sexual orientation

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Settlement Clears Up Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill

Teachers can talk about sexual orientation, gender identity, just not as part of instruction

(Newser) - Students and teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it's not part of instruction, under a settlement reached Monday between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who'd challenged a state law that critics dubbed "Don't Say Gay." The settlement...

You No Longer Have to Guess at Velma's Sexual Orientation
You No Longer Have to Guess
at Velma's Sexual Orientation
in case you missed it

You No Longer Have to Guess at Velma's Sexual Orientation

'Scooby-Doo' character crushes hard on a woman in new Halloween flick

(Newser) - The sexual orientation of Scooby-Doo character Velma Dinkley has been as hot a topic as that of any actual celebrity—and perhaps more so, given that fans haven't received clear confirmation of their suspicions for "generations," per Deadline —until now. In the animated HBO Max flick...

Conversion Therapy Bill in Canada Gets a Unanimous Vote

Controversial practice that tries to change a person's sexual orientation, identity is now banned

(Newser) - Conversion therapy is officially outlawed in Canada. A bill making it a criminal offense to provide, promote, advertise, or profit from conversion therapy—used in an effort to change a person's sexual orientation or identity—unanimously passed the Senate "with little debate and no committee study" on Tuesday,...

Ruling Is Made on Woman in Love With Her Chandelier

Amanda Liberty says she's in a relationship with the light fixture

(Newser) - Most people like a nice chandelier, but Amanda Liberty? She's in love with one. And she just learned that British regulators will not consider her attraction to light fixtures a protected sexual orientation, the Guardian reports. The UK's biggest press regulator, known as Ipso, made the ruling after...

Bella Thorne: I'm Pansexual
Bella Thorne:
I'm Pansexual

Bella Thorne: I'm Pansexual

'If I just like it, I like it!' actress explains

(Newser) - Bella Thorne previously came out as bisexual, but in an interview with Good Morning America this week, the actress revealed, "I'm actually a pansexual, and I didn't know that." As she defined it, being pansexual means "you like what you like. Doesn't have to...

Woman's 'Lesbianism' Listed as Medical Problem

Health system has since clarified that's not an appropriate clinical diagnosis

(Newser) - After getting blood work done, Kristina Rodriguez was looking over her medical history record when she saw the word "lesbianism" listed under medical problems. The North Carolina woman showed the documents to WSOC , which has a picture. She says that after she complained, her doctor and a director of...

Lesbians Sue NJ Over Fertility Treatment Mandate

Only women who've proven infertility via '2 years of unprotected intercourse' covered

(Newser) - When Erin and Marianne Krupa decided they wanted to start a family five years ago, they moved from North Carolina to New Jersey in search of a less conservative environment. Little did they know they were about to hit upon a state insurance mandate from 2001 that they say specifically...

Study: DNA Test Can Predict Whether You're Gay

Potential for misuse troubles lead scientist, who's just left the lab

(Newser) - UCLA scientists think they've developed the first test that can accurately predict whether a man is gay based on his DNA, and all it takes is a swab of saliva, reports New Scientist . The researchers examined 400,000 epigenetic tags—"chemicals that latch onto DNA and help turn...

Catholic School Staffer: My Gay Marriage Got Me Fired

Margie Winters married her partner in 2007

(Newser) - Parents of students at a Catholic elementary school in Pennsylvania say they're outraged by the school's apparent decision to fire its religious education director because she's married to a woman. In an email last week, the principal of Waldron Mercy Academy in Merion said Margie Winters had...

Ben Carson: Being Gay Is a Choice, and Prison Proves It

Potential 2016 candidate says straight people leave prison gay

(Newser) - Ben Carson says being gay is "absolutely" a choice and that the evidence to back his claim is prison. "A lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight—and when they come out, they're gay," the potential 2016 GOP candidate says in a...

Man Sues Clinic After Homosexuality Labeled 'Chronic' Problem

Gay man asked for removal of offensive designation a year ago

(Newser) - Matthew Moore wasn't pleased to find his status as a gay man described as a "chronic condition" on his medical records after a routine checkup in 2013. But even more offensive to the LA man is the fact that the health organization he's now suing didn't...

New Executive Order to Give LGBT Rights a Boost

Obama to ban LGBT discrimination for federal contractors

(Newser) - President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation, a White House official said today. The move follows years of pressure from gay rights groups for Obama to act on his own while a broader employment...

Judge to CA: You Can't Ban 'Gay Cures'

Temporary injunction blocks new law from being applied to 3 people

(Newser) - Sorry, California, but you can't ban gay-to-straight "conversion" therapy for minors just yet, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law in September prohibiting so-called "gay cures," the first law of its kind in the US. But the judge found that the law,...

California Moves to Ban 'Gay Cure' for Teens

'Conversion therapy' is dangerous, bill's sponsor says

(Newser) - Psychotherapists who claim they can "cure" gay teenagers may soon be out of business in California. A bill before the state Senate would ban so-called "conversion therapy" for minors and require adults to sign a release form stating that the counseling is ineffective and possibly dangerous, reports AP...

Why I Have No 'Gay Pride'
 Why I Have No 'Gay Pride' 
OPINION

Why I Have No 'Gay Pride'

But 'the absence of pride is not shame,' Jesse Bering concludes

(Newser) - It's LGBT Pride month, but research psychologist Jesse Bering is certainly not proud of the fact that he's gay. The way he sees it, "pride" can be defined in three main ways, and none matches the way he feels about his sexual orientation. Pride is sometimes defined...

Gay Cop: Dept. Wouldn't Let Me March in Pride Parade

...and so he's suing

(Newser) - A gay police officer has enlisted Gloria Allred's legal help—so you know we're about to report on a buzzy lawsuit. The unnamed cop is filing a discrimination complaint against his department, which he says denied his written request that he be allowed to march in uniform during...

9M Americans Gay or Bisexual
 9M Americans Gay or Bisexual 
survey says

9M Americans Gay or Bisexual

But we need better surveys for a more accurate number: demographer

(Newser) - The true number remains elusive, but one demographer estimates that more than 9 million Americans—roughly the population of New Jersey—are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Gary Gates averaged the results of five US surveys conducted between 2004 and 2009 to find that 3.5% of Americans identify themselves as...

Facebook Likely Outing Gays to Advertisers

Sexual preference may be revealed even if hidden to your friends

(Newser) - Just days after it was revealed that Facebook apps were leaking personal user data , another privacy flap for the social networking site: This time, it appears that Facebook is giving sensitive information—specifically, sexual orientation—to advertisers. Researchers from Microsoft and Germany’s Max Planck Institute recently released a paper...

Why Some Women Become Lesbians Later in Life
Why Some Women Become
Lesbians Later in Life
in case you missed it

Why Some Women Become Lesbians Later in Life

They meet the right woman, fall in love, then feel sexual desire

(Newser) - 'Late-life lesbians' are just women who were attracted to women all along but were too repressed to come out earlier, right? Not exactly, say researchers who have challenged conventional wisdom about sexual orientation with a study showing that women's capacity to feel attracted to other women can change significantly from...

10 Bisexual Celebs
 10 Bisexual Celebs 
welcome to the club, anna

10 Bisexual Celebs

Anna Paquin is the newest member of this Hollywood club

(Newser) - When Anna Paquin came out yesterday, she joined a slew of bisexual Hollywood stars. The Frisky lists the top 10:
  • Lady Gaga: She’s been open about her sexuality, claiming that her affinity for women has made her boyfriends “uncomfortable.”
  • Drew Barrymore: Considers herself bisexual, but said that
...

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