The US Embassy in Spain advanced the celebration of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (whose official date is May 17, the day that commemorates the elimination of homosexuality from the lists of mental illnesses by the World Health Organization in 1990) in a meeting organized together with Lesworking, Diversity Consulting and LGTB Chamber of Commerce en Spain DiverSpain and in which Gayles.tv he was present The event took place in the American Space Madrid, official headquarters of the American Embassy.

Conducted by the Public Diplomacy Counselor, Kate M. Byrnes, which reinforced with its participation the commitment of the US Government in the promotion of human rights, including those of the LGBT collective. In the panel participated Margarita Alonso, General Director at the IE Foundation, Luis Abolafia, Director of International Programs of the American NGO 'Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute' and María Pachón Monge, first transsexual woman in the Spanish army.

Margarita Alonso, highlighted the importance of inclusion, visibility and standardization, as well as the need to talk about it, have references and look for allies. Luis Abolafia highlighted the value of diversity in political representation, while María Pachón Monge She offered her testimony as a transsexual woman, both personally and professionally.

Other US embassies around the world also host events to help advance the human rights of gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and bisexuals. The embassy of Madrid will raise the rainbow flag for the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia next Saturday, May 17, thus showing their support for the cause. Thus, the long tradition of Americans in a struggle for freedom, democracy and Human Rights is demonstrated, in the words of Ambassador James Costos himself.

No doubt it was a playful day and educational where the improvements and the evolution that society must follow to reach standardization and acceptance were clear.

The use of acronym It has defenders and detractors. Some believe it confuses the less informed and others who play a role policy and integration. The use of the term has now been extended LGTB to refer to individuals of a non-heterosexual orientation, specifically lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals. Its progressive implementation has also been a source of controversy, to some they seem too politically correct for trying to accommodate options that have not always exactly gone hand in hand, but there are also those who feel excluded.

Several attempts have been made to expand the number of letters. The first one was with the Q of "Queer" which was intended to encompass all those who did not feel identified, then came the 3 T of transsexual , transgender and transvestite, the P of pansexual y polyamorousthe A of strategic heterosexuals and the O of omnisexuals. In short, an authentic soup of letters that threatens to turn the term into something so unpronounceable as unacceptable by the people represented.

Some LGTB media have chosen to include the I that refers to people intersex. The recent recognition of intersexuality as a gender option in the case of Australia and the debate that has originated in other countries, endorses this option that from Gayles.tv we support. From now on we will adopt the aforementioned term LGTBI to refer to the set of non-heterosexual groups, hoping to contribute to the greater knowledge and acceptance of all options.

Montse Trillo, content director of Gayles.tv

Such is shame and contempt towards the feminine in Afghanistan, that some mothers prefer believe and make the world believe that they have had a child cutting their hair and dressing their daughters as boys. There is a deep-rooted and pervasive social perception in Afghanistan that as long as you do not raise a man, you are nothing, you are worthless. The newspaper The Courier He explains this reality to us in an article.

They are called 'bacha posh', dressed as a child in Dari language. They are invented children. Only when they reach puberty and the girls are marriageable and can get something out of them (financial aid from their husbands, etc.), do they allow them to regain their identity and become women again.

But if this were not enough, the drama goes further. They grow up enjoying the privileges of being a man in Afghanistan: they receive an education, they can go alone on the street, dress as they want, play, laugh, do whatever they want, say whatever they want. But when they reach adolescence, they lose all these privileges. From one day to the next, without further explanation than "now you are a woman, you must behave feminine, you must wear a burqa, marry this man, give him children and never open your mouth again. You must be invisible.

There is a belief that reinforces this practice. If the family dresses a girl as a child, luck will cause a mother to shine in a future pregnancy. Religious leaders turn a blind eye faced with this situation and families seem to practice it widely and accept it as a natural and healthy practice in a society clearly ill.

Some 'bacha posh' have ensured that being raised as a child increased self-esteem in childhood and served them to become independent women, with a satisfactory education, work and lives. But in other cases, the fear of only giving birth to girls and that their husbands will abandon them or take another wife, leads many women to feel an immense insecurity and fear. This feeling ends up victimizing his daughters and turning them into a 'posh pothole'. For a woman without a husband in Afghanistan is even more invisible and despicable than a married woman.

(Article via The Courier: The Afghan child girls)

Spain may be one of the most gayfriendly countries in Europe, we may believe that we are close to a normalization and acceptance of the LGTBI collective. But in other European countries they need all our support in their struggle, our struggle, because we are no longer talking about acceptance of a collective, but to respect something as fundamental as the human rights. Thus, it is important to analyze all electoral programs of the European Elections of this weekend, and inform us well of all that can affect us as individuals and as a collective.

