freedom of expression

A couple of years ago I stumbled across GenderIT.org while browsing the web for information about women's rights, human rights defenders and the internet. I was hooked, but I never thought that I would be invited to write an editorial.

Grady speaks to women's human rights defenders from India and Philippines who use ICTs in their work. They share their views how the right to freedom of association is exercised by women through ICTs. Speaking from their own experience, they dispelled some of the common myths surrounding the internet and ICTs use.

What is sexual content on the internet? What are sexuality and sexual rights? Which communications rights are critical for people's sexual rights? What are the most common threats to people's sexual rights? What are some of the methods and impacts of censorship of "sexual content" on the internet? These and other issues are highlighted by the media brief published by APC as part of the EroTICs…

How is the internet a key public sphere for the struggle for sexual citizenship and the exercise of sexual rights? What is its value to a diversity of users, especially those most marginalised or discriminated against because of their sexual, gender or other forms of social identity? Why do arguments for the regulation of the internet anchor on the moral imperative to regulate sexuality? Who are…

Grady gives a glimpse into the final research of the EROTICS research in South Africa that explored lesbians and transgender people use of the Internet, and how content regulation measures can constrain the internet's democratising and empowering potential for LGBTI persons in the country.

The recent controversy surrounding the Gay Girl in Damascus (who turned out to be anything but) has this blogger scratching his head. Why are we all so focused on how MacMaster misled us, and not on the real issue?

Sexuality Policy Watch and the Latin American Centre on Sexuality and Human Rights teamed up together to conduct the EroTICs research in Brazil. In an interview with Flavia Fascendini, they talked about their participation in the project as an opportunity to address the nuanced impact of new Internet legislation on sexuality. They approached this complex issue from two sides: looking at…

After two years the EROTICS research has revealed that sex on the internet is much more than just pornography, but instead it includes a vibrant ecosystem of individuals sharing and discovering their sexuality online. Not only that, the internet provides a space for sexual and identity rights activists to organize and advocate for change.

GenderIT.org contributor Mavic Cabrera-Balleza speaks with EroTICS researchers Melissa Hope Ditmore and Kevicha Echols as well as LGBT activist Nadine Moawad about the role of the internet in our sexual lives. They talk about the effect that filtering and censorship have on sexual expression and access to information, particularly for youth and LGBT persons.

If you saw the headline you have no doubt already heard the news that Gay Girl in Damascus was totally a dude. I know, right?