The 21 most-popular gay news stories of 2014

Here they are – the most popular gay news stories of 2014, as decided by you. We’ve ranked these top 21 articles from least to most-read.

See if you missed out on what really caught the South African gay community’s interest in the last year.

21. UGANDAN LGBTI RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN O.R. TAMBO DRAMA
South African LGBTI activists were outraged when the Department of Home Affairs ignored a court order to immediately release a Ugandan activist living in South Africa and threatened to deport him back to Uganda.
READ IT HERE

20. CAPE TOWN SOCCER FANS BACK GAY NIGERIANS
Anger at Nigeria’s horror anti-gay law, which was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan in January, spread around the world. In Cape Town, enthusiastic groups of LGBT spectators took a public stand against the law in a unique demonstration during a soccer match between Nigeria and South Africa.
READ IT HERE

19. SA MAN’S GAY MARRIAGE PROPOSAL VIDEO GOES VIRAL
A Johannesburg gay man’s remarkable marriage proposal video, featuring The Hobbit and X-Men star Ian McKellen, went viral in August. We chatted to the happy couple about their memorable engagement.
READ IT HERE

18. MR GSA FINALIST IN ‘UGLY’ FURORE
Being a role model is much harder these days, thanks to the glare of social media. That’s what a Mr Gay South Africa 2014 finalist learned when he was slammed for posting a comment about “ugly” people on Facebook in January.
READ IT HERE

17. IS JOBURG PRIDE BROKE?
Throughout its long history Johannesburg Pride has often been in the headlines, and 2014 was no different. In February, organisers faced questions about finances and management. Despite promises to do so, they have yet to provide financials or a full ‘on the record’ explanation to us, although the event did successfully go ahead later in the year.
READ IT HERE

16. WHO: GAY MEN SHOULD TAKE HIV PREVENTION MEDICATION
It was a remarkable moment in the fight against HIV for the gay community. For the first time, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that men who have sex with men should take preventive antiretroviral medication as an additional method of preventing HIV infection, alongside the use of condoms.
READ IT HERE

15. NEW GAY BLOOD RULES: APPLAUSE & ANGER
In May, we broke the long-awaited news that gay men in South Africa would finally be allowed to donate blood. While the ground-breaking change to South Africa’s blood donation policy was widely welcomed, some reacted with concern and even anger.
READ IT HERE

14. STEVE HOFMEYR WRITES TO GAY, WHITE EFF MEMBER
In September, a newspaper profile of a gay, white and Afrikaans student member of the EFF led controversial Afrikaans singer and actor Steve Hofmeyr to respond. We, in turn, broke down Hofmeyr’s bizarre, homophobic and racist diatribe.
READ IT HERE

13. WORLD CUP GAY FOOTBALL STARS URGED TO COME OUT
Homophobia continues to plague sport around the world – especially when it comes to football. In June, the UN’s human rights chief, Navi Pillay, urged gay football players to come out of the closet at the Brazil World Cup. Sadly, few heeded her call.
READ IT HERE

12. 2014 JOHANNESBURG PRIDE STAYS IN SANDTON
Despite calls by some for the event to be moved to a more central and accessible location, organisers of the 2014 Johannesburg Pride Parade and Festival announced that the event would once again take place in Sandton.
READ IT HERE

11. ANTI-GAY SA PASTOR ATTENDS HOMOPHOBIC “FAMILY” CONFERENCE IN RUSSIA
The anti-gay Christian “family” movement continued to find support around the world in 2014. In September, it was revealed that Pastor Errol Naidoo, South Africa’s very own Christian crusader against gay equality, had spoken at an international “family” conference in Moscow.
READ IT HERE

10. TUTU A “SON OF SATAN” FOR SUPPORTING GAYS, EUTHANASIA
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been repeatedly slammed for his pro-gay and progressive views by conservative religious leaders. In July, South Africa’s Christian Democratic Party (CDP) condemned Tutu’s support for assisted suicide and gay marriage, calling him “a son of Satan”.
READ IT HERE

9. DSTV DROPS UGANDA GAY HATE TABLOID ADS
Few LGBT issues in recent years have galvanised the world as much as the plight of Uganda’s LGBT community. DSTV, the South African-based African pay TV satellite network, had to explain why it had placed advertising with an anti-gay Ugandan publication that had put the lives of gay people at risk.
READ IT HERE

8. PE GAY WEDDING PHOTO SPARKS HATE BACKLASH
It was a sad confirmation that homophobia remains alive and well in the hearts of many South Africans. In February, gay-haters sent in shocking letters in an angry response to a photo of a Valentine’s Day gay wedding couple published on the front page of a Port Elizabeth newspaper.
READ IT HERE

7. LESBIAN WEDDING VENUE SNUB STORY GOES VIRAL
Despite it being illegal to do so, many service providers, such as wedding venues, continue to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. Our March story on the refusal of a Western Cape wedding venue to host gay and lesbian marriage ceremonies took on a somewhat disturbing life of its own.
READ IT HERE

6. EXCLUSIVE: MEET AFRICA’S FIRST OPENLY-GAY BLACK MP
May’s swearing in of new MPs for South Africa’s fifth democratic Parliament was an especially historic occasion. It featured the induction of the first openly-gay black male Member of Parliament on the African continent, Zakhele Mbhele. We introduced him to the world.
READ IT HERE

5. POPE: BACK OFF THE GAYS
Pope Francis both delighted and frustrated Catholic gays in 2014, with his sometimes seemingly conflicting views. In an interview with America magazine, the Pontiff appeared to present a more accepting stance on homosexuality by acknowledging that the Catholic Church has a history of being obsessed by dogma and pettiness.
READ IT HERE

4. ISRAEL PROTECTS GAY STUDENTS FROM DISCRIMINATION
The year saw Israel continue to be the most pro-gay nation in the Middle East (although, critics argue that this progressive stance serves to obscure its human rights abuses against Palestinians). In May, the Israeli Parliament approved a law outlawing discrimination by schools against pupils because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
READ IT HERE

3. CAPE TEENS WATCH AS GAY MAN BEATEN, SET ON FIRE
March saw South Africa’s LGBT community dealing with another horrific hate crime against one of its own. In a particularly disturbing incident, 23-year-old David Olyne was brutally tortured and set on fire as a group of teenagers watched on at the insistence of the killer.
READ IT HERE

2. ANC BLOCKS MOTION CONDEMNING UGANDA ANTI-GAY BILL
In an ongoing display of hypocrisy, the South African government has repeatedly refused to criticise African governments that persecute LGBT people. In February, we were outraged when the ANC blocked a DA motion in Parliament to condemn Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.
READ IT HERE

1. CAPE WEDDING VENUE DUMPS LESBIAN COUPLE
This was our most-read news article of 2014. It’s our original March report, in which we broke the story about an engaged lesbian couple, Leanne Brown-Waterson and her partner Christelle, who were left humiliated by a homophobic Western Cape wedding venue that told them to go elsewhere.
READ IT HERE