World
Even the most authoritarian governments can’t fully erase us
LGBTQ people can find representation in podcasts, anime, books
There were two events that happened simultaneously that deeply changed my perspective on mass culture.
The first was the Russian government’s raid on one of the country’s largest publishing houses that printed LGBTQ-themed books, among many others. Not only were the books destroyed, but at least 10 workers were detained as part of a criminal investigation into their alleged “involvement in the activities of an extremist organization,” including “participation” in and “organizing” such activities in their official capacity. In reality, their “crime” was printing books with LGBTQ characters—something that has become semi-prohibited in Russia today.
The second event was much smaller and far more personal. That same day, I was listening to a Russian true crime podcast about Jeffrey Dahmer. What struck me was the unusually nuanced understanding—at least for Russian media—of how homophobia shaped Dahmer’s life. The podcast acknowledged how unsafe it was to be gay when Dahmer was growing up, and how his inability to form stable relationships in the 1980s contributed to his warped, tragic path. They made it clear: this wasn’t an excuse, but an explanation rooted in systemic issues. Even more surprising, another podcast episode I listened to included hosts apologizing for using outdated or offensive terms for gay people when discussing both victims and perpetrators. One host even commented on how LGBTQ victims are often treated as less important and how perpetrators targeting them often escape justice. Both podcasts were made just by two enthusiasts that work for donations but have dozens of thousands of fans. They sometimes hold conversations that would be censored on official TV—and are now impossible in traditionally published literature.
Why is this important? In a country where LGBTQ discourse is banned, and where accusations of “extremism” are increasingly used against queer people, there are no Pride events. LGBTQ-related conversations are absent from academia. Books with queer characters are censored or destroyed.
But something else exists—something less controlled: grassroots internet content. Educational or entertainment-based, these podcasts and YouTube videos can spark serious discussions, challenge state narratives, and even become a form of quiet protest. This is not what the government is targeting. They’re focused on censoring an official translation of political thriller like “Conclave” to erase the word “homosexual,” or banning a novel about a gay boy at summer camp. Meanwhile, everyday creators in small studios—who don’t even focus on LGBTQ issues—still find ways to talk about homophobia and its impact. Nobody is monitoring True Crime podcasts. Or anime forums. Or fan-fiction websites.
At the end of Pride month, many LGBT people in the West express frustration with how commercial and shallow Pride has become.
“Pride is supposed to be a protest, but here we can’t talk about anything serious. It’s just one big, overwhelming show—and it’s not always inclusive,” one of my friends told me.
That’s why these quiet discussions around LGBTQ topics may be more important than we think.
Another friend of mine, who has lived in the UK for 10 years, had no idea that the UK had anti-LGBT legislation in its recent history. He didn’t understand why queerness needed to be celebrated—he saw it as “propaganda.” Until I explained the history to him.
That’s why history programs—whether about Alan Turing or Jeffrey Dahmer—provide context that is often missing. Of course, we must be careful not to sensationalize. And we have to acknowledge that most of these podcasts and documentaries are based on Western — primarily American, often using Netflix content as a main source of information — even if they are re-told by local podcasters and authors. That makes it even more important for filmmakers and streaming platforms to understand the weight of their influence. Stories with queer characters aren’t just consumed in the U.S.—they’re retold, translated, and reinterpreted in places like Russia, Iran, or Malaysia. There, interest in WWII, true crime, or celebrity gossip might be the only culturally “safe” way to talk about LGBTQ lives. And that’s a huge responsibility—one that I doubt platforms like Netflix are fully aware of.
But it’s not just about Western media.
People looking for escapism still find meaning in anime lore or yaoi fan-fiction. I was never into anime fandoms, but as a late millennial, I understand the importance of LGBTQ representation in those spaces. Yaoi, at its core, is a genre about gay relationships.
A friend of mine, a trans woman from Donetsk, Ukraine, told me that when she was growing up, yaoi fan-fiction was her only window into non-hypermasculine sexuality. She learned a queer model of relationships from it, and later it helped her accept herself as bi and trans. Yes, Yaoi stories often fetishize gay people and perpetuate stereotypes—but what other options did she have? What else was available to young queer people trying to understand themselves in places where LGBTQ conversations are taboo?
As I prepare to attend my local Pride this week, I’m thinking about how many different ways there are to celebrate Pride—beyond just marching in the street. For some, it’s about reclaiming their identity in private. Finding representation in a podcast, an anime forum, or a book they secretly downloaded. Pride can be deeply personal. It can be a year-long process of unlearning shame and discovering self-worth—not just a month-long party.
And that gives me hope. Because in the internet age, even the most authoritarian governments can’t fully erase us.
World
This year’s IDAHOBiT to highlight democracy
Criminalization laws, US funding cuts among global movement’s challenges
Activists around the world on Sunday will mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
The IDAHOBiT Advisory Group — which includes 18 LGBTQ and intersex rights organizations around the world — in a press release notes IDAHOBiT events are expected to take place in more than 60 countries. Advocacy groups are also using IDAHOBiT to highlight discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity and other LGBTQ-specific issues.
Caribe Afirmativo, a Colombian advocacy group, on May 8 released a report that notes one LGBTQ person was reported murdered in the country every 32 hours in 2025. Caribe Afirmativo also said the Colombian government has not done enough to address anti-LGBTQ violence.
“The evidence is clear: violence against LGBTIQ+ persons in Colombia does not begin with homicide, but with tolerated prejudice and ignored threats,” reads Caribe Afirmativo’s report. “In 2025, the State not only failed to protect — it also failed to count, investigate, and sanction. The crisis is not invisible. It is structural. And it requires an urgent, comprehensive, and sustained response.”
