4 MILLION VIEWS, 4 MILLION THANKS!!!!

 

4 MILLION VIEWS, 4 MILLION THANKS!!!!

In from the side, a gay rugby engaging story

 

In from the side, it is a romantic British rugby drama directed by Matt Carter, and starred by Alexander Lincoln and Alexander King.

This surprisingly moving sports-team story is slathered in sweat, streaked with mud, and dripping with sensuality. As a "B Squad" of gay athletes try to overcome inexperience and push past rivalries to score an elusive win, a secret affair simmers among them. 

Mark (Lincoln) and Warren (King) from a cash-strapped, divided gay rugby club unwittingly sleepwalk into an adulterous affair, but must conceal their growing feelings or risk destroying the club they love. Mark finds himself unable to avoid the blazing appeal of teammate Warren. 

After losing their first game, B team takes on a serious competitor to establish themselves as a committed team or else they'll be dropped. Wanting to be with Mark, Warren offers to join the B team under the guise of helping them win.

Awards:

Nominated - Outstanding First Feature at the Frameline Film Festival 2022.
Winner - Best First Narrative Feature and Best Actor at FilmOut San Diego 2022.
Winner - Best Narrative Feature Audience Award at Out On Film Film Festival Atlanta 2022.
Winner - Best Narrative Feature at ReelQ Pittsburgh Film Festival 2022.
Runner-up - Best Feature Film at OutShine Film Festival Fort Lauderdale.

Watch the trailer below:

IOC bans transgender women from female categories in Olympics Games

 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned transgender women and DSD athletes from the female category of events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and future Games.

Kirsty Coventry, the president of the IOC, said the landmark decision had been taken because “it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category”.

The IOC has also confirmed that all athletes wanting to compete in the female category at future Olympics will have to undergo a one-off SRY (sex determining region Y gene) screening to detect their biological sex. 

Coventry said the decision, which applies to elite individual and team sports, was based on science and would protect the fairness and safety of women’s sport. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition”, she said.

“The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe", she added.

The IOC said its new policy should be adopted by all international sports federations and governing bodies for events, such as the Summer and Winter Olympics. It made it clear it applies only to elite sport and not any grassroots or recreational sports programmes.

Check the new policy here.

Nightclub owner jailed for promoting LGBT ideology in Russia

 

Tatiana Zorina was arrested in Russia after police raided a nightclub. Prosecutors claimed the venue functioned as a space encouraging LGBTQ+ identity and community, which they equated with extremist activity.

This description stems from a 2023 ruling by the Supreme Court of Russia, which labelled the so-called “international LGBT movement” as extremist. Legal experts and activists argue that the vague classification allows authorities to target individuals and groups at random.

Zorina was sentenced to four years in a penal colony by a court Russia. The court found her guilty of “organising the activities of an extremist organisation”, alleging that she used a nightclub in Russia to promote what authorities describe as the “international LGBT movement”.

Zorina’s sentencing is a stark illustration of how Russia’s abuse of ‘extremism’ legislation has spiralled into outright persecution targeting LGBTQ+ people and their allies.

With Putin, Russia is a very homophobic and transphobic place, especially given the 2013 law that bans so-called gay propaganda, really, any positive mention of LGBTQ identity. 

The Russian authorities must immediately overturn this conviction and release Tatiana Zorina!!!

Bitter Christmas, the new film by Pedro Almodovar

 

Bitter Christmas is the new film by the Spanish iconic director Pedro Almodovar. Starring Bárbara Lennie and Leonardo Sbaraglia alongside Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo, Patrick Criado, Milena Smit, and Quim Gutiérrez. 

The story begins with a family Christmas gathering that, far from being a moment of peace and harmony, turns into a night fraught with tension. What starts as a seemingly normal dinner ends up bringing to the surface secrets from the past, accumulated resentments, and emotions that have been hidden for years.

In Almodovar's universe, families are never simple. They are complex, contradictory, and profoundly human. And it is precisely there that the director once again constructs a story full of emotional intensity.

Although Bitter Christmas is not an LGBTQ+ story per se, the film maintains something that has always defined Almodóvar's cinema: a free-spirited perspective on identity, desire, and human relationships.

Throughout his career, the director has been one of the key figures responsible for bringing LGBTQ+ characters to the forefront of Spanish cinema, from classics like Law of Desire to All About My Mother. Therefore, even when his stories don't directly revolve around the LGBTQ+ community, his films continue to breathe diversity, emotional freedom, and characters who live outside traditional molds.

The title itself makes it clear: this is not a merry Christmas. Almodovar once again uses the family as a stage where everything can explode: awkward glances, recriminations from the past, and truths that forever change how the characters see each other.

Watch the trailer below:

Greece's top court upholds same-sex marriage and adoption rights in landmark ruling

 

Greece's Council of State ruled that civil marriage between gay couples and adoption by such couples are constitutional, upholding law with a 21-6 majority vote.

The law was originally passed in February 2024 despite the strong opposition of the Greek Orthodox Church, thus making Greece the first Orthodox country to legalize gay marriage. The challengers argued that same-sex marriage alters the traditional concept of family and disadvantages adopted children.

The Greek top court determined that the law does not violate constitutional protections of marriage, family, maternity, or equality in Greece. The ruling stated that legal recognition of same-sex marriages and related adoption rights align with constitutional principles and European case law.

