Brisbane Powerhouse presents the MELT Portrait Prize
The winner will be announced during the second week of the festival and will be chosen by Jason Smith, Curatorial Manager of Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery and Alexandra Winters, Curator and Exhibition Coordinator at Brisbane Powerhouse.

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Big Bash League 2015: Gayle's live TV chat up line backfires in Australia
West Indies star Chris Gayle’s attempt to chat up a female presenter live on Australian television has been branded “disrespectful” and “inappropriate”. Ten Network reporter Mel McLaughlin found herself being asked out for a drink during an interview with …

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How Iggy Azalea mastered her ‘blaccent’
For instance, in “1 800 Bone,” she deploys it to describe a situation that happens regularly: — Warning: video contains explicit lyrics — That [person’s] in my chat room, my chat room be popping, Turn that chat room to a freak show and that …

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Mummers Parade denounced for 'hate and bigotry': Paraders mocked Caitlyn, gays
The annual parade, one of the oldest folk festivals in the United States, was marred by homophobic … lighten up and stop taking themselves so seriously.” John Holtz, who is gay, was marching in the Mummers Parade when he says he was verbally accosted …

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An Impossible Dream — Reflections on My Campaign for President
Over Christmas in 2009, I went to my brother’s home in Hawaii to discuss my idea to run for President of the United States with my family … I knew politics inside out, but I was gay and had not come out publicly until California’s Proposition 8 in …

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24 Hr Poll: Should Same Sex Marriage Be Legal?
New Zealand, Britain, Luxembourg, Ireland and the USA. Bermuda presently prohibits same sex marriage, however that appears set to be tested in the Courts, with lawyer Mark Pettingill preparing to take a case aiming to allow two gay people to marry in …

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ISIL Continues to Brutalize LGBT People

Post submitted by Jean Freedberg, HRC Global Deputy Director 

In a particularly brutal and inhumane act, ISIL is reported to have executed a 15-year old Syrian boy this weekend for allegedly being gay. According to ARA News, the boy was thrown from the top of a building in front of a crowd in central Deir ez-Zor, an ISIL stronghold.

This killing is another tragic addition to a string of similar executions of individuals who are accused of being LGBT. Executions are reported across ISIL-held territory in Syria and Iraq over the past three years.

“The level of brutality displayed by ISIL towards LGBT people is almost incomprehensible; yet once again, LGBT people are subject to hatred and violence because of who they are and who they love,” said HRC Global Director Ty Cobb. “These barbaric acts must not be tolerated by the international community, and we stand in solidarity with the global community in condemning them in the strongest possible terms.”

In the last two years, Outright International documented more than 30 executions of LGBT people. These crimes were highlighted in the first-ever hearing on LGBT issues before the United Nations Security Council last September convened by the United States and Chile, and the crimes were forcefully condemned by nine of the 15 members of that body.

LGBT refugees from Syria and Iraq are among the most vulnerable in the world, yet even when they escape the Islamic State, they can face discrimination and violence from other refugees.  HRC has been working to help ensure protection for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers who have joined the millions of refugees fleeing ISIS controlled territory.

HRC has advocated for better treatment for LGBT refugees who come to the U.S., and, in recent months, the organization helped publish a guide for service providers for LGBT asylum seekers; has urged the U.S. Congress to reject any legislation that could further hinder an already slow refugee resettlement system; and participated in a special convening on LGBTI refugee issues on Capitol Hill.

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'Masturbation is really healthy … relax into self love' – The Women’s Podcast
Joining that discussion were Dr Mel Duffy, head of the only master’s degree programme in sexuality studies in the country at Dublin City University; Shawna Scott, owner of Sex Siopa, Ireland’s health and design-focused online sex shop; and Hot Press …

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Tennessean to host TNInvestco live chat
In 2009 Tennessee lawmakers approved the $200 million TNInvestco program that would support small business and job creation, as well repay the state for its investments. There was also the expectation the state would recoup its investment. Early returns …

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'Born this way' beliefs may not be the key to reducing homophobia
Even among those who believed gay men are “born that way,” those who also believed … “And yet there is little scientific evidence to suggest that the categories we use today in the United States—categories that are historically quite new—originate …

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