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There’s nothing like black Greek love and especially when it involves members of the divine nine. “We started out as just friends with actually zero intentions of being together, but look where we are! I love her! I love her to pieces,” Jaleesa, a member of Zeta Phi Beta, shared. “I love her no matter what nobody says. I’m something they can’t take away,” Raven, a member of Delta Sigma The, said. The two sports fans were in the middle of a sports-themed photo shoot with their photographer, Latashia Gorden, when Raven got down on one knee! Watch the video below to see the proposal! Source Aren't they cute?

Caster Semenya has lost a landmark case against athletics' governing body meaning it will be allowed to restrict testosterone levels in female runners. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) rejected the South African's challenge against the IAAF's new rules. But Cas said it had "serious concerns as to the future practical application" of the regulations. Olympic 800m champion Semenya, 28, said in response to the ruling that the IAAF "have always targeted me specifically". Now she - and other athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) - must either take medication in order to compete in track events from 400m to the mile, or change to another distance. "For a decade the IAAF has tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger. The decision of Cas will not hold me back," said Semenya in a statement. "I will once again rise above and continue to inspire young women and athletes in South Africa and around the world." Previously, she had said that she wanted to "run naturally, the way I was born". Cas found that the rules for athletes with DSD were discriminatory - but that the discrimination was "necessary, reasonable and proportionate" to protect "the integrity of female athletics". However, Cas set out serious concerns about the application of the rules, including: Worries that athletes might unintentionally break the strict testosterone levels set by the IAAF; Questions about the advantage higher testosterone gives athletes over 1500m and the mile; The practicalities for athletes of complying with the new rules. Cas has asked the IAAF to consider delaying the application of the rules to the 1500m and one mile events until more evidence is available. Semenya is still eligible to compete at the Diamond League meet in Doha on Friday and can make an appeal against the Cas ruling to the Swiss Tribunal Courts within the next 30 days. 'Nobody has truly won - one side has just lost less than the other Source

Headteachers in South Africa have been told to send the names of all their LGBT+ students to the government. Schools in the Eastern Cape province, which is home to six million people, received an email on October 16 from the department’s special programmes unit (SPU) which told them to hand over the names of their queer pupils by the end of the day, according to City News. The message stated that the SPU head office would be “conducting a workshop to raise awareness on the rights of the LGBTI community and to ensure that their lives, morals and integrity are respected.” “This will allow the district office to have a database of these learners and 10 of these learners will be attending the scheduled workshop.” Edmund van Vuuren, the education spokesperson for the country’s opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, wrote a letter to the SPU head condemning the email. The department subsequently said queer students no longer had to attend the workshop “due to exams.” In his letter, van Vuuren wrote that identifying LGBT+ students was “discriminatory, unconstitutional and may lead to verbal, mental and even physical abuse.” He said that “in a climate where ‘corrective rape’ and assault based on sexual preference are commonplace, we cannot afford to expose members of this community to further risk and discrimination.” Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima has denied that the department is creating a list of LGBT+ pupils, adding that the email was sent without permission. “There is no activity or instruction to district coordinators to create a database for the LGBTI group,” said Mtima. “The alleged email purporting to be coming from the head office has not been sanctioned by those concerned and the SPU office.” Mtima added that the department had “started an internal investigation and is working hard to get the source of this email, which distorted the activities and objectives of the department’s programmes.” In August, a South African private Christian boarding school in Durban, in the southeast province of KwaZulu-Natal, expelled two girls after seminary officials said they were caught kissing for 20 minutes. Source

Ellen Degeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi have kicked off the National Coming Out Day with a kiss. The Talkshow host took to her Instagram page to share this photo of herself locking lips with her partner Portia as they take part in the annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11 and 12 in some parts of the world. She wrote: 'It’s the greatest gift you could give yourself. #NationalComingOutDay.' Source

Openly gay and newly married Nigerian man, Kenny Badmus, says the hypocrisy about homosexuality in Nigeria is alarming as the people who condemn it openly are into it secretly. In an interview with The Punch, Kenny who got married to his American partner in July, revealed that he has had flings with some clergymen as well as a senator in Nigeria When asked to speak on popular Nigerian cross dresser, Bobrisky, Kenny who came out of the closet via his Facebook page some years ago, said

