I leave this here. Very interesting view from a gender queer.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing!

P/S: You need to leave this part out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= if you want to embed a Youtube video otherwise it will turn into a black box.

Thank you for the correction. I’m not a tech savvy person in real life. So sorry for troubling.

🇮🇳 50 from LGBT community receive their first shot in Kolkata
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ko...ow/83096928.cms



KOLKATA: Members of the LGBT community got the vaccination shot for the first time in the city on Sunday, registering themselves as the “other gender”.

Fifty members of the community, including 27 from the transgender community, got their first shot in a special camp organised by Prantakatha and Techno India DAMA Hospital, two days ahead of the Pride Month.

Bappaditya Mukherjee of Prantakatha said there is also a vaccine hesitancy among the trans community that, he feels, is obvious when many don’t even avail of basic healthcare facilities for the kind of harassment they face.

“The pandemic has the community even more marginalized. From being forced to stay with homophobics, transphobic families, leading to abuse, depression, job loss and no access to Covid vaccines have made their lives even more pathetic,” said Mukherjee, who himself was among the 50 who took the jab on Sunday.

“We need more such community-friendly special camps where recipients are not subjected to bully and harassment by the society. This will encourage more people from the community to get themselves vaccinated,” said a transgender activist, Ranjita Sinha.

then u go to one of the program la.. im not gay, not invited... i dont care whoever go, then they slip back.. that just natural... but then the effort is just a bless for their future

This post has been edited by jin^manusia: May 31 2021, 08:55 PM

🇺🇸 Lady Gaga unveils 10th anniversary edition of Born This Way featuring song covers by LGBTQ artists
Source: https://ew.com/music/lady-gaga-announces-10...-born-this-way/


It's a big year for fans of Lady Gaga. While Little Monsters have so far been busy bringing ARTPOP back to the charts and making Oreos inspired by Chromatica, 2021 also marks the 10th anniversary of Gaga's seminal album Born This Way. Earlier this month she received a key to the city of West Hollywood, as the album's title was emblazoned on the street in rainbow Pride flag colors.

That's far from the end of the anniversary celebrations, though. Gaga announced on her Twitter account Friday that the album is being reissued as Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary, a special edition that includes a special second disc "of reimagined versions of #BornThisWay songs by incredible artists who both represent and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community," Gaga wrote.

The first of these cover tracks, "Judas" by Big Freedia, is available now. Listen to it above as we wait for more to come.

It's about time to delete all of his posts and bigotry here. We all know he's not here for serious discussion except forcing his religious views on something he disagree with.

Again this is Serious Kopitiam. Not a place to troll and impose crap on those who has nothing to do or shares the same faith with. Not happy he can always open his own new thread.
Just my 2 cents.

He did open his own thread but then I think it got deleted and he got banned for 2 weeks or something.

My approach is always to give a proper reply to any posts in this thread whether it is good or bad.

I've tried hiding posts which I don't agree with in the past but on hindsight that's a bad decision because it makes me look like I'm surrendering or something. Because of that, I've decided that if a post requires no reply then I will just ignore it and move on with my life.

Of course, if you guys come across any flaming/trolling posts, feel free to report it to the moderators. It's their job to keep not just this thread but the entire forum a place for healthy discussion so I trust their judgement whatever that may be.

The thread did got deleted, but he claimed he wasn't banned at all. We just have to learn to live with him since he's not going anywhere I guess.

🇺🇸 Supreme Court will soon release a potentially pivotal decision for LGBT rights



The Supreme Court is expected to release a decision in the coming days that could provide the first glimpses of how its 6-3 conservative majority will shape the future of LGBT rights.

The case, known as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, No. 19-123, is a fight over a city policy that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. Citing the policy, Philadelphia dropped a contract with a Roman Catholic foster agency that said its beliefs didn’t allow it to certify same-sex couples for adoption. The agency, Catholic Social Services, brought a lawsuit alleging that Philadelphia violated its First Amendment religious rights.

The dispute was argued in November and a decision is expected before the court’s term wraps up at the end of June, which also happens to be Pride Month, a historic time of celebration in the LGBT community. The Supreme Court is expected to release its next opinions on Tuesday, though it does not say in advance which ones are coming.

