All the latest breaking news on discrimination. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of features and commentary on discrimination against the LGBT+ community.
A petition has gone live asking for occupations, like adult entertainment to be added to protected characteristics, like sexuality, race and gender identity.
The petition which has been created by the ManyVids platform which aims to provide “an oasis for sex workers to thrive independently” has been launched to ask the government to make changes to the Equality Act 2010.
The organisation has said it would like to “challenge the UK government to protect and safeguard the rights of adult entertainers, who make a legal income just like other workers in many industries across the UK”.
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A worker, Epiphany Jones (link NSFW), uses the platform, and said that she is “repulsed by how much hate and discrimination there still is against sex workers, especially in this day in age”.
Explaining some of the issues she faced working within the adult industry, she wrote,
“When I first started camming on a few different sites, I offered PayPal as another way for my customers to safely and securely buy content from me. Unfortunately, a customer reported me to PayPal for using their service for sex work and my account was banned, deleted and the money was given back to the purchaser.
“As I had already delivered the video in question (which was delivered on time and without any issues), I can only assume the customer did this vindictively, knowing they would get a free video out of it. As you can imagine I was furious that this had been allowed to happen, and that I wasn’t given any chance to explain my situation
She continued, “What upset me most is the fact that prejudices surrounding my occupation stopped a thorough investigation from taking place. If I was selling craft videos on how to make daisy chains and a customer had complained, PayPal would have fairly investigated both sides of the argument and helped to resolve the situation, as opposed to banning the account out of hand and penalizing the creator”.
Jones says the incident has left her feeling “ostracized and alone”.
“No right-minded person would ever “lend a stripper money to do better shows.”
Speaking about her experience of getting a bank loan is even more depressing, she said,
“A couple of years ago I wanted to improve my business by upgrading my software and equipment. As I’m a registered business I decided to do what anyone else would do and met with the bank to discuss business loans. When I explained to the manager what my business was and why I needed the money I was practically laughed out of the office and told that no right-minded person would ever “lend a stripper money to do better shows.”
“Putting aside the fact that I earn consistently more via camming than I did in my previous job, this completely demoralized me and belittled my worth. The fact that a bank manager felt justified in demeaning me, just because of my occupation was sickening. All the money I’d earned and the profile I’d worked hard to build up meant nothing, he couldn’t see past my job title.
Just because I’m in the adult industry doesn’t mean I’m any less of a human being.
“Just because I’m in the adult industry doesn’t mean I’m any less of a human being. Having my hard-earned money taken from me being banished from sites is so demoralizing, especially since it’s nothing to do with me as a person – it’s just because of the prejudice surrounding my job.
People say the world will never change, but it can happen, and since I’ve been a ManyVids member I’ve seen such a positive improvement, especially within the LGBTQ community. I’d encourage all sex workers to keep being resilient and to have the courage to speak up and stand for what is right”.
I’m a fan of holidays and I’m also a fan of prizes, so a prize that’s also a holiday it’s pretty much up there with buttery crumpets and that new car smell for me, but I have to plead with the marketing departments at large corporations not to offer trips to countries where being LGBT+ could wind you all banged up.
This afternoon a Caffe Nero marketing email landed in my inbox advertising a competition where the prize was a holibob to Cairo. How nice I thought until I wonder what are the legal ramifications of a visit to Egypt for a card-carrying gay like myself.
Not good. it turns out.
A little digging from the marketing department would have them discover homosexuality has been “defacto illegal” in Egypt since the year 2000. Yes, in Egypt under its “morality laws” people found guilty of breaking such a law could face “up to 17 years with or without hard labour and fines”
Not to pick on Nero’s but they really should know better, after all, they do use the rainbow flag, during pride season in some of their stores.
But they aren’t the only company to offer competitions where the prize could land LGBT+ people in trouble.
You wouldn’t think that in 2020 it’d be acceptable to offer a prize that actively discriminated against LGBT+ people, but when you see a prize that’s a holiday to any country which outlaws homosexuality, and there are a lot of them – that’s effectively what they are doing, especially to gay and bi men who don’t want to end up in court facing punishments ranging from fines, lashes or even death.