Chude Jideonwo, a Nigerian television host, has called out Donald Duke who is the president candidate for the Social Democratic Party. The media personality expressed his disappointment at Duke's stand on anti-gay law. Recently, Chude had an interview with LITV host, Hero Daniels where he stated that he is in support of gayrights and would repeal the anti-gay law if he is elected president. Chude is a respected member of the Daystar Christian Center, Lagos whose senior pastor is Sam Adeyemi. He goes on to say - ''I am very disappointed in the fact that Donald Duke went on the couch with Falz and spoke courageously about gay rights and then went on to change his mouth after. I am fully in support of gayrights. If I am president, I would overrule the antigay law'' he said Reacting to Chude's comment, Chris said Chude who is supposed to be a Christian should not be supporting gays. He said anyday Chude is allowed to come on the pulpit in the church again to teach, he would leave with his family. ''And @chudeity you supposed to be a Christian and comes to @daystarng and you are gay or supporting gay right, any other day @daystarng allows you come up to the pulpit to teach on anything that day I and family are done with daystar church, chude I'm highly dissapointed, I hope @thesamadeyemi hears and take note. #Nigeria #nigerians #nigerianchurch#daystarng'' he wrote. See video below Source

It’s one thing to glo up physically – to go from an awkward teenager to your beautiful, flawless adult self. It’s a whole other glorious miracle to glo up when it comes to your sexuality. And a wonderful new lesbian hashtag is commemorating that transformation. It’s simple: one picture of you with your pre-coming out boyfriend, and one of the much happier you with your current girlfriend. All the denial, struggle and eventual realisations – summed up neatly in two photos. #GayGloUp all came about as a beautiful response to a side-by-side comparison from Caitlin Crowley, who asked her followers: “Freshman to senior year, does this count as a glo up???” Because people are amazing, she didn’t just get confirmation that this was the best glo up ever. She also got beautiful responses from other girls who had grown into their sexualities. Definitely an improvement. I mean, just look how happy she looks in the second photo. Beaming! Looks like the wait was worth it, at least. And it turns out that it wasn’t just the girls in these photos who eventually figured out they were gay. And is that – yep, it’s two halves of one gorgeous lesbian relationship. In 2017, we’ve appreciated the delights of #BiTwitter and #PanTwitter, an outpouring of joy, love and hilarious reminders that pansexual doesn’t mean an attraction to kitchenware. There was also #BlackGaySlay, the beautiful queer celebration of Black History Month. And #LGBTbabes saw photos come in from celebrities and fans alike, with LGBT youth climbing on board with all your favourite out famous people. Let’s also not forget the glorious day of #itsthelgbt, the hashtag which said: “We’re here, we’re proud, and we look amazing, dammit.” And because we can’t just have nice things as a species, June brought us the horror of #HeterosexualPrideDay, a hashtag born from the misplaced idea that cisgender, straight (cishet) people are oppressed. Then there was the brilliant #InternationalLesbianDay. Source

I have been thinking about the ideology of people and how they think through other human beings, especially those they consider or perceive as different from what they already know. The fact that many people can hardly see the human side of people they consider or perceive to be different, is disturbing and we all should be worried. So, let’s look at Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual persons in a Nigeria context, and I intentionally left out Transgender persons because the discussion around gender identity is completely different from sexual orientation. I often hear people ask questions on how anyone becomes LGB or how they even have sex, or make babies, as if human life and existence is about sex and babies. I have seen questions like; Who is the woman or man? How do they enjoy sex? and many other endless questions. However, I also understand that this comes from a place of complete lack of knowledge and therefore people need to learn and unlearn what they already know, this is how society progresses and ensures safe space for all human. No society can progress through a narrowed view of one man or many of them, she does through the ability to understand differences and the willingness to learn the struggle of those seen or considered different from the majority. We always find it difficult to think beyond sex when we think about LGB persons. The fact that we have sexualised a full-grown human being is disturbing as this limits our view on the struggles and realities experienced by LGB persons in a heteronormative society like Nigeria. Since we have decided to always look at LGB persons from a place of sex and not as a complete human being with emotions that are connected to families, friends, co-workers, and communities which are beyond sex, we can as well talk about sex since this seems to be a concern for many. I realised that many have limited their understanding of “sexual orientation” to just sex and for this reason; many are unable to think beyond sex or understand that before and beyond sex, there is emotion. More importantly, that this emotion connects deeply to human feeling and is not determined by the type of sex a person is having or going to have. The way men or women are emotionally attracted to women or men, is equally the same way men and women who find other men and women attractive, emotionally process their thoughts; it’s beyond sex. I have heard people say, ‘I don’t have problems with LGB persons as long as they don’t make any sexual or emotional advance at me.’ My problem with this line of thought is, how is a heterosexual person sure that the person they are trying to make sexual or emotional advance at is heterosexual? The reality remains that LGB persons will have as much sex as they want, and this will not change or disturb the amount of sex heterosexual people will have. Sex should not define any person or group of persons so long as the sex that happens is between two adults with mutual consent. No one really needs to know who lies on top, below or beside. I have always believed we need to free ourselves on discussion around sex, this thinking that once you talk about sex you are “lose or unholy” is wrong and a false to our realities. Heterosexual people need to liberate themselves from this thought as it will help them free LGB persons and start seeing them as full human being who is not only about sex but will equally have sex as much as any human being. Source

