September 2021

A Taiwanese Court Has Ruled That Forced Surgery on Trans People is Unconstitutional

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In Taiwan, trans people were forced to have their reproductive organs surgically removed in order to have their sex recognized legally.

Plaintiff Xiao E in Taipei Supreme Administrative Court argued that the existing policy was unconstitutional. On Thursday, September 23, the court ruled in his favor and found that the requirement for surgical sex reassignment surgery violated the principles of equality and proportionality.

The decision was hailed as a victory for LGBT + rights by E-Ling Chiu, director of Amnesty International Taiwan.

“This is a crucial moment for the rights of transgender people in Taiwan. A court decision to waive mandatory surgical requirements for people seeking gender recognition is a step forward. Self-exploration and self-recognition is a cornerstone of a person and a court ruling underscores the advancement of gender equality and human rights in Taiwan” – said Chiu.

In Taiwan, trans people experience discrimination and inequality on a daily basis, both in the legal system and in other areas – the workplace or schools.

The court decision is in line with the 2015 report of the High Commission for Human Rights, according to which legal gender recognition should be based on self-exploration and it should be a simple administrative process. The report states: “Legal recognition of gender should be available, free of charge, and should not require trans people to meet any insulting medical and legal requirements.”

Taiwan is not the only country where trans human rights have been violated. In 2019, Japan’s Supreme Court upheld a policy that calls for surgery to officially recognize a person’s gender. There was a similar policy in Sweden until 2012. And in 2017, the government announced that the government would offer compensation to those who underwent forced sterilization.

Source: bloomberg.com

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The right to privacy

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Author – Tamar Avaliani

Understanding the importance of private and family life

The right to privacy is a right that protects a person’s private life from the state. The right to privacy implies the ability of a person, at their own discretion, to independently create and develop a personal space. Therefore, the state is obliged to protect and provide a person’s private space from being intruded on by the state or another person. The right to privacy is a mechanism against illegitimate interference of any person or the state.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Right to protection of private and family life) protects the personal space of each person, including the right to determine his or her identity as an individual.1

An important aspect of privacy is the sex life. During the case – Dudgeon vs. United Kingdom2, The European Court of Justice considered sex to be the most intimate area of ​​personal life. In the Dudgeon case, the European Court of Justice ruled that Northern Irish law banning homosexuality was contrary to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

With the right to privacy, people have the opportunity to determine the preferred form in which to publicly position and express their identity.3

The European Court of Human Rights in the case – Oliari and Others v. Italy, considered the existence of a specific definition in Italian law that couldn’t guarantee the recognition and protection of same-sex partners as inconsistent with Article 8 of the Convention.

The Venice Commission concludes that the rules governing the right to marriage should not leave same-sex couples without legal recognition and security.4 The right to protection of private and family life obliges the state to recognize the same-sex marriage or other alternative forms of family life at the legislative level. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe obliges member states to extend the rights and obligations of heterosexuals in registered marriages to those of the same sex.

The communicative aspect of the right to privacy

 The communicative nature of privacy, in a number of respects, also implies the ability to relate and make connections with other people.6 In daily life, every person has certain activities, relationships with family members, friends, other members of society, which is also protected by the right to privacy.7

The European Court of Human Rights in the case of Niemeitz v. Germany, explained that “simplifying the concept of private life to just the “inner circle” in which an individual’s personal life is viewed as a just a personal choice that completely excludes the outside world would be a narrow definition of this concept. There is no legitimate reason to exclude actions that relate to an activity or profession from the notion of personal life, as individuals make meaningful connections in the work environment and have the opportunity to develop relationships with the outside world.

