**Trigger Warning: This article recounts experiences of homophobia, suicide, physical abuse, and rape. BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – “Love conquers all” – we are often taught this maxim as children. We are persuaded to believe the very essence of love can solve all life’s problems. Yet, for those…
Violets – The Feminist Press at CUNY – 222 pages — $22.03 BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – “Violets, Violin, Violence, Violator,” chants the main character, San, as she reads from a dictionary. In just a few short lines, a beautiful purple flower morphs into “one who breaks rules,…
Directed by Leon Le, the movie Song Lang, set in 90s Saigon, begins with Dung “Thunderbolt”, a debt collector, meeting Linh Phung, a cải lương (Vietnamese opera) actor. When Dung sees Linh Phung on stage, Dung was instantly pulled back to the past he has long been trying to ignore…
NICOLE ALAVERDIAN WRITES – A roar of happiness and tears erupted around Taiwan – and in many communities around the world – as the Taiwanese parliament approved same-sex marriage. This is a historic win as Taiwan becomes the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage – proving to be more socially…
ABDULMOHSAN ALMUTAIRI WRITES– In April, the world witnessed a tragic blow to the progress of humanitarian efforts in Brunei as the sultanate country formally enacted a law that made homosexuality and adultery acts of crime punishable — by death. People from all over the world decried this new attack on…
ALBUS WANG WRITES – Sam Cassidy sits with a determined look, poised, and glowing with enthusiasm. I press the record button, scribbling away as I hear about Cassidy’s platform for the Associated Students of Loyola Marymount (ASLMU) 2019 Presidential elections. I first met Cassidy as the secretary of Gender Sexuality…
TIARA SALVABILLA WRITES – Not much of a surprise, the popular LGBT movie “Call Me by Your name” was banned in China. Although the Oscar-winning movie with a cult-following has top ratings on IMDB, RottenTomatoes, and other movie review websites, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has chosen not to…
MICHAELA MERTZ WRITES – Ugly controversy erupted after the release of an article in a leading Malaysian Newspaper reporting on characteristics that explain how one might identify members of the LGBT community. Some of the characteristics included assumptions that lesbian women “tend to hug each other, hold hands, and belittle…
EVA THIO WRITES – Indonesian lawmakers have started to ban LGBT activates, and police have raided popular spas, arresting hundreds of people in the process. In lockstep, the government is considering banning LGBT-related television programming in an effort to head off what one politician says could become a wave of…
KATE BARKLEY WRITES—Taiwan may become the first Asian country to embrace the rainbow, as members of its high court began hearing arguments this week on whether same-sex marriage should be made legal. If it happens, the country’s same-sex couples will have one man largely to thank, longtime gay rights activist…
RYAN URBAN WRITES – We need to remember this: The mass shooting in Orlando was one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The horrific mass shooting was an act of home-grown terrorism, committed by an even more sick and twisted character. And the tragedy is that something like it bodes to…
MARY GRACES COSTA WRITES – No, Manny, gay people aren’t “worse than animals,” but you might be. “People’s Champion” Manny Pacquiao has boxed himself into a corner with homophobic comments made to Filipino television network TV5. And the Eight Division world boxing champ’s loose lips may have cost him a lucrative Nike contract and…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The front page of Pakistan’s only LGBT support website, Queer Pakistan, reads “Don’t Hate Us, Know Us!” The Pakistani government said no. In another attempt to impede social progress in Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (the PTA) censored the website, saying “Surf Safely! This website is…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – The next Vietnam beauty may be just around the corner, but the government will only except the most feminine of them all, literally. Based off America’s Next Top Model, the fourth season of Vietnam’s Next Top Model has come under fire after advancing transgendered contestants in…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – The South Korean LGBT community has struggled with discrimination throughout the country’s history, but there are some signs that the tide is changing. In May, South Korean film director Kim Jho Gwang-soo revealed plans to hold a ceremony in September to celebrate the commitment between him…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Vietnam’s LGBT community got a morale boost on International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia May 17, but the big picture of social freedoms in the country is uneven. Viet Nam News reported that the United Nations praised the country for cutting anti-gay discrimination through local media’s spread…