Africa is known to be a religious continent with the majority being adherents of the Abrahamic religions- Islam and Christianity. By that, I mean most folks hold a belief in the existence of a ‘loving’ deity who is also capable of rewarding people for good behaviour and meting out punishment whenever we transgress. As humans, I believe we are inherently biased and we exhibit a tendency to point out other people’s faults (or what we think or believe are faults) while paying no heed to the ways in which we also falter. Sometimes, we do this on purpose because focusing on other people somehow keeps us from introspecting and admitting our own faults. This seems to be the case when it comes to religion. Many religious folks use the Holy book to condemn other people for doing what they believe isn’t acceptable but they also fail to or choose not to use that same Book to hold themselves to account. It is no surprise that many do not take kindly to the queer community because they believe homosexuality is a sin and they will not condone it. Well, I have something to say about this… Dear Africa – I’m here… I’m queer No amount of queerphobic backlash and preaching doom or eternal damnation in the pits of hell can ever change this. Why do we throw stones when we live in glass houses? I, for one, make it a point to read the Bible so I can note and call out hypocrisy in situations as these where people feel inclined to pluck out a few verses to justify their hate while paying no heed to those verses that call out their not-so-holy deeds. Personally, I am unbothered about what the Bible says because I have dissociated myself from Christianity and the hypocrisy of most religious folks is the other reason I will never go back to religion. My religion is love and I strongly believe that people must be free to love whoever they want to love. And quite frankly, I am grateful to be in a position where I choose who to engage in a romantic relationship with without being restricted by a society that seeks to impose on us how to BE, despite continuously ‘encouraging’ us to be our authentic selves. Though, personally, I am unfazed by the stance of religious institutions on same gender relationship (or transgender folks, for that matter), I am still troubled by the violence that this stance continues to inflict on queer bodies. I have maintained, for a while now, that Christianity and Islamic extremism are beginning to bear some semblance (or maybe I am only starting to notice the similarities since I am no longer religious or a Christianity apologist, for that matter). Though Christians may not be making headline news for the decapitation of LGBT+ folks as is the case with the Islamic fundamentalists, their words- which fuel so much hatred for queer folks- are just as murderous. Some preachers are known to have preached ‘death to gay people’. Consider Steve Anderson, the pastor who deluded himself into thinking he could bring his bigotry to Africa and get away with it. After commendable work from LGBT+ activists, the South African government banned the pastor from coming to the county. This was before he managed to worm his way into Botswana where he called on the Botswana government to kill homosexual folks, referring to gay men as paedophiles. With the help of LGBT+ activists, allies and LEGABIBO and a petition, he is now a prohibited immigrant – as declared by the government of Botswana. I should also point out that Africa still has a long way to go in upholding the fundamental rights of the LGBT+ community. There is also the Westboro Baptist Church which did not even shy away from affirming the wrongful and grossly unethical shooting of LGBT+ folks by the Muslim man in the 2016 Orlando shooting which received so much worldwide coverage and outrage. Just recently, ravaging fires broke out in Knysna, South Africa which destroyed many homes, leaving many in desperate need of shelter and other forms of aid. In the midst of this devastation, with some struggling to come to grips with what had just transpired and many devising ways to come to the aid of those affected by the calamity, what did someone go on to say? A paramedic insinuated that God was punishing the area because around 12 gay weddings had taken place at an LGBTI festival in Knysna just last year. Yes, homosexuality was being blamed on the catastrophe and this is not foreign to queer folks. Each time we are hit by (mostly) natural disasters, many people – out of their hatred for queer folks- attribute ‘the wrath of God’ to homosexuality. The level of hate displayed by the religious folks is scary to say the least! It is true that our words are powerful; they can cut and kill or they can love and heal. Yes, sometimes the impact of our words supersedes the intent and thus we find ourselves hurting people even when we didn’t intend to. Most times, this is not the case where hatred for homosexuality or queerness is concerned. Sad to note, the words of most people who claim to be ‘followers’ of a ‘loving’ deity have killed many or driven many to kill themselves. The odd thing is that even the Bible, which most (Christians) are quick to quote (as if they live by it) when justifying their bigotry towards LGBT+ folks, makes it crystal clear that ‘he who does not love his brother, does not know God and the love of the father is not in him’. “How do you even claim to love God whom you cannot see when you hate other fellow human beings you can see?” I tell you, that same Bible (or any other Holy Book) many folks use to condemn other people will be used to condemn them. Source

