“I’m an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort.” This line, from E. M. Forster’s novel Maurice, has long been my favorite literary euphemism for declaring one’s homosexuality. For Moroccan author Hicham Bouzid, author of the forthcoming novel Kafavis’ Syndrome: An Odyssey of a Bisexual Moslem (Publish America, May 2010), when searching for the proper reference point for examining the struggles bisexuals face in the Muslim world, he went all the way back to origins of epic poetry itself.

Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes featured a segment entitled “America’s Gift: Fighting HIV/AIDS in Uganda,” in which Bob Simon reported on the United States’ relief work in Uganda surrounding the HIV/AIDS crisis in that country. While the overall tone of the piece was rather self-congratulatory, one moment in particular made me literally stop what I was doing and focus on the television.

It’s supposed to be the benefit of diminished expectations: You set the bar so low that it becomes difficult to be disappointed. That’s the theory, at least. In practice, however, when I’m presented with a situation like the one that’s playing out in Zimbabwe, a country where gay rights have never been likely to flourish and there are so many other political and economic issues to address simultaneously, I still feel a twinge of regret when I see opportunities to legislate LGBT equality pass by unacknowledged.

If you happen to have been living anywhere on this planet this past weekend, then you probably heard Congress passed a little old health care reform bill that some folks were awfully worked up over. As I was reading analysis of how the new system may impact LGBT Americans, it made me think of others recent stories from around the world regarding the health of queer individuals. I’ve compiled a few of them below.

In my annual State of Pride post last year I mentioned that, like the infamous snowbirds of my home states of New York and New Jersey, Pride, which is most often celebrated June in the Northern hemisphere, migrates south when the weather turns cold around these parts. Which makes total sense, since who wants to wear leather chaps in the snow? It also happens that some of the biggest and more symbolic Pride celebrations have just taken place, so let’s take a look at them.

With the recent attention and international backlash aimed at Uganda over the last few months, more and more Ugandan ex-patriots have come forward to fight against their government’s hateful policies. One such activist goes by the name Moses and you may recognize his voice from a clip like the one that played during an episode of The Rachel Maddow Show, which features a young man appearing at a press conference for an event protesting the National Prayer Breakfast with a bag over his head to protect his identity. Below, Moses shares more of his personal story with TNG.

With all of the domestic news on the gay rights front, it’s sometimes hard to remember that news in this area is being made all over the world. And when you add to that equation the fact that the T is often ignored in favor of the LGB in most instances, it can be difficult to find the latest headlines in the trans rights movement throughout the international community. It turns out, however, at the moment, there’s a lot going on around the world, so let’s check some of it out.

This week I feel a little like a college professor assigning homework for an upcoming lecture. I’m a little swamped working on putting together several interviews relating to the gay rights struggle in sub-Saharan Africa forfuture Global Gaze columns and thought that now would be a good time to pause and offer some suggestions for some refresher reading on the subject for those interested.

When surveying the list of nations in the world in which homosexuality remains a crime and then reading news stories about countries, like India, that have recently decriminalized same-sex acts and relationships, it’s easy for the international community to pat itself on the back for a job well done and turn its attention to another region or issue. As two recent stories out of the UK have demonstrated, however, there are a host of issues that must be dealt with in a country long after homosexuality is formally legalized.

As I’ve already mentioned in previous posts, while the focus of many international gay rights activists has rightly centered on Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill in recent months, the situation for LGBT individuals in nearby sub-Saharan African countries has been growing worse, possibly thanks to the increased furor in Uganda. One country that the world should be watching very closely is Malawi, there the plight of queer individuals is becoming as similarly bleak as their counterparts in Uganda, regardless of whether this may be indicative of a broader regional trend.