TV presenter Clare Balding has hit back at comments by reviewer AA Gill in the Sunday Times, in which he called her a ‘dyke’, and made an official complaint to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). (more…)

Devout Christian Jennifer Keeton, a counselling student at a university in the US, has filed a lawsuit against the college claiming it tried to force her to change her anti-gay beliefs. (more…)

Mainstream US cable channel CBS has launched a new panel show hosted by former Roseanne star Sara Gilbert. The openly gay mother of two is also co-creator and executive producer of the programme, which promises audiences “a mother’s view” of current affairs. (more…)

Nepal will hold its first gay pride parade next month, according to the country’s only out gay MP. (more…)

A study by the UK Drug Policy Commission has found that substance misuse among lesbians and gay men is higher than in heterosexual people. (more…)

Friday night. You’re lusty and lonely so you pick up your phone, scroll past the takeaways and order an escort. A couple of hours later a woman comes to your house. You pay her, have sex with her, and she leaves.

No gay bars, no pick up lines, no undisclosed expectations – just sex, for cash. As a lesbian or bisexual woman would you do this? Could you do this? Would you pay another woman to have sex with you? (more…)

A cross-party coalition are demanding legal change to allow gay couples full marriage rights in Scotland, with the backing of senior church officials. (more…)

Of the most-watched programmes on TV, the realistic and positive portrayal of lesbian and gay people accounts for a shocking 0.6% of coverage, new research has found. (more…)

This weekend (24 / 25 July 2010) is the first ever ‘Festival of GB’, a queer arts festival for the North East. (more…)

A US gay rights group has received United Nations accreditation, permitting it to lobby at the world body. (more…)

Gays and lesbians living in rural areas are at risk of isolation and discrimination, a new report has shown. (more…)

A US student who was not allowed to attend her school prom with her girlfriend has won $35,000 in damages. (more…)

A gel has been developed which can reduce by the risk of contracting HIV by half. The vaginal gel, which should be applied before sexual intercourse, is the first HIV/AIDs protection available exclusively to women. (more…)

The will of a prominent 18th century lesbian recently shown in a BBC drama will go under the hammer next month. (more…)

An internet campaign has started to help ex-Big Brother housemate Shabby to re-enter the Big Brother house. (more…)

“I hate labels. I’ve worked for 25 years to rip labels off. Once you’ve slapped a label on something you no longer have to look behind it and make your own mind up.”

Author Jeanette Winterson recently gave an interview to The Guardian in which she argued against being labelled a “lesbian author”.

But is “lesbian author” still a useful and valid description for readers, asks Lorraine Douglas. Is “gay/lesbian” a valid means of categorising writing?
(more…)

Singer Janelle Monae has spoken out about rumours she is a lesbian – by claiming that she only dates “androids”. (more…)

Thousands of demonstrators have protested against plans to legalise same-sex marriage in Argentina. (more…)

Northern Pride, the North East’s biggest gay pride event, takes place this Saturday (17 July 2010). (more…)

A procedure that deletes a single gene in female mice at the embryo stage can make the rodents attracted to other female mice, scientists in Korea have claimed. (more…)

North Wales will hold its first Mardi Gras in spring 2011. (more…)

Two gay asylum seekers who said they faced persecution in their home countries have won the right to stay in the UK, the Supreme Court has ruled. (more…)

This week’s heroine is: Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

Also known as: Magalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon (her birth name) or Frida Kahlo de Rivera (after she married, divorced then remarried the Mexican painter Diego Rivera).

Not to be confused with Salma Hayek, who played Kahlo in the 2003 movie Frida. (more…)

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan has been sentenced to 90 days in prison by a court in California after violating the terms of her probation from a 2007 case. (more…)

The Scottish Adoption Association has called upon same-sex couples not to be discouraged from starting a family. Chief Executive Margaret Moyes asked the lesbian and gay to ignore the negative publicity stirred up by tabloid magazines, insisting that she wants “a significant increase in gay adopters”. (more…)

A guide to help prospective students discover how gay-friendly every university in the UK is has been released today (6 July) by gay rights charity Stonewall. (more…)

Tempestuous Big Brother housemate Shabby has voluntarily left the house.

In an interview following her departure, Shabby said the turning point for her was when she was called a “thundercloud of doom” by Nathan. (more…)

Despite a small number of Christian protesters, there was a strong faith group presence at London Pride this year. (more…)

The city of Montreal in Canada has launched a competition to find the worldwide ‘queer of the year’. The winner will take part in Montreal’s Pride Parade and enjoy a VIP treatment package worth $4,000 CAD. (more…)

This week’s heroine is: Getrude Stein (1874-1946)

Also known as: the author of Tender Buttons, an influential art collector, and mentor to Ernest Hemingway (more…)

Google has begun to pay its gay staff more than its heterosexual employees, to compensate for the higher taxes they have to pay. (more…)

Doctors have approved a motion backing a call to ban the use of “conversion therapy” on the grounds that it is harmful and discredited. (more…)

The UK’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the coalition government to show true commitment to the LGBT community. (more…)

Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister, has stated that “marriage is between a man and a woman” and that she does not plan to alter her country’s laws. (more…)