Collection of data concerning private lives, covert surveillance and eavesdropping

According to the European Court, the systematic collection and storage of personal data by the authorities is a restriction on the right to respect for private life, which must be properly justified and substantiated by the authorities.8

The European Court of Human Rights in the case of Malone v. The United Kingdom clarified that national law must provide a legal mechanism to protect against interference with the privacy of individuals.9 According to the European Court, interception of telephone conversations is a serious form of intrusion into private life, which must be carried out through a detailed, exceptional and foreseeable legal procedure in order to minimize the risk of unjustified interference with private life. According to the European Court, especially when such measures are held in secret, there is a high risk of illegal action.10

 

According to the European Court of Human Rights, measures related to covert surveillance should be thoroughly and deliberately provided for in the law.11

 According to the European Court of Human Rights, it is especially important to protect the right to privacy of photos and videos of a person. According to the European Court of Human Rights12, the publication of a photograph or video image should be considered a substantial and profound interference with one’s privacy.

Minimum legal requirements for wiretapping and surveillance (European Court of Justice standards):

The law should regulate the types of crimes for which a covert surveillance or wiretapping order may be issued;

The law should define the circle of persons whose communication is allowed to be controlled in certain circumstances;

The law should strictly and exhaustively define the terms and duration of communication control or covert surveillance;

The law should thoroughly define the procedures for the investigation, use and storage of information obtained through covert surveillance, as well as the transfer of information obtained through covert surveillance to third parties13;

National law should provide for adequate safeguards against abuse of power or arbitrary conduct by authorities14.

The European Court of Human Rights, when assessing safeguards, also pays close attention to the remedies provided by national law for persons subject to covert surveillance (Communication control), or of those who are appealing against a potential surveillance under national law15.

National law should include adequate safeguards and redress mechanisms, as well as

rapid, in-depth and comprehensive review of the case by the judiciary.

 

Irregularities in Georgian legislation and practice.

 In Georgia, the LGBTQ community has been deprived of the right to privacy, which is reflected in the policy of legal non-recognition of same-sex relationships. The ability of the LGBTQ community to realize the protection of private and family life is defined in a moral and externally imposed order.

The 2018 constitutional amendments defined marriage in the constitution as “the union of a man and a woman.” It is an openly homophobic article that excludes same-sex marriage. The homophobic article also has a negative effect on transgender people. It excludes all transgender people who have a partner of the same sex as their sex given at birth, and reiterates the importance of biological sex in the granting of fundamental civil rights.16

 The law establishes non-discriminatory and discriminatory procedures for legal recognition of gender, creating artificial barriers for people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Transgender individuals face particular problems with making changes to the civil record. According to the Law on Civil Acts, one of the grounds for making changes in the record of civil acts is gender reassignment. The law does not define what is meant by gender reassignment, it does not specify the procedure for changing the gender record, which makes the law even more vague and unpredictable. The absence of such a rule deprives transgender people of the opportunity to change the gender record in official documents in a quick and accessible way.

Legal recognition of gender in Georgia is related to medical procedures. There is no legal document in reality that regulates this issue in detail and creates adequate legal opportunities for transgender people who want to change the gender record in their identification documents.

In addition to personal stress, the contradiction between sex in official documents and a person’s gender expression often leads to discrimination against transgender people in employment, in public and in private institutions, where personal identification documents are required17. In 2014, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) discussed the issue and called on the state to “lift restrictions on transgender people obtaining identification documents18.

The Law on Personal Data Protection19 considers the data related to health and sexual life as special data, which should be under special protection from interference by the state.

In Georgia, along with other people, the covert listening and listening of LGBTQ people is a systemic problem that is the result of flawed legislation and practice. Georgian law does not provide sufficient mechanisms and safeguards against government’s abuse of power. Georgian legislation neither meets the principle of foreseeability nor guarantees protection against mechanisms of abuse of power.

 

 

 

 

1.     Christine Goodwin v. the United Kingdom, ECHR 2002-VI.

2.     Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom), § 52, 22 october 1981, Series A no. 45,

3.     Dr. Hannes Tretter, Artikel 8 EMRK als Grundlage eines individuellen Rechts auf zweisprachige Ortstafeln ?, p. 2.

4.     CDL-AD(2017)013-e Georgia – Opinion on the draft revised Constitution;

5.     CM/Rec(2010)5.

6.     Niemietz v. Germany), 16 December 1992, § 29

7.     57 Perry v. the United Kingdom, № 63737/00, § 36, ECHR 2003-IX; Peck v. the United Kingdom, № 44647/98, §57, ECHR 2003-I.

