A joint survey by NPO Nijiiro Diversity and Shibuya municipal government in Tokyo found that 459 Japanese prefectures and municipalities have adopted same-sex partnership systems as of June 2024—more than doubling the number as of June 2022 (219), per Nippon.com. Currently, 85.1% of the population in Japan has access to such systems, with a total of 7,351 partnership certificates having been issued to couples as of May 31. Under partnership systems, same-sex couples who live together can register for a certificate recognizing their relationship as equivalent to marriage, allowing the couples to be able to do things such as apply for public housing.
The parliament in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has banned same-sex marriage, according to RNZ. The governmental body passed an amendment to its Marriage Act, stating marriage is the union of a male and female—a move that Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat confirmed. The development comes amid news that Vanuatu’s Ministry of Justice and Community Services is appointing a new committee to draft a national policy banning LGBTQ+ advocacy and promotion in the country. “If anyone conducts a marriage that does not follow the spirit of the law passed today and seeks our registration, his or her license will be revoked to prevent further marriages. This applies to religious, civil, or traditional ceremonies,” Napuat said.
Transgender activists in India and Pakistan are celebrating two legal advances in their respective countries, per The Washington Blade. Akkai Padmashali, an Indian trans activist, made history on Nov. 12 by obtaining a passport for her 5-year-old child, Avin, without including a father’s name; in 2019, she became the first trans woman in the country to officially adopt a child. Also, authorities in Pakistan’s Sindh province recently approved the first-ever Transgender Education Policy. Said policy includes a separate category for trans children on school and college admission forms, alongside existing male and female options.
Pro-LGBTQ+ advances also happened in Hong Kong. The administrative region’s top court upheld three landmark judgments granting equal housing and inheritance rights to same-sex couples, marking another milestone in the LGBTQ+ community’s fight against discrimination, per The South China Morning Post. The Court of Final Appeal on Tuesday unanimously dismissed the government’s appeals seeking to preserve discriminatory housing policies and intestacy laws, which were declared unconstitutional following three successful judicial challenges. Nick Infinger earlier won a challenge over the Housing Authority’s refusal to allow him and his same-sex partner to apply for a public rental apartment as a family. And married couple Henry Li Yik-ho and Edgar Ng Hon-lam, now deceased, claimed a victory in another judicial review targeting the authority’s decision to bar same-sex spouses from living together in subsidized apartments under the Home Ownership Scheme.
In Brazil, thousands of LGBTQ+ people and allies gathered on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach for the annual Pride parade on Nov. 24, according to PinkNews. Rainbow-decorated flags, towels and fans lined the iconic two-and-a-half-mile beach in celebration of the queer community in the country. This year, one of the march’s themes was sustainability. Brazil has navigated several environmental challenges this year, including floods in southern Rio Grande do Sul, wildfires across the country and a record drought in the Amazon rainforest.
In the African country of Gabon, voters ratified a referendum on a new constitution that included important provisions protecting LGBTQ+ rights but with the caveat that it also codified a definition of marriage that excludes same-sex couples, per Erasing 76 Crimes. Franco-Gabonese musician Jann Halexander stated, “I praise the liberal intentions of this text, which already stipulates in article 18 that ‘everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life,’ while article 19 guarantees that ‘the secrecy of correspondence, postal, telegraphic, electronic, telephone and telematic communications is inviolable.’ … Now there’s a framework that protects the privacy of individuals, and that in itself is a great step forward, which for me doesn’t in any way contradict Article 169, which stipulates that marriage in Gabon is ‘the union between two persons of the opposite sex.’”
A Malaysian court ruled that the government must return dozens of watches taken in a crackdown on Swatch timepieces last year, per WION. The 172 watches, collectively worth around $14,000, were seized in raids of Swatch stores across Malaysia in May 2023. At the time, an official said the watches were taken because they bore the “LGBTQ” acronym and depicted the six colors globally synonymous with the rainbow Pride flag. Officials had claimed the watches “may harm… the interests of the nation by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ+ movement that is not accepted by the general public.” In its suit challenging the seizure, Swatch said its products “did not promote any sexual activity, but merely a fun and joyous expression of peace and love.”
On Nov. 22, The High Court of Uganda’s Civil Division awarded more than $40,000 to 20 men who police tortured after their 2020 arrest for alleged homosexuality, The Washington Blade reported. The ruling read, “The alleged actions of torture include beating, hitting, burning using a hot piece of firewood, undressing, tying, biding, conducting an anal examination, and inflicting other forms of physical, mental, and psychological violence based on the suspicion that they are homosexuals, an allegation they deny.” The arrests took place shortly after the African country’s government imposed a lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
OutRight International has issued a report, “Empowering Identity: The Case for Self-Determined Legal Gender Recognition,” that shares best practices from the 20 countries that have established rights-based legal gender recognition, according to the organization. The 39-page report also aims to give voice to trans people who have benefited from legal gender recognition, and aims to provide a blueprint to other countries that are considering moving toward a system of self-determination. “Empowering Identity” also includes a glossary of basic gender-related terms.
