The Church of England is defending the scrutinized guidance for its 4,700 primary schools on LGBTQ+ issues, claiming that it doesn't allow students as young as 5 to self-identify as the opposite sex, The Christian Post noted. "This is simply false," according to a statement issued by the Church in response to the UK-based group Christian Concern's complaint that the denomination's "Valuing All God's Children" guidance tells schools to affirm students' chosen gender identity as young as 5. The Church of England contends that the guidance "mirrors the government's Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance" and aims to help "young people to value and respect everyone as cherished and loved by God, regardless of gender identity or sexuality."
The European teams competing at the 2022 Qatar World Cup canceled their plans to wear "OneLove" armbands in support of LGBTQ+ rights during the tournament after warnings from international soccer governing body FIFA that they would be penalized for doing so, CNBC reported. Captains of the teams from the seven European nations competing in the World Cup—England, Wales, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands—made the announcement concerning the rainbow armbands, which are meant to signal support for diversity and inclusion.
In a related matter, Germany's players covered their mouths for the team photo before their World Cup opener against Japan to protest FIFA's refusal to allow rainbow-themed armbands, The Times of Israel noted. Germany's football federation said in a tweet moments after the photo protest that "human rights are not negotiable." Germany ended up losing to Japan in what was viewed as a huge upset.
Also, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) said that fans were allowed to take rainbow-themed bucket hats and flags into the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium for Wales' second World Cup Group B match against Iran, Reuters reported. The hats represent "Rainbow Wall," the supporters' group for Wales fans who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. The hats were created in partnership with FAW.
Virgin Atlantic suspended its new gender-neutral uniform policy to protect the staff traveling alongside England's World Cup football team to Qatar, PinkNews noted. "Following a risk assessment, it was recommended the policy was not applied on today's charter flight to ensure the safety of our people," a Virgin Atlantic rep told Sky News. Male homosexuality is punishable by three to seven years in prison in Qatar, with even the possibility of the death penalty being imposed on Muslims under Sharia law.
Ahead of the World Cup, Canada Soccer partnered with You Can Play—a group that aims to tackle homophobia in sports, CBC reported. Earl Cochrane, secretary-general of Canada Soccer, said the timing of this partnership is not a coincidence as Canada makes its first World Cup appearance in 36 years. Canada, in partnership with the United States and Mexico, will host the 2026 Men's World Cup.
An Italian court ruled that same-sex parents have the right not to be called "father" and "mother" in the ID papers of their children, Reuters reported. The ruling irritated new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government. Until 2019, the plaintiff lesbian couple were identified as "parents," but this was changed by far-right leader and Meloni ally Matteo Salvini, who was then interior minister; he ordered the wording to be changed to "father" and "mother."
India's top court decided on Nov. 25 to proceed with a case weighing legal recognition of same-sex marriages—four years after the same institution struck down a colonial-era ban on gay sex, according to France24. The case—brought by gay couple Abhay Dange and Supriyo Chakraborty, who informally married last year—could pave the way for India to become the second jurisdiction in Asia to recognize marriage equality after Taiwan. A bench led by chief justice Dhananjaya Chandrachud asked the government to file its response within a month.
Amnesty International released a statement praising the South Korea ruling that "transgender individuals have rights to be legally recognized according to their gender identity and have the same rights and obligations under law to have family life." Jihyun Yoon, director of Amnesty International Korea, said, "This decision by the Supreme Court opens the door for more recognition of transgender rights, but there is still a long way to go given the high level of discrimination and stigmatization LGBTI people face in South Korean society."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will appear on the upcoming Canada's Drag Race spinoff series Canada vs The World—becoming the first world leader to appear on a Drag Race show, CNET noted. Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs The World premiered Nov. 18 on Crave in Canada and on WOW Presents worldwide. Competing queens include Anita Wigl'it, Icesis Couture, Kendall Gender, Ra'Jah O'Hara, Rita Baga, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Stephanie Prince, Vanity Milan and Victoria Scone. Brooke Lynn Hytes, Brad Goreski and Traci Melchor are the judges.
Russia's parliament approved a bill that widens a prohibition of "LGBT propaganda" and restricts the "demonstration" of LGBTQ+ behavior (whatever that may include), making any expression of being LGBTQ+ almost impossible, Reuters reported. Under the new law, which still needs the approval of the upper house of parliament and President Vladimir Putin, any action or information that is considered an attempt to promote homosexuality could result in a large fine.
The first-ever professional trans choir, Trans Voices, was joined by actor/singer Olly Alexander in a live show in the UK, PinkNews noted. Trans Voices, which was formed in 2022, got together with Alexander to create the Absolut Choir group for a performance in East London. The group—which also featured activists such as Kenny Ethan Jones, Nyome Nicholas-Williams, and Max Churchill—sang Years & Years' "Shine" to an audience of LGBTQ+ activists, fans, and celebrity guests.
Italian designer Alessandro Michele is no longer creative director of famed fashion house Gucci, Out noted, citing WWD. Michele set the vision for Gucci for eight years, but worked there for nearly 20 years in total, at one point working under Tom Ford's leadership. While Michele's exit doesn't appear highly contentious, he admitted there were creative differences before his departure.
A German adaptation of the HBO show Euphoria has been officially confirmed, per Variety. German's Zeitsprung Pictures optioned the show from production and distribution company ADD Content. Euphoria—which stars Emmy winner Zendaya, among others—follows a group of high school students navigating friendship and love at the same time as struggling with drugs, sex, trauma and social media.
Singer Shakira is firing back at Spanish prosecutors, claiming she's the victim of a smear campaign—and saying she has evidence to prove it, TMZ noted. The "Hips Don't Lie" singer filed legal documents in Spain, answering allegations she failed to pay more than $14 million in taxes for income earned from 2012 through 2014. She said that during the period in question, she actually paid more than $10.1 million in taxes to the U.S. government—when she appeared as a coach on The Voice. She said she was not in Spain for the requisite period of time, which is 183 days.
Squid Game star O Yeong-su was indicted on charges of sexual misconduct in Korea, according to Deadline. The actor, who won a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his performance in the Netflix smash, was indicted yesterday without detention over an allegation that he inappropriately touched the body of a woman five years ago.