If we want change, we are going have to call on companies and allies to do their part.
If we want a world that is tolerant of LGBT+ people we have to start showing that being anti-LGBT isn’t good for business, travel or politically and that includes using them in your marketing campaigns.
According to a report, a bar in Kampala, Uganda known to be LGBT+ friendly was raided by police, resulting in the arrest of 125 people.
The OutRight Action Internation campaign group a gay-friendly bar in the Ugandan town of Kampala was raided by police on Saturday night. According to their report around 125 were arrested and charged with drug possession which OutRight says is an indication of “an intentional and growing persecution” of gay people in the country.
The bar in question is an LGBT+ friendly bar and has been used by local activists for community events for over seven years. It was the only bar raided on the evening in question, indicating a clear targeting of gay, lesbian, bi and transgender people. According to Kuchu Times, the people arrested are due to appear in court within the next couple of days.
Kasha Jacquelin, a Ugandan LGBT activist, told OutRight:
“The past has shown that it is difficult to prosecute anyone for being LGBT. Using trumped-up drug charges is a new and frightening tactic; one which is really hard to tackle and will make our battle even tougher.”
At least four people have been killed in suspected hate-motivated attacks. Arrests of LGBT+ people have also increased. Prior to the raid carried out on November 10th, 16 people were arrested and charged with “trafficking in persons” and “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” at the end of October.
Increasing hate and stigma
Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, commented:
“The resurfacing of the anti-homosexuality bill in a country which already prescribes life imprisonment for same-sex relations could only have had one intention – to increase hate and stigma against LGBTIQ people, putting them at heightened risk of arbitrary detention and attack. That is exactly what is happening. The growing intensity of arrests, the clear targeting of an LGBTIQ friendly bar, makes it painfully clear that a witch hunt is being mounted against LGBTIQ Ugandans.”
Is sex between men illegal in Uganda?
Sex between males has been criminalised in Uganda since British colonial times. At the turn of the century, the law was extended to include sex between females.
Articles on “unnatural offences” and “indecent practices” have been retained in the Penal Code since independence. “Carnal knowledge against the order of nature” between males carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The so-called “Anti-Homosexuality Act,” prescribing a death penalty for gay sex, was first passed by the parliament of Uganda in 2013 and signed into law by President Museveni in early 2014. It was invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Uganda on procedural grounds the same year.
According to local activists, the Minister of Ethics and Integrity of Uganda, Simon Lokodo, has indicated an intention to reintroduce the bill.
If you think that future generations of people might be the answer to the inequalities faced by the LGBT+ community, statistics from Galop‘s latest research is sober reading.
According to Galop, the UK’s leading charity against violence towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, found that 1 in four people aged 18-24 said that being LGBT+ was “immoral or against their beliefs”.
That statistic becomes more concerning when you consider that, 41 per cent of the age group said that they strongly agreed (12%), agreed (16%) or were ambivalent (13%) with the idea gay or trans went against their beliefs or that being LGBT+ was in some way immoral.
Just over half of the respondents aged 18 to 24, said that they disagreed with the statement “Being LGBT+ is immoral or against my beliefs”.
What about the next age group up?
CREDIT: TheGayUK
The age group 25 to 35 didn’t fair much better with 40 per cent saying that strongly agreed (9%), agreed (12%) or were ambivalent (19%) with the idea that being LGBT+ was against their belief.
This is in stark contrast to the widely quoted statistic from a YouGov survey that found 49 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds, when asked to plot their sexuality on a scale said that they were not 100 per cent heterosexual.
Nik Noone, Galop’s Chief Executive said, Recorded anti-LGBT+ hate crime has doubled in the last three years. This is reflected in the escalating scale, severity and complexity of hate crime cases we are supporting at Galop.
Our ambition is that this report gives insight into the scale of prejudice still faced by our community. More importantly, we hope its findings and recommendations will act as a springboard for action.
Startling findings reveal that 10 per cent of the UK’s population think that gay cures could work on LGBT+ people.
