Queer News Roundup

Some lighter news this week in the public sphere of LGBT+ advocates and icons. Former Scottish Labor party leader Kezia Dugdale, who is openly gay, will take part in our Australian TV show "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here." Keep an eye out for the sitting Parliamentarian taking on the dangers of the jungle and reality TV.

At a performance in Sydney, Lorde donned a pride flag and sang in celebration of Australia's nationwide majority vote to legalise same-sex marriage. Another performer, this time of the American anti-LGBT group, donned a similarly colourful flag, delivering an anti-gay interpretative dance that was indisputably, well, very gay. Watch here:

Another victory for inclusion and equality with Canada electing its first transgender person as mayor, and first female mayor of Très-Saint-Rédempteur. Julie Lemieux said “It doesn’t matter who you are – if you want to do something then you should do it.”

Struggles remain in Australia and around the world. Loopholes in religious freedom legislation have allowed a Rockingham Baptist school in Western Australia to dismiss a teacher...for being gay. Controversial Senator David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democrats Party will host the self-described alt-right troll Milo Yiannopolous, who has claimed that feminism is cancer and last year filmed himself burning a pride flag as a statement against Muslim immigration.

The Guardian has a pertinent and important piece about the prevalent and persistent issue of homelessness among LGBT youth. It's worth remembering that while marriage equality has been endorsed, the fight is not over yet. On this very issue, Malcolm Turnbull has postponed the final sitting of Federal Parliament, stating that this will ensure legislative focus is on passing a marriage equality bill before Christmas. The battle between conservative MPs and equality advocates will continue until a bill is agreed upon. Reuters also has a piece on the prevalence of LGBT hate crimes in Russia, and the intense struggles of LGBT Egyptians continues.

The 20th of November was Transgender Day of Remembrance, and international acknowledgement of the disproportionately high rates of violence, suicide and depression among trans and non-binary people. Fitting, then, that this week saw a victory for the trans community in America, as a federal court has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to ban transgender people from serving in the US armed forces. We'll be back next week with another news summary - and some new writers!

#News #Politics