[Israel]
Meet Androgynous Model Stav Strashko, Toyota's Transgender Sensation
An androgynous Israeli 20-year-old in a bikini is now selling you a Japanese car.

[Japan]
Does This Ad Indicate a Future for Androgynous Male Models?
As our friends at Jalopnik have pointed out, this new Toyota ad currently airing in Japan features a tall blonde strutting across a showroom in high heels a pair of red bikini bottoms. So far, so much standard sex-sells bullshit. But when the model turns around, it becomes clear that he's not a woman but an androgynous-looking man.

[Canada]
Convicted pedophile may be considering sex change, documents show
A convicted pedophile apparently prefers life as a woman, Parole Board of Canada documents show.
Matthew Harks legally changed his hame to Madilyn (Rebecca) Harks, according to documents dated Aug. 22.
Parole officials would not comment on the case, but it is believed the name change coincides with Harks' move to change his sex.

[Australia]
SA to adopt LGBT strategy
The South Australian Minister for Social Inclusion, Ian Hunter (pictured), has announced a new LGBTIQ strategy will be developed for the state.

[USA]
For Transgender Veterans, An Awkward ID Problem Awaits Simple Fix
There aren't many transgender U.S. military veterans. Advocacy groups estimate the number may be somewhere around 300,000 out of the nation's 26 million vets. But nearly all will struggle to access military benefits because of an awkward bureaucratic snafu that could be easily fixed: their discharge papers show the wrong gender.

[USA]
Transgender Rapper Mykki Blanco Premieres 'Wavvy' Video
If you haven't heard of Mykki Blanco before, don't blame yourself too much. The female alter ego of transgender rapper Michael David Quattlebaum had been somewhat of an underground phenomenon until recently.

[USA] [Commentary]
Ashley Love is Barred from Commenting on this Blog
Yesterday Ashley Love came here and left a comment that was so grossly insulting as to result in my barring her from commenting on this blog and my defriending her on Facebook.

[USA] [Commentary]
The Coffee and Donut Riots
On June 18, 2010 I published a diary about the Compton's Cafeteria Riots of 1966. On August 20, 2012 there was a gathering/march in San Francisco honoring the survivors of those riots and the decades to follow.

[CA, USA]
Bathroom controversy follows opening of new residence hall
Construction still uncompleted, students in the new Maximino Martinez Commons had to quickly adjust to concerns raised over the gender-specific bathrooms in the residence hall when they moved in last week.

[LA, USA]
Jeff Landry presses university to drop lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender courses
Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, is continuing his efforts to get the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to drop its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies minor on grounds it isn't consistent with the college's mission to prepare young people for jobs.

[MI, USA]
Jackson City Commission Votes to Take Up Non-Discrimination Ordinance
On Aug. 14, the Jackson City Commission voted to take up the issue of adopting an inclusive and equal non-discrimination ordinance. Specifically the ordinance would ban discrimination of people based on a number of factors, including their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. In recent months, similar ordinances have passed in Flint, Mount Pleasant, and Muskegon. Last year voters in Traverse City upheld their city's nondiscrimination ordinance.