Despite many people understanding that LGBT+ are born that way, around 1 in 10 people in the UK, still think that homosexuality or being transgender can be cured according to findings recorded by Galop, the UK’s largest anti-violence charity for LGBT+ people.
This is coupled with the horrifying revelation that around 20 per cent of people (one in five) said that being LGBT+ was immoral or went against their beliefs.
The findings were analysed from a representative sample of just over 1,600 people.
Does conversion therapy actually work?
There are a number of therapists and organisations in the UK and in the USA that make the claim that conversion therapy can help LGB people to become heterosexual. However, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, there is no evidence that such change is possible.
Nick Antjoule, Galop’s Head of Hate Crime Services said, At Galop we’ve seen a stark increase in the severity and scale of anti-LGBT violence and abuse over the past few years. This appears to be a symptom of emergent anti-LGBT attitudes and social division across society. The fact that anti-LGBT hate crime figures are rising so much faster than race, faith and disability hate crime should be a wake-up call for policy makers. We urge action now to address this problem before it escalates further.
Our research shows the journey toward LGBT+ equality is far from over. Despite most people in this UK poll voicing support for LGBT+ people; a significant proportion still think we are dangerous, immoral or that we can be ‘cured’.
Younger people hold more negative views about LGBT+ people rather than the older generation.
Antijoule continued, “It offers a sobering reminder that progress achieved in recent decades can easily be reversed.
“Young people polled tended to hold more negative views toward LGBT+ people than other age groups. This alarming finding warns of a generational pivot ahead and a bumpy road for those of us committed to challenging anti-LGBT violence and abuse.
According to a new report published in Science Magazine, sexuality isn’t defined by one “gay gene” but seemingly a series of genes which make up 8 to 25 per cent of a person’s sexuality. No one sexuality gene has yet been isolated.
The findings could not be used to predict the sexuality of a person.
Nearly 500,000 people from the US and UK helped up make the study using the UK’s BioBank 409,000 people and the US’s 23andMe (68500 people).
Users were asked if they had ever had same-sex sex exclusively or whether they had opposite-sex partners.
According to the BBC, “…Harvard and MIT researchers concluded genetics could account for between 8-25% of same-sex behaviour across the population, when the whole genome is considered.
“Five specific genetic variants were found to be particularly associated with same-sex behaviour, including one linked to the biological pathway for smell, and others to those for sex hormones”.
No such thing as a ‘gay gene’
David Curtis, honorary professor at the UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, said, “This study clearly shows that there is no such thing as a ‘gay gene’.
“There is no genetic variant in the population which has any substantial effect on sexual orientation.
“Rather, what we see is that there are very large numbers of variants which have extremely modest associations.
“Even if homosexuality is not genetically determined, as this study shows, that does not mean that it is not in some way an innate and indispensable part of an individual’s personality.”
“Natural and normal part of the variation”
Fah Sathirapongsasuti, a senior scientist at 23andMe, said, “This is a natural and normal part of the variation in our species and that should also support precisely the position that we shouldn’t try and develop gay ‘curism’. That’s not in anyone’s interest.”
Discrimination
Science Magazine notes, “Attributing same-sex orientation to genetics could enhance civil rights or reduce stigma. Conversely, there are fears it provides a tool for intervention or “cure.” Same-sex orientation has been classified as pathological and illegal and remains criminalized in more than 70 countries, some with the death penalty”.
The discovery of sexuality by genetics could go a long way to ensure that legal equality is mandated by law. Many people still believe that sexuality is a choice, made into a “sin” by the major religions of the world.
The genetic factor could help make lawmakers give consideration to equality when confronted with scientific evidence that sexuality is in nature, not nurture.
Rhondda Pride has faced a huge backlash after it said that people wearing bondage and kink attire were not welcome at its event.
A pride in Wales has outraged many in the LGBT+ community after it said it was excluding political parties, religious organisations, charities and anyone wearing bondage or “sexualised costumes” effectively erasing a number of communities from its event.
Leathermen Cymru had asked to be involved with the event but were told that “certain groups who are not family-friendly” were not permitted to attend. It said that Leathermen and its sexual connotations did not “sit well in an event of this nature”.
