line for the cause."  Like it here

Archie Comics Is Promoting 'The Occult And Homosexuality' With Recent Story line"

Right Wing Watch stated, "These kids grew up watching their parents laugh at 'Will & Grace,' which changed people’s opinions, and now the kids don’t have a problem with it.” The group isn't the first to express its disapproval of Archie Comics and the Kevin Keller character specifically. In 2012, One Million Moms threatened Toys 'R' Us with a boycott because the toy chain is carried the  controversial Archie Comics issue in which Keller tied the knot in a same-sex wedding. 

The comic made news this summer when Archie was  killed protecting his gay friendJon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher: "We wanted to do something that was impactful that would really resonate with the world and bring home just how important Archie is to everyone. That’s how we came up with the storyline of saving Kevin. He could have saved Betty. He could have saved Veronica. We get that, but metaphorically, by saving Kevin, a new Riverdale is born.” More

Robin Williams Struggles With Being Gay In One of His Final Roles

Boulevard stars Williams as a married man who confronts his sexuality late in life. The comedian’s quiet performance is said to tap into the same loneliness he delivered in One Hour Photo. While this is certainly not the first time Williams played gay on screen, it’s certainly the most disturbing.
“This is one of the kindest characters Williams has ever played, which makes his self-imposed turmoil — the consequence of not wanting to hurt anyone, least of all his wife — all the more tragic,” Peter Debruge writes in a review for Variety.  Read More

Op-ed: What Not To Say to a Trans Person on OkCupid

Despite the human hazards, transgender people, like anyone, can still find love (or at least some halfway decent drunk texting) on dating site OkCupid. If you’re not an asshole and you think of yourself as the kind of person who’d be open to meeting a transgender person on OkCupid, here are some things to avoid saying during conversations with your transgender romantic prospect. 

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Grindr promotes PrEP & new app helps HIV+ connect to clinics

Massively popular dating app Grindr is working with PrEP groups to utilize it's social network to best and most effectively get the word out about HIV prevention.  Yet the 'Truvada Whore' Stigma Endures Among Doctors and LGBTs. Working with AIDS.org, US-based app Hornet shows users the 10 closest HIV clinics.

Meanwhile gay UK pop sensation Sam Smith urges gay and straight singles to stop using 'hook-up apps' like Tinder and Grindr: ‘No offence to people who go on Tinder but I just feel like it’s ruining romance, I really do,’ he said. ‘We’re losing the art of conversation and being able to go and speak to people and you’re swiping people.’  

'It's a huge human rights event. The Gay Games are changing the world'

Thousands of athletes from over 65 countries attended the Gay Games, the world’s largest LGBT-friendly athletics event. Read some of the experiences with international participants. 

Konstantin Yablotskiy was a figure skater, not an activist. Most of his friends did not even know he was gay. But in 2010 he watched international athletes competing openly at Cologne's Gay Games, unafraid of expressing their orientation. He decided to organize an LGBT athletics group in Russia. When he returned to this year's Games, Yablotskiy was leading a team of 33 athletes representing the 1,000-plus membership of the Russian LGBT Sports Federation. Read his story

These Powerful Photos Challenge The Stereotypes People Fight Every Day

Lauren Renner, a New York based photographer, started an ongoing groundbreaking photo series called “In Others’ Words” that shows the different stereotypes that individuals are confronted with. “We can either continue to use our differences to divide us, or we can define our identities for ourselves.” NSFW: The photos in this series include nudity. Read More 

Show on African homosexuality shut down after fundamentalist attack Senegal

The Senegalese government has shut down one of the first exhibitions in Africa to focus on homosexuality on the continent. The move comes several weeks after an attack on the Dakar gallery by Muslim fundamentalists, says the French-Algerian artist Kader Attia.  Read More