June 2010

Will you be attending the Gay Games in Cologne? If you haven't yet decided, you might do this after reading the latest news. And if you've got time on your hands and want to get more involved, why not sign up as a volunteer?

Why would we mention the football World Cup in a political column? And why medical articles? Well, we won't tell you here, you have to continue reading...

So what do you do when you feel as uncomfortable in the clothes that make up my wardrobe as I do, in the ones that make up entire summer wardrobes in the closets of my friends? Where do you shop, how much clothes do you have to weed through on the racks until you finally find something you’d consider wearing, when would you just give up and walk over to the men’s side of the store?

Last Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement in the case of 'Schalk and Kopf v. Austria' and ruled that Austria did not breach Article 12 (right to marry) by not allowing a same-sex couple to marry.

As the Gay Games draw ever closer, names of participating athletes are announced, and with them can come a challenging and often danger-ridden background.

"Imaan Library" is an online library, an archive of all kinds of different resources for the Muslim LGBT community or for anyone who's interested in what the Islam has to say about homosexuality.

There is something about French film-makers, Sophie Laloy included; they seem to have an innate understanding of the words between the lines, blending unexpressed emotions and mood into a seductive web.

Here is your weekly overview of everything that happened and is about to happen in the world of European lesBian entertainment. We'll keep you up-to-date on all the latest events and movie releases, what's been happening in TV land and who did what to whom.

Peccadillo Pictures in the UK have separated the wheat from the chaff in a great collection of little films called "Here Come The Girls 2". There are nine films on the disk, all but one of which are interesting and will have you chatting over your popcorn. The girls of Gaelick even give two copies away! Check out the full article to see how you can win.

Friday afternoon means Video of the Week here at eurOut. This time we have another German song for you.

Turkey has been trying to become a member resp. a member candidate for the European Union for ages. Among the things they need to improve is the human rights situation - so what is the status of their LGBT rights?

Studying LesBians is a monthly column about recent and not-so-recent research on lesBians and the LGBT community as a whole. This month I want to discuss a study published a few weeks ago about the existence of Gaydar.

Several rulings prove again how important it is to have existing legislation for all kinds of gay parenting.

The Dublin LGBTQ Pride Festival has launched in The George on June 18th. Here you will find the full listings of every event being run throughout the Pride festival.

From the 22nd of June to the 29th of the same month, Milan, Italy, will be home to the 24th edition of MIX, Italy’s main gay, lesbian and queer culture festival.

The sun is out, the strawberries are in the shops and soon kids will be playing tennis on the streets. Yes, people, it's Wimbledon time. As it's a World Cup year, the telly has been full of sweaty males, which is fine if you're into that kind of thing. For those interested in sweaty females, Wimbo is unmissable.

The government cares about LGBT equality. That's what Theresa May said, when she presented the new workplan for LGBT equality. What about herself, does she care about it too? Does she care enough to make those words come to life?

This week eurOut features as our Website of the Week writers blog "Our Big Gayborhood". Our Big Gayborhood launched only a few months ago and is already a thriving place of queer writers.

Hi!

I'm going to be in Berlin this July.

Would be great to meet & chat if u are around!

Also, tips on the lesbian scene are welcome!

Please, feel free to contact me!.

Have fun,

Clara.

Through the years, I was never introduced to any amazing women from the country, so here’s my chance. Not just your ordinary run-of-the-mill French women either, oh no, these are out French women!!

What does one actually consider to be offensive? For one person the word “dyke” can be very offensive, while another owns the word and doesn’t mind being called that – they’re reclaiming the word and take away its abusive tone. Should we (people) let others decide for us what we find offensive or not?

Here is your weekly overview of everything that happened and is about to happen in the world of European lesBian entertainment. We'll keep you up-to-date on all the latest events and movie releases, what's been happening in TV land and who did what to whom.

Hi!
I'm going to spend a week in norway (22-29th august).
I plan to spend 2-3 days in Oslo, and the rest is not decided yet... so any tip is welcome!

Who is your favourite lesbian author? And why? Do you like the way she writes? Do you like it simply because it has a lesbian theme or character? Would you read a book with a lesbian theme by a straight person? Is a novel considered to be lesbian literature when the author is lesbian or when it has a lesbian character or plot? Or must it be both?

This time we go to Spain for a music video with a lesbian theme. In their music video for the song "Se" by Spanish band Bizarre we can see two girls in love. One gets into a car accident and the other comes to the hospital to take care of her. However, soon we find out it isn't really her girlfriend when her angry girlfriend shows up as well.

Sat here watching the France - Mexico game (come on Mexico! - i'm half Irish) and i cant believe there isnt a forum already on EurOut for all us lesBian footy/soccer fans chat about the games and the tournament in general!

You would think that the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Ireland has better things to do than continue wittering on about gay rights issues. But no. Their strategy – as it is for the Vatican downwards – continues to be to try to distract from their child abuse issues by attacking equal rights issues: the gays (and women’s control over our own bodies).

