Morgan Tsvangirai has been criticised by President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party after telling the BBC that “freedom of sexual orientation [...] is a human right”. (more…)

The city’s eighth annual festival opens on 1 November with the theme of ‘Cruising For Art’.

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Hundreds will gather in Trafalgar Square from 8pm on Friday 28th October to take part in a two-minute silence for victims of homophobic hate crime. Similar vigils will also be taking place in Brighton, Kettering, Norfolk, Norwich, Reading and Stoke. (more…)

True Blood star Evan Rachel Wood has revealed how she felt “terrified” about her sexual orientation because no-one would talk about bisexuality. (more…)

Schoolteacher Elly Barnes topped the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List this year, joining Jessie J, Clare Balding, Sue Perkins, and Heather Peace in the Top 10. However, the list remains broadly male-dominated, with women occupying less than a third of the 101 places. (more…)

New research from the United States suggests that most women experience same-sex attraction. (more…)

The new website lists jobs with companies such as Barclays and BP who are members of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.

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Pride Radio North East has launched a new radio show run by lesbian and bisexual women, for lesbian and bisexual women. (more…)

Councillors from all parties in Reading unanimously backed a motion to provide local charity Support U with accommodation and funding. (more…)

On 21st and 22nd October a collective of lesbian bands and musicians will be recording a song at Dean Street Studios in London. The song will be released in January 2012 as a digital download and proceeds raised will be donated to UK charities that aim to prevent homophobic bullying. (more…)

It has become a cliché at weddings, writes Daniela Baker. A teary-eyed bride saying she married her best friend. It’s a romantic notion that two people are so much in tune with one another that they want to be together forever. Many will scoff and close the door on ever harboring romantic thoughts for a friend, while others will more than entertain it. (more…)

A lesbian couple in the United States are facing media scrutiny after agreeing to provide their 11-year-old daughter with hormone blockers. (more…)

The United States Senate has confirmed out lesbian Alison Nathan as a federal judge in New York’s Southern District. A Republican backlash threatened the appointment just hours before it was due to take place. (more…)

The force is displaying the stickers at front counters in a bid to make LGBT victims feel more comfortable when attending a police station to report a crime.

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Fey indie twins Tegan and Sara have announced the release of Get Along, a new CD/DVD live album due for release worldwide on 15th November. (more…)

A new report has indicated that lesbian, gay and bisexual inequality is severe in schools and that homophobic bullying is rife in Northern Ireland.

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Ministers have announced plans to slash aid for African countries with a poor LGBT rights record. (more…)

The Palikot Movement has gained 10% of the popular vote in Poland’s parliamentary elections. The new centre-left party, a supporter of LGBT rights, now includes the country’s first gay and trans MPs. (more…)

Up to three thousand people joined a UK Uncut demonstration against the government’s plans for NHS reform yesterday. A spokesperson for the group described the protest as the “biggest act of mass civil disobedience against the cuts so far”. (more…)

Four men have been found guilty of the murder of a gay woman in Cape Town. The conviction comes after a lengthy five-year court battle. (more…)

You’re hanging out at a straight bar, or fundraising for an animal rescue centre, or queuing for Eliza Dukushu’s autograph at a Buffy the Vampire convention, writes Siobhan McGuirk. You’re chatting to a really nice girl, waiting for the chance to indicate your Sapphic persuasions. But the pleasantries are dragging on.

She’s steering well clear of useful seguing topics like dating history, and you start to worry you’ll never be able to drop the hint. It’s so frustrating! If only you could roll up your sleeve and nonchalantly turn away, dispassionately staring into the middle distance while she glances down to catch sight of the explicit announcement, writ large on your arm, that says: “I boink women”. Yeah, right, if only…

Well, ladies, your prayers have been answered! A traditional Maori practice known as “tattooing” has swept the world, attracting a dedicated following from all walks of life; from celebrity pop stars to religious leaders. Each and every one of them is saving valuable conversation time by simply flashing a bit of skin and letting their marked flesh do the talking.

To celebrate this new craze, here are our top 5 suggested symbols for straight-to-the-point declarations of sexuality: tattoos that say, with varying degrees of subtly, “I am a lesbian”. With just a few needle pricks and a touch of permanent ink you too can make coming out even easier than staying in!

5. The Labrys

A subtle choice, this discrete yet powerful symbol will be recognised by four types of people:

• Educated women who love women
• Dedicated 1970s feminists (a great number of whom will be women who love women)
• Anyone who has seen the film Bound more than once (a slightly less sizable proportion of which will be women who love women)
• Anyone with more than a passing interest in Cretan / Minoan history and mythology (which, statistically speaking, must contain at least some number of women who love women)

So, with the labyrs you’re on pretty stable ground if you don’t want to be too obvious. If any unwitting person you don’t want to come out to asks what your tattoo means, you can simply shrug: “Oh, it’s just an axe”. Curiosity satiated, conversation over. I mean, who doesn’t understand the appeal of having a good weapon-come-harvesting-tool on their bicep?