For this reason the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals (FELGTB) and the transnational association ILGA-Europe have promoted the European campaign «Come Out" (in Spain "Give the passage«). An initiative to promote that those who present themselves to the European Parliament know the demands of the LGTBI collective and commit to defend them"Our Take the Step campaign is a guide to see who answers our concerns: from there, let each one decide." FELGTB has joined this initiative to mark in Europe a path of struggle for Human Rights. The European Union it is a necessary tool for set those advances and ensure them outside our borders. This video He explains it very clearly.

Of the Spanish candidatures who attend these European elections, 162 have signed the commitment. We talk about components of the lists of PSOE, The Plural Left, L'Esquerra pel Dret to Decide, Coalition for Europe, We can, European Spring, Peoples decide, PACMA, the Pirate Party, Party X and a candidate of the PP and other of the Andalusian Party. In total they are more than 970 applicants across Europe who have joined the initiative. If confirmed the data of the last Metroscopy survey for El País, 28 of the 54 representatives of Spain in the European Parliament would defend the manifesto "Da El Paso": 19 of the PSOE, 3 of the 6 of the Plural Left, 1 of the 3 of L'Esquerra pel Dret a Decidir, the 2 of the Coalition for Europe, 1 of the 19 of the PP and the heads of the list of Podemos and Primavera Europa.

European politics is committing itself to the LGTBI collective. We hope that all citizens respond to this commitment of the political class with our votes. The example and the union that we can demonstrate this weekend in these elections will be a clear reference for the fight for human rights, an act of visibility for everyone.

The last Sunday May 25 the elections to the european parliament. Four hundred million citizens with the right to vote were called to the polls and results in some of the countries participating in the elections They make your hair stand on end. In France la extreme right of the National Front won the elections obtaining the 25% of the votes cast followed closely by the UMP (traditional right) with the 20% of the votes.

These figures can not be separated of other more or more chilling, those recently presented by SOS Homophobie that speak of a increase of 78% of homophobic acts in the 2013 with respect to the 2012. An assault every two days, 3.517 homophobic actions denounced and the observation that injurious or defamatory statements and calls to violence against homosexuals on the internet, They have multiplied by three.

The fact that these figures are produced in a year marked in France by the debate about the approval of same-sex marriage, should not prevent us from reflecting on the importance of our vote in supporting, in each country, the organizations and parties that defend our rights. Hiding your head in the sand will not make the enemy disappear. We have a weapon called urn and thousands of bullets in the form of ballot papers. Let's make an intelligent use of all this.

Montse Trillo, content director of Gayles.tv

Anna Wintour is known to be the director of Vogue USA and for being feared by many of the designers that start in the world of fashion. If she says that your collection is not up to par, you can be sure that you have little to do this season, maybe the next one will be better ... But now there is someone else who has to fear Anna Wintour and is not a designer: the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, owner of the Dorchester Collection hotel chain.

Why? What have you done to upset the fearsome Anna Wintour? Hassanal Bolkiah established this April a new law in Brunei where do you want that anal sex be condemned with the death penalty by stoning, along with other crimes such as rape, adultery, extramarital sex etc. It seems incredible that legislating something as private as sex between a couple, whether heterosexual or homosexual, and putting anal sex or adultery on the same level with rape.

For this reason Anna Wintour, together with Glamor and other publications of the Condé Nast Group, have been proposed boycott all hotels of the Dorchester Collection group and therefore also "Le Meurice" in Paris. In this mythical hotel is where all the star system from the world of fashion during the Paris Fashion Week and during other fashion events that take place throughout the year. These were Wintour's words when asked by the New York Times about this initiative: “While I am sensitive to the potential impact this issue can have on the wonderful staff of the Le Meurice Hotel, I can't stay at this hotel without having charges of conscience".

In the same vein, the director of the Condé Nast publishing group said that "All the group's publications have chosen to participate in this boycott of the Sultan of Brunei and his hotels." Glamor editor Cindi Leive added: “I don't think this is a political issue, I think this problem goes further, It deals with basic human rights and no hotel is so beautiful that it is exempt from meeting them or keeping them in mind ".

Wintour, Leive and Condé Nast have joined other high-profile celebrities such as Richard Branson, Brian Atwood, Sharon Osbourne and Lisa Vanderpump in promoting the boycott of Dorchester Collection hotels in protest against clearly anti-gay laws of the Sultan of Brunei. The fashion world and Hollywood are showing a great commitment to human rights and LGTBI, and they have sworn to the sultan as not to back down in their laws.

