Gay dating app helps spread AIDS awareness in China

A gay dating app in China has received a $30m investment as it becomes increasingly popular among the homosexual community, with 15 million users to date.

In a country where homosexuality has been a taboo subject and authorities often restrict lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender (LGBT) groups, the Blued dating app has become hugely popularity without any restrictions.

In fact, some Chinese officials welcome the app because it is proving a useful tool in spreading information about AIDS prevention. Read More

Google Play takes down homophobic game that had 10K downloads

Google is being criticized after hosting a homophobic app on their Google Play store.

The app, named "Ass Hunter," allowed players to shoot naked gay men that randomly appeared running across the phone's screen.

"This developer is despicable. I cannot comprehend how someone could create a 'game' so willfully ignorant, hateful, vile and violent," said Marcus Hamilton in a review left on the Google Play store. Read more

The Economic Case for Supporting LGBT Rights

What’s the secret to convincing the world to back a movement? Figure out how it could impact the global bottom line. Economic reasoning is part of what propelled the modern women’s empowerment movement.

And now, it’s informing an emerging argument for LGBT inclusion. Discriminatory laws hinder the size of the workforce, employees' mental health, and international tourism. How could they not impact a country's GDP? Read More

Study: Pro-LGBT laws spur global economic growth

A study from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Williams Institute suggests pro-LGBT laws can spur economic growth in developing countries. 

The study used the Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation, a Dutch research tool from the 1960s that ranks countries on whether they have decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults and seven other factors in relation to rights for gays and lesbians. Researchers also relied upon a preliminary transgender rights index that ranks countries on anti-discrimination laws and 15 other measures.

The Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation ranks countries on a scale from zero to eight. And researchers concluded that a country’s gross domestic product was $320 — or three percent higher — for each point it gained on the index.  Read More 

Steve Jobs memorial torn down in Russia after current Apple CEO Tim Cook comes out as gay

A Russian group of companies ordered the destruction of a memorial tribute to late Apple founder Steve Jobs after the technology giant’s current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay last week.

ZEFS, which originally had the six-foot monument in the shape of an iPhone erected outside a college in St Petersburg in January to pay homage to the achievements of Jobs following his death from cancer in 2011, has since taken the decision to dismantle it: “After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values.” Read More

HSBC UK: Business leaders have ‘huge personal responsibility’ to come out

The head of UK banking at HSBC has criticised business leaders who stay in the closet, saying it’s not acceptable they “take for granted” the work being done by others on issues of equality.

Speaking at the third-annual ‘Out on the Street’ LGBT summit in London, Antonio Simoes, who revealed he was gay last year, said business leaders have a “huge personal responsibility” to come out. At the conference, Simoes also described himself as “the short, bald, Portuguese gay guy”, adding that being “authentic” makes him a “more empathetic and better leader.” Read More

Gay people in business: Out at the top

When American politicians, television presenters, and even clergy come out of the closet these days, it barely makes the headlines. But the corporate world is different: until Apple’s boss, Tim Cook, said on October 30th that he is gay, there had never been an openly homosexual CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

The crossing of this symbolic threshold demonstrates both how much conditions have improved for gay executives and how far boardrooms lag the rest of society. Read More

Can twitter be a force against HIV discrimination?

A project analysing tweets alongside take-up of HIV services in Brazil show social media can inform public health. Advertisers have seen the potential of social media for informing their work for years, but public health is only just looking into the potential for improving the impact of campaigns. Read More

The New Bathhouse Vending Machines That Offer Free At-Home HIV Tests

In an effort to combat increases in HIV infections, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has teamed up with FLEX Spas, a national chain of bathhouses, to install vending machines in their Los Angeles location that will dispense Ora-Quick In-Home HIV Tests.

“The new HIV self-test kit vending machines available at sex clubs in Los Angeles are a true breakthrough in access to HIV testing,” said Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, of UCLA, stating that the vending machines represent the successful partnership among researchers, community organizations and businesses.  Read More 

Apple CEO Tim Cook Speaks Up About Being Gay

While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. [...] I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.  Read More 

Thailand Hits Party Scene To Combat HIV Rates Among Gay, Bisexual Men

Bare-chested male models strutted through the glitzy ballroom in Bangkok to the beat of house music while dozens of young gay men waited anxiously, working up the nerve to have a blood test. Once touted as an HIV success story, Thailand is now faced with infection rates in its gay population comparable to those in Africa's AIDS hotspots. Read More

Facebook Apologizes To LGBT Community For Controversial Name Change Policy

After weeks of negotiation with drag queens and transgender people whose accounts were targeted as using "fake" names, the site now claims it will honor chosen names stating: "The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life."  Despite the announcement no changes have been made. Read More