4. Nautical / Five-Point Stars

Stars of all varieties are very popular in general and neither nautical nor five-pointers can be regarded the province of lady lovers alone. Punk rockers and members of the armed forces – sailors, for the obvious reason (that they just love making wishes!) – cite their own roots and reasons for them.

But lesbians can also stake a historical claim to the design, and when you see a star tattoo worn on the wrist, there’s a good chance you’ve just met one of the team.
In the 1940s and 50s, surreptitious lesbians seduced other similarly inclined ladies by simply slipping off their watch to reveal their star.

Now, women wishing it were still that easy to pull have propelled the design to stratospheric popularity. Thick, black, outlined numbers are in, and increasingly spotted on upper-backs and shoulders – which, be warned, are harder to conceal with a watch.

3. Interlocking Venus Symbols

Ancient civilisations make another contribution to our Top 5 with the fêted symbol for the goddess and planet Phosphoros (Greek) / Venus (Roman), – derivatives of the symbol have been used to signify the female sex for thousands of years along with the symbol for Mars / male.

Now, an ever-increasing number of variations that cock a snook at the gender binary-fixated scientific establishment have entered common usage and have the makings for potential body art.

Keeping it simple and to the point, interlocking Venus symbols are beloved of lesbians around the globe. It represents two women, together. As in, TWO WOMEN, TOGETHER. Oh yeah. Pretty damn sexy.

2. The Rainbow Flag

The sheer versatility and many layers of the rainbow take it so high in our chart, as this brilliantly innovative pattern can work as a stand-alone message – nicely gesturing towards gay liberation as well as your self-identification – or as an accent to countless other designs. What if you want to say: “I love terrapins AND I’m gay”? No problem. Give that reptile a rainbow shell and you’re away!

So, if you absolutely can’t abide the idea of being mistaken for a non-gay star-spangled rock chic or symbolic planetary masturbation fetishist, a rainbow fill can provide an emphasising, and not to mention stylish, note to both Stars and Interlocking Venuses. A splash of colour and you leap from “gay” to “really gay”.

1. The photorealistic upper-arm vagina

Top-spot goes to the one design that a rainbow fill cannot enhance – that would just look bizarre – the quite possibly unique, photorealistic upper-arm vagina, or PU-AV.

Only for those ready to throw caution – and good taste – to the wind, this is the Valhalla of lesbian body art. It is the most explicit you can be, aside from having the words “Muff Diver Extraordinaire” inked across your face, and only slightly less classy. Naked and copulating women are another popular option, but that’s still a step down from positioning an image of female genitalia on your inner upper arm just so you can pull this pose.

If you do go with this design, be wary of unplanned vest-wearing / stretch-yawning combos at children’s parties, funerals and job interviews. So, the choice is yours, and we leave you with the disclaimer: Fashions – like punch-lines – fade faster than tattoos. Brand yourself with caution.

LGBTQI activist group Queer Resistance are planning a “pink bloc” at the UK Uncut demonstration “Block the Bridge, Block the Bill” this weekend. Attendees plan to voice their opposition to the government’s proposed NHS reforms during the protest. (more…)

You’re hanging out at a straight bar, or fundraising for an animal rescue centre, or queuing for Eliza Dukushu’s autograph at a Buffy the Vampire convention, writes Gina M. Corkibush. You’re chatting to a really nice girl, waiting for the chance to indicate your Sapphic persuasions. But the pleasantries are dragging on. (more…)

The 9th annual UK convention for fans of The L Word is taking place in November 2011. The convention will feature appearances from Kate Moennig (Shane), Leisha Hailey (Alice), Elizabeth Keener (Dawn) and Alicia Willis (Cindi). (more…)

The government of Seychelles has indicated that it will take action to recognise lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans rights following pressure from the United Nations. (more…)

“Dear Sappho. My girlfriend is causing problems by being jealous of me spending time with my best friend. (more…)

The Prime Minister urged fellow Tories to back gay marriage during his keynote speech at the Conservative party conference yesterday. (more…)

London’s First Out Cafe-Bar is due to close on the 29th of October following an increase in rent and other changes to the lease for the property. (more…)

Some lyrics from ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ have been changed by the lyricist following a request from a minister officiating at New York weddings.

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The Home Office has announced that same-sex parents in the United Kingdom will be recognised as such on their children’s passports from 2012. (more…)

Around 40 people were detained in the Russian capital at the weekend following a confrontation between LGBT demonstrators and a homophobic counter-protest. (more…)

The Home Secretary has called for the abolition of the Human Rights Act in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph. (more…)