Category: News

Sep 13
Greens Pledge $5 Million for LGBTI+ School Support

The Green Party have pledged funding LGBTI+ school support services to the tune of $5 million in its new youth mental health policy. “We need to ensure that every student is safe at school and that our schools are contributing towards breaking down stigma and discrimination against gender and sexuality,” says Green Party rainbow spokesperson […]

Sep 13
Mika’s Mana Wahine Day in Response to Suicide Inaction

New Zealand is ranked number one in the world in youth suicide statistics, with sexuality, gender diverse and Māori youth among the highest at risk. Mika Haka, a long-time campaigner against youth suicide, is hosting his annual Mana Wahine Day, led by Māori and Pacific women, to give young women the opportunity to explore their […]

Sep 10
United Future’s New Leader is Gay Man Damien Light

Damien Light was announced as the new leader of the United Future Party after Peter Dunne’s stepping down two weeks ago. Damien, who has captured attention because of his likeness to American film star Ryan Gosling is not however standing in Dunne’s old electorate of Ohariu in Wellington but Botany in Auckland where he lives […]

Sep 08
Machines Better at “Gaydar” Than Humans!

Facial recognition algorithm which can identify gay men and women has worrying ethical and potentially dangerous applications. A new study from Stanford University, first published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and first reported in the Economist found that a computer algorithm could correctly distinguish between gay and straight men 81% of the […]

Sep 08
HIV Positive Man Jailed for Having Unprotected Sex

Johnny Lachlan Benjamin Lumsden was jailed for two years and six months when he appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Thursday 7 September. He had admitted charges of endangering the health of three men by criminal nuisance, telling the three men he was “clean” despite being HIV positive. Lumsden knew he had HIV since […]

Sep 05
Same Sex Marriage Still Illegal in Isreal

LGBT+ rights were dealt a blow in Israel this week when its high court ruled that same-sex couples do not have an innate legal right to marry. On Thursday morning, justices unanimously ruled against a petition from the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association to recognize marriage equality under the country’s Basic Law: Human […]

Sep 05
L’oréal Fires Trans Model For Slamming White Supremacy

Article by Jess Jones, StarObserver.com.au Social media reactions have been polarised, with some considering Bergdorf’s comments ‘anti-white’ racism and others shocked by L’Oréal’s short-lived gesture towards diversity. JUST days after the announcement that L’Oréal UK was featuring its first trans model, the makeup giant has fired Munroe Bergdorf for speaking out about white supremacy in response to […]

Aug 31
CHILE SIGNS BILL TO LEGALISE MARRIAGE EQUALITY

Article by Jess Jones, StarObserver.com.au The bill must now be debated in congress, a process that is likely to take some time and continue into the next presidential term. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has signed a bill to allow same-sex marriage and adoption. The bill must now be debated in congress, a process that is likely […]