Saint Patrick, brains and Hollywood stars

Your Daily Package of newsy and naughty bits from around the world

Tense meeting between Pence and Varadkar

Notably anti-gay US Vice-President Mike Pence met with notably gay Irish leader Leo Varadkar under intense media scrutiny, but Pence took the unusual move of keeping the traditional St Patrick’s Day meeting behind closed doors. [Independent]

Study: Trans brains are structured differently

A study by scientists in Brazil shows that transgender women have differently structured brains than cisgender men, suggesting that gender identity may well be determined before birth. [Medical Daily]

RuPaul gets Hollywood star

RuPaul Charles is the first drag queen to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after it was unveiled last week. [BBC]

HIV-prevention architect David Cooper dies

Scientist David Cooper, who led Australia’s response to the HIV epidemic — which became a world-leading response strategy — has died. Cooper was the first director of the Kirby Institute. [Gay Star News]

Conservative leads Costa Rica race

It looks likes Fabricio Alvarado Munoz, the evangelical conservative politician who rode on a wave of anti-gay marriage sentiment, will clinch the Costa Rica presidential race. [Reuters]

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

Read More About:
Power

Keep Reading

Trans issues didn’t doom the Democrats

OPINION: The Republicans won ending on a giant anti-trans note, but Democrats ultimately failed to communicate on class

Xtra Explains: Trans girls and sports

Debunking some of the biggest myths around trans girls and fairness in sports

How ‘mature minor’ laws let trans kids make their own decisions

Canadian law lets some youth make medical or legal decisions for themselves, but how does it work?

To combat transphobia, we need to engage with the people who spread it

OPINION: opening up a dialogue with those we disagree with is key if we want to achieve widespread social change