The Canadian band Arcade Fire presented in mid-May a new video that promised to give a lot to talk about. The song We exist he had the actor Andrew Garfield as protagonist of this music video, recorded at the Coachella festival (California), where the band was headlining. We Exist tells the story of a young transsexual, how she feels observed and mistreated in a bar attack, as she tells her father, unable to explain why this situation is still happening.

Although its launch was quite successful on social networks, the video received harsh criticism from the transsexual community, especially by the punk singer Laura Jane Grace, who through Twitter protested to the band for not having chosen a transsexual actor, instead of a famous actor. "Dear @arcadefire, maybe making the video for a song called We Exist you should have chosen a transsexual actor instead of Spiderman. » the artist wrote, adding that she misprizes and perpetuates stereotypes.

In an interview for The Advocate magazine, the director of the video clip, David WilsonHe responded to criticism by noting that the actor's choice had been correct. When talking to Andrew Garfield and see his commitment to the cause and the passion towards the created character and towards the project, he felt convinced, as well as flattered. "For an actor of his caliber to be so emotionally involved in such a project is something very special," confessed Wilson. For his part, Win Butler, lead singer of the band, pointed out that once you post something on the internet, it has an impact on people's lives in a very powerful way. And he responded to Grace's tweet like this “For a gay boy to see the Spiderman actor playing this role is very powerful, In my opinion". Our Lady J, a trans singer who helped Garfield prepare the character, confirmed in turn that the two saw the character as a young man exploring his gender, not like a transsexual woman.

We will see how the controversy continues and how Arcade Fire defends this song now that they are in full festival season, today in Barcelona with Primavera Sound. What do you think?

Videoclip We Exist - Arcade Fire

We enter fully into the month of June, which means sun, beach and ¡the month of Pride! The team of Facebook it has been wanted to add to the celebrations and has inaugurated with the arrival of the month of the Pride par excellence a new collection of 28 stickers LGTBI (stickers) free for your chat. Designed by artist Cathy Lo, these stickers have been released this week, but will remain available indefinitely.

The social network continues to be positioned in favor of and in support of the LGTBI community. We remember the changes of February, when Facebook USA expanded to 50 the gender choice options. In addition, Zuckerberg and Facebook's own offices in Menlo Park (California) have participated in the celebrations of the Pride of San Francisco.

In his line of stickers for the Pride there is room for everyone, under the title "Love is universal": families of homosexual mothers, couples in the pride float, marriages between men, between women, older LGTBI people, sailors, rainbows, etc. These stickers really show a quite wide universe of characters.

You already have them? You just have to click the smiley face button in the Facebook chat and select the "Pride" set in the Sticker Shop. Now more than ever, share the love on Facebook!

The phrase "Cheaper than in Andorra", became popular in the sixties when they also began excursions to the "small country of the Pyrenees". The practice absence of taxes it favored the traffic of cameras, ski clothes, duralex cups and other trifles with the neighboring countries of France and Spain.

What apparently also it's selling cheap in Andorra is the dignity of some of its citizens. Recently proposed by the Social Democratic Party, it has been debated in the Andorran Parliament the law that should regulate civil unions between people of the same sex. The insurmountable obstacle has turned out to be the definition of "marriage" and footing with regard to adoption rights. The Democrats for Andorra, with an absolute majority in the Andorran Government, thus bow to the threats of the Archbishop of Urgell, Joan-Enric Vives, who declared the incompatibility of his position as Coprince of Andorra with the approval of gay marriage.

Andorra is a co-parliamentary where the head of the state is held by the Archbishop of Urgell and the President of the French Republic. A beautiful country that barely manages to shake off the tax haven label. The Andorrans do not deserve to live under the double moral of those who do not see any problem in favoring the tax evasion of citizens of neighboring countries while deny the equal rights of the LGTBI collective.

Montse Trillo, content director of Gayles.tv

Summer is coming and it's time to plan your vacation. Whatever your plan, there is certain countries that do not think about visiting, specifically 22 countries that are not very "friendly". The Spanish LGBT Confederation «Colegas» has drawn up a list of 22 countries that in recent years have punished sexual diversity, so either for safety, integrity, commitment or boycott, better not include them in your tourism options.