The coming decision could have broad ramifications that stretch beyond the approximately 6,000 children in foster care in Philadelphia. Lawyers who specialize in LGBT rights have argued that a broad ruling in favor of the adoption agency could also open the door to legalizing discrimination in other spheres where governments hire private contractors to provide public services.

More broadly, the case could provide significant clues about the direction the court will take in future LGBT rights cases. Since the mid-1990s, the nation’s top court has gradually expanded protections for gays and lesbians, largely under the leadership of former Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in 2018.

The nine-judge court currently has six Republican appointees, including three nominated by former President Donald Trump.

“This will be a bellwether for how the court, as it’s currently comprised, will view these LGBT civil rights cases,” said Marques Richeson, a partner at the law firm Squire Patton Boggs who worked on a friend-of-the-court brief in the case on behalf of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders.

“I definitely think that it’s going to set a precedent that in the future either will work to our benefit, or potentially to our detriment, within LGBT communities,” Richeson said.

Legal experts emphasize that Supreme Court decisions are often unpredictable, and that there are a range of possible outcomes with more nuance than which side wins or loses.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/31/supreme-cou...bellwether.html

🇷🇴 Romania Told to Compensate LGBT Group for Homophobic Attack
Source: https://balkaninsight.com/2021/06/01/romani...ophobic-attack/



The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday ruled that Romania failed to uphold the prohibition of discrimination when far-right homophobes stormed an LGBT film screening in Bucharest in February 2013.

The Strasbourg-based court also ruled that Romania failed to uphold the right to respect for private and family life and the right to freedom of assembly and association, which are all protected by the European Convention of Human Rights.

The screening of the film about a gay family was part of LGBT History Month. A protest against event was held by extremist groups near the venue at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant.

Despite the presence of police, around 45 protesters thought to be part of the fringe far-right party Noua Dreapta stormed the cinema and threatened viewers by shouting homophobic slogans and hurling insults at them. At the time of the attack, the audience numbered no more than 20.

Members of Noua Dreapta (New Right) have been responsible for many incidents of homophobic violence in Romania since the party’s founding in 2000. Noua Dreapta has also made a habit of protesting against the Bucharest Pride parade every year. It has never won seats in parliament.

The investigation into the incident was closed in October 2014 by a Bucharest prosecution body, which described the attack as “an exchange of views”.

Another investigation, into the use of fascist symbols during the raid, was also discontinued by Romanian authorities in August 2017, and none of the perpetrators have been indicted.

LGBT rights group ACCEPT and five individuals who were present at the screening subsequently took their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Strasbourg court concluded that the Bucharest authorities “failed to offer adequate protection in respect of the individual applicants’ dignity… and to effectively investigate the real nature of the homophobic abuse directed against” the applicants.

“The authorities thus discriminated against the applicants on the grounds of their sexual orientation,” the judges added in their verdict.

They ordered the Romanian state “to pay 7,500 euros to the applicant association and 9,750 to each individual applicant”.

The 3,264 euros spent by the applicants to bring the legal proceedings must also be covered by Romania, the court said.

He actually came back using dupe (since his account did get suspended) opened 2 threads in Kopitiam bashing LGBT. But backfired lol thanks to the trolls there. Yeah this thread is the only place where the poor soul can get all loves that he needed very much.

Reporting won't do much unless it's about racial and religion issues. Hence why also I didn't bother to report whatever crap he posted here but it's good to know many of previous threads went poof.

It just I don't like the way some believers imposing their bigotry onto others. You don't see fundies Catholic here spamming YouTube videos everyday shrieking about Lord's wrath on LGBT.

Plus, it's very funny some thinks loaded rich fags like Nur Sajat or Marc Jacobs needs salvation but how many bat an eyelid about abandoned single mothers who still struggling to feed herself and her children in this country.

🇲🇾 Your Queendom Come: An Insider’s Snapshot of KL’s Drag Scene

Rewind a few years back and try telling people you’re a drag queen. You’d most likely be met with stares. You also would be reminded of how, if you were not a cisgender woman, showing off any form of feminine expression was pathologised, even in your own community. It was bad enough enduring the rejection from the straight cisgender folk, let alone the masc-for-masc enthusiasts.