Have we ever mentioned the Queen before? We bet that it's a first, and on top of that in a positive context. Read about elections and they made it into this edition of LNS, more about gay marriage, an interesting German court ruling and more...

Pride is the highlight of the gay calendar so while parading down Dublin's city centre with your head held high, why not march with Marriage Equality and LGBT noise and make a statement while you are at it? Whatever you do for the day, make sure the message is clear: civil marriage will legally recognise and protect LGBT families, civil partnership will not.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for any woman in the media spotlight genuinely coming out and increasing visibility, but for some reason I just don’t think that some shared kisses between women can even remotely be classified as such.

Does Slovakia follow the recent trend of either steering more right or do we get to see a new approach?

One, especially when not being a French speaker, would think that all LGBT persons in France live in Paris, which is definitely not true and proven by the number of persons who showed up for Lyon Pride.

Very recently bisexuals in Spain got the first website that caters especially to them. ZonaBi is a portal that gives a nice overview of other websites and resources of interest for bisexuals.

A newly published study conducted in America shows that children raised by mothers in planned lesbian families do significantly better than their heterosexually raised peers. It’s a bold statement to make and one not made lightly.

Results of the Dutch elections were known quickly enough, who will be part of the government coalition will take more time. Especially as there are many who preferred that one of the winners wouldn't be part of it.

Here is your weekly overview of everything that happened and is about to happen in the world of European lesBian entertainment. We'll keep you up-to-date on all the latest events and movie releases, what's been happening in TV land and who did what to whom.

We don't hear that often from Romania, and as their Pride Parade is one of the few in Eastern countries that took place without any unpleasant interruptions, we thought it was about time to take a closer look at the country's LGBT rights.

Physical strength is not the only thing that makes characters strong. I am also talking about the back stories, the ‘back bone’ if you will, that makes them strong. In this instalment I’ll go through several female game characters that are exactly that.

If you think Katy Perry was the first to have a go at pretending to like girls, you must've missed the Russian girls from t.A.T.u. who, in the early 2000s, made lesbianism cool.

LesBian characters on TV and in movies are few and far between. Cool and/or interesting characters are even more scarce. Here are some lesBian characters from the recent past who I though were worthy of our viewing time.

IGLCC’s International Business Equality Index is a measurement of the performance of multinational corporations in relation to Diversity and Inclusion issues specifically focusing on LGBT communities in the countries where they have offices. It serves as an indicator of the diversity leadership taken by global corporations in the local communities in which they serve.

On Friday, Reuters reported that a number of countries in the United Nations have tried to block the IGLHRC’s status as an accredited organisation at the UN. Accreditation allows organisations to make representations to the UN on human rights issues within their expertise.

From the official website: "Based on the lives and loves of four young friends, this series boldly goes where no other has gone before – between the sheets and into the minds and hearts of unapologetically queer women living in middle America."

Portugal is a very catholic country and yet despite voices from its own church and from the Pope they didn't back down and opened marriage to same-sex couples this May. Read about the events and the first couple to marry...

In a completely random order, check out these seven out ladies from Germany who I think you should know!

This week eurOut features as our Website of the Week Lez Get Real, one of the websites to check out if you want to keep up-to-date on LGBT news.

Three days of nonstop entertainment in the heat of the summer sun. Expect women, live music, women, extreme sports, women, drinking, women, dancing, women, camping, and, oh, did we mention women? Seriously, what’s not to love?

Vienna Pride lasts almost a month and it not only caters to clubbers and music lovers but also to those interested in politics and history.

Here is your weekly overview of everything that happened and is about to happen in the world of European lesBian entertainment. We'll keep you up-to-date on all the latest events and movie releases, what's been happening in TV land and who did what to whom.

The drama follows Anne Lister’s complete love for Mariana, who holds such power over Anne that she can do no wrong in Anne’s eyes, no matter how often Anne’s friend Tib warns her of Mariana’s unworthiness of Anne.

This week our Video of the Week is "Te Amo" by singer Rihanna, who has teamed up with French model Laetitia Casta to bring us a lesbionic music video.

A lot of people have come to define ‘out’ as something you can be in different gradations. Out to yourself, out to your parents, out to your friends, out to your entire family, out to the world. It’s like a scale, and ‘out to the world’ is the ‘best’ place to be on the scale. Or isn't it?

This week I am going to continue my journey through the world of games to give you information and lots of visual goodies about the lesBians in games.

In this edition of LesBian Life, I’d like to talk to you all about having kids. Not so much about the actual birth or the influence on your life after you have them, but about the time before... and maybe a little after.

Homophobic attacks are still daily news, why would someone want to win an award for homophobia and McDonalds France air a gay spot or don't they?

Ministers resign regularly and are replaced without much trouble. Bundespräsident Köhler resigns and will always be remembered as "the Bundespräsident who resigned", which could be one of the nicer names.

It's time for the newest version of the eurOut.org magazine and this time we have an interview for you with none other than Michelle Penny of "Queeried"!