Patricia Yurena Rodriguez posted this photo on Instagram of herself and her girlfriend, Vanesa Cortez, with the caption, “Romeo and Juliet.”

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the case of the former Miss Spain, Patricia Yurena Rodriguez, it’s worth just three – “Yes, I am.”

The former Miss Spain (2008 and 2013) and 1st runner up in the 2013 Miss Universe competition came out via Instagram, posting a photo with her girlfriend, singer and DJ Vanesa Cortez, with the caption “Romeo and Juliet.”

The 24-year-old is the first openly lesbian national beauty queen in the country. Rodriguez told a local newspaper, “I do not regret what I did. I’m thrilled with what is happening to me.”

Rodriguez later posted another photo with a caption thanking her fans for their support.

According to the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación, Rodriguez and Cortez met via mutual friends last year before the 2013 Miss Universe pageant and began dating several months ago.

The post Former Miss Spain comes out as lesbian first appeared on Lesbian.com.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, which offers the opportunity to build awareness for the children and teens seeking a home, and to support individuals hoping to adopt. In particular, adoption is an oft-selected channel gay couples turn to in order to start families. The number of gay and lesbian couples adopting children is on the rise in the United States, and with the recent passage of marriage equality in Hawaii and Illinois, the number will continue to grow.

Yet the adoption process remains a patchwork of complexly woven restrictions for LGBT couples in the United States. According to the Family Equality Council, a majority of states still impose restrictions against LGBT couples hoping to adopt. Only 19 states and the District of Columbia allow gay couples to jointly adopt, while more shockingly, six states maintain an explicit ban on LGBT adoptive and foster parents.

Read more at Care2.com

Care2 is the largest online community of people passionate about making a difference.

The post 5 friendly countries for LGBT adoptive parents first appeared on Lesbian.com.

When it comes to enjoying the pleasures of gay Spain, take my advice: Barcelona is for boys and Madrid is for mujeres! Madrid is a thoroughly female-centric city. It’s Penelope Cruz on a plate—smart, sophisticated, sexy! The myth of machismo may be alive and well, but I didn’t stumble upon it in my time there. From the mysterious laneways of Old Madrid, to tapas of infinite variety, to the very latest in art, architecture, and fashion, this city will not disappoint culture-loving lesbians.

“But what about the euro?” you cry. Yes, there’s that. But if you’re already in the market for a Roman holiday or a Parisian sojourn, consider Madrid as a surprising alternative, and a European destination where they got over the same-sex marriage debate back in 2005. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a local who doesn’t believe that the freedom to love whomever you choose is an inalienable human right—just like good food, fine wine, and all the art you can afford.

Read more at Curve

Curve, the nation’s best-selling lesbian magazine, spotlights all that is fresh, funny, exciting, controversial and cutting-edge in our community.

The post Madrid is for (queer) mujeres first appeared on Lesbian.com.

A team of Spanish researchers say they have made an important breakthrough in HIV research, developing a new vaccine against the virus that is significantly more effective than earlier attempts. Advancing vaccine research could eventually eliminate the need for the expensive methods currently used to treat HIV-positive individuals.

Researchers tested the vaccine on randomly selected HIV-positive individuals who were already taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) medications, the most scientifically advanced form of treatment currently available to combat the virus. They wanted to see if, rather than simply suppressing the effects of the virus with outside treatment, their vaccine could lead the human immune system to coordinate its own defense against HIV — and they succeeded, seeing some subjects’ HIV viral loads drop more than 90 percent after 12 weeks of the trial.

Read more at ThinkProgress.org

The post Breakthrough in HIV research may lead to vaccine first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Spain’s Constitutional Court, the top court in Spain, rejected an appeal to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman on Tuesdsay, thus upholding the legality of gay marriage in the country.

The court voted 8-3 to dismiss the appeal filed by the conservative Popular Party just after Spain became the world’s third country to approve gay marriage back in 2005 (following Belgium and the Netherlands).

Read more at dot429.com

The post Spain upholds gay marriage first appeared on Lesbian.com.