8.     Peck v. the United Kingdom, № 44647/98, § 56, ECHR 2003-Paragraph 1

9.    Malone v. the United Kingdom), 2 August, 1984 y., Series A no. 82,

10.  Groppera Radio AG and Others v. Switzerland, 28 მარტი, 1990, § 68, Series A no. 173; Slivenko v. Latvia; № 48321/99, § 104-109, ECHR 2003-X ;

11.  Kruslin, p. 23, § 33; Huvig, p. 55, § 32; Amann, § 56 in fine; Weber and Saravia, § 93,

12.  Eerikainen and others v. Finland

13.  Weber and Saravia v. Germany, № 54934/00, § 95, ECHR 2006-XI.

14.  Klass and Others v. Germany, year 1978, September 6; 54-56 paragraphs, Series A no. 28.

15. Klass and Others v. Germany, year 1978, September 6, 50th paragraph, Series A no. 28.

16. Survey of the Needs of Transgender People in Georgia, 2019, Equality Movement

17. Georgia, Coalition Report on Women’s Rights, UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (Cycle 2, Session 23, 2015); Coalition of NGOs: Union Cover, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Center for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (EMC), Women’s Initiative Support Group (WISG), Alternative Georgia.

18.  CEDAW/C/GEO/CO/4-5, concluding observations on the combined fourth and fifth periodic report of Georgia, paragraph 34(e), 35(e)

19. https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/1561437?publication=22

 

 

photos : https://goodvpns.com/

theguardian.com

https://caymannewsservice.com/

https://freerangestock.com

https://nationalmagazine.ca

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Germany elected two trans women to it’s parliament for the first time

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Two candidates just earned spots in history as Germany’s first out trans women lawmakers after winning seats in its parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The Greens, a center-left political party focused on environmental advocacy, finished third in the elections for Germany’s Bundestag, winning 14.8% of the vote. That total represents the 42-year-old party’s best-ever finish in the German federal races and will also result in a pair of other milestones: parliamentary seats for 44-year-old Tessa Ganserer and 27-year-old Nyke Slawik.

“It is a historic victory for the Greens, but also for the trans-emancipatory movement and for the entire queer community,” Ganserer, who has served in the parliament of the German state of Bavaria since 2013

“I still can’t quite believe it,” Slawik wrote, “but with this historic election result I will definitely be a member of the next Bundestag.”

The new lawmakers’ priorities include improving the quality of life for LGBTQ+ Germans. Ganserer, in particular, hopes to streamline the process of applying for a gender marker correction. Trans people who wish to amend their legal gender must file a petition with a local court, which commissions two experts to certify that the applicant has not identified with their assigned gender for at least three years, according to the Rainbow Portal, a government resource for LGBTQ+ Germans.

In addition to supporting a law that would allow trans people to self-identify their gender, Slawik plans to push for the adoption of a nationwide “action plan against homophobia and trans-hostility,” according to her campaign website. Her 10-point platform also includes ​​a “strategy against racism” in Germany and a “real federal anti-discrimination law.”

Still, Germany has made some progress for LGBTQ+ rights this year. Earlier this month, Germany’s Office of Justice announced that it was paying reparations to LGBTQ+ people who were persecuted under Nazi-era sodomy laws. Germany’s parliament also banned some intersex surgeries in April, although advocates have criticized the new law for limiting its scope to children who have an official diagnosis of a “disorder of sex development.”

Source: them.us

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Attack on a transgender woman- the police has arrested 1 person

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Police have arrested L.B., born in 1998, on charges of violence against a transgender woman.

The investigation has established that the accused physically assaulted a transgender woman during a confrontation in Tbilisi and inflicted injuries on her face. The injured woman was taken to a medical facility where appropriate assistance was provided.

The fact of violence is being investigated under Article 126 of the Criminal Code of Georgia and envisages imprisonment for up to 1 year.