It was supposed to be just a friendly visit, but it turned into robbery and blackmail for Victor, as all his money was taken from him by teenagers who accused him of being gay. Gay Nigerians are often the victims of blackmail, robbery, and extortion on the basis of the country’s “Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act,” which threatens LGBT people with prison terms of 10 to 14 years. Victor (not his real name), a Nigerian teenager, told NoStringsNG of just such an experience he had two years ago. “I connected with this guy on 2go [the chat program for mobile phones]. He was in Ogun State. We became friends in no time, as he seemed really nice. We stayed in contact with each other for two months, calling and chatting, until I decided to visit him, unknowing to me that I was embarking on a journey I wouldn’t forget in a hurry.” Victor said that, upon his arrival at his supposed friend’s place in Ogun State, he met several teenagers who seemed nice at first, but things soon became intense and scary, as they pulled out knives. “When I got to his place in Ogun State, I met some other boys there. They were all five in number. They waited for me to settle in and then they all brought out their knives. I was dead scared. They called me all sorts of names. They threatened to call my family. I was forced to cooperate as they robbed me; they took the N3,000 [about US $8] on me and my school bag. My Blackberry Bold 5 [smartphone] was also taken away from me.” They also took his ATM debit card and threatened to call his family to inform them that he is gay. “I was working at that time so I had about N40,000 [US $112] in my savings account. They took my ATM card and later withdrew all of it leaving just N1,500 for me. This I discovered after I went to the bank the next day to block my account.” Victor said that, until now, he has been unable to speak about the incident because he still lives with the shock. “I couldn’t tell anyone, not even my parents; I just let them get away with theft.” Source

Life is tough out there for bisexual women and they get equal amounts of crap from lesbians and straight people. So they definitely don’t need me piling on, but that won’t stop me. When I first started dating women, I never understood why lesbians were so adamant about not dating bi women. Many told me they just didn’t trust these women not to cheat on them with men. I thought that was crap and felt lesbians were just being insecure. So whenever I met a lesbian I was interested in, I lied and told her I was a lesbian too. In some parts of the lesbian community, you’re only considered a real lesbian if you’ve never even thought of a guy. It seems like the greater the length of time between when you last slept with a guy and your discovering your lesbian tendencies, the more legitimate your lesbian card is. Anyway, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to discover for myself, and through others, why some bisexual women are so annoying and a complete turn off. These types of bi women are especially annoying for those of us who are holistically ready and available to settle down and just don’t have energy for bi drama. Over the years, I’ve learned to steer clear of these types of bi women and maybe you should too: 1. The curious bi girl. Before accidentally stumbling on some girl-girl porn, this chick has never even thought about being with a woman. How do I know that? One girl I talked to couldn’t even articulate when she started finding women attractive or what it was about women that intrigued her. This is akin to the white boy dating a black girl out of curiosity not attraction. That’s insulting. Last night hanging out at karaoke with my BFF, I caught sight of a super fine woman and asked the woman she came with, if she was single. The good news was, yes, she was single. The bad news was, she was bi curious. I passed. There are women out there who pride themselves on turning a bi girl out. I’m not one of them. 2. The gay-for-pay (me attention) bi girl. You know who you are. You kiss or flirt with girls just to get attention, usually from guys. If you’re dealing with this type, she’s probably too young to be dealing with anyway. 3. The I’m-only-gay-when-I-want-to-have-sex bi girl. These are the types who are only interested in getting their sexual needs met. These are usually considered pillow princesses. They really don’t care about being a good lover and ensuring that their partner get some sexual satisfaction too. If she’s selfish in the bedroom, she’s probably selfish in other areas too. Next! 4. The only-female-genitalia-I-like-is-my-own bi girl. If you’re not interested in other women’s tittays or vaginas, you’re most likely straight or asexual. When it comes to a sexual experience, the fun part is generally mutual desire. This girl is similar to number 3, she can’t give it to you even if she tried. So tell her to please move along and stop wasting other people’s time. 5. The you-will-do-until-the-right-man-comes-along bi girl. There are some women out there who don’t mind being a space-filler for you when you are bored and horny, but most human beings don’t like being used. So, if you’re going to proceed with a woman like this, proceed at your own risk and at least have an honest conversation up front. 6. The I-want-you-and-my-man-at-the-same-time bi girl. These women can be broken down into several categories: the ones who want a threesome or have their man watch, the ones who are secretly gay but are too scared to give up straight life and the one who is polyamorous and pansexual. Not many bi women are the latter, and if they are, being poly requires honest conversations not sneaking around lying to everyone. 7. The Bible-says-being-gay-is-wrong-bi-girl. This bi girl is the most egregious offender in the selfish bi girl pantheon and many of us, myself included, have fallen for her ravenous head games, both literally and figuratively. This type of bi girl wants to have sex with you, spend all her free time with you, tells you that she loves you and continues to tell you what you want to hear all the while hating herself and your relationship. And lawd let’s not hope she goes to one of those churches where gay-bashing is a sermon staple, because she will regularly withdraw from you and break up with you damn near every Sunday. I was one of these girls and I’ve dated one of these girls. It’s not pretty and it’s actually pretty sad. Avoid this one at all costs. Clearly this list is just my own opinion, but for those who are looking to be in a serious relationship, dealing with someone who is just discovering her sexuality can be a pain and painful. Some of us just don’t feel like it’s worth the emotional wreckage a potential relationship can cause, so if you’re one of these bi girls, now you understand why wise lesbians cross the street when we see you coming. Source