It also said that the police had made stipulations on the pride, THEGAYUK.com has reached out to South-Wales Police for clarification.
“Safe Space for under 18s and their parents”
In a now-deleted statement, the pride warned that “no bondage or sexualised costumes” were allowed as they were “trying to make this a safe space for under 18 LGBTQ+ individuals and families and a place for parents of young LGBTQ+ people who want to understand and support their children”.
It continued, “Over 18s LGBTQ+ are going to have a fun, inclusive event without politics, religion and over-sexualisation of the community.
“Our acts on stage will be suitable for all ages”.
“We are celebrating our rights in an open way. Pride is about celebration and acceptance”.
The Tweet and both the organisation’s Twitter and Facebook account have since been removed.
Calls for resignations
Many in the community felt that Rhondda Pride’s policy went against the spirit of pride and some were calling for a change in policy or for those in charge to stand down.
Nick wrote, “This nonsense contributes to the homophobia still aimed at GBQ ppl (men esp), suggesting that our sexual practices are depraved & that we are a sexual threat to children. It is the antithesis of gay liberation. I hope that the organising committee will review this or stand down”
Buster added, “Pride is about acceptance, and you are having none of it. You should hang your heads, as you promote division in the community & exclude others so you can appeal to straight people. Call yourself Mardi Gras if you want, but don’t act like you have any Pride in our great community.
The UK Pride Organisers Network said that it did not support the erasure of any part of the LGBT+ community. It went on to blast the event for “picking and choosing” who is and isn’t allowed to be at the event”.
We don’t support erasure of any part of our community. Rhonnda Pride you are NOT a Pride, you are a family fun day that is picking and choosing who is and isn’t allowed to be at your event. There is NO Pride in Exclusion! We are 1! #WeStandWithEveryone Together we are UKPON!
— UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON) (@UKPrideNetwork) July 29, 2019
“We don’t support erasure of any part of our community. Rhonnda Pride you are NOT a Pride, you are a family fun day that is picking and choosing who is and isn’t allowed to be at your event. There is NO Pride in Exclusion! We are 1! #WeStandWithEveryone Together we are UKPON!
Pride responds: This is very upsetting to all of us.
The organisers of the pride have claimed that there has been a lot of “hatred” stirred up against them and it was “very upsetting to all of us”
Writing on their Facebook page they wrote, in a now-deleted message, “Hello everyone. We wanted to put on a small valleys Pride which was child friendly. Unfortunately asking members of the community not to wear BDSM clothing and bring their boyfriends on dog leads has caused a backlash. We have at NO POINT asked anyone not to wear leather we asked for family friendly costumes.
“The aggressive nature of the hatred being stirred up by the Leathermen and their allies is now being made personal against our organisers. We have therefore suspended our social media temporarily.
“The Leathermen are apparently writing to various equality groups to get our small valleys Pride shut down before it’s even started.
“A family friendly event with no politics, bondage, overt sex or sexualised costumes is not what parts of the community want. I have been even emailed that Pride cannot be family friendly. This is very upsetting to all of us. If you want this Pride to happen then please stand up for us against this hatred.”
We may have to pull our event due to the actions of the BDSM community. This is a tragedy.
In a statement to THEGAYUK.com a spokesperson for the event said,
“We should start by saying that we are a small valleys Pride with a capacity for 500 maximum people plus a market. We only asked for no charity or political stalls due to the fact that we don’t have enough room to hold them. This was not exclusion this was practical. As for the Leathermen we have never banned leather, that is ridiculous. What we have requested is due to the family friendly nature of the event and the fact our headline act is 13 years old no BDSM wear or sexual costumes be worn. I don’t see any issues with wanting to be family friendly however we may have to pull our event due to the actions of the BDSM community. This is a tragedy for the LGBTQ + children, adolescents, teenagers, young adults and families who wanted to support an event of this nature.”
The UK’s acceptance of same-sex relationships has decreased slightly year on year, with experts suggesting that tolerance has “plateaued”.
(C) BIGSTOCK
According to new research by the British Social Attitudes survey (BSA) the acceptance of gay relationships amongst the population of the UK has stalled and even slightly declinced over previous findings.
