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I Didn't Like Girls
July 17, 2020| Contributed by Cäcille Ealy - OutRight Development Associate
I didn’t like girls. This mindset has, of course, adapted a little since I was 4, but I just liked boys better. Kickball, soccer, video games - those were my JAM. Still are to an extent. And though I may have enjoyed the occasional game of “house,” after 10 minutes of playing "mother," I wanted to get back to my boys. ...Wait, mother?? Growing up, I always knew I was different. Being the product of a Black father and a White mother had an influence on that frame of mind, but to me, it went beyond what my white peers referred to as my “exotic” looks. I am a transwoman. Coming to that conclusion – as you can imagine – was a life-long journey.
Survival strategies of homosexual and bisexual women and transgender persons in the North Caucasus
July 16, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
The following report presents the findings of a qualitative study conducted by activists of the Queer Women of North Caucasus Support Group Initiative. The findings describe survival strategies for homosexual, bisexual women and transgender persons in a sexually repressive culture. The study required the observance of safety rules and confidentiality for both respondents and some of the.
OutRight TV: Utilizing the Internet During a Pandemic
July 14, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, UN Program Officer Luiza Veado speaks to Roberto Cuerto, founder of Somoskuir, a digital platform for queer people and stories. Roberto discusses how COVID-19 and it's consequential online events have expanded accessibility for those with access to the internet and encourages people to widen their digital circles and use their platforms to share their lived experiences.
OutRight TV: The American Fashion Industry as a Gay Black Immigrant
July 10, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, OutRight Regional Sexual and Development expert Kennedy Carrillo speaks with fashion designer Eddy Middleton. Eddy talks about the transition from growing up in Belize to studying and working in New York City and the additional challenges that being gay and black bring to navigating the fashion industry in America.
OutRight TV: I Am Samuel Producer Toni Kamau
July 8, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, Africa Program Officer Yvonne Wamari talks to Kenyan Producer Toni Kamau. Toni, producer of the HRW film festival film I Am Samuel, talks about what it means for the film to be released during Pride month and COVID-19 and how she hopes people around the world use their privilege to uplift quieted voices.
OutRight TV: Alan Cumming Talks TERFs
July 7, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, Executive Director Jessica Stern talks to actor, singer, and activist Alan Cumming. Jessica and Alan talk about TERFs in the LGBTIQ and feminist movements, the impact of J. K. Rowling's words on the safety of transgender lives, and Alan's history with forestry.
OutRight TV: #LoveWins in Montenegro
July 3, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV Senior Communications Manager Daina Ruduša talks to Danijel Kalezić, Executive Director of Queer Montenegro, the first LGBTIQ organization in Montenegro. The conversation happens two days after a historic moment - the Montenegrin parliament has just passed partnership legislation for same-sex couples! Danijel talks about his emotions at the end of this very long journey, what it took to get here, the fact that #LoveisLove and #LoveWins.
Parliament of Montenegro Passes Partnership Legislation
July 1, 2020| Contributed by Daina Ruduša - OutRight Sr Communications Manager
On Wednesday, 1 July, 2020, the parliament of Montenegro passed the Law on Registered Partnership of Same Sex Persons, making Montenegro the first of the EU accession countries to recognize partners of the same sex. The law was passed with 46 votes in favor, and only 5 against, after being rejected by parliament in July of 2019.
OutRight TV: A pandemic, an economic recession, and a political crisis
July 1, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, OutRight's Arabic Media Coordinator Nazeeha Saeed speaks with Tarek Zaidan, the Executive Director of Helem, the first queer Lebanese organization recognized in the MENA region. Tarek walks viewers through the lessons Helem has learned from COVID-19 and the Lebanon revolution in terms of how they organize, what their model of change is, and where their priorities lie.
Queer enough
June 29, 2020| Contributed by Katherine Martin - OutRight Communications Assistant
While I identify as a lesbian, in college, my queerness never felt queer enough to identify with the LGBTIQ community. My outward expression in the way that I dressed typically led to incorrect assumptions about my sexuality which I knew inadvertently freed me from the stigma and discrimination I thought I was supposed to face. Coming to understand my own identity was largely done in the context of my immediate surroundings - my other gay friends, my own experiences, and my gender studies classes. The media, I thought, represented a version of being queer that I couldn’t find myself in. I felt similarly about pride events. The first NYC pride parade I attended was in 2018 - the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. My makeup, straightened hair, and cut-off shorts were no match for the enormous amount of glitter and colorful wigs that decorated large floats. I knew I looked like an ally.
OutRIght TV: God Made Adam and Eve and I did Both
June 26, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, UN Program Officer Sahar Moazami speaks to queer feminist activist Ritu Borah in Delhi. They discuss the intersections of the queer and feminist movements and how gender-based violence plagues them both. They talk about what advocacy looks like during a pandemic (think: queer zoom backgrounds) and the importance of oral history in relation to our lived experiences as LGBTIQ people.
THE 2020 UNITED NATIONS HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS PRIMER
June 25, 2020| Contributed by OutRight UN Program
The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is a United Nations (UN) conference that meets annually under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and every four years at the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York. It reviews and follows up on the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The HLPF is tasked with tracking the international implementation and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although SDGs are rooted in and interlinked with human rights, it is a development space with its own language and advocacy entry points as such.
OutRight TV: The loss and legacy of LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi
June 18, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
In this episode of OutRight TV, human rights lawyer Mostafa Fouad speaks with Nazeeha Saeed about the life and legacy of LGBTIQ activist Sarah Hegazi, just days after she took her own life in Canada, where she was seeking asylum. Mostafa discusses the violence and hate that Sara received in the three years since her arrest, the ways in which her identities and beliefs were used against her, and how Sarah's story has changed the climate around queer identity in Egypt.
Can’t Cancel Pride
June 18, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
June is Pride month - four weeks usually filled with parades, protest marches and a variety of other expressions for the dignity, equality and human rights of LGBTIQ people. It is a time for LGBTIQ movements to reflect on the progress so far, and build momentum for the much needed change still to come.
OutRight Mourns in Solidarity with the LGBTIQ Movement in Egypt After the Passing of Sarah Hegazi
June 16, 2020| Contributed by OutRight Action International
OutRight Action International was saddened to hear the news of Sarah Hegazi, a fearless, pioneering queer and feminist Egyptian activist, taking her life on Saturday, 13 June 2020. Sarah became the target of severe government persecution after exercising her basic right of freedom of expression - she raised the rainbow flag in Cairo during the Mashrou’ Leila concert in 2017. This expression of existence and solidarity resulted in Sarah being imprisoned for three months, including in solitary confinement. Due to the severity of the psychological and physical abuse which Sarah experienced in detention, and the ongoing hate speech against her from the government, in the media, and from the general public, Sarah fled Egypt to seek asylum in Canada.