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Women priests – a blessing from God

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When the communist dictatorship prevailed in Czechoslovakia (1948-1990), the persecution and destruction of religion and, in particular, the dominant religious group – the Roman Catholic Church – was one of the most important tasks of the government. To the clergy who did not obey the “anti-ecclesiastical” plan (the term refers to the clergy abandoning their ministry and becoming a citizen) had three perspectives for the future: to be arrested, shot, or to continue serving the church underground. This is what the Roman Catholic Bishop Felix Maria Davidek did (he himself was ordained a bishop in the church in 1967 by Monsignor Jan Blaha). For him being a bishop was not a privilege, but a risk of death, but the desire to provide paternal service for the believers dispelled his fears and gave him the courage to carry out God’s plan by all means.

Despite his heroic sacrifice, today he is interesting to us from a different angle – He performed the ordination of 68 priests, 5 of whom were women. Moreover, he appointed Ludmila Yavorova, a female priest ordained by him, as his Vicar General.

Lyudmila Iavorova felt a desire to become a nun, although this was impossible under the communist regime. Bishop Felix Maria Davidek befriended Iavorova’s family, and in Ludmila he saw a strong personality with strong faith, unquenchable enthusiasm, and leadership talent. Because of this he decided to ordain her as a priest in the underground family churches, which he performed on December 28, 1970. This mysterious event was witnessed by monsieur Davidek’s brother – Leo.

Mother Lyudmila Iavorova recalls her feelings as follows: “It was extremely unexpected. I did not think that I would be ordained a priest. I received this as a gift from God. God gives gifts without any merit, so I will never find the answer to the question – Why me?”

The nun – sister Miriam Theresa Winter – wrote a book dedicated to the biography and tireless ministry of the first Roman Catholic priest – Mother Lyudmila Iavorova, in which she writes: “Ludmila performed her first liturgy – simply in silence, with Felix and Leo Davidek, Mary the mother of Jesus, all the angels of God, and all the saints.” 

In 1990, the communist regime in Czechoslovakia collapsed. The church that rose from the ground amazed Rome because there were not only female priests but also married male priests

(The Roman Catholic Church still forbids the ordination of women, and according to the Latin Rule, the marriage of priests is forbidden). Married male priests were allowed to continue their work in Byzantine parishes, while female priests were strictly banned from performing their priestly duties in 1996. They were also banned from talking about these bans. Archbishop John Bukowski called the ordinations – valid (valid, in force), but illegal because it contradicts the laws and catechism of the Roman Catholic Church.

I am sure this case will help the churches to realize how great a blessing it can be for women to be serving and to be ordained in the church.

Mother Lyudmila Iavorova is 90 years old today. She is still actively involved in church life and serves as the Speaker of the Liturgy Commission of the Roman Catholic Church.

Mother Lyudmila Iavorova, with a portrait of monsieur Davidek

 

Author: Thoma Lipartian

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Scotland is now the first country to require LGBTQ+ history in schools

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Scotland has officially become the first country in the world to implement a required LGBTQ+ curriculum in schools after a new teacher toolkit launched this week. Educators now have access to a website offering an e-learning course on teaching topics related to the LGBTQ+ community, as well as a host of inclusive lesson plans and educational support materials, according to Scottish news outlet The Scotsman.

While LGBTQ+ subjects will be taught explicitly, the new curriculum also seeks to integrate inclusion into everyday learning. Lessons offered on the website range from exercises on discrimination to a math problem involving a young girl purchasing Father’s Day cards for her two dads.

Scotland’s history-making curriculum is in large part due to the efforts of Time for Inclusive Education (TIE), an LGBTQ+ advocacy group that successfully lobbied the Scottish Parliament to implement nationwide inclusive learning. In 2017, the country’s government created the “LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group,” which consisted of TIE and several other pro-LGBTQ+ groups, to investigate deepening inclusion in schools.

Scotland has also taken other steps to better support LGBTQ+ students in recent months. In August, the Scottish government provided guidance encouraging schools to adopt gender-neutral dress codes and allow trans students to use chosen names, pronouns, and bathrooms. The recommendations were not compulsory.

