Queer world out there...

Somewhat perversely, in light of the previous post, the Guardian ran an article entitled "A Fatwa for Freedom" on Wednesday about the case of transsexuals in Iran, who, perhaps surprisingly, have been treated with a notable degree of tolerance in the country:

...today, the Islamic Republic of Iran occupies the unlikely role of global leader for sex changes.
In contrast to almost everywhere else in the Muslim world, sex change operations are legal in Iran for anyone who can afford the minimum £2,000 cost and satisfy interviewers that they meet necessary psychological criteria. As a result, women who endured agonising childhood and adolescent experiences as boys, and - albeit in fewer numbers - young men who reached sexual maturity as girls, are easy to find in Tehran. Iran has even become a magnet for patients from eastern European and Arab countries seeking to change their genders.

Back in the UK the Church of England is has got its knickers in a twist over the idea of priests being practising homosexuals again, and are taking a typically hypocritical stance on the issue of civil partnerships: by all means enter a civil partnership, but stay celibate. Richard Haggis' response "Stop the Denial", also in the Guardian, is well worth a read (assuming you're not a religious hardliner of any denomination, in which case it'll probably have you foaming at the mouth slightly - always a good thing).

Continuing on the moral high ground, rainbownetwork reports that a decision will be taken on whether to permit Belfast Pride to go ahead on August 6 by the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, or to refuse the application on the grounds that it is "morally offensive", as Christian groups protesting against it have claimed:

"As evangelical Christians we believe what the bible says regarding sodomy - that it is a sin - and for that reason we want to oppose a parade that we see is promoting a sinful lifestyle,” said Jonathan Larner, from the Stop the Parade protest group.

I'll resist the urge to rant or go evangelical-bashing here - suffice to say I'm not impressed by this particularly compassionless and intolerant interpretation of Christianity...

Elsewhere, 365gay.com reports that there are plans to try and hold a Pride parade in Moscow next year. Previous attempts have been blocked by Moscow's mayor, Yurii Luzhkov, on the grounds that such an event did not reflect Russian society's values.

More positively, Copenhagen's Mermaid Pride is coming up on the weekend of August 13 (with events from Saturday August 6, including the IGLFA World Championships) and the English version site is now up and running (the Danish one was a bit of a struggle).

Back to Central Asia and the former Soviet Union tomorrow.