Daily Archives: July 1, 2018



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MISC

Grindr For Equality, Varta Trust & SAATHII Launch One-Of-A-Kind Database for Queer-Friendly Services in India

Grindr For Equality, Varta Trust & SAATHII Launch One-Of-A-Kind Database for Queer-Friendly Services in India

As a leading platform for queer people around the world, one of the things we do at Grindr is find ways to use our technology, platform, and resources to better serve the queer community. Today, Grindr for Equality, in partnership with Indian gender and sexuality organization Varta Trust and Chennai-based not-for-profit Solidarity and Action Against the HIV Infection in India (SAATHII), launched an innovative and one-of-a-kind LGBTQ+ friendly resource database and online HIV test center location guide for India.

The spark to implement the online resource database came when Pawan Dhall, a founder of Kolkata-based Varta Trust met Jack Harrison-Quintana, VP of social impact and executive director of Grindr for Equality, at the 2016 International Aids Conference in South Africa. As a respected leader in the LGBTQ+ community and longtime activist focused on HIV in West Bengal and also nationally in India, Pawan wanted to use the local resources of Varta Trust to locate testing centers throughout the country and build a comprehensive database available in a wide variety of Indian languages, in order to be accessible to the most people. All of this fit so well into Grindr for Equality’s global mission to promote justice, health, and safety for Grindr’s 3.6 million global daily users and the worldwide LGBTQ+ community that we jumped to support it.

“It may come as a surprise to some, but India has never had a searchable online directory of HIV test centers. Before this site, if you wanted an HIV test in India, you’d have to ask a doctor, someone in the know, or know what to search for online. Nothing like this has ever been done in India on this scale,” said Dhall. “The test center locator will have an immediate impact on the sexual health of anyone in India seeking an HIV testing location.”

The resource database is accessible to LGBTQ+ identifying individuals via the Grindr app, but also anyone regardless of sexual or gender identity seeking legal aid or health service providers across India via both the Varta Trust and Grindr websites. By identifying and featuring testing sites that are supportive of different sexual and gender expressions, Grindr for Equality aims to remove much of the stigma or fear around getting an HIV test.  

“This is a historic partnership that will greatly enable and empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community in India to identify queer-friendly providers and receive the care and support they deserve,” said Harrison-Quintana.

The queer-friendly online resource database and HIV test center locator is an effort to address the numerous queries on health concerns and complaints of rights violations which the “Varta” webzine has been receiving from its readers since its start in 2013. Service providers included in the database have been validated as “queer-friendly” through a process of information referees, direct interfaces and detailed self-administered questionnaires where it has been determined the service provider has an understanding about gender, sexuality and diversity; is sensitive to concerns of the LGBTQ+ community around stigma, discrimination, violence, health and broader well-being; and possesses the skills to address the concerns of queer individuals.

Grindr users in India will see localized ads and special notifications to drive awareness of the database’s existence. Database can be accessed via the Grindr app and website in the sexual health resource center and at the Varta Trust website www.vartagensex.org/hsearch.php.  

www.tumblr.com/grindr/175382199498/grindr-for-equality-varta-trust-saathii-launch

MISC

Congratulations to Cheryll and Ron from Lakeland, Florida!

Congratulations to Cheryll and Ron from Lakeland, Florida!

When it comes to matters of the heart, listen to your best friends because they know you best! Cheryll is sure glad she listened to hers. She writes: “One day, a good friend of mine was looking through profiles with me on Zoosk. She spotted Ron and said he looks like a really nice man. So, I

The post Congratulations to Cheryll and Ron from Lakeland, Florida! appeared first on Zoosk.

about.zoosk.com/en/blog/success-stories/congratulations-cheryll-ron-lakeland-florida/

MISC

What it means when your OkCupid match has the ACLU #RightToLove badge

What it means when your OkCupid match has the ACLU #RightToLove badge

Your date’s support of the ACLU reveals a lot more about them than you may think

You’ve heard about various dating red flags: A bad tipper is a bad sign; a person’s who’s kind to their mom is a catch. And you can assume that, if your date supports the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), they’re someone who believes in civil rights for everyone.

On OkCupid, it’s easy to see if your date supports the ACLU; last month we announced the ACLU #RightToLove badge, which every OkCupid user who publicly responds “yes” to the question “Do you support the ACLU?” gets on their profile. And having the badge is a good thing; people on OkCupid who support the ACLU get 15% more likes, and have 10% more conversations, than those who don’t. (So if you want the badge for your own profile, you can answer the question here.) Plus, your date’s support of the ACLU sheds light on everything from how they feel about climate change to how important humor is in a relationship. Even more telling? What it means if your date doesn’t support the ACLU.

Your date’s support of the ACLU says more about them than their non-profit of choice.

When your date supports the ACLU

The ACLU is a bipartisan organization, but supporters generally lean more liberal politically. OkCupid data shows that singles who support the ACLU are:

2x more likely to say “hell no” to Trump.

30% more likely to believe in climate change.

2x more likely to say that a wall between the U.S. and Mexico should not be built.

Data also reveals some interesting correlations between ACLU supporters and how they feel about various non-political issues, as well as how they identify as a person and their thoughts on relationships. If your date supports the ACLU, they are:

70% more likely to say that traditional dating gender roles are outdated.

15% more likely to say that humor is very important in a relationship.

4x more likely to consider themselves a feminist.

25% more likely to have gone to graduate school.

2x more likely to say they could not date someone who didn’t support the #MeToo movement.

People who don’t support the ACLU have a few other things in common.

When your date does not support the ACLU

If your date does not support the ACLU, here are some additional things you should know:

They are 7x more likely to think guns should always be allowed in schools.