The Initiative for Equality and Discrimination, a Kenyan group known by the acronym INEND, issued a report that details how the country’s law enforcement treats LGBTQ and intersex people. “A widespread pattern of arbitrary arrests, extortion, and both physical and sexual violence” are among the abuses the INEND report notes.
“These abuses not only inflict severe physical and psychological trauma but also foster a widespread distrust of the law enforcement, further marginalizing the community and hindering its ability to seek justice, access essential services such as healthcare, and fully enjoy fundamental freedoms,” it reads.
IDAHOBiT commemorates the World Health Organization’s declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder on May 17, 1990. This year’s IDAHOBiT theme is “At the Heart of Democracy.”
This year’s IDAHOBiT will take place against the continued impact that the lack of U.S. funding is having on the global LGBTQ and intersex rights movement.
The IDAHOBiT Advisory Group notes consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in 65 U.N. member states, and the number of countries with criminalization laws increased in 2025. The IDAHOBiT Advisory Group also indicates more than 60 countries have laws that restrict “freedom of expression related to sexual and gender diversity issues.”
“No matter where we live, who we are, or the faiths that drive us, most people want to nurture neighborhoods and communities where every life can bloom,” said the IDAHOBiT Advisory Group. “But today, reactionary governments worldwide are poisoning our gardens with the invasive weeds of their authoritarian policies and exclusionary legislations.”
‘Progress is still happening’
Activists around the world since last year’s IDAHOBiT have seen several legal and political victories.
New Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar on April 12 defeated his predecessor, Viktor Orbán, whose government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court last July struck down St. Lucia’s colonial-era laws. The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court a few months later ruled the country’s National Police and Armed Forces cannot criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations among its members. Botswana late last month repealed a provision of its colonial-era penal code that criminalized homosexuality.
A Hong Kong judge last September ruled in favor of a lesbian couple who sought parental recognition for their son. The European Union Court of Justice over the last year issued two landmark decisions: one said EU countries must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other member states and another directed member states to allow transgender people to legally change their name and gender on ID documents.
“Time and again, LGBTQIA+ people have resisted, rolled up their sleeves together with all the good people caring about their communities, and sowed the seeds of change,” said the IDAHOBiT Advisory Group in its press release.
United Kingdom
UK government makes trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban a legislative priority
King Charles III on Wednesday delivered King’s Speech
King Charles III on Wednesday said a transgender-inclusive ban on so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales is among the British government’s legislative priorities.
“My government will bring forward a bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding [Remediation Bill] and a draft bill to ban abusive conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill],” said Charles in his King’s Speech that he delivered in the British House of Lords.
The government writes the King’s Speech, which outlines its legislative agenda. The British monarch delivers it at Parliament’s ceremonial opening.
“Conversion practices are abuse, and the government will deliver the manifesto commitment to bring forward a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices,” said the government in an addendum to the speech.
Then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s government in 2018 announced it would “bring forward proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy in the U.K.”
Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in 2022 said it would support a ban that did not include gender identity. The decision sparked outrage among British advocacy groups, and prompted them to boycott a government-sponsored LGBTQ conference that was ultimately cancelled.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party ahead of the 2024 elections included a conversion therapy ban in its manifesto. Charles delivered the King’s Speech against the backdrop of growing calls for Starmer to resign after the Labour Party lost more than 1,000 council seats in local and regional elections that took place on May 7.
Stonewall, a British advocacy group, on April 30 said the government “has failed to meet its own timeline to publish a draft bill to ban conversion practices.”
“We should not have to wait any longer,” said Stonewall CEO Simon Blake in his group’s statement. “Conversion practices are abuse. LGBTQ+ people do not need fixing or changing. They need to hear and feel that government is going to protect their safety and dignity. Not at some random date in the future. No more delays.”
European Union
European Commission says all EU countries should ban conversion therapy
Recommendation ‘an important step forward for LGBTI rights across Europe’
The European Commission on Wednesday said all European Union countries should ban so-called conversion therapy.
The recommendation comes weeks after the European Parliament voted in favor of prohibiting the widely discredited practice across the EU. More than 1.2 million people signed a campaign in support of the ban that ACT (Against Conversion Therapy) LGBT launched in 2024 through the EU’s European Citizens Initiative framework.
“We warmly welcome today’s commitment from the European Commission to a recommendation on ending conversion practices, an important step forward for LGBTI rights across Europe,” said ILGA Europe in a statement.
Seven EU countries — Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain — have banned conversion therapy outright.
Greece in 2022 banned the practice for minors. German lawmakers in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.
ILGA Europe said the European Commission’s recommendation “highlights how much work remains to be done.”
“Ending conversion practices cannot stop at symbolic commitments or fragmented national approaches,” stressed the advocacy group. “We need coordinated EU action, proper training for professionals, and survivor-centered support systems that recognize the serious harm these practices cause.”
“More than one million people supported the European Citizens’ Initiative calling for change,” added ILGA Europe. “The message is clear: conversion practices are not therapy or belief, they are a form of violence that Europe can and should end.”
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Comings & Goings
IDAHOBiT a reminder we all must stand up against transphobia
European Commission says all EU countries should ban conversion therapy
Pride faith services in Washington, D.C.
Blade Foundation awards 9th journalism fellowship to AU student
UK government makes trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban a legislative priority
Bureau of Prisons declines to reconsider transgender inmate policy
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European Union5 days agoEuropean Commission says all EU countries should ban conversion therapy
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District of Columbia5 days ago
Pride faith services in Washington, D.C.
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Delaware5 days ago
Blade Foundation awards 9th journalism fellowship to AU student
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United Kingdom4 days ago
UK government makes trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban a legislative priority
