Michael E. Guest is an American diplomat who served as a U.S. Ambassador to Romania during the George W. Bush presidency. Guest was sworn in by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on September 18, 2001, and took up his duties on September 24, 2001. His partner Alex Nevarez was acknowledged by Powell at the swearing-in ceremony in the State Department Diplomatic Reception Room. LGBT rights groups viewed Guest's appointment, and Powell's remarks, as historic and indicative of greater recognition of gay State Department employees and same-sex couples. Socially conservative groups expressed opposition to Guest's appointment and to Powell's gesture.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Romania may face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Attitudes in Romania are generally conservative, with regard to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender citizens. Nevertheless, the country has made significant changes in LGBT rights legislation since 2000. In the past two decades, it fully decriminalised homosexuality, introduced and enforced wide-ranging anti-discrimination laws, equalised the age of consent and introduced laws against homophobic hate crimes. Furthermore, LGBT communities have become more visible in recent years, as a result of events such as Bucharest's annual pride parade, Timișoara's Pride Week and Cluj-Napoca's Gay Film Nights festival.
Andrei Gabriel Pleșu is a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic. He has been intermittently involved in politics, having been appointed Minister of Culture (1989–1991), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997–1999) and presidential counsellor for external affairs (2004–2005).
ACCEPT is a non-governmental organization that advocates for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Romania. It is based in Bucharest and also acts as the Romanian representative at ILGA-Europe. The organisation also advocates on behalf of individuals with HIV-AIDS and carries out several programs to encourage safe sex.
American singer and actress Madonna is recognized as a gay icon. She was introduced, while still a teenager, by her dance instructor, Christopher Flynn, an openly gay man who mentored her. Since then, Madonna has always acknowledged the importance of the community for her life and career, declaring that she "wouldn't have a career if it weren't for the gay community".
Jason Warner and DeMarco DeCiccio are a Christian musical duo with outreach to the LGBT community.
Bucharest Pride, known previously as GayFest, is the annual festival dedicated to LGBT rights in Romania, taking place in Bucharest for nearly a week. Current event organizer is Kyle David Kipp. It first took place in 2004 and now occurs in May–June of each year, culminating with the March of Diversity. It is organised by the non-profit organisation ACCEPT, the country's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights organisation. The festival also receives funding from the Romanian Ministry of Health and the National Council for Combating Discrimination, as well as a number of private organisations, such as the Open Society Institute and the British Council in Romania.
The National Council for Combating Discrimination is an agency of the Romanian government, established in 2001 and responsible for applying Romanian and European Union anti-discrimination laws and managing the National Anti-Discrimination Plan. The legal status of the CNCD was established by the anti-discrimination law of 2000 and subsequently amended in 2006. According to the law, the Council reports to the parliament and is politically independent. It has often ruled against government institutions at various levels.
Be An Angel Romania (BAAR) is a Romanian human rights organisation based in Cluj-Napoca founded by Lucian Dunăreanu, an LGBT rights activist. Although the organisation's mission is to combat discrimination in Romanian society in all its forms, its main field of activity is in LGBT rights and dealing with discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Gay Film Nights film festival organised annually in Cluj-Napoca, Romania by the LGBT association Be An Angel. By presenting a series of films with LGBT themes, it seeks to showcase LGBT culture and cinema, while also initiating a dialogue with other members of society. The complete title of the event is Festivalul de Film "Serile Filmului Gay". The festival was first organised in 2004. Entry to the films is free.
GayOne is an online LGBT portal and news service in the Romanian language. The current website was founded in 2005, as the successor to the 2G.ro portal, the first of its kind in Romania. GayOne.ro provides frequently-updated LGBT news in Romanian, with a focus both on Romanian and worldwide gay issues. Although the publication does not have a printed form, it is one of the most utilised sources of news for Romania's LGBT community, and in 2006 was awarded the prize for "Best medium of information for the LGBT community" at Be An Angel's Gay Prize Gala, which took place during the Gay Film Nights Festival and is intended to recognise those who have contributed to LGBT culture and rights throughout the year.
Angelicuss is the first Romanian LGBT magazine and is published by Be An Angel, an LGBT rights organisation from Cluj-Napoca. The magazine was initially only available through the internet, with the first print version released in November 2004 and distributed free of charge. In 2005, the magazine was replaced by Switch, also released by Be An Angel. In 2006, however, Switch was discontinued and replaced by a revamped Angelicuss, released in the format of a weekly newsletter. From June 2007, Angelicuss have too a daily update online version.
Lucian Dunăreanu is a Romanian gay rights activist and the executive director of Be An Angel Romania, an LGBT rights organisation based in Cluj-Napoca, now PRIDE ROMÂNIA.
Perceptions was an LGBT news magazine which began publication in 1983 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Outlook Media was a Columbus, Ohio-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) lifestyle and advocacy company for the Ohio queer and allied community from 1995 until late 2017. Their flagship product, Outlook Columbus was a news, politics, and lifestyle magazine. Outlook Media also published High Street Neighborhoods, managed Columbus' LGBT and allied business networking group, Network Columbus, and partnered with the Ohio Historical Society to form the Gay Ohio History Initiative. In 2015, Outlook Media began to publish The Love Big LGBT Wedding Expo Guide, and began holding Love Big LGBT Wedding Expos throughout Ohio.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+(LGBTQ+)music is music that focuses on the experiences of gender and sexual minorities as a product of the broad gay liberation movement.
Gaylaxy is an Indian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) magazine. The magazine is based in Kolkata.
Despite the history of colonisation and the resulting process of Westernisation since 1842, Hong Kong still embodies many aspects of Chinese traditional values towards sexuality. It is traditionally believed that heterosexuality is the nature, coherent, and privileged sexuality. Popular media marginalises and discriminates against LGBT members of Hong Kong in an attempt to maintain "traditional lifestyles".
LGBT Foundation is a national charity based in Manchester with a wide portfolio of services. With a history dating back to 1975, it campaigns for a fair and equal society where all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ) people are able to reach their full potential. They support over 40,000 people directly every year, and a further 600,000 online. They provide direct services and resources to more LGBT people than any other charity of its kind in the UK.