They are 2x more likely to say they don’t enjoy traveling.

They are 25% more likely to say they get short-tempered when stressed.

They are 5x more likely to respond “What wage gap?” to “Should we be fighting to close the gender wage gap?”

They are 4x more likely to have no LGBTQ friends.

They are 30% more likely to be a compulsive neat-freak.

Hey, the more you know ? On OkCupid, you do know more about potential matches because you see a profile — with hobbies, interests, and beliefs — that goes beyond just a photo. So whether you’re looking to connect over support of the ACLU or support of summer Fridays, you can find them on OkCupid today.

Find someone who digs the same non-profits you do on OkCupid right now.

What it means when your OkCupid match has the ACLU #RightToLove badge was originally published in The OkCupid Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

medium.com/m/global-identity?redirectUrl=https://theblog.okcupid.com/what-it-means-when-your-okcupid-match-has-the-aclu-righttolove-badge-184a209b6190?source=rss—-2cd59e7d4ed1—4

MISC

The Essential Date-Ready Handbag

The Essential Date-Ready Handbag

Whether you’re jumping back into the dating scene for the first time or have been dating for a while, you want to make sure that you’re totally prepared for a night on the town.  Once you’ve perfected your date-night look, you’ll need an easy-to-carry handbag to go with it. Find Your Style    An overstuffed […]

The post The Essential Date-Ready Handbag appeared first on PlentyOfFish Blog.

The Essential Date-Ready Handbag

MISC

The Moment ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Winner Aquaria Realized She Won, and Her Debut Single ‘Burn Rubber’ – WATCH

The Moment ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Winner Aquaria Realized She Won, and Her Debut Single ‘Burn Rubber’ – WATCH
Aquaria

Aquaria, the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10, released her debut single on Friday.

Writes Billboard: ‘Inspired by Lady Gaga, Madonna and Daft Punk, Aquaria sings about latex, corsets, and sports cars in a full-throttle race to the top. The track was co-written by Jesse Saint John, who has helped penned tracks for Britney Spears, Camila Cabello and Charli XCX. “I just wanted it to be very high intensity, high octane, very exciting, very sexy, very dark, very energetic.”‘

READ THIS: The ‘Drag Race’ Finale Crowns a Deserving Queen (And Kills Scores of Butterflies) – RECAP

VH1 also released a reaction video of the four finalists watching the finale:

The post The Moment ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Winner Aquaria Realized She Won, and Her Debut Single ‘Burn Rubber’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.


The Moment ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Winner Aquaria Realized She Won, and Her Debut Single ‘Burn Rubber’ – WATCH

NEWS

Pope Francis Continues to Dance Around Issues Unique to LGBTQ Faithful

Pope Francis Continues to Dance Around Issues Unique to LGBTQ Faithful

LGBTQ Catholics and advocates across the country continue to oscillate between hope and frustration under the five-year leadership of Pope Francis. The last few weeks alone have clearly illustrated how, on LGBTQ issues, the Church often takes two steps forward and one step back in the blink of an eye.

On June 16, Pope Francis’ dismissive, hurtful comments about LGBTQ families made international headlines. For the second time in less than a week, he characterized LGBTQ families as lesser than “heterosexual” families, saying, “People speak of varied families, of various kinds of family,” but “the family [as] man and woman in the image of God is the only one.”

These seemingly unscripted comments continue to hurt LGBTQ families that have chosen to practice the Catholic faith, who believe their church is loving and welcoming and that their children are worthy of the grace of God.

Yet, even as Pope Francis is denigrating LGBTQ families, Father James Martin, an advocate of inclusive theology that welcomes the LGBTQ faithful, has been invited to speak at the World Meeting of Families (WMF), August 21 – 26. This event, created by Pope John Paul in 1994, takes place every three years with the intent of shoring up the role family in Catholic life.

This year the WMF will take place in Ireland, a majority Catholic country that is progressive in the inclusion of all faithful looking to claim and participate fully in their faith. Ireland achieved marriage equality in 2015 and legalized abortion access just two months ago. Initially, advocates were skeptical about reports of Fr. Martin’s invitation to speak because so many LGBTQ events proposed for the WMF have been rejected. But we were pleased — and shocked — to learn the invitation was issued jointly by Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life at the Vatican and the Archdiocese of Dublin, entities in charge of planning the meeting. This is a great step forward, and points to our hopes that the Church’s hierarchy will continue taking steps to include the LGBTQ faithful and reject efforts to demonize us and our families.

In perhaps the most important development in recent weeks is the addition of “LGBT” as a descriptor in the Instrumentum Laboris — the document that will guide the work at the Vatican’s Synod on the Youth in October. This significant inclusion demonstrates the level to which the leadership of the Church is listening to young people who assume an active role in planning and leading the Synod.

Where do these conflicting reports leave LGBTQ Catholics? They demonstrate that the Catholic Church is a more dynamic institution than ever, struggling to remain relevant while also working very hard to stay true to its foundation.  The choice is coming for the hierarchy of the church to  either remain true to the teachings of Jesus and embrace ALL or retreat and cede Christianity to those willing to exclude members of the faithful “in the name of God.”

The heart of the Church’s teachings is love and no one should be forced to choose between who they are, who they love and what they believe.

In 2015, HRC released Coming Home: To Catholicism and to Self, the second guide in the Coming Home series “aimed at LGBTQ people of faith who hope to lead their faith communities toward a more welcoming stance, and those seeking a path back to beloved traditions.”

To learn more about HRC’s Religion & Faith Program, visit www.hrc.org/religion.

www.hrc.org/blog/pope-francis-continues-to-dance-around-issues-unique-to-lgbtq-faithful?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

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