Previously, 68% of people thought that same-sex relationships were acceptable, however the latest findings have seen a slight decreased to 66 per cent, suggesting that 34% of people in the UK do not think that homosexual relationships are acceptable.
A point of plateau
(C) BIGSTOCK
The BSA survey, which has been conducted since 1980, warned that the country has “reached a point of plateau” according to a spokesperson for the organisation.
Some 66% of those polled in 2018 said same-sex relations were “not wrong at all”, down from 68% the previous year.
The survey covers a wide variety of societial questions, covering many subjects. Of the nearly 3,000 people polled, 74% said sex before marriage were “not wrong at all”, down from 75% over the previous years, revealing that perhaps the UK is becoming a little more conservative on issues of sexuality.
Leading LGBT+ rights activist, Peter Tatchell, called the findings, “concerning”, saying that there had been no “significant increase in support recorded over the past few years”.
Acceptance of same-sex relationships in the UK appears to have stalled, with no significant increase in support recorded over the past few years, according to concerning new findings from the British Social Attitudes survey. https://t.co/6noAhe3JWi
This year is an important year for our LGBTQ+ community. It’s fifty years since the Stonewall riots this Pride Month, so this should be a June to celebrate more than ever.
We’re only nine days in but we’ve already had many disgusting stories in the headlines where LGBTQ+ people have been targeted and hurt because of their sexuality or gender identity. We have had companies hiding behind rainbow branding, actively damage our community. At the time of writing, it’s the 9th of June and I have a handful of examples of high profile stories. This doesn’t count the small, unreported moments – the couples holding hands who get glared at, the LGBTQ+ people who are told by strangers (and even people they know) that “being gay isn’t normal,” and the ignorant, uneducated comments faced by LGBTQ+ people every single day.
The main concern this Pride Month is that every single company seems to take on our rainbow flag in an attempt to “be cool,” but they don’t seem to think about what it actually means. The rainbow is more than just a flag. It flies as a visual representation of the beauty and diversity of our collective community/family. We wear it as a badge of honour in memory and respect of those who fought for us and paved the way for our equality. Now it is cheapened by this mass adoption every June by companies who tend to only bring it out for a few weeks a year and then forget it ever happened. If companies can’t respect our community or contribute to us in any way then they don’t deserve the right to use it to drive their own corporate gain.
This year we have had the Home Office using the rainbow colours all over their social media while trying to deport Ken Macharia. Ken has lived here in the UK for a decade after escaping from Kenya where homosexuality is illegal and he could have been imprisoned (by law) or beaten or even murdered by anyone who took umbrage to him living his truth.
— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) June 3, 2019
Ken had been detained and threatened with deportation last November when it was ruled that he could live his life openly in Kenya despite the dangerous possibilities that actually faced him back there. He was allowed to go but was summoned to the Home Office on Thursday 6th June where he, once again, faced deportation. Thankfully, Ken was allowed to stay in the UK but he still isn’t completely safe and could still face deportation again at a later date.
Youtube has been another company that have hurt LGBTQ+ people during a recent ongoing saga with Carlos Maza and Stephen Crowder. Maza is a writer for Vox, a left-wing news site while Crowder is an inflammatory, right-wing YouTuber who hosts “Louder with Crowder” on the video platform with an audience of millions.
The story unfolded when Maza posted a thread on Twitter, exposing the abuse he had been facing from Crowder who had consistently called him vile names and made outrageous accusations about him for being gay and Latino for years. Maza rightfully called for YouTube to acknowledge the abuse and to do something about Crowder.
Since I started working at Vox, Steven Crowder has been making video after video “debunking” Strikethrough. Every single video has included repeated, overt attacks on my sexual orientation and ethnicity. Here’s a sample: pic.twitter.com/UReCcQ2Elj
“Our teams spent the last few days conducting an in-depth review of the videos flagged to us and while we found the language that was clearly hurtful, the videos as posted don’t violate our policies.”
This decision sparked outrage and soon after, YouTube decided to reverse their position again and demonetise Crowder with a statement saying:
“Update on our continued review. We have suspended this channel’s monetization. We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against out Youtube Partner Program Policies.”