Former Super Falcons star, Chichi Igbo aka Chified, literally came out as a Lesbian on her IG page today. She shared the lyrics of a coming-out song she composed on her Instastory. The lyrics said it all. Continue to see the lyrics below... Source

Rap mogul 50 Cent apparently don't know when to stop playing. He shared a photo with openly gay Empire creator Lee Daniels and insinuated that Diddy and Lee Daniels are in a gay relationship. Source

Congratulations to DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree! The WNBA players just became new moms to twin girls! The couple met as teammates while playing for the Phoenix Mercury back in 2010. It took them less than a week to realize they were meant to be more than friends. “It was more as friends at first,” DeWanna said in a recent interview with the IndyStar “Then she kind of learned she couldn’t live without me.” Candice, an All-Star forward for the Indiana Fever, says that she had to grow up to make the relationship work and got help from her mom to help tame her “wild side.” Candice and DeWanna will juggle motherhood and a unique career in basketball where they travel nationally and internationally each year. The new moms will both return to basketball next WNBA season. Source

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Sue Bird has come out as a lesbian – and revealed that she’s dating US soccer star Megan Rapinoe. The 36-year-old basketball player, who has also won two WNBA championships with Seattle Storm, made the revelations during a feature with ESPN. During the piece, Bird stated that she came out to her family and friends near the start of the millennium. But the star – who is the oldest player in the league, but with no plans to retire – has never come out publicly before. “I’m gay,” she said. “Megan’s my girlfriend. “These aren’t secrets to people who know me,” she continued. “I don’t feel like I’ve not lived my life. I think people have this assumption that if you’re not talking about it, you must be hiding it, like it’s this secret. “That was never the case for me.” The absurdly decorated sportswoman, who has also won three world championships, said she wanted to come out now “because that’s what feels right. “So even though I understand there are people who think I should have done it sooner, it wasn’t right for me at the time. “I have to be true to that. It’s my journey.” She started dating Rapinoe, a US national team winger who won the World Cup in 2015, last year, in autumn. “We have a lot in common and just sort of clicked,” Rapinoe said. “I joke she is my number one go-to-for-advice person. She’s just so level-headed.” The Seattle Reign star added: “She just has this way of expressing her opinion: She doesn’t shut anybody off when she speaks. “I could probably work on that a little.” But Bird said her decision to come out was not influenced by her girlfriend. “This actually has nothing to do with Megan, in terms of how free I feel to talk about it. “This has been something I’ve been on the verge of doing for a long time.” Bird revealed that last summer, before she going out with Rapinoe, she almost came out in a magazine questionnaire called 25 things you don’t know about Olympians. “I literally had at No. 25: ‘I’m gay,’ ” she said. “And then I just didn’t do it. I chickened out.” Later, she heard a reporter casually chatting with one of her teammates, Elena Delle Donne, about her choice to come out. “I almost said: ‘Yeah, it’s no big deal. I’m gay, who cares?'” Bird said. “There’s another moment it was right there, but I didn’t say anything.” We’re glad she’s decided to do it now, in her own time. Source