However, the days of rampant internalised homophobia (or femmephobia) are nearly extinct. If it were safe enough to head on over to your local queer space, you’re bound to find individuals voguing, dipping, z-snapping whilst yelling “YAS QUEEN SLAY!”, amongst other expressions. There has been a steady increase in acceptance and encouragement of gender non-conformity in the queer community as well as certain non-queer circles. As the drag movement steadily gains momentum in our country, here are stories and portraits surrounding a few of our local drag queens.

Kumela Kumslut, Sex-Positive Siren



Kumela Kumslut, the vivacious, larger-than-life, drag alter ego of creative photog extraordinaire Carlos Khu, is a force to be reckoned with—with or without her 10-inch Pleasers. Kumela’s aesthetics are unorthodox with a healthy serving of high fashion and sexuality.

While always drawing inspiration from the strong women in her life, Kumela doesn’t intend to look solely like a woman either and she’s not ashamed to let a little chest hair show.

A primary factor of establishing the persona of Kumela Kumslut was to spread more awareness on sex education. She says sex is a part of human nature and there needs to be access to more educational resources. As Kumela Kumslut, she’s setting out to de-stigmatise sex, in her own way.

As many of us deal with insecurities and healing, Kumslut intends for her drag to inspire individuals to simply love and celebrate their identities. Kumela’s message is not just intended for the LGBTQ+ community; she’s here to cultivate love and equality for everyone.

Carmen Rose, Campy Chameleon



Carmen Rose is a hard-working queen who can take on many looks. She is one of the co-founding mothers of Shagrilla of Queer, a party that integrates outlandish themes with drag performances and music from DJ JonnyVicious. She is a drastic departure from demure graphic designer Samuel Yong, and a form of escapism from her off-drag self.

Despite initially being hesitant to appear and perform in public due to fear of legal repercussions as well as being the target of homophobia, Carmen managed to go from bedroom queen to full-fledged shapeshifter. Carmen Rose is a vibrant vixen one day, an audacious alien the next, and a cheeky class act the day after.

Through Carmen, Samuel is learning about confidence and self-acceptance through drag, as socialising goes hand-in-hand with being a drag queen. She struggles with the disconnect she has felt between her drag persona and her off-drag self, stating that people tend to acknowledge Carmen more than Samuel.

For Carmen, drag is so much deeper than putting on makeup and a wig. You are your own makeup artist, stylist, choreographer and music editor—a walking art installation, if you will. Carmen believes it is crucial for her to use her platform to educate herself by listening to constructive criticism and having conversations with the LGBTQ+ community.

Hellis Hot, Dainty Demoness



Hellis Hot is a cross-dresser originating from hell, but don’t tell her to go back there. She preaches art through her drag and you won’t find any queen in the scene who does what she does. Visually, Hellis derives inspiration from macabrism, and surrealist and dystopian artforms, amongst others.

For Asyraf Zakaria, a creative design lecturer, doing drag as Hellis Hot has taught them to see life from a more detailed perspective, to embrace their sensitivities, and to be comfortable in their own skin.

Hellis says the most challenging part of doing drag is personifying a fully realised character. Of course, she believes the process of getting into drag would literally and figuratively shock people, as it’s rather excruciating, spending hours crafting her own regalia.

She has questioned her persona: What does Hellis stand for visually, and internally? To her, drag is punk—an everyday battle to fight and stay alive. As she is assigned Muslim at birth, religious authorities may target her. But Hellis stays true to her nature and would rather die being authentic than live in conformity. At present, Hellis is working on a zine passion project that will feature art, poetry, visuals, and more.

Read more: https://www.queerlapis.com/queendom-come/

🇺🇸 Moses Lake boaters allegedly harassed another group over gay pride flags. Then their boat burst into flames.
Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/m...st-into-flames/

When another boat began circling their vessel on Moses Lake on Memorial Day, a group from Washington assumed they were trying to signal support for their gay pride flags.

But then someone on the other boat flipped a middle finger and yelled something about “gays” and “flags,” a passenger on the boat said. So the group started recording in case the situation escalated.

