On the Gaydar: Croatia, Britney Spears, Chaz Bono, Maria Bello, Tom Daley, and more

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      Here's a roundup of LGBT news from around the world.

      Croatians vote to support same-sex marriage ban  On December 1, two-thirds of voters in a Croatian referendum voted to change the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Also, 104 out of 151 members of Croatia's parliament voted for maintaining a ban on same-sex marriage. Croatia became a member of the European Union on July 1; LGBT rights are protected under EU treaties and laws, but marriage and adoption rights differ in various EU states.

      Hawaiian same-sex couples marry  Numerous same-sex couples wed in Hawaii after a new law legalizing same-sex marriage went into effect on December 2. Hawaii became the 15th U.S. state to legalize gay marriage.

      NYC cardinal says church's views caricatured  In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press on December 1, Catholic Church cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said the church has been misrepresented as being "antigay". However, he also said the church won't stop its fight against same-sex marriage.

      Toronto organization proposes LGBT sports facility  Toronto's 519 Church Community Centre wants to build a $100-million sports and recreation centre that will cater to LGBT people.

      British Olympic diver announces same-sex relationship  Nineteen-year-old Olympic diver Tom Daley from Britain has publicly announced in a video that he is currently dating a guy. He also says that he still fancies girls. He also faced a homophobic backlash on Twitter.

      Maria Bello dating a woman  Hollywood actor Maria Bello (Prisoners, Grown Ups) has written a personal essay in the New York Times about how she explained to her 12-year-old son that she is in a relationship with a woman.

      Chaz Bono talks about weight loss  Former Dancing With the Stars contestant Chaz Bono has revealed details about how he shed 85 lbs., which included surgery and dieting. The 44-year-old transgender son of Cher and Sonny Bono went from 250lbs to 165lbs.

      Irish transgender study reveals mental health concerns  A study conducted by the Transgender Equality Network Ireland has found that 78 percent of transgender respondents had considered suicide.

      Indian transgender applicant recognized as woman  A 23-year-old South Indian woman made headlines when she became the first transgender woman to apply to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission as a woman in Madurai, India, on December 1. 

      Russian channel airs transgender documentary  Russian television network RT aired a documentary called His Name is Julia about the challenges that former sports writer Julia Solovyova faces as a transgender person in Russia.

      Russian LGBT film festival faces threats  The sixth edition of the Bok o Bok (Side by Side) film festival held in St. Petersburg, Russia, from November 21 to 30, received two bomb threats and had two security incidents. The festival's lineup included Canadian films, such as Xavier Dolan's Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm) and Myriam Fougère's documentary Lesbiana.

      Director talks about Polish queer cinema  In an interview with So So Gay, Polish director Tomasz Wasilweski talks about his film Floating Skyscrapers (Płynące wieżowce) and the new wave of Polish cinema. He calls his film Poland's first LGBT film, although Malgorzata Szumowska's In the Name of (W imię...), which screened at this year's Vancouver Queer Film Festival, also deals with gay issues.

      Oops, Britney did it again  After Britney Spears offended some gay fans for calling her gay beauty team "adorable and hilarious" and received criticism that her single "Work Bitch" is gayspoitation, she has called her gay fans "somewhat girls". Cue the Twitter backlash. 

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