The most homophobic destinations have been Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Brunei (Anna Wintour has already done her thing in the Brunei case), Egypt, United Arab Emirates, The Gambia, Ghana, Jordan, India, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Colleagues have studied case by case what are the Worst destinations in the world, depending on your I hate the community gay and the persecutions he suffers. As well based on the legislations that they do not allow the LGTBI collective to express themselves freely in public and private spaces, that they imprison them, and that in the worst of cases, torture them and sentence them to death. "Traveling to a country where, for the simple fact of loving a person of the same sex, the authorities can fine, mistreat or kill you is a risk that would be stupid to take," says Javier Checa, study organizer and coordinator of LGTBI Tourism Colleagues.

Luckily the alternatives and options are endless and attractive. For paradisiacal beaches, some Greek island like Santorini, or Ibiza, Hawaii, Corsica, Formentera. For large modern and cosmopolitan cities, destinations such as London, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Berlin, New York or San Francisco, among many others. To discover lost and hidden treasures then Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico or Chile. Now that we have given you some ideas, start planning your unique, unrepeatable and, above all, worthy vacations.

There are different stories, stories in which why can not a damsel in distress be rescued by a beautiful princess or the princes find love in another prince. Jeffrey Miles, author of the book "The Princes and the Treasure" (The Princes and the Treasury), wanted both young and old to be able to read a fairy tale that included a equal marriage. It is a reality in society and must also be reflected in children's stories, as are international adoption, the single-parent family, etc.

This illustrated children's book is getting very good reviews on Amazon (the online portal where you can buy). Anyone with children has to buy the book to have it with their other fairy tale books. The story is entertaining, the lovely illustrations and the message is just as important as necessary. Only with small steps like this one can we create a stereotype-free society.

Jeffrey Miles was inspired by being in an amusement park with his children, watching one of those shows with dance and characters that relate the typical adventures of "handsome knight rescues princess and they were happy and they ate partridges." The author himself explains: «At that moment when I saw the princes and princesses together I thought, Why are there no gay princes or lesbian princesses?»Then she decided that she would create her own fairy tale, where children could find broader and more varied roles and references. Let them see that there are many more options and that all of them are correct.

Via Weerly: The Prince is gay in "The Princes and the Treasure"

Next Thursday starts the World Cup of Brazil coinciding with the month when homosexuals from all over the world celebrate the Gay Pride's day.

In recent months we have seen outings in multiple sports disciplines, but it seems that football He resists taking the step. It seems that the king sport is still the last bastion of mentalities traditional retrograde and patriarchal. Recently José Antonio Camacho was requested in an interview conducted by Risto Mejide. To the question of whether it was fear that prevented the gays who play in the division of honor from coming out of the closet, Camacho simply answered repeatedly that, in his many years of dedication to football, I had never met a gay player. That, Mr. Camacho, is called vision of the ostrich, one buries his head on the ground and does not see what he does not want to see.

Fortunately and in contrast to the denial and blindness of some, there are many bells who are claiming the right to be openly who they are. Today we want to show you a video lesson of support to all those athletes who feel the pride of their game and their lives. Because as he said Nelson Mandela "Sport has the power to change the world."

Montse Trillo, content director of Gayles.tv

Life beyond the 50 It sounds like science fiction when you are 25, something that happens to others in a parallel dimension. We pass through the street with kind old women and respectable grandparents without thinking that they often look at us from the half-closed doors of cabinets that they never dared to open. Lives kidnapped by the silence and the fear, for the lie and the understood. They are our elders, they are who someday we will also be.

We live immersed in the culture of cult to body and youth, just when life expectancy is prolonged over time. The edatism, or marginalization for reasons of age, it is accused especially in the community LGTBI. After the barrier of the 50, a double invisibility, the one that provokes homophobia and the negation of the collective victim of the syndrome of Peter Pan.

It is urgent to open a deep debate on the subject, promote initiatives such as «Survey on the needs of the LGTB elderly»That drive the Enllaç Foundation and the City Council of Barcelona. Promote leisure activities, sheltered floors, meeting spaces ... It is not about denying integration, but about avoiding painful turns to the closet in geriatrics where having to hide emotions and experiences again.

The Mayans believed that after completing 52 years we were born again after going through all the variables of experience. There is more life, it is not the end of the game.

Montse Trillo, content director of Gayles.tv

Recovering from a music festival like Sónar is not easy, especially considering the depression a posteriori knowing that until a year later you will not be able to enjoy so much good music and renowned artists together. This year Sónar has had two clear highlights: pop and women. All with a very Nordic air. The mix of captivating songs, catchy choruses and the most feminine poster of all has made Barcelona live last week a memorable Sónar.

