Gender and Sexuality

Dykes Rally and March in Santa Cruz without Sponsors or Permits

pirate — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:44:37 -0400

Santa Cruz Indymedia June 22, 2008

The 16th annual Santa Cruz Dyke March took place on May 31st to increase lesbian visibility and activism. The gathering, unsponsored and unpermitted, began at the clock tower and featured local poets and musicians. After a three and a half hour rally, queers from near and far, and allies, marched down Front St. to Laurel St. and then up Pacific Ave. while spectators lined the sidewalks. read more »

Calif prepares for busy week of same-sex marriages

pirate — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:23:55 -0400

By AMANDA FEHD, Associated Press Jun 14, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - City worker Eileen Shields usually spends her days answering questions about West Nile Virus, bed bugs and other health concerns, but next week she'll be one of hundreds of volunteers at City Hall helping same-s read more »

Cuba approves free sex-change operations

pirate — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:38:56 -0400

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press June 6, 2008

HAVANA - Cuba has authorized sex-change operations and will offer them free for qualifying citizens, an official said Friday. read more »

Iraqi Women Quietly Endure Horrors of War

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 12:57:47 -0500

By Cyril Mychalejko

March 8 marks the 99th celebration of International Women's Day, a day to commemorate the political, social, and economic struggles and achievements of women globally.

This year we should use the holiday to observe and reflect on the suffering of Iraqi women, who have become invisible "collateral damage" in our country's war in this now defenseless Middle Eastern nation. A good place to start would be by picking up and reading Haifa Zangana's book, "City of Windows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance." Zangana is an Iraqi woman, journalist and activist, who was also a former prisoner of Saddam Hussein's regime. She dedicated her book to A'beer Quassim Hamza al-Janaby. read more »

Protecting Darfur's women from rape

pirate — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:18:12 -0500

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Feb 18, 2008

KALMA, Sudan - U.N. peacekeepers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks whizzed into this refugee camp. A dozen women came to meet them, bringing their donkeys, water rations and homemade axes.

It was time for one of the refugees' most perilous tasks: collecting firewood. read more »

Italy: Women protest in major cities to defend abortion rights

pirate — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:23:15 -0500

Rome, 14 Feb.(AKI) - Thousands of women were expected to protest to defend abortion rights in nationwide rallies being held in major Italian cities late on Thursday.

The protests followed a raid by police on a hospital in the southern city of Naples earlier this week, on what was thought to be an illegal abortion.

Rallies were being held in Rome, Milan, Bologna and Naples and Italian Health Minister Livia Turco was expected to attend one of them. read more »

Transvestites protest fatal raid

pirate — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:35:35 -0500

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta December 08, 2007

Dozens of transvestites and activists staged a peaceful protest at City Hall on Wednesday, demanding the city administration investigate the death of a transvestite following a raid by public order officers. read more »

Dublin: Anarcha-Feminist Magazine RAG #1 - Rape Culture

pirate — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 04:13:53 -0500

Saturday, November 10 2007 Infoshop News

Sexual violence is a huge problem in our society. Sexual assault is not something that happens to other people elsewhere but is something that has happened to a significant number of people in any community, group or setting. Yet sexual violence is rarely talked about, the extent of it is not widely known and outside the feminist movement it is seldom taken up as a political issue. ---- This article sprang from a case of rape in a community of activists which, in the various meetings, workshops and discussions that followed, forced people to try to deal with a problem which is usually hidden. read more »

Talking Dirty About Revolution: Sexual Health and Gender Inequality in Venezuela

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:16:51 -0400

By Rebecca Trotzky Sirr
Originally published at www.UpsideDownWorld.org

Though new laws guarantee all Venezuelans the right to healthcare, birth control and sexual education, poorer women disproportionately face health problems including higher rates of disease, STDs, unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Sara walks into the neighborhood clinic where I am volunteering in rural Venezuela, in a municipality of less than 15,000 people situated in the Andes mountains. Besides tourism, agriculture fuels the local economy, which is dependent on small farms. Sara visited today for her checkup. She’s 35 and has lived here all her life. "Before this clinic was here, I never went to the doctor," she explains. read more »

Italian gays plan "kiss-in" protest in Rome

pirate — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:35:35 -0400

Gay.com Monday, July 30, 2007

Italian gays will hold public "kiss-ins" near the Colosseum this week to protest the detention of two men by police for kissing in front of the famous Rome monument, gay rights groups said.

Some lawmakers said they would discuss the incident in parliament, while gay rights groups accused the police of discrimination Saturday.

There were contradictory versions of the events that led to the detention. read more »