Controversial host Kyle Sandilands has once again found himself in hot water. (Hanna Lassen/Getty) Australian radio host Kyle Sandilands has been criticised for describing monkeypox as the “big gay disease”. In a segment on a 23 August the host of Sydney-based KISS FM claimed “it’s only the gays getting it” during a talk with openly
Australia
Australia’s deputy prime minister and minister of defence Richard Marles speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on 11 June, 2022. (Roslan Rahman/Getty) Australia’s deputy prime minister has repealed a ban on LGBTQ+ events organised by the Australian Defence Force. Deputy prime minister and minister of defence Richard Marles on Tuesday (23 August) scrapped
Saudi Arabian sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli (left) and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli (right). (NSW Police) Two Saudi sisters found dead in Australia sought asylum for religion and sexuality, but their pleas for projection were reportedly rejected over lack of evidence. Australian authorities discovered the remains of Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, on 7 June
An intersex in woman has alleged correctional staff at an Australian prison discriminated against her. (Ian Waldie/Getty Images) An intersex woman has lodged a lawsuit against an Australian prison operator after being thrown into a men’s jail. The plaintiff has claimed she was exposed to “ridicule” and “cruel and degrading treatment” from prison workers while
Peter Keeley was found dead in a ditch in New South Wales, Australia. (NSW Police) A top Australian court has found two teenagers who lured Peter Keely on Grindr only to bind, gag and beat him not guilty of murder. The boys, both aged 17 at the time of the incident so legally cannot be
The stages of monkeypox. (UK Health Security Agency) Monkeypox is continuing to spread across the UK and Europe, while the number of people forcibly displaced by conflict has surpassed 100 million for the first time. Elsewhere, Ellen DeGeneres is preparing to bow out from her world famous talkshow and footballer Jake Daniels continues to be
An archbishop’s anti-same-sex marriage motion has been turned down by bishops in a move that has left the Anglican Church of Australia divided. The motion, proposed by archbishop Kanishka Raffel with the help of the Conservative Sydney Diocese, attempted to reinforce the ‘traditional view’ of marriage being between men and women. Currently, any of Australia’s Anglican Diocese
On 10 May, 1972, a University of Adelaide law lecturer was thrown by a group of men into the city’s River Torrens at a gay beat and drowned. After nearly 50 years it remains one of the state’s most notorious unsolved murders. Yet it was the catalyst for the first, though unsuccessful, attempt in Australia
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images) Australian faith-based schools will be banned from expelling gay students but could still freely oust trans pupils in proposals agreed by ruling party lawmakers. In the confusing and contentious saga of prime minister Scott Morrison’s Religious Discrimination Bill, ministers have repeatedly see-sawed between protecting Christian groups and
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images) Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has vowed to stop students from being expelled for their sexuality or gender identity by religious schools. In an unexpected turnaround, the right-wing leader who has long been upfront about his evangelical Christian faith, promised to stop faith-based schools from discriminating against
The Australian debate show Q+A was targeted for its pro-LGBT+ coverage (YouTube/Sky News Australia) A charity worker has been sentenced after threatening to kill the staff of an Australian talkshow that supported LGBT+ people. David William Wonnocott, 47, pled guilty to making threats to kill the employees behind ABC’s panel debate show Q+A over its supportive
Production begins this week for RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. (Instagram/ michellevisage) RuPaul’s Drag Race is officially going Down Under, and RuPaul and Michelle Visage have already been confirmed as judges. An Australian spin-off was first announced in August 2019, when ITV’s Australian production arm confirmed that it has secured the local rights for the show. Rumours
Toxic masculinity damages men mentally, physically and socially. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty) Toxic masculinity is harmful, limiting, outdated and should be scrapped in favour of a healthier view on what a “man” is, Australians say. Researchers at the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation found that, overall, men tend to enforce and care more about masculinity than women, spilling
South Australia is planning to ban the horrific “gay panic” defence in court cases, meaning the practice would be illegal all across the country. The gay panic defence has been used in numerous murder cases over the years. The controversial legal strategy claims that discovering a victim’s sexuality or gender identity caused the defendant to
Ellen DeGeneres. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been pulled by one of Australia’s top television channels after former and current staff made explosive allegations about the show’s on-set culture. Channel Nine has stopped airing DeGeneres’ long-running chat show following weeks of controversy surrounding alleged misconduct from top producers. The television channel is instead airing re-runs
A gay doctor from Australia has hit out at the “old prejudice” that still prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood. In Australia – as is the case in many countries – gay and bisexual men must remain celibate for a three month period before they can give blood. This week, 70 medical professionals
A gay man who was beaten to within an inch of his life in a 1980s hate crime has claimed that a police report from the time said he “deserved” to be attacked. Martin Parker told The Australian that he was beaten so badly by a man who pretended to be gay outside a public
The ‘genderbread person’ helps children to understand the differences between gender and anatomy (Genderbread.org) A high school has dropped an LGBT+ educational tool after a transphobic mother complained it was targeting “vulnerable children” like her own transgender son. The school in Australia showed 15-year-old students an image of the ‘genderbread person‘, a well-known teaching resource
Many LGBT+ people think domestic violence is an issue only faced by people who are both cisgender and straight – but this is not the case. That finding was presented in a new study conducted by Relationships Australia New South Wales (RANSW) and ACON (formerly the AIDS Council of NSW). The study was published by
Sam Smith at the KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball on December 6, 2019. (JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/Getty) Sam Smith was as gracious as you’d expect when a TV presenter messed up their pronouns in a recent interview. The non-binary pop star goes by they/them pronouns, but was entirely forgiving when the Australian talkshow host Carrie Bickmore accidentally
This zookeeper delighted viewers at home with an impromptu fan dance (Twitter/@dariennelake) An Australian zookeeper has won worldwide fame by dancing away the coronavirus blues with a snap of his rainbow fan. Australia’s Melbourne Zoo has restricted visitor numbers to just 2,000 people a day to allow for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. With
MP Bob Katter said same-sex marriage “deserves to be laughed at and ridiculed”. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images) A tiny outback town in Queensland, Australia, will hold its first Mardi Gras party this weekend, despite being in a federal electorate held by an MP who said LGBT+ rights were a “waste of time”. Cloncurry has fewer than
Queensland MP Bob Katter has defended disgraced rugby star Israel Folau after he blamed bushfires on gay marriage in a bizarre sermon. In a lengthy Facebook post, Katter warned that “persecution of Christianity is on the rise” after Folau was widely condemned for blaming bushfires on gay people and abortion. “I may disagree with Folau
Cassy O’Connor (right) with her son Jasper. (Cassy O’Connor) Australian politician Cassy O’Connor has shared moving photos of her transgender son, Jasper, receiving his new identification documents after landmark reforms to gender recognition laws in Tasmania came into effect. The new laws, which came into force on Thursday, 5 September, make Tasmania the first Australian