LGBTQ+ people impacted by sexual, domestic and family violence (SDFV) from across Australia will now have access to relevant, culturally appropriate and state-specific information and resources with the national rollout of the digital support hub, Say It Out Loud.

Produced by ACON, Australia’s largest sexuality and gender diverse health organisation, Say It Out Loud is an online platform on sexual, domestic and family violence designed specifically for LGBTQ+ people. First launched as a NSW specific site in 2017, the resource received funding from the Department of Social Services in 2019 to be expanded nationwide. 

 The Boys in the Band, a remake of a 1970 film based on a 1968 play, has arrived on Netflix.

The film tells the story of Michael, a Hermés scarf-loving, Manhattan-dwelling gay man who is hosting a birthday party for a friend. Intended as a small event for seven gay men, a straight former college buddy of Michael’s also arrives unexpectedly. The party, to put it mildly, does not go well.

Image: Andrew Rannells, Robin de Jesus, Jim Parsons, and Michael Benjamin Washington in The Boys in the Band (2020). Netflix Inc

India is facing a prolonged backlash from its LGBTQ+ community over the continued use of conversion therapies to “cure” homosexuality by changing people’s sexual orientation. In May, the tragic suicide of Anjana Harish, a 21-year-old bisexual woman in Goa, sparked online protests. Harish had posted a video online before her suicide describing how she had been subjected to conversion therapy by her family in her home state of Kerala. Her death revitalised efforts by activists to call for an outright ban on the practice. 

LONDON: As British politicians wrestle with Brexit, Britain’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - like others around the world - is grappling with a potential split of its own. 

Can the coalition of allies, which traces its roots back to the early days of gay liberation in the 1960s, survive in its current form? 

Caught in the crossfire between trans activists and feminists over the nature of what it is to be a woman, calls for a break-up of the longstanding LGBT+ alliance back to its constituent elements are starting to emerge. 

Is your mental health deteriorating during the coronavirus pandemic? Here's what to look out for. Before the pandemic, one in five Australians experienced mental ill-health every year.

But the uncertainty and instability around coronavirus has the potential to exacerbate existing anxiety and depression and contribute to the onset of new mental health problems.

So what are some of the signs your mental health might be declining during the pandemic? And what can you do about it?

IN THIS ISSUE: Cover: Dylan Mooney, Reflections Of A Young Indigenous Artist. The Rise Of The Queer Superhero. Australian Cold Case Reveals A Wave Of Antigay Violence. Cancel Culture Is Here. 2020 Covid-19 + U. NSW Eases Gay Blood Donor Restrictions. Birth Certificates Break From Gender Binary Norms. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and more.

Homosexuality may have evolved for social, not sexual reasons.

The argument is this: gay sex alone can’t produce children, and for traits to evolve, they have to be passed onto children, who get some form of competitive advantage from them.

These are common refrains that we hear everyday — from others, from the media, from ourselves. “Life is stressful”. Yes, life is full of challenges and stressors — deadlines, traffic jams caused by the new light rail building works, arguments with a spouse, work pressures, social anxieties, too many competing priorities, new relationships, navigating school or study — all are potential causes of stress in some degree or other.

“I’ve covered over 10 Mardi Gras events in my life and I have to say, Mardi Gras 2021 at the SCG wasn’t dissimilar in its atmosphere or energy to years past. In fact, I think the event might have even gained something by it all being held in one spot, plus the excitement of big names like Rita Ora, G-Flip and Troye Sivan performing on the night.

Capturing Sydney’s Mardi Gras is always such a highlight for our team of photographers at Getty Images, many of whom have been covering the event for many years.

Pulling together this particular collection for Mardi Gras has been such fun – each of these images are just so incredible, especially because I know how challenging it can be for our team to capture the parade in all its glory.