Tag - lgbtq

 
 

LGBTQ

A Beijing store selling merchandise based on the "boys’ love" genre of graphic novels on June 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2025
China detains female writers of 'boys' love' content in porn crackdown
The detentions since March have triggered debate on social media about the limits of free speech and the apparent sexist nature of the crackdown.
A person wears a mask depicting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the back of the head during the Budapest Pride March on June 28.
WORLD / Society
Jul 7, 2025
Inside Budapest Pride: How organizers defied Orban's ban
The team behind the parade in Budapest went offline, meeting in private behind closed doors with everyone leaving their laptops and phones outside.
Akira Otani's genre-bending novel "The Night of Baba Yaga" takes place in Japan’s 1970s yakuza underworld and centers on the daughter of a mob boss and a ruthless martial arts fighter who serves as her bodyguard.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 4, 2025
Queer-coded yakuza story wins prestigious U.K. crime writing award
With “The Night of Baba Yaga,” Akira Otani is the first Japanese writer to win the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award for crime fiction in translation.
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham speaks at a League of Social Democrats news conference at their headquarters in Hong Kong on June 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Hong Kong proposes limited recognition of same-sex couples' rights
The move comes as the Hong Kong government seeks to comply with a landmark court ruling from September 2023.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025
Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds
Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
Kirsty Coventry, who will formally take over as the president of the International Olympic Committe on Monday, speaks during a news conference in Costa Navarino, Greece, in March.
OLYMPICS
Jun 21, 2025
As sports embrace gender tests, Coventry and IOC may follow
Such testing has its share of critics and the Olympics have already tried it once only to abandon it in 1996.
"In My Closet" by the artist Noumra is on display at Tokyu Plaza Harajuku's Harakado space until June 18.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2025
At Tokyo Pride’s first queer art exhibition, intimacy and resistance share the wall
A vibrant, community-sourced exhibition in Harajuku showcases queer art that spans the political, absurd and deeply personal.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride is wrapping up for the year, but a slew of events in cities all over the country, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, lies in store in the second half of 2025.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 12, 2025
The persistence of Pride: LGBTQ+ events in Tokyo and beyond
Pride isn’t just a one-off weekend — a slate of activities and programs in support of the queer community continues in full force, from Hokkaido to Kyushu.
June is Pride Month, which means it’s the perfect time to get acquainted with how sexual minorities have been represented in Japanese fiction if you’re not familiar with these narratives already.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2025
Pride and prose: Novels that illuminate queer lives in Japan
From Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami to Li Kotomi and Akira Otani, dive into Japanese fiction’s LGBTQ+ narratives in honor of Pride Month.
Akihiko Ogino, president and CEO of Daiwa Securities Group, says Japan should press ahead with diversity initiatives as he attends the Tokyo Pride parade in the capital's Shibuya area on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2025
Top banker vows loyalty to DEI at Tokyo Pride Parade as Trump’s pushback rages
Few Japanese executives have spoken out on U.S. backlash to DEI, though many firms seem to be quietly maintaining their initiatives.
Since moving to Tokyo from New York City in 2014, Hiraku Morilla has been promoting Keith Haring’s legacy in his professional life and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 6, 2025
Hiraku Morilla: ‘Pride means respect for those who walked so we could run’
The New York-raised director of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection reflects on his queer, multiracial identity and LGBTQ+ rights in Japan.
The LGBTQ  community in the U.S. has expressed shock and dismay regarding government plans to slash the Health and Human Services Department's budget, which includes the elimination of specialised mental health services for LGBTQ  youth.
WORLD / Society
Jun 3, 2025
LGBTQ+ suicide risk rises as Trump cuts mental health services
Since returning to office in January, Trump has signed executive orders to curb LGBTQ+ rights, many of which directly impact young people.
73% of sports organizations in Japan have not made consultation desks available for LGBTQ  and other sexual minorities, as well as people seeking advice on gender identity and sexual orientation, according to a survey led by Pride House Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
No LGBTQ+ help desks for 73% of sports groups in Japan
The survey was conducted in March and April on efforts to protect sexual minorities and secure diversity.
Thai film "A Useful Ghost" won top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of the Cannes film festival.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 22, 2025
LGBTQ Thai ghost story wins prize in Cannes
Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke says he hoped his LGBTQ story could touch more on politics.
U.S. citizen Chrishan Wright from New York after an interview in Lisbon on April 9
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2025
Fearing Trump's policies, some Americans start new lives in Europe
Relocation firms said there has been a spike in interest since Trump returned to the White House, with clients expressing concern over policy and social issues.
Since 2017, Kotomi Li has won some of Japan’s top literary awards and built a formidable career in the face of persistent online harassment. “Authors are tenacious creatures to begin with,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 5, 2025
Kotomi Li: 'I refuse to choose death'
The Taiwanese writer reflects on the importance of queer community, her ascent in Japan’s literary world and her ongoing battles against online harassment.
Plaintiffs celebrate the Tokyo High Court's ruling in a same-sex marriage lawsuit in Tokyo on Oct. 30.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 2, 2025
Signs of change emerge in constitutional interpretation of same-sex marriage
In a country often seen as a laggard on the rights of sexual minorities, five high courts all ruled against the ongoing ban on same-sex marriage just in the last year.
Hungarian Nikoletta Bogadi speaks during an interview in Budapest on April 2. Bogadi's life was turned upside down when one of her four children came out as gay and another one as transgender.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2025
Trump helps inflame anti-LGBTQ+ feeling from Hungary to Romania
The U.S. president's anti-LGBTQ+ push is emboldening similar efforts in Europe.
An LA 2028 sign is seen on the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sept. 13, 2017.
OLYMPICS
Apr 18, 2025
USOPC says White House gave reassurances about visas for Los Angeles Olympics
Officials from the USOPC said they met with legislators and members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last week.
Police officers block protesters during a demonstration after the Hungarian parliament voted on constitutional amendments targeting the LGBTQ+ community, on the Chain Bridge in Budapest on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2025
Hungary amends constitution to enable Orban’s crackdown
The proceedings are likely to exacerbate a European Union clash with Orban over his consolidation of power.

Longform

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