Stories about: activism
The following words were read by Asiel Adan Sanchez at a vigil held for the victims of Orlando in Melbourne, Australia this month. The writer kindly shared their words to be published here, including statements in both Spanish and English. My name is Asiel, I’m Mexican, I’m a non-binary person of colour, I’m Latinx I’d like to start by acknowledging the traditional custodians …
This piece is published in honour of the victims of the Orlando massacre in June 2016. In 1978 the San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the LGBTQ rainbow flag, rising to the challenge set by his friend Harvey Milk to come up with a symbol of pride for the gay community. With the help of 30 volunteers, …
On Tuesday, sitting in a room in Parliament House, among community members and advocates, I watched the Premier of Victoria deliver a public apology to men convicted under since-repealed laws criminalising homosexuality. In this state at least, the decriminalisation process ended in the early ‘80s (before I was born) but as the Premier’s speech eloquently acknowledged, …
ORDER ARCHER MAGAZINE #6 HERE “We know what ‘she’ isn’t. ‘She’ is not a uterus