The Lesbian and Gay News Summary

How children can order life-altering transgender drugs from their bedroom

“Foreign doctors are prescribing powerful sex change hormones to 15-year-olds in England without their parents’ involvement, a Telegraph investigation has found. GenderGP, an online transgender healthcare services clinic, uses a legal loophole to flout NHS rules to issue valid prescriptions which can then be used to obtain the medication from pharmacies in Britain. The sex change, or “cross-sex” hormones irreversibly change users’ bodies over the course of treatment and can also leave users infertile. An undercover Telegraph reporter posing as a 15-year old girl was prescribed testosterone – the male hormone, which is a controlled drug – after just two Skype appointments with counsellors and one Skype appointment with a doctor at the online clinic.” – Daily Telegraph

Census chiefs launch survey a month early – sparking fury among feminists who brand it a ‘dirty trick’ to block legal challenge

“Census chiefs have quietly launched the ten-yearly survey a month early, sparking fury among feminists who have branded it a ‘dirty trick’ to block their High Court case. The £900 million survey is due to be held nationwide on March 21 but the Office for National Statistics decided it should ‘go live’ online last Monday – 27 days early. Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed that campaign group Fair Play For Women had launched a legal challenge after accusing the ONS of caving in to last-minute pressure from transgender activists. The ONS now claims it is too late to bring the legal case after it uploaded the Census online last week. Dr Nicola Williams, of Fair Play For Women, said: ‘When we got the letter we were absolutely stunned. Dr Williams, whose group has raised more than £60,000 to fight the case, said she was undeterred by the ONS launching the census early and revealed that she had instructed leading barrister Jason Coppel QC to seek an urgent High Court order next week to get the guidance removed.” – Mail on Sunday

Pride festivals in Manchester and London to go ahead

“Pride festivals in Manchester and London will go ahead this year, organisers have confirmed, with Manchester Pride being an in-person event as long as the UK government’s roadmap out of lockdown for England remains on track. The two sets of organisers said the government’s plans to continue to roll out the Covid-19 vaccine and reopen hospitality venues offered certainty that the events could go ahead in some form. Pride in London, the organiser of the biggest LGBTQ+ celebration in the UK, said it was exploring a number of options including in-person events, and would announce the finalised plans for the event on 11 September “in due course”. Manchester Pride is the first pride event to confirm that an in-person festival will be going ahead, with organisers “cautiously optimistic” that the four-day festival held over the August bank holiday weekend will include the usual parade and the Gay Village Party, which takes place in the area around Canal Street.” – The Guardian

Only half of young attracted exclusively to opposite sex

“Just over 50 per cent of 18- to 23-year olds, who are known as Generation Z, say they are “only attracted to those of the opposite sex”, according to polling by the research group Ipsos Mori. For older age groups, the percentage who say they are “exclusively attracted” to the opposite sex is significantly higher, from 76% among those aged 41-54 to 81% among those 55-75. Karen Blair, an expert in the psychology of sexual orientation at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, believes young people today have simply been freed from old constraints. “The increases at least partially represent an increase in willingness and ability to come out,” she said. “Each recent generation has faced fewer and fewer external pressures to conform to heterosexuality.” – The Sunday Times

9 Cameroonians suspected of homosexuality have been arrested in western Cameroon

“We arrested them to check if they are homosexuals,” an officer in the town of Bafoussam, where the nine men were arrested said on condition of anonymity. He said seven were freed and two are still in custody, adding that they will go to the prosecutor’s office probably on Friday. And their crime? Practicing homosexuality. The officer said one of them admitted that he was having relations with the other. Alice Nkom, who defends the rights of LGBT people within the association ADEFHO, had previously indicated that seven of the nine persons were arrested Tuesday at the headquarters of the association, Colibri, whose main mission is to care for persons infected with HIV. Homosexual practices are prohibited in this Central African nation. The law provides for sentences ranging from 6 months to 5 years in prison against anyone who has sex with someone of the same sex.” – Africa News

Fry criticises Corden’s camp turn in gay role

“James Corden should have been told to not play such a “camp, podgy 1970s figure” in his Netflix musical, Stephen Fry has said following a ‘gayface’ row. The term ‘gayface’ has been used to describe the ongoing row over Hollywood’s use of heterosexual actors in LGBTQ+ roles. The row was further heightened with the portrayal of James Corden’s overtly “camp” washed-up Broadway star Barry Glickman in the Netflix musical The Prom, which critics argued played into harmful stereotypes about gay men. Commenting on the controversy surrounding the movie, Stephen Fry has said the responsibility lies with the director rather than the Late Late Show host, who identifies as straight. “I don’t want to add to the hate James Corden is receiving [for that role]. I have to say in his defence that whatever performance ends up on film is the responsibility of the director. So Ryan Murphy is at fault there, not James.” – Daily Telegraph

Government U-turns on maternity leave law for ministers that would have referred to ‘pregnant people’ 

“Tory peer Baroness Noakes led the charge, dismissing as ‘garbage’ claims the word women could not be used in the legislation. ‘It’s just not good enough to say that we have gender-neutral drafting now. ‘If this Bill passes unamended it will be yet another precedent on the statute book for the elimination of women.’ Arguing that the Bill ‘speaks the language of a metropolitan elite’, she added: ‘This is not a party political issue but it grieves me that a Conservative Government… is abandoning women.’ Government minister Lord True said the Government was willing to accept a cross-party amendment to the legislation. The change will remove the word person from the Bill and replace it with ‘mother or expectant mother’.” – Daily Mail

Why I joined the trans debate

“Starting on Monday and concluding on Thursday, peers actually talked about the ways in which changes made to be inclusive of trans people have effects on women. Arguments were made and countered, assertions tested. Opinions were expressed and reflected. I won’t even try to summarise several hours of debate among peers, but readers should know that the range of peers who spoke about the linguistic erasure of women and that conflict of rights ran from social conservatives on the Tory benches to proud social progressives from the Labour party.” – James Kirkup, The Spectator

MI6 chief sorry for ‘wrong and unjust’ treatment of gay spies

“The head of MI6 has said that its historic treatment of homosexuals was “wrong, unjust and discriminatory” in a rare public apology. Richard Moore, who took over as “C” in October, said that gay people had their careers “blighted” owing to a misguided view they would be more susceptible to blackmail. Until a ban was lifted in 1991, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people lost their jobs as spies or were not be recruited in the first place. In a video posted on his Twitter account, Moore acknowledged the issue in MI6 for the first time. He said: “Today, I apologise on behalf of MI6 for the way our LGBT+ colleagues and fellow citizens were treated and express my regret to those whose lives were affected. Committed, talented, public-spirited people had their careers and lives blighted because it was argued that being LGBT+ was incompatible with being an intelligence professional. Because of this policy, other loyal and patriotic people had their dreams of serving their country in MI6 shattered. This was wrong, unjust and discriminatory.” – The Times