Second French game in three days halted after homophobic banners
A second French league game in three days was interrupted due to banners deemed homophobic as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat Metz 2-0 Aug. 30.
Referee Frank Schneider stopped the game briefly after the banners were unfurled in the first half. He then allowed play to resume some minutes later when they were removed.
The latest incident came after an Aug. 28 game between Nice and Marseille, also in the top tier, was halted for several minutes after Nice fans unfurled two banners with homophobic messages.
Metz fans appeared to be responding to that incident by targeting the French league (LFP), showing a banner saying, “I won’t be on TV because my words are not very gay.”
More banners referenced the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, which has links to PSG through owner Qatar Sports Investments.
The LFP is attempting to cut out homophobic chanting at games. Earlier this month, a referee stopped a second-division match between Nancy and Le Mans for about a minute after an initial appeal made over the speakers to stop homophobic chanting failed to have an effect.
Japanese woman sues after boss outs her as transgender to colleagues
A Japanese woman has filed a lawsuit against the Osaka hospital where she works after her boss revealed to colleagues that she is transgender.
She is now demanding the hospital operator pay 12 million yen ($113,000) for the “undue emotional distress” she suffered as a result.
According to the lawsuit submitted to the Osaka District Court on August 30, the woman, who is not named, was assigned male at birth but identified as a woman from a young age.
She underwent gender-affirming surgery when she was in her 20s and legally changed her gender to female in 2004.
Now in her 40s, she began working at the hospital in 2013 and was urged by her boss to disclose her birth-assigned gender to colleagues.
She told her superior that it was unnecessary to reveal this information as she had already officially changed her gender on her family register. But her boss reportedly ignored her wishes and told colleagues without her consent.
She claimed she was later harassed by colleagues, with one person telling her “it feels gross” to get changed in the same room with her.
The backlash caused significant emotional distress and the plaintiff reportedly attempted suicide in February 2019, resulting in a serious injury.
The lawsuit alleges that the hospital operator failed to educate employees on transgender issues and violated a law obliging companies to maintain a safe working environment.
Lawmakers OK same-sex marriage in Mexico’s Oaxaca state
Lawmakers in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca have approved changing the civil code to authorize same-sex marriage.
A statement from the state congress says marriage will now be defined as a “civil contract celebrated between two persons, who unite to realize a life in common and provide each other respect, equality and mutual help.”
With the Aug. 28 vote, about 20 of Mexico’s 31 states plus Mexico City have codified same-sex marriage into law.
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled previously that it is unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage; however, in states where it wasn’t expressly authorized, it has been up to individual couples to sue in court for the right to wed.
There were confrontations between evangelical protesters opposed to the measure and LGBTQ activists in favor.
Indian state bans unnecessary surgeries on intersex babies
The South Indian state of Tamil Nadu has issued an executive order banning medically unnecessary surgeries on babies whose sex is not clear at birth.
The landmark move will protect the estimated 1.7 percent of people born with sex characteristics that differ from social expectations of female or male.
Most of these variations are medically benign, but surgeries are regularly performed to make intersex babies conform to gendered social norms.
The United Nations has condemned these “genital mutilations” 40 times since 2011.
The landmark move to ban them was made in response to an order by Tamil Nadu’s High Court, which states that intersex children “must be given their time and space to find their true gender identity.”
Reporting via Associated Press