Fridae

Coming out or disclosure about one's sexual orientation to our family is a difficult yet important step. Bryan Choong, a full time counsellor at Oogachaga, a LGBT-affirmative counselling agency in Singapore, highlights how an individual's familial relations may affect the coming out process.

Members of Singapore's LGBT community and allies are are expected to gather at 6pm on Aug 24 to take a stand against Russia's anti-gay law which bans so-called gay "propaganda", and express solidarity with LGBTs in Russia.

A 1-minute video recorded by a 90-year-old grandmother in China in support of her gay grandson has gone viral internationally.

The International Olympic Committee has been asked to clarify its recent comments that it will punish athletes who stand up for gay rights in Russia following the Interior Ministry's confirmation that openly gay people attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics will be arrested under the country’s draconian new anti-gay law.

The first man to challenge Singapore's law which criminalises sex between men has today made an application to the High Court to be recognised as an interested party and to intervene in Gary Lim and Kenneth Chee's upcoming Court of Appeal hearing as the outcome of this appeal may affect Tan's case in which judgment is still pending.

Hong Kong's third annual Pink Season has been scheduled for 28 September to 9 November and will include the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival which overlaps the Season and opens 31 August.

At last count, 14 countries have legalised same-sex marriage. In Asia, the issue is gaining steam in Vietnam and Thailand as its governments are considering legalising same-sex marriage and civil unions respectively. Is this a cause all gay people should get behind? Malaysian gay activist and co-founder of Seksualiti Merdeka Pang Khee Teik writes that while this right should be celebrated, it is not the most important right for LGBTs.

Some two hundred activists biked through central Hanoi on Sunday moring as part of the communist country's second gay pride parade to bring visibility to the LGBT community.

As part of the Coming Out Campaign by Singapore queer women's group Sayoni at the IndigNation 2013 kickoff event on Saturday, writer and visual artist Tania De Rozario shares her gritty experiences of coming out at a very young age.

The country's Justice Ministry has become the second ministry after the Health Ministry to openly support the legalisation of same-sex marriage; but experts say it will take more time to secure the National Assembly's approval for same sex marriages.