Pride Month in the "Global South"

It's July 1st, Pride Month just wrapped, and for the very first issue of this newsletter, I decided to look at LGBTQ+ stories across the so-called Global South. Not are they allowed to marry yet? stuff, but the intimate, messy, beautiful ways queer people live, love, and resist there, just like anywhere else in the world.

In this issue, I'm highlighting three stories impacting LGBTQ+ people in Central America, South Asia and the entire continent of Africa. From trans rights in Cuba, a huge legal moment in India to a new audio erotica project telling juicy stories by queer Africans, for queer Africans, there's room for so much joy when we talk about LGBTQ+ rights in the "Global South," and this first issue is here to show, well, The Goodies.

Before I get into all of that below, just know: I don't know exactly where this newsletter is going yet. Some weeks, I might zoom in on one topic. Other times, I'll throw a bunch of interesting stuff into the mix, kind of like the bits you'll see further down.

Let's get into it.

Trans people in Cuba might soon be able to change their names without all the bureaucratic drama.

Right now, if you're trans in Cuba and want to legally change your name, it's... a mess. You have to prove that society already accepts your name, show a clean criminal record, and even provide public records where you've already used the name you want. (How do you prove you exist as yourself before the law says you can? Exactly.)

But a new bill could change that, reports Reuters. It would finally make it actually doable for trans Cubans to change their names through the civil registry, no extra hoops. If it passes, this would be a major step toward legal dignity. And it builds on Cuba's 2022 "Family Code" that already legalized same-sex marriage and adoption.

Why it matters:
Cuba is slow to move, even though the culture is already ahead of...