It did — but not how they might have expected.

Moments later, the other boat burst into flames, forcing passengers to jump into the lake — and leaving the victims to become rescuers as they filmed a moment that turned into a viral video this week.

“These people harassed my family because we were flying gay pride flags … by racing around us and shouting gay slurs,” tweeted a passenger named Robbie along with a video that has been viewed more than 620,000 times on Twitter as of early Wednesday. “Then, their boat literally blew up! #KarmaIsReal.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the incident took place on Sunday on Moses Lake, adding that the agency was working to interview the people involved before releasing more information. Police did not identify anyone onboard the two boats.

“We are currently interviewing the boat owners to determine if a crime occurred,” Sheriff Tom Jones told The Washington Post late Tuesday.

Robbie, 32, told The Post in a statement that he, his brother and two other passengers had spent Sunday swimming, listening to music and tubing in the lake about 100 miles west of Spokane. (Robbie declined to provide his last name out of fear of retaliation.)

Around 7 p.m., the group stopped their boat, which carried a rainbow flag from one of Robbie’s first pride events, as well as another gay pride flag belonging to his brother.

That’s when they noticed a small vessel carrying three people speeding toward them. One of the other boat’s passengers, a woman, yelled something unintelligible before flipping her middle finger, Robbie said.

Then, as the boat seemed to speed away, it made a sharp turn and circled around them at least six times.

“At this point I could clearly hear the words ‘gays’ and ‘flags’ being shouted from their boat,” Robbie said.

By then, Robbie’s brother was recording with his phone. When the other boat noticed the group was filming, the driver attempted to hide his face before speeding away, leaving a cloud of smoke behind and waves that rocked Robbie’s boat back and forth.

Moments later, the group heard a loud bang and sputter coming from the other boat, and saw a cloud of black smoke rising. “Holy crap! They blew up!” said Robbie’s brother, who was driving the boat.

Robbie’s brother steered toward the boat, which was consumed in flames.

“Help us! We’re burning!” shouted the woman who had flipped her middle finger at them moments earlier, Robbie said. Robbie and the rest of his group pulled the burning boat’s occupants to safety and then sped away before calling 911.

“The passengers were quite rude, shouting over us, ignoring my [inquiries] about their well being when on the 911 call and smoking a vape pen on our boat without even so much as asking if they could; several passengers of our boat have asthma,” Robbie told The Post.

Eventually, police arrived to extinguish the flames. The rescued boaters left to jump on a friends’ vessel without saying “thank you,” Robbie said.

Grant County Deputy Kyle Foreman told The Spokesman-Review it is not clear why the boat caught fire. The boat was eventually towed back to the shore, Foreman told the paper.

Robbie later tweeted a clip of two pride flags flying over the lake from his boat, writing, “And we’re back at it again! We will not hide our #pride.”

WOW. if you just look at the photo only. you would think he is a real women.

🇺🇸 Pentagon won’t allow pride flags to be flown at military bases
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/ju...-military-bases



The Pentagon will not make an exception to allow US military installations to fly rainbow pride flags in June, it said on Friday, keeping a policy set by Donald Trump that limited the type of flags that could be flown on bases.

Days before the announcement, US president Joe Biden said that nearly 1,500 of his federal agency appointees identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, in a proclamation marking the start of pride month celebrating the LGBTQ community.

In July 2020, Trump’s Pentagon issued a policy authorizing only certain flags on military installations and was seen as a way for then-defense secretary Mark Esper to issue a de facto ban on displaying the Confederate flag without it being mentioned specifically.

“There won’t be an exception made this month for the pride flag,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

He said that the decision was made because it could open the door for other challenges to the rule set in place in July.

“This in no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people that (are from) the LGBTQ+ community, the personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department,” Kirby added. “We are proud of them.”

A 2015 RAND study found that 5.8 % of service members identified as either lesbian, gay or bisexual.

On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under all federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex. Biden also reversed a ban on transgender people openly enlisting and serving in the military.

The Biden White House also reversed an order issued by Trump’s then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo on flying the pride flag at some US embassies, including in India and Australia, highlighting their support for LGBTQ people.