In the U.S., only seven states have adopted curricular standards that affirm LGBTQ+ people, according to the anti-bullying advocacy group GLSEN. Those states are California, New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, Oregon, Connecticut, and Colorado. Conversely, at least four states — Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi — still have so-called “no promo homo” laws on the books that actively bar educators from depicting LGBTQ+ issues in a positive light.

Source: them.us

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Davit Khorbaladze against queer exoticism

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Davit Khorbaladze is a contemporary Georgian director and playwright, whose first play was staged in 2014. The audience has seen more than 10 performances with his authorship in various theaters. The artist does not shy away from bold experiments in his performances and always offers the audience interesting interpretations of current topics. Sexuality, search for identity, terror of the State against the population, social inequality, and the fate of minorities – this is an incomplete list of topics covered by David Khorbaladze’s plays and performances.

The audience will see a new play by the director in this season. As Davit Khorbaladze explains, this play will be the first part of the trilogy, which tells the story of memory as one of the most imperfect, damaged, transforming characteristics of a person.

Before the audience can return to the theaters that have been closed due to the pandemic, we offer you an interview in which one of the founders of Open Space will share his views on the current processes and the future of the theater:

When and how did you decide to become a theater director and playwright?

When I was in school an art teacher gave us homework to write and hold a small play based on a picture. We had to redistribute the functions, so basically, we were pretend playing theater. I couldn’t choose between being a director or a playwright. I really liked writing, but I didn’t really understand what a director did, and I didn’t know whether I was interested in the theater at all. Finally, no one said that they wanted to be a director so I said that I would be both. I never liked being an initiator or a leader, and I have no idea why I choose to do it then. In short, since that day I wanted to write, to stage plays and basically to do everything connected to public self-expression. I used to write 2 plays a year in school and I was always so happy to do it. They were always kind of scandalous and that attracted me as well. As a child that used to be sensitive, I suddenly felt so powerful, I would look at the audience and once I saw everyone crying, I felt as if I had achieved my goals.

During my university years and after that as well, I’ve always had so much fun with this profession. I even ended up in the Theatrical University by chance. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be a movie or theater director. I got incredibly bad grades in the creative exams and I was so lucky that I was accepted. After that I felt very ashamed and for a long time considered myself stupid.

Thirst – Vaso Abashidze New Theater (photo by Ana Gurgenidze)

How did Open Space come into being and what should we expect from it in the future?

We wanted to create an independent space in which instead of a theater, there would be an anti-theater, which in itself involves the idea of a theater, seeing it from a new point of view, not only as a spectacle, but also as an institution. At first, Open Space was a unity of artists that worked in different places. Soon, we found a building and started renovating it together. Today we have the space that is still being developed and formed as a multicultural space for experimental art. I think that it’s very important that we were all united with a desire to create socially and politically active art, that would talk about the modern person using a new language. This is still like that – the reality in which we live, which controls our everyday lives is our main subject of research. Not because this reality is almost always tangible and understandable for theatre, or some other field of art. No, it’s because we can find out the truth together with the audience, explore, search for our identities, question the existing identities, cultural norms, everything. To face all of this ambiguity without any timidity. So, what I want you to expect the most from Open Space is courage and critical viewpoint, that is directed toward the future and does not get stuck in the past.

What are the duties of the Modern Georgian Theater and does fulfill those duties?

Generally, I don’t think that anyone has any duties. We can talk about what duties institutions should have, what kind of political cultures we would like, what kind of governing system, what values should the state and the theater spread, that it at least shouldn’t be a place for fascism, sexism, homophobia. That every government-funded theater should understand that it’s spending the money of society and it should be trying to return it in some kind of a way, that it should be as accessible as possible, that it should have an educational purpose, that it shouldn’t support discrimination of any societal group, etc. The society should be asked – what kind of theater do people want. What is happening now is just inertia. I would remind the Georgian theater, including myself, that it exists for the audience and without it the theater is not a theater anymore.

As for the second part of the question: I would completely stop using the concept of “Georgian theater”. First of all, let’s start with the fact that we have no national theater; it just didn’t happen historically, it couldn’t develop. The fact that Rustaveli Theater has the status of a National Theater is just a falsification of values ​​and nothing more. Second of all, I really don’t understand why there is a need to put the idea of the theater into any narrow national context. Or if we actually do that, which criteria should make something a Georgian theater and which ones shouldn’t? should it be language? Aesthetic? Everything at once? Why would I need to do that?

