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February 21, 2013
AP relents and says both gay and straight couples can be called 'husband' and 'wife'

Was under fire for using 'couples' or 'partners' to describe people in civil unions or same-sex marriages

Afrer a week of controversy, the Associated Press on Thursday (21 February) said it will refer to married same-sex couples in a story the same way they do straight couples: 'husband' or 'wife.'

The AP's stylebook now states that 'husband' and 'wife' is 'acceptable in any recognized legal marriage' regardless of sexual orientation. They add that 'spouse' or 'partner' may be used if requested.

October 16, 2012
Trans used for 'cheap laughs' in Irish TV advert

Campaigners call for 'dehumanizing' Meteor cell phone advert to be banned

An Irish cell phone advert which mocks and 'dehumanises' transgender people has been reported to advertising watchdogs.

The 40-second TV spot explains how it's no longer necessary to do silly things to get free internet on your Meteor mobile, listing going to a trans bar as an example.

But campaigners from the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) don't see the funny side and are calling for the advert to be banned.

'Ireland's trans community should not be used for cheap laughs,' said TENI director Broden Giambrone.

October 15, 2012
AIDS Walk LA founder blasts city of Santa Monica over bus advertising ban of non-profits

Craig Miller says ban is same kind of government 'inaction' and 'censorship' that contributed to epidemic

AIDS Walk Los Angeles founder and producer Craig Miller had a captive audience of about 30,000 people on Sunday and he wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass him by.

Miller, who founded the walk 28 years ago to raise money for AIDS Project Los Angeles and other area AIDS services organizations, finds himself at war with the city of Santa Monica.

Miller is furious that Santa Monica enacted a policy last month that banned advertisements by non-profit organizations like APLA on the Big Blue Bus, the city’s municipal bus line.

September 19, 2012
Watchdog slams gay travel firm Mantrav for misleading clients

UK’s Advertising Standards Authority’s ruling is another blow for company whose founder director, Malcolm Hardy is on police bail after harassment arrest

Mantrav International, a British LGBT travel company, has broken the rules with its online marketing materials, says the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority.

It’s the latest blow for the company whose founder director, Malcolm Hardy, is currently on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of harassment.

It comes after a year where the company’s reputation, by Hardy’s own admission, has been already been badly damaged.

July 24, 2012
Lesbian parents refused family ticket at Austrian theme park

Theme park in Klagenfurt refuses lesbian couple with two kids discounted ticket because not a straight family

A lesbian couple with two kids were refused a discounted ticket to a theme park in Austria because they weren't considered a family.

The Minimundus miniature world in Klagenfurt refused to sell the two women a family ticket despite the couple showing sellers the necessary proof that they lived together.

The couple instead had to buy two full price adult tickets and two children's tickets, reported the Austrian Times.

July 23, 2012
Australian country singer Beccy Cole comes out as a lesbian

Thirty-nine-year-old singer says she wants to set an example for her son

Australian country singer Beccy Cole will come out publicly as a lesbian for the first time in televised interview tonight.

Cole was interviewed with her two country singer friends, Kasey Chambers and Gina Jeffreys, for Australian Story, a regular program on national TV channel ABC.

‘I think for years Beccy has had this secret, that she really does want people to know about but didn’t really know when was the right time and how to do it too,’ Jeffreys says on the program.

July 10, 2012
Gay sitcom is internet sensation in Vietnam

First episode of My Gay Best Friends has over 165,000 hits on YouTube

A sitcom about three gay men sharing a flat in Ho Chi Min City has become a YouTube hit in Vietnam.

My Best Gay Friends, directed and created by 20-year-old drama student Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa, has had its first episode viewed over 165,000 times.

Khoa plays the leading role, a character also called Khoa, whose parents make him move out of the family home on his 20th birthday in episode one. Khoa then moves in with his friends Han and Ngo Xuan Nhat.

May 5, 2012
Gay student profile in high school yearbook outrages community

Pro-gay article outrages small Tennessee community, with a school board member calling for sacking and police investigation

A Tennessee high school journalism teacher has outraged the community after publishing a pro-gay article of a graduating student in the yearbook.

The article called ‘It’s OK to be Gay’, written by an anonymous student staff writer of Lenoir City High School, profiles the experiences of American gay student Zac Mitchell.

March 27, 2012
LGBT support hotline embraces digital media

The London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard adds counseling via email and online chat to services

The UK’s National LGBT helpline has expanded its free and confidential support services to include online chat and email communication.

After 38 years of providing 24-hour counselling, information or just someone to talk to, LLGS volunteers can be reached for a chat through mobiles and smart phones.

Younger people are particularly using the digital media options, since their living situation might not make it possible to carry a phone conversation about their sexuality.

March 2, 2012
Archie comic book featuring gay wedding sells out

One Million Moms protest seems to have led to spike in sales

With its very public protest, the anti-gay group One Million Moms appears to have inadvertantly help sell out the current issue of the comic book Life With Archie which features two of its male characters getting married.

February 23, 2012
Paddy Power trans ad falls at last hurdle

Paddy Power advert which asks viewers to 'spot the trans' has been pulled after a flood of complaints

A TV advert which asks viewers to 'spot the trans' at a horse race has been pulled in the UK.

The advert by UK and Ireland bookmaker Paddy Power shows women at the Cheltenham Festival - a prestigious horse race in England - and invites viewers to decide whether they are 'stallions' or 'mares'.

Yesterday, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation after receiving around 500 complaints about the 30-second TV spot, which asks viewers to speculate on the gender of women filmed at the event.

February 22, 2012
Paddy Power backs wrong horse on trans ad

Paddy Power's latest advertising campaign is 'likely to incite violence' against trans women

A TV advert which asks viewers to 'spot the trans' at a horse race is being investigated.

The advert by UK and Ireland bookmaker Paddy Power shows women at the Cheltenham Festival - a prestigious horse race in England - and invites viewers to decide whether they are 'stallions' or 'mares'.

February 13, 2012
A gay card can say a million words

The Gay Card Company is pushing the envelope with its range of greetings cards

Are you out, proud and not afraid to show it with a greetings card? Then maybe The Gay Card Company has the answer.

With designs perfect for every occasion, including birthdays, weddings and Valentine's Day, the cards are a bold but beautifully simple way to get your message across.

GSN’s personal favorites are ‘You’re so gay but I love you’ and 'Ho Ho Mo Merry Christmas'.