Aired May 12, 2022

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia

In 2022, there are 73 countries across the globe that criminalize private, consensual, same-sex sexual relationships between men, 43 countries that criminalize relationships between women, and 15 that criminalize the gender expression of transgender people. In 11 of those countries, LGBTQ+ people can be sentenced to death. This episode of Something To Talk About Live, we will be discussing Kate Holton’s article in Reuters, “UK cancels global LGBT+ conference over trans conversion therapy dispute” with Moninne Griffith, CEO of BeLonG To and Aruna Rao, PFLAG National Board Member and Executive Director of Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies. 

Something to Talk About Live is a series designed by PFLAG National’s Straight for Equality program to create conversation about LGBTQ+ issues. Each week we offer an article on LGBTQ+ topics and suggest a few questions you can use to lead a discussion with your ERG, community group, or PFLAG chapter. 

We hosted a conversation about this article as a part of PFLAG Connects and Something to Talk About Live on Thursday, May 12. Did you miss it? You can still watch it here!   

Article: UK cancels global LGBT+ conference over trans conversion therapy dispute 

Source: Reuters 

Author: Kate Holton 

Questions for Discussion: 

1. Prior to reading this article, had you been aware of any of the debate about the Safe to Be Me conference in the UK? If the answer is yes, what was your context? 

2. Were you surprised by the reason that the conference was being canceled? Is this the first time that you’ve learned about the divide that formed in the “conversion therapy” debate? How would you respond to someone who argued that banning conversion therapy based on sexual orientation is valid while banning it based on gender identity is not?

3. Outside of observations like the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia on May 17, how frequently do you find yourself reading about LGBTQ+ news that is happening outside of the US? If you frequently read about global issues, what was it that made you start expanding your learning? If you tend to not pay attention to these stories, can you identify a few ways that you might do a better job at staying informed?   

Bonus read: Check out “LGBT groups quit UK conference over failure to ban trans conversion practices” which appeared in The Guardian, by Tobi Thomas before the conference was cancelled. You can also learn more about the history of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia by going to may17.org. 

About Our Guests: 

Moninne Griffith, CEO of BeLonG To 

Aruna Rao, PFLAG National Board Member and Executive Director of Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies

Ways to Watch:

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