Protected Areas – Royal District Theater, Temur Chkheidze Studio (Photo – Gika Mikabadze)

What is modern Georgian drama most interested in, what tendencies can be observed in the Georgian theater?

It’s very hard to talk about tendencies when the process of our theater is so fragmented. Probably, generally in drama and in theater as well this fragmentation, segmentation, tribal-sectarianism has been a trend for a few years now. I don’t mean just relationships; the creative process is like that as well, it’s confined and monological. Before the theaters closed down because of the pandemic, I started to see the cessation of such communication in my works as well. By the way, when I was working on the video I realized that I had to overcome this massive barrier to build a live relationship with the audience, I started to think a lot about it.

Worry –Open Space (photo by Lasha Tsertsvadze)

Are the voices of queer community members heard in Georgian theater and drama?

All I, personally, hear is the voice of the queer community. When someone separates queer art I get confused, because there is no such thing as non-queer art. I believe that there is no theater that, on the one hand, urges toward equality and, on the other hand, always questions the reality that we live in. After all, this is a place where people of all sorts gather together and watch, relax, have fun, engage in a performance that, at best, raises questions, critiques the norms. I’m not interested in any other type of a theater and I don’t see a point in discussing it. I believe that we have more important things to think about: It’s time for us, queer people, to be more critical towards art that we create, that speaks of us. Often I am left with the impression that we ourselves are instilling new fascist aesthetic stereotypes in art and only have a primitive understanding of gay sexuality.

That’s why I’d say that, on the one hand, we have some institutional issues and attempts to hide queer art, and on the other hand, we have queer exoticism, artists that market their queer identities. I am fed up with these categories. I would also stop using the word “Queer”, just like “Georgian theater”.

What kind of obstacles can be encountered in Georgian theatrical and artistic spaces if you are lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual?

The obstacles start at the very beginning, in the Theatrical University, in which there are fascist criteria when selecting students. If there’s anything about your appearance that can be deemed non-heteronormative, then you’ll have to fight way harder than others (same as any other field). After that, you’ll find yourself in a “bubble” when you get friends with similar opinions. It takes a lot of endurance to accept yourself and to develop professionally at the same time. I know a lot of artists that can’t even feel the oppression anymore because they’re so used to hiding their identities. But the theater is supposed to expand our awareness. Without accepting ourselves, our bodies, it is practically impossible to create something valuable. However, I still think that the process, in this sense, has begun, and fewer artists are okay with living with homophobia. We shouldn’t wait for a heteronormative “god” to give us the possibility for professional realization, because that will never happen. We shouldn’t lie to ourselves that it will happen on its own.

Parents’ meeting – Open Space, Director: Davit Khorbaladze, Misha Charkviani (Photo by Tako Robakidze)

Apart from the fact that in the last two years there have been almost no performances and the audience has become more distant from the theater, what else has changed in your work? What, in your opinion, did artists learn from the pandemic and how did they use this time?

I don’t know, I think it’s too early to talk about this. What I can say is that the audience has drifted away from the theater that existed only due to inertia. Instead, they became closer to the digital theater that tried to tell them that it can exist even without dusty suits and velvet chairs.

Daddy is hanging himself – New Drama Festival

What do you miss the most in Georgian theater and what are the internal and external problems that hinder the development of the theater?

What bothers me the most is the lack of cultural policy. This is the main thing that hinders the development of everything.

God of Hunger – Open Space. Director: Davit Khorbaladze, Misha Charkviani (Photo – Beka Javakhishvili)

How would you assess the Georgian theater in the past 10-15 years?

It makes me really sad to say this, but I get a dreadful feeling of dysfunctionality when I look back on the last 10 years. There were occasional enhancements, but basically everything died with no development perspective. Now, in this situation, we can start all over, though I don’t know how possible it is. There are many reasons for this: both cultural and economical, which we can’t cover in this interview.

