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DID YOU KNOW?
Marriage Equality Advocates in the LGBTQ Community
Tremendous advances have been made toward marriage equality in many countries around the world. Regrettably, there also remain many countries where legislation is lacking on the issue. According to the HRC, there are currently 29 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. The first country to recognize same-sex marriages was The Netherlands in 2001, followed by Belgium (2003) and Canada (2005). Taiwan made history in 2019, becoming the first government in Asia to welcome legislation on marriage equality.
Marriage equality has come about through three processes: legislation enacted by political bodies; through public referendum following civic action; and by court decisions that have mandated equality through adherence to a country's constitution. In contrast, in many countries constitutional measures have been adopted to prevent same-sex marriages from being sanctioned, or laws have been enacted which refuse to recognize such marriages performed elsewhere.
Gay marriage is hotly contested by religious groups and intolerant political and social organizations. A 2016 global survey found that one in three adults believe that people of the same sex should be allowed to marry.
For those living in countries where same-sex marriage is legal, knowing about those LGBTQ individuals who advanced the issue of marriage equality is important. Today's progress has been built by the commitment and hard work of those who came before us, and it behooves the community to celebrate the work of those individuals. For those living in countries where it remains illegal, the march forward continues by many of the individuals identified below.
This list contains lawyers, politicians, activists, and public leaders. Most are in influential positions related to the political system or NGOs working to advance the LGBTQ equality cause. Some are celebrities who are using their public visibility for the purpose.
We have identified prominent LGBTQ advocates for marriage equality from Argentia, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, France, Great Britain, Guyana, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, the United States, and Venzuela. To read more and see the complete list, click HERE
Directory of past 'Did You Know?' Articles See Here
The goal of QueerBio.com is to be the definitive online biographical reference source for the international LGBTQ community. Its database lists over 17,000 contemporary and historical figures who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, two-spirit, or gender fluid (LGBTQ) and includes artists, sports figures, politicians, entertainers, business leaders, academics, activists, and more. The database is widely international in scope and is an ideal source for research and analysis with full search and sort functionality.
The mission is to inspire, educate, and motivate all generations of LGBTQ individuals and others through a collective knowledge of this international community.
Managing Editor: Mark S. Bonham
Search for a Biography
To search for an individual from the database of over 17,000 biographies, simply type the name in the Search Box located in the top right hand corner of this Home Page and click on GO. Similarly, you can search for a common characteristic such as Country, City, Nobel Prize winners, writers, and so on.
Alternatively, you can view and scroll through the entire list of biographies by viewing the All Biographies section.
Library of Congress Historic Collection - LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive
QueerBio.com has been chosen for the Library of Congress Web Archiving Program - Preserving important cultural artifacts by acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collections material of historical importance to foster education and scholarship.
Announcing Our New Documentary Project - Being Different: 101 Global LGBTQ Individuals Who Changed the World
Despite adversity and discrimination, LGBTQ individuals have excelled throughout history. Yet historians and academics have conveniently participated in the heterosexist erasure of these LGBTQ contributions by omitting the LGBTQ status of prominent historical figures from academic and historical documents. Accordingly, there are relatively few comprehensive projects which document and showcase the influence of these LGBTQ efforts.
Being Different: 101 Global LGBTQ Individuals Who Changed The World will be an original documentary outlining the contributions that members of the LGBTQ community have made, individually and collectively, to changing the world.
We are now Crowdfunding to get this project off the ground. We would love to have you as part of our team. You can help us and SUPPORT THIS PROJECT!
SEE THE TRAILER, READ MORE AND CROWDFUND HERE
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Our goal is to make QueerBio.com the go-to website for global biographical information on LGBTQ identified individuals. To do this requires a serious commitment of people and resources, so we need your help to fund and help this project grow.
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Bonham Centre Awards Gala
Annual Awards established in 2007 to recognize individuals or groups that have made a significant contribution to the advancement and education of human rights issues surrounding sexual education. Click here to find out more about the Bonham Centre Awards, past recipients, and present nominees.
Books Available From QueerBio.Com
It's A Fabulous Morning! My Interviews With Fascinating People in the LGBTQ World (Pearse Murray and Mark S. Bonham, 2019) presents fascinating interviews with individuals from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Two Spirit and Ally (LGBTQ) community. Icons such as Lily Tomlin, Chaz Bono, Melissa Etheridge, Mark Tewksbury, John Cameron Mitchell, Kathleen Wynne, Wanda Sykes, Tony Kushner, David Hockney, Edmund White and more provide their personal stories of the community and their lives within it. Compelling insight into events of the community, such as Toronto’s Bath House Raids, is also provided. 262 pages.
A Path to Diversity: LGBTQ Participation in the Working World (Mark S. Bonham, 2017) investigates the current state of employment markets around the world for the LGBTQ community. Included is a discussion of equality in the workplace and why it is important to both the employer and employee, the wage gap, which professions are attractive to LGBTQ individuals and why, and the role of unions and government legislation. A survey of seventy five professions provides a status report for each, and seventy two biographies of influential LGBTQ professionals from around the world is included. 242 pages
Notables: 101 Global LBGTQ People Who Changed the World (Mark S. Bonham, 2015) reveals a group of select global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals whose accomplishments in their profession changed the world in some relevant way. Included are founders of various social movements, innovators in sports, leaders in business and politics, explorers and discoverers, instigators in religious movements, thinkers in philosophy, infamous villains, creators of new academic fields of study, and risk takers in the arts, culture, and entertainment worlds. 212 pages.
Champions: Biographies of Global LGBTQ Pioneers (Mark S. Bonham, 2014) reveals a group of select artists, writers, politicians, lawyers, sports figures, activists, and religious figures from around the world who have helped shape the history of the LGBTQ community. Presented in a convenient notebook format. 114 pages.
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