In Sónar music is lived in abundance and the electropop dance rhythms of the French still resonate in our heads Yelle and his namesake group. At Sónar by Day we were able to enjoy the trip-hop, r & b and electronic pop sounds of Jessy Lanza. And for electronic pop like none Lykke Li He presented his more than famous mixture of languages ​​with his latest work "I Never Learn". Other girls who have conquered the Sónar stages this year have been the Swedish and mythical Neneh Cherry, the last sensation of the Nordic stage MØ, and Robyn, that allied with the Norwegian duo Röyksopp, they offered a concert of those to tell the grandchildren. The festival also presented the shows of new muses from the underground electronic scene, such as Laurel Halo, Nisennenmondai, Inga Copeland, Fatima Al Qadiri or Asma Maroof (the latter two in the project Future Brown), in addition to the national BFlecha, Cristina Checa (from Desert) and Eme DJ.

And not only the girls made us vibrate. The young French artist Woodkid It was one of the most anticipated concerts, and it did not disappoint anyone. Their orchestral arrangements and electronic structures led us to more emotional pop. Caribou It was the best of Friday night and Four Tet heated up a luxurious Saturday night, where the expected new show of Massive Attack captivated everyone, who repeated after the inaugural concert on Thursday 12.

Sónar is much Sónar and here we only do a review of some highlights. It is also difficult to explain in words the tremendous proposal of electronics that the festival offers us in only 3 days. Fortunately we already know that next year we will have more, not only for new edition, but also because Sónar also travels to Stockholm, Cape Town and new destinations like Bogota, and Santiago de Chile. So it's a matter of following Sónar around the world or waiting 365 days and reliving this already converted phenomenon legend in Barcelona.

Via Coolture Magazine: The pop beat of Sónar 2014 y Women take power at Sónar

Increasingly, work is being done to create social awareness about the experiences and transitions experienced by transsexual people and how this affects their family and loved ones. First it was a viral sensation that spread the parents of Ryland, a girl who, at a very young age, did not feel as such and her parents' struggle so that she could be what he had always been, a boy. And now from RTVE's 2, through space Documents TV, the documentary «El sexo sentido«, Where the theme of the transsexuals in Spain, with testimonies in the first person.

When we are born we are assigned a sex based on biological differences, but… what happens when a boy or a girl feels uncomfortable with the sex assigned to them at birth? ¿How this phenomenon should be managed and normalized, which from an early age manifests itself in the family environment? ¿How can you help? these children and young people and how, from society and legislation, can we accompany these people on this difficult path, where we all play a very important role? The documentary sheds light on these issues.

"Sex sense" was previewed on May 29, 2014 at the Cineteca in Madrid and was broadcast by TV2 on June 15 of the same year. The documentary analyzes what it was like before to identify and manifest yourself as a transsexual and how it is today young people feel much freer and safer to be able to express these feelings and problems of identity. This documentary not only delves into the emotional problems experienced by these children, but also highlights the legal, social and medical problems they face daily.

Small grains of sand that help create among all a social conscience of the difficulties these people have gone through and keep on going to get something as natural as being what they feel they are, that his being and his opinion go to a. You can watch the full documentary here.

Gayles.tv
Online TV

For the first time in Spain, this past Tuesday June 24, the new kings of Spain Felipe VI and Letizia received in the Palace of the Pardo within the framework of "Meeting of Solidarity Organizations" to two associations of Gais, Lesbians, Transsexuals and Bisexuals. The organizations invited to this meeting have been two of the most important in Spain: the FELGTB and the Triangle Foundation. It is the first time that the collective LGTBI is invited to an official act organized by the Royal House. And precisely for that, from the FELGTB have valued very positively this fact. In addition, many of the attendees appreciated the role of the queen, who was very cordial, approaching them, taking an interest in their situation, struggle, etc.

In addition, this invitation is much more valuable as these organizations, along with others, have asked for something similar to the executive of the government of Mariano Rajoy and they have not received an answer, while the monarch has been the first to extend his arm to the collective, traditionally mistreated and only 30 years ago he was persecuted and punished. Within this encounter the own Felipe VI He has congratulated the members of these attending organizations for being brave as they are and encouraged them to continue with their struggle.

El President of the FELGTB, Boti G. Rodrigo, has emphasized that they hope that this approach is an important step to normalize the situation of a part of the historically forgotten citizenship and that I had never before found any kind of support by the head of state, despite being a population strongly stigmatized and, often, excluded. They just hope that this real reception do not stay in a simple gesture facing the gallery.

In full preparation of the gay pride celebrations, we want to continue advancing and fighting for our rights and if we receive help from the head of state better, but if we do not continue to work hard to get a real equality.