Broken Jaw –Open Space (Photo – Tiku Kobiashvili)

How do you see the future of Georgian theater and theater in general?

I have very negative expectations of the future of the Georgian theater. This country won’t go past satisfying the personal interests of few individuals. Maybe I’m wrong, but sadly, I think that I’m not wrong, and this anger is helping me be more active. As for theater in general, I have my own ideal visions, and I would like to believe that in the future it will be possible to have communication between the performance and the audience without the existence of a specific time and space, so I wholeheartedly welcome technological development.

Interview – Zura Abashidze

Photo: Vakho Kareli

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Polish regions revoke anti-LGBT declarations over EU funds withdrawal

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Three more Polish regions have revoked anti-LGBT declarations over the threat of losing funds from the European Union.

Councillors in the southern region of Małopolska confirmed on Monday that they had repealed their opposition to the LGBT “ideology.” Authorities in the southeastern provinces of Lublin and Podkarpackie also abandoned the resolutions.

In 2019, dozens of local Polish municipalities declared their symbols “anti-LGBT” in a largely symbolic gesture. Local communities, in support of Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party, said the declarations intended to protect traditional family values.

But after the EU threatened to halt millions of euros to Polish regions, the country’s government asked local authorities to revoke their anti-LGBT status.

LGBT rights activists say the 2019 declarations made gays and lesbians feel unwelcome in Poland.

The European Commission wrote to five Polish regional councils at the beginning of September urging them to abandon declarations to receive recovery funding. SIxteen councillors in Małopolska voted in favour of repealing the anti-LGT declaration. Seven officials voted against the decision, with fifteen others abstained.

Councillor Witold Kozłowski reluctantly said in a statement that local development must be “financially secured”. “Neither I nor any councillor on the right or the left was ready to take responsibility for leaving Małopolska without these EU funds,” he stated.

In 2019, dozens of local Polish municipalities declared their symbols “anti-LGBT” in a largely symbolic gesture. But after the EU threatened to halt millions of euros to Polish regions, the country’s government asked local authorities to revoke their anti-LGBT status.

Source: euronews.com

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Same-sex couples are now allowed to get married in Switzerland

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On the 26th of September Swiss voters have decided by a clear margin to allow same-sex couples to marry, in a referendum that brings the Alpine nation into line with many others in western Europe. Official results showed the measure passed with 64.1% of voters in favor and won a majority in all of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.

The move was immediately challenged by a trio of nationalist and conservative Christian parties, which objected to the extension of same-sex couples’ rights beyond a basic civil partnership that has been legal in Switzerland since 2007.

Supporters said approval would put same-sex partners on an equal legal footing with heterosexual couples by allowing them to adopt children together and facilitating citizenship for same-sex spouses.

Switzerland, which has a population of 8.5 million, is traditionally conservative and only extended full voting rights to women in federal elections in 1971, on the history of homosexuality in Switzerland at Lausanne university, said the change would represent “a huge step forward” in a country in which, although it decriminalized homosexuality in 1942, local and regional police continued to keep “gay registers”, in some cases into the early 1990s.

The Netherlands was the first EU country to change its marriage laws 20 years ago, with Germany and Austria becoming the latest in 2017 and 2019. Same-sex marriage is still illegal, however, in many eastern European countries, and is outlawed by the constitution in Poland and Hungary.

Source: theguardian.com

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9 Queer Vloggers That You Might Not Know

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In the last few years YouTube has become even more popular, especially due to the pandemic. According to 2021 statistics, following Facebook, YouTube is one of the most popular social medias that is used by approximately 2.3 billion people every month.

If you like watching amusing YouTube videos and discovering new channels like we do, then you definitely should read this article, in which we’ll talk about 9 YouTube vloggers that aren’t very famous; who with their videos are trying to talk about LGBT and gender-related problems, deliver information and help people in their self-discovery process:

Abigail Thorn

Subscribers – 1 030 000

Abigail Thorn’s YouTube Channel came into existence in 2013 and it offers videos on the topics of philosophy. Abigail decided to start this channel after the education prices increased in the UK. Her goal was to create free videos for those who didn’t have access to education.