Shockingly, it appears that Youtube may have been planning this for a while and Crowder’s demonetisation might not have even been anything to do with Maza’s tweets. Instead, with the announcement crossing over with the timing of this very public drama, Maza has ended up facing all the backlash and is suffering, even more, hate and harassment. Whatever YouTube’s reasoning – whether it was pre-determined or because of Maza and the backlash, their handling of events have made things much worse. Even high profile people like Grandpa Munster ahem I mean, Ted Cruz, have got involved: You can read more about this interesting take on events here.
Most recently the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) had launched a campaign with trans-activist Munroe Bergdorf. On Wednesday 5th June, Bergdorf spoke out about her excitement to help play a part in an important role:
“The wellbeing and empowerment of LGBTQIA+ identifying children is something that I have been passionate about throughout my career as an activist. I’m excited to have the opportunity to let more kinds know that they are not along in how they feel. There are people who care, people who can help and people who have been through the same things as you, so PLEASE don’t suffer in silence.”
However, soon after she spoke out about her involvement, anti-trans activists, including a Times journalist and other Twitter users became involved, accusing Bergdorf of being “dangerous,” a “porn model,” and they threatened to cancel their direct debits to the charity if they allowed their association with her to continue.
Bergdorf replied that she has “never shot porn in [her] life,” and saying that “demonising those who do, isn’t okay either.” She had posed for Playboy in 2018 but the shoot was actually very tasteful and the images captured were strong, beautiful and empowering for Bergdorf who also spoke about her experiences as a trans woman in the accompanying article. Not a single one of those photos could be considered pornographic; in fact, they were more akin to the edgy fashion modelling one would expect from a fashion magazine.
Despite this, the NSPCC has dropped Bergdorf’s campaign and turned their backs on her saying,
“Munroe Bergdorf has supported the most recent phase of Childline’s campaign which aims to support children with LGBTQ+ concerns. Munroe has been referred to as a Childline Ambassador. At no point has she been an ambassador for the charity. She will have no ongoing relationship with Childline or the NSPCC. The NSPCC does not support, endorse of authorise any personal statements made by any celebrities who contribute to campaigns.”
This sends a cold and dangerous message to the people this campaign is meant to help. By leaving Bergdorf behind and refusing to acknowledge her is cruel. How can LGBTQ+ children trust a charity who might treat them so nonchalantly? This is a cruel betrayal of not only Bergdorf but of the entire LGBTQ+ community. Especially the trans community who currently suffer the same kind of hatred through misinformation and lack of education that the gay community faced in the 80s. I spoke about this before in a previous article. You can read more about it here:
The most heartbreaking part of this is that it comes at the same time Childline, which works closely with the NSPCC, confirmed that over the last twelve months they have dealt with over 6,000 counselling sessions with children and young people about LGBTQ+ issues. Birmingham Live revealed that almost 800 calls were made to the Birmingham branch of Childline and some children have even been told to “kill themselves” because of their sexuality. These are some of the loneliest, most desperate and vulnerable children and they are being failed.
What kind of message does it send when in the news we see our very existence as a daily hot topic for debate. We are bombarded with people digging their noses into every inch of our lives, deciding whether we’re “appropriate” enough to exist or not. We see the protests in Birmingham over LGBTQ+ inclusive education and are told by strangers online that we are “mentally ill,” that “we are not normal,” and that we are “disgusting.”
Despite the fact that relationship education is becoming mandatory by law, and an injunction taken out which restricted parents protesting outside the schools, they still continue just outside the restriction zone. The protests led by Shakeel Afsar, who doesn’t even have children at the school, have recently been endorsed by Roger Godsif – Labour’s MP for Birmingham Hall Green.
The protests were also defended by Shabana Mahmood back when they first started in March.
On 30th May, a lesbian couple was brutally attacked on a bus by a gang of young men – aged between 15-18 – all because they wouldn’t kiss for their entertainment. This attack wasn’t just a homophobia based hate crime. It was a misogynist hate crime too, just because the two women didn’t want to “entertain” the young men. It’s a horrendous, heartbreaking story. Luckily the women involved have remained resilient and refuse to back down and be scared. The heroines have spoken out and intend to continue to live proudly and visibly.