They reflect the evolution of social and moral views on same-sex relationships and the acceptance of same-sex family life, a trend that has been adopted by the majority of advanced democratic countries in Europe and the Western world.

Bravo!!

Mamdani establishes NYC Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs

 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order establishing the first-ever Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, fulfilling a campaign promise.

From securing housing to employment, the office vows to level the playing field for the community. The creation of the office comes at a time where federal rollbacks are targeting the trans community.

Mamdani installed Taylor Brown, an attorney in the Civil Rights Bureau for the New York State Attorney General, as the office's new director. Her appointment, announced at the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, is historic in itself.

With Brown's leadership, the office will oversee and implement LGBTQIA+ initiatives across city agencies that range from legal resources for sanctuary protections to ensuring agencies do not engage in discrimination based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

"I am frankly looking forward to working with our new director on seeing the many which ways that our city could stand up for queer and trans New Yorkers," Mamdani said.  

EU Court of Justice rules against Bulgaria’s ban on trans people

 

According to the EU Court of Justice, European Union member states must allow transgender citizens to update their names and gender markers on identification documents, 

The EU’s highest court ruled that Bulgaria’s ban on trans people updating their names and gender markers on birth certificates, established in 2023, violates the right to freedom of movement between EU countries guaranteed. All EU citizens’ right to freedom of movement supersedes any member country’s laws, the court said.

The Court agreed, ruling that “EU law precludes legislation of a Member State which does not permit the amendment of the gender data in the civil status registers of one of its nationals who has exercised his or her right to move and reside freely in another Member State”.

Such a restriction violates the right to respect for private life guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which, the Court said, “protects gender identity and obliges Member States to provide for clear, accessible and effective procedures for the legal recognition of it”.

The European Court of Human Rights also ruled in favour of a same-sex couple in 2023, acknowledging that Orban's laws had failed to recognise them as legally married abroad.

Ukraine Supreme Court recognizes same-sex couple as family for first time

 

In June 2025, Kyiv’s Desnianskyi District Court established the existence of de facto marital relations between Zorian Kis, first secretary of Ukraine’s embassy in Israel, and his partner Tymur Levchuk.

The case was prompted in part by the issue of accompanying the diplomat abroad. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry refused to process the partner’s travel as that of a family member, citing that Ukrainian law defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man.

The District Court applied the concept of “de facto marital relations” as a form of family life, recognizing the two men’s cohabitation as one family.

With a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Ukraine confirmed the existence of de facto marital relations between two men for the first time in the country’s history.

The Supreme Court ruled that a party that did not participate in the case and whose rights and obligations are not affected by the ruling cannot challenge the decision. The Supreme Court therefore leaves in force the lower court’s position, which established that the two men had lived together as one family, confirming the existence of de facto marital relations.

Public support for LGBTQ+ rights in Ukraine has grown steadily in recent years as the country has drawn closer to Europe, and in particular after Russia’s invasion on the sovereign nation in 2022.

One important step, but there is a lot to walk.

Support LGBTQ Ukrainians here

One year into Trump Administration, by HRC

 

After one year of the U.S. presidential elections, Trump Administration is marked by relentless anti-trans attacks and weaponizing government against LGBTQ+ people’s health and safety.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released findings from the Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey which reveals impacts, one year into Trump Administration, of attacks on LGBTQ+ visibility, health care access, financial stability, and discrimination. 

The HRC is the American’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization working to achieve equality for LGBTQ+ people, with 3.6 million members and supporters. 

The data presents a stark picture of the LGBTQ+ experience one year into this administration:

• Financial security is declining: LGBTQ+ adults are nearly twice as likely to say that their financial situation worsened over the past 12 months as non-LGBTQ+ adults.
• Visibility is slipping: More than half of LGBTQ+ adults (51.1%) report being less visible than a year ago. 40.1% of LGBTQ+ parents with school-aged children report being less visible at schools, the highest of all measured environments. 
• Outness is fading: Nearly half (47.5%) of LGBTQ+ adults report being less out somewhere in their lives over the last 12 months. This retreat cuts across workplaces (26.5%), healthcare (25.4%), and public spaces (28.3%).
• DEI rollbacks are harming LGBTQ+ workers: 57.4% of LGBTQ+ workers with employers that ended or scaled back DEI reported experiencing stigma and bias at work.

This moment demands that all of us stand proud.

Check the survey here.

Scouting America says transgender kids are still welcome

 

Scouting America pushed back on claims by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the organization would limit membership based solely on sex assigned at birth, insisting that transgender youth remain welcome in its programs. The organization currently services over 1 million youths.

“We have transgender people in our program, and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” President and CEO Roger Krone told.

The statement contradicts Hegseth’s claims that the organization is rolling back participation rules amid the Trump administration’s dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across federal agencies. Hegseth said Scouting America would “modify its policy to make clear that membership will be based solely on biological sex at birth and not gender identity,” adding that “the application must match the applicant’s birth certificate.”

Scouting America responded they remain steadfast in their commitment to providing a place for all young people to learn, grow, and thrive. In recent years, Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts of America, lifted bans on gay youth and leaders, opened its flagship program to girls, and, in 2024, rebranded as a coeducational organization.