Philadelphia health providers recently took their knowledge of trans-affirming surgery to Argentina, The Washington Blade noted. (Philadelphia Gay News originally published the piece.) Alireza Hamidian Jahromi, MD, director of the gender affirmation surgery program at Temple University Hospital, recently traveled to Buenos Aires with Michael Metro, MD, director of reconstructive urology at Temple University Hospital, to jointly perform the first-ever penile inversion vaginoplasty in the South American country. In 2012, Argentina became the first Latin American country to pass legislation that gives its trans citizens the right to be recognized and treated in accordance with their gender identities—and the right to develop a sense of personhood associated with this experience.
In the UK, Colombian national Yosti Andres Mosquera was charged with murdering a gay British couple—Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71—whose remains were found stuffed into suitcases left at Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge and a London apartment, Metro Weekly reported. Mosquera, 34, had reportedly been living with the men in Shepherd’s Bush for months prior to the murders. Longworth was a British national, and Alfonso was originally from France, with British citizenship. Evidence in the investigation has not pointed to a homophobic motive, but the crime has still been classified as a hate crime under national guidelines.
In Ghana, lawyer/human-rights activist Martin Kpebu expressed skepticism that the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill of 2021, which Parliament passed, will become law, per GhanaWeb. His belief is based on the limited time the country’s Supreme Court has to decide on its constitutionality. Kpebu said, in part, “It will only take a miracle for it to become law. Lawyers are going on vacation and will only deal with emergency cases.”
Russian lawmakers were supposedly upset over a bank card featuring a rainbow unicorn, saying it as a form of pro-LGBTQ “propaganda,” per Metro Weekly. Lawmakers from the Russian State Duma’s Family, Women and Children Committee have called on Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, to remove the unicorn design from its specialty bank cards for children. Sberbank typically issues cards for children aged 6 to 13 with seven different designs, including the rainbow unicorn.
A final attempt to pass a civil-union bill before the end of the current session of Parliament ended July 18, as the government withdrew the bill from the agenda before the final day session began, per The Washington Blade. The bill passed through two readings in parliament with the support of leftist opposition parties, but when the opposition withdrew its support of the bill , the coalition no longer had enough votes to get it passed, as a segment of the conservative Homeland Union opposed it. Lithuania is one of only five European Union countries that do not recognize same-sex unions; the others are Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Poland.
The producers of an Edinburgh Festival play about Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans views were preparing for protests, per Deadline. Written by Joshua Kaplan, TERF imagines a confrontation between Rowling and the stars of Harry Potter over her views on transgender rights. Rowling’s posts on X (formerly Twitter) have put her even more at odds with Harry Potter actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in recent months; Kaplan sees TERF as a “family conversation” between loved ones with differing views.
In Japan, a trans woman is suing for the right to change her legal gender without first divorcing her wife, according to The Washington Blade. The unidentified woman is in her 50s and has been in a long-term marriage to her wife, who is in her 40s—and neither partner wants to divorce. While she has legally changed her name to a woman’s name, her identification still lists her as “male,” leading to uncomfortable conversations outing her trans status when she needs to show official documents.
Australian Football League (AFL) player Lance Collard, 19, received the longest suspension for homophobic behavior in league history (a six-match ban) for using “multiple” anti-gay slurs, according to PinkNews. Collard allegedly repeatedly used abusive language toward Williamstown opponents during a second-tier Victorian Football League game in mid-July—and reports that surfaced following the game say Collard uttered slurs as many as 10 times while playing for Sandringham. Given that fellow AFL players Wil Powell and Jeremy Finlayson as well as North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson uttered similar slurs during matches this year, chief executive Andrew Dillon was asked if the league “has a homophobia problem”—and he replied, “I don’t think we do but I think language of the type that has been used is not acceptable in any forum, let alone a footy field.”
