Just last month, Kristen Antoinette Gray, an American tourist, and her girlfriend were deported from the Indonesian resort island of Bali after her tweet that celebrated the island as a low-cost and queer-friendly destination went viral. The couple had arrived in Bali in January 2020 and ended up staying through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent years, same-sex relations, activity, and marriage have been legalised in a number of countries (nationwide or some parts) such as in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and New Zealand, among others.A rainbow flag, which is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) pride and LGBTQ social movements, would be waved at pride parades carried out in different parts of the world.However, despite the increased visibility of the pride movement, LGBTQ+ peo

Outraged over ongoing discrimination in Myanmar, Myo Min Tun decided to stand as the first openly gay election candidate in a country where same-sex relations are illegal.His decision to enter the political fray came after transgender friends told him how they had suffered police harassment.The officers allegedly forced them to remove their bras and kneel in humiliating positions before touching them inappropriately, Myo Min Tun told the media. "This was a violation of their rig

A United Nations (UN) rights expert called Wednesday for a global ban on "conversion therapy" aimed at changing the sexuality of LGBT people, calling such practices "degrading and discriminatory".Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, made the call as he presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.In a statement, he said such practices "inflict se

Human rights are fundamental to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, or religion. However, due to the diverse cultures and varying political structures in Southeast Asia, tackling human rights issues remains a major hurdle for the region. In the wake of the pandemic, human rights issues have been highlighted by authorities and rights groups around the world.

A Malaysian man has launched the country's first legal challenge against Islamic laws banning gay sex, a test case supporters said Wednesday could help combat growing persecution of the LGBT community.He was charged last year for allegedly attempting to have "intercourse against the order of nature", and several others in the same case have already pleaded guilty and were caned as a punishment.Critics say the climate is worsening for the gay community in Muslim-majority Malaysi

Andin is haunted by memories of being forced into an exorcism to "save" her from being transgender - a ritual that could become mandatory for Indonesia's LGBT community if a controversial new law is passed.For two decades she has endured harassment and abuse as her family desperately tried to "cure" her.

LGBT activists in Myanmar campaigning to decriminalise same-sex relations are urging thousands of people to paint their little finger pink as they try to highlight the issue ahead of elections later this year.Although space is opening up for the LGBT community in the conservative country, same-sex relations are still illegal, a legacy of former colonial power Britain.At the "pink pinky" campaign launch on Wednesday - held ahead of a Pride party in Yangon this weekend expected to att

A rom-com about a lesbian flight attendant and a romance in a gay spa are among the shows featured on Asia's first LGBT-focused streaming service, which is pushing boundaries in an often highly conservative region. GagaOOLala brings more than 1,000 feature films, shorts, web series, and documentaries to people across Asia, where censorship and traditional attitudes mean there has been little in the way of gay content in the mainstream media. After launching in 2017 in T

A brief kiss between two women in the new "Star Wars" movie was cut from the version released in Singapore, local media said."The Rise of Skywalker", the conclusion to the nine "Star Wars" films that stars Daisy Ridley, was released in the Asian city-state on Thursday.The film contains a brief scene where two minor female characters share a kiss – but the moment is omitted in the version screened in Singapore, according to Yahoo Lifestyle SEA.The news site report