But that wasn’t the only hate crime this week. On Saturday 8th June, a performance of Rotterdam was cancelled due to some of the actors being victims of a hate crime. Rotterdam is a play about a young lesbian who is about to come out to her family in an email but before she can send it, her girlfriend tells her that she identifies as a male and wants to start living as a man. It’s about how they begin to navigate their relationship and love for each other. It’s a wonderful, modern story that deserves to be told and clearly has reason to be heard.
Sadly, we can’t hide from the fact that our community are the target of so much hatred in the current political climate in which this extreme right-wing attitude is legitimised and even fuelled by people like Donald Trump with his transgender military ban and the proposal of bills that mean it’s legal to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace, etc.
In the UK, Brexit Party member, Ann Widdecombe, stated that it’s entirely possible that maybe one-day science will cure homosexuality and Tory Leadership candidate, Esther McVey stuck up for the parent’s protesting against LGBTQ+ inclusive education by saying “parent’s know what’s best for their children.”
The Brexit Party did unexpectedly well at the recent EU elections and McVey stands a good chance of becoming our next PM.
What does this say about the future? Nothing positive. That’s what. All that we can take away from this is that on this fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall, we must all adopt some Stonewall spirit and keep fighting. It is an undeniably terrifying and uncertain time to be LGBTQ+ but we must be brave enough to remain visible and dignified. We must live honestly, love openly and not let them silence us.
THEGAYUK.com conducted a flash poll on social media, asking 200 people from the LGBT+ community whether they felt they could hold the hand of their same-sex partner, where opposite-sex partners could and would hold theirs – and the results are staggering.
Over 80 per cent (85%) of those who answered the poll said that they didn’t feel they could hold their same-sex partner’s hand in public in the UK. Only 15 per cent of those who answered said they would feel comfortable.
Speaking about the findings, editor of THEGAYUK.com, Jake Hook said, “What this poll shows is very troubling. Despite LGBT+ people having almost equal legal rights in the UK, our community still don’t feel that we’re societally equal.
“Gay and bisexual men and women should be able to walk down any street in the UK, where their straight counterparts hold hands and feel that they can do the same without ridicule, attack or comment”.
Percieved safety is getting worse
CREDIT: Depositphotos.com
Seemingly the LGBT+ community is getting more wary of showing public displays of affection on the streets of the UK. In 2018 only 41% said they wouldn’t feel they could hold hands with their partner and in 2016 that figure was 23%.
THEGAYUK.com asked a similar question in October 2018 we asked whether LGBT+ people were comfortable holding hands, 41 per cent said no – 22 per cent were unsure and 37 per cent said they were comfortable holding hands.
In December 2016 – where we asked 166 people if they felt they could hold their partner’s hand in a supermarket. Only 30 percent of people said that felt they wouldn’t be able to, where as 23 per cent admited that they already did hold their partner’s hand in public.
Parents from Parkfield Community school are planning a protest outside the school on Thursday over LGBT+ equality classes.
Parkfield Community Primary school in Birmingham is to become a protest ground for parents who are against the school’s plans to hold No Outsiders classes – a campaign where the ethos is to promote LGBT+ equality, inclusivity and to question transphobia and homophobia in primary schools.
In an interview on Facebook live on the ArunRock community page, one community leader said that there was to be a mass protest outside the school on Thursday and told viewers to attend whether they were parents of children at the school or not.
On Friday last week, around 600 children were removed by their parents from the school in protest of the No Outsiders lesson.
The school have said that there are no plans to hold these lesson this term – as it focuses on religious studies for the rest of the term.
A statement from the group reads,
“The majority of parents at Parkfield are extremely unhappy with the fact that no consultation has taken place on the age appropriateness of the material used to teach their children.
“As a result of this most parents have signed a letter to the governors calling for the immediate abolition of the “No Outsiders” programme.
“As parents we have a right over our children & want to make sure we are consulted what is being taught.”