PinkNews ran a profile of Catty, a “lesbian Welsh witch” who recently opened for Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park. To get the gig, Catty (who works as a server to fund her music career) and her manager emailed many people, without success. “No one replied, it was humbling, so humbling,” Catty said. “But then we found the booking agent on Instagram and I just dropped her a voice note and said: ‘I am the biggest Stevie fan, I’m a waitress, I’m fully vaccinated, I’m well-behaved.’ I literally sold myself like a dog.” And talking about a “lesbian renaissance” and the UK music scene, Catty added, “I will say, I feel we’re having it in other places. The US is doing so well. We’ve got Chappell [Roan], Renee [Rapp], Kehlani—so incredible, lesbian renaissance-ing. But here? Come on—we’re a little bit behind.”
Conversations over the tightening of protocols on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars are taking place in the wake of the recent Strictly Come Dancing scandal, Deadline reported. The new Strictly protocols were unveiled after a second dancer, Graziano Di Prima, left the show over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a partner. (Di Prima admitted kicking partner Zara McDermott and another dancer, Giovanni Pernice, left the British show following allegations by Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, who said she suffered PTSD after training with him.) All future Strictly rehearsals will now be policed by a member of production staff.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of the late gay British singer George Michael’s hit song “Careless Whisper,” George Michael Entertainment, GME and Sony Music will release the Careless Whisper EP on Oct. 18, per a press release. Available on both digital and physical formats, the EP will feature a previously unreleased live recording of the hit performed at NYC’s Madison Square Garden during Michael’s concert on July 23, 2008. The EP will also include newly mastered versions of the original single, the extended mix and instrumental. Michael wrote the song with Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley when Michael was just 17.
SXSW (also known as South by Southwest) announced its first edition in London set for 2025, according to NME. The festival marks its latest overseas venture after last year’s Sydney debut—and its first time in Europe. SXSW’s primary edition in Austin, Texas will take place March 7-15 next year. This year’s edition was filled with controversy, as dozens of artists and panelists withdrew from its line-up in solidarity with Palestine after it was discovered that the festival’s “super sponsor” was the U.S. Army.
British LGBTQ+ singer Jessie J revealed that she was recently diagnosed with ADHD and OCD, per People. She started noticing signs of both disorders after welcoming son Sky Safir in May 2023. I knew to some extent but having a baby has let’s say… exposed it a lot more. 
which was comforting in a way, as it made it feel less heavy and scary,” she wrote on Instagram. “But also in moments has made me feel like I can’t talk about it. F*** that. Here I am talking about it. Embracing it with the 
.”
Kyle Gass of Tenacious D (an act with actor/musician Jack Black) deleted his Instagram apology following intense backlash over a controversial comment about former U.S. President Donald Trump during the band’s Sydney concert, per Billboard. When asked to make a wish on stage when presented with a birthday cake, Gass replied, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” referencing a recent assassination attempt on the former president. The fallout resulted in Gass being dropped by his agent and the remainder of Tenacious D‘s tour being canceled. Even Australia’s former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was drawn into the drama, telling news.com.au, “It makes me feel sick someone would joke about violence—physically ill.” A recent Instagram post from Gass featured a video of a flight over Sydney Harbor with the cheeky caption: “Birthday helicopter ride around Sydney Harbour, hours before the storm.”
The MeetMeOnBoard app—an LGBTQ+ cruise app for queer travelers to book cruises and connect with each other—debuted last month, according to TravelPulse. Available for free download on the Apple App Store and Google Play, the app is the next phase of the MeetMeOnBoard website that was founded in 2008 by Mark den Hartog and Dale McCurdy. It was acquired in 2022 by Adam Martindale, a cruise veteran with more than 30 years of experience in the travel industry. The cruises that are currently in the MeetMeOnBoard app are being powered by Cruise Planners’ enhanced search functionalities, which means users can currently find cruises through many of the cruise lines. However, Martindale said they are already working with their developers to add charter cruises to the app.
The late gay British fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s label launched hoof boots in its McQueen Autumn Winter 2024 collection, per NDTV. The official website described the hoof boot as a margarita brown calf hair boot with a hoof-inspired round toe and horseshoe sole silhouette. The boots (priced at about $3,000) have silver-finished nail studs, and a back zip closure, and are available in brown. McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010 at age 40, founded the label in 1992.