French pansexual artist Rahim Redcar (fka Christine and the Queens) is paying tribute to Sophie—the late Scottish transgender musician who worked with Redcar—with a cover of her track “It’s Okay To Cry,” per a press release. After releasing his club culture-inspired album HOPECORE, Redcar has been playing the tribute each night on his club tour. Sophie (born Sophie Xeon) died in 2021 at age 34 from a fall, and had also collaborated with Madonna (for whom she wrote “Bitch, I’m Madonna”), rapper Vince Staples, indie duo Let’s Eat Grandma, pop singers Charli XCX and Kim Petras, among others.
In recent weeks in Cameroon, homophobic feelings have intensified in the form of online videos of a homophobic song calling for the death of LGBTQ+ people, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. It’s known as “Poign@rdez les PD“ (or “Stab the Fxxxxts,” in English). PD is short for “Pede” or “Pedophile,” which homophobic Cameroonians consider synonymous for “homosexual.” The pro-LGBTQ+ group ADEFHO (the Association for the Defense of the Rights of Homosexuals) filed a complaint against the songwriter, which it identified as “X, known as Captain of the Ghetto”. Elsewhere, he is identified as Snoopy la Mélodie.
Queer British singer/actor/activist Olly Alexander released a second teaser from his forthcoming new album, Polari, with the title track, a press release noted. This album opener comes alongside another video (this one at 86 seconds) from director Colin Solal Cardo. Alexander said of the song, “This is track one on the album and is intended as a shot of adrenaline and jumpstart-the-car kind of introduction because I’m about to take you for a ride. It’s also a bit of an audio collage of all the music that follows so I’m very excited to put this out!” The song’s release follows the single “Cupid’s Bow.” The album will be out Feb. 7, 2025.
Irish actor Fra Fee (Hawkeye; the BBC gay drama Lost Boys & Fairies) tied the knot with his longtime partner, British actor Declan Bennett, on Nov. 15, per Instinct Magazine. The couple, who have been living together since 2020, marked the occasion with a ceremony at Mount Druid, Westmeath, Ireland, surrounded by their closest friends and family. Among the attendees were gay celebrity couple Luke Evans and Fran Tomas, who have been together since 2021. In a video, Fee and Bennett are seen singing and dancing to the gospel song “Oh Happy Day,” by The Edwin Hawkins Singers, as the guests cheered them on and sang along.
Pansexual British model/actress Cara Delevingne said she took pop superstar Taylor Swift on a “wild ride” when they lived together, according to PinkNews. Speaking to comedian Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine, Delevingne—who has previously been involved with singer St Vincent and Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson—said, “I was going through a really horrible break-up and [Swift] let me live with her. … “We’re very different people: She’s very homely, because she looked after me so well, but we got into some… not trouble, but I definitely took her for a bit of a wild ride.” Delevingne made her West End (London) debut earlier this year, starring as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.
Queer New Zealand artist Ben Hazlewood released a music video for his anthem “Too Loud for Tokyo,” premiering exclusively on Galore, per a press release. Hazlewood said, “‘Too Loud for Tokyo’ is a metaphor for embracing your authentic self, even when it makes you stand out. Speaking your truth may unsettle those around you, but it also comes as a warning: if they can’t handle it, they can step aside because ‘I got my color back, from the claws of a pawn shop aristocrat.’” The video is here.
The world’s tallest woman, Rumeysa Gelgi (who’s 7’ 1”), recently met the world’s shortest woman, Jyoti Amge (who’s 2’ 1”), in London to mark the 20th annual Guinness World Records Day, PinkNews noted. However, Gelgi’s viral appearance in London caused a spike in Google searches for the term “Is Rumeysa Gelgi trans,” as well as a similar increase in searches for “Is Rumeysa trans” on TikTok. Gelgi, 27, is actually cisgender; she has an extremely rare condition called Weaver syndrome, which causes accelerated growth. It’s a case of “transvestigating”—a mash-up of trans and investigating that refers to conspiracy theories that falsely claim individuals, typically women, are trans and are hiding their “true” gender identity.
A backlash against a Jaguar rebrand (which has been largely secretive) started with raised eyebrows—and finished with a full-on hate campaign, laced with homophobia, according to an Attitude op-ed from Publisher Darren Styles OBE. Styles said that The Daily Mail used the basis of a DEI/diversity-focused speech at the Attitude Awards (an LGBTQ+ event) in October by Jaguar Director Santino Pietrosanti to make a jump to “woke ideology.” Recently, Jaguar has urged people to “trust and reserve judgement” over the rebrand, which launched with a teaser video only featuring models in brightly-colored clothing—and no car, per the BBC.
Queer Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams responded to those who are “offended” by his new role in the musical Titanique as the iceberg that sank the Titanic, PinkNews noted, Williams, who finished as joint runner-up in last year’s BBC series alongside pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin, told Metro, “I really think you’re reaching for the stars if you’re offended. Someone’s going to be offended about something or we wouldn’t be able to leave the house, let’s be f***ing real. So if that is you, don’t book a ticket. If that is not you, get your a** down to The Criterion Theatre.” The West End (London) production is a jukebox musical to music by Céline Dion that depicts the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.
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