The YouTube vlogger grows every year and tries to suggest better-quality videos to the audience. Since 2018, Abigail’s videos have become particularly theatrical, which makes the learning process fun and interesting.

The YouTube vlogger came out in 2019.

Rose and Rosie

Subscribers – 1 010 000

Rose and Rosie are a queer couple that have three YouTube channels and offer all types of content to the audience. For years they have been telling us about various details of their lives, playing different games (Until Dawn, Fortnite, Fall Guys), and trying to empower queer people around the world.

During this time the viewers have seen quite a few memorable episodes from the lives of Rose and Rosie: proposal, wedding, having a child, etc. In 202 the couple created a podcast in which the new mothers will share their observations and recommendations about being a parent.

Elle Mills

Subscribers – 1 800 000

 

 

Elle Mills is another YouTube Vlogger whose success doubled in 2017. Their videos are often compared to the movies by a famous filmmaker, John Hughes. The videos of the Canadian vlogger are a lot of fun and easy to watch.

Her most famous videos are about prom, her home that looks like the house from the cartoon UP.

In 2017, Elle Mills recorded another video in which she came out as a bisexual. Soon after uploading the video the number of her subscribers reached a million.

Miles McKenna

Subscribers – 1 160 000

 

 

Miles McKenna is a transgender man that lives in LA, who is also one of the pioneer transgender vloggers that is the voice of transgender society in the YouTube world.

McKenna has been making a video-series about the transitioning process, delivering important information about the trans people and shattering the myths and stigmas surrounding trans society for years.

A few years ago the vlogger also published a book in which their experience is described in more detail.

 

 

 

Jade Fox

Subscribers – 244 000

Jade Fox is another YouTube vlogger that creates videos on various queer-related subjects. The content creator’s videos include movies, fashion, practical advice, etc.

Jade Fox, apart from YouTube, works with such companies as Amazon, Calvin Klein, Netflix and Bumble – in creating a marketing strategy and attracting the LGBT+ society.

Wylde

Subscribers – 33 900

Wylde is a 28-year-old non-binary vlogger, artist and content creator that has been posting interesting videos on YouTube since 2010.

Wylde’s channels offers interesting videos on gender, sexuality, and self-exploration. Their goal is to help young queers and give them more information on the queer world.

The most famous videos by Wylde include: “How I knew I was different”, “Tips for picking cute non binary names!”, “Talking to kids about being non binary”. The vlogger is also known by their Ted Talks series.

Gary Thompson

Subscribers – 38 000

Gary Thompson is a young queer vlogger whose YouTube channel is known by the name ThePlasticBoy. Gary has been posting videos on self-care and make-up since 2010.

In an interview with the Glamour Magazine, the vlogger said that their main goal was to creat such a channel, from which black people could get more information on self-care with dark skin tones and where they would share information on make-up with the black community.

The vlogger is the first man that was featured in the L’oreal Paris campaign #YourTruly. The vlogger also works with such companies as Avon, MAC Cosmetics, Primark, Garnier, etc.

Natalie Wynn

Subscribers – 1 460 000

ContraPoints is a queer YouTube channel which is managed by a transgender woman, Natalia, that talks about politics, gender, race, social problem and philosophy. The structures of her videos resemble long essays and her most popular videos concern the strange culture of the internet, the JK Rowling scandal, and the online subculture Incel.

In her videos Natalie doesn’t avoid taking on different roles and tries to make the 30min-1hour long videos fun by playing out different scenes, taking on inappropriate roles and using black humor.

In 2020 Natalie came out as a lesbian.

Alayna Joy

Subscribers – 339 000

 

Alayna Joy is a Canadian vlogger who has been writing videos on a variety of interesting and important topics for many years.

Alayna posted videos on bisexuality till 2020 and talked about her long-term relationship with the man she was going to marry, but in 2020, viewers found out from a YouTube video that the marriage was canceled, Alanya came out and said that she was a lesbian. Since then, the videos of the Canadian vlogger have mostly been about her experience as a lesbian and the pandemic in the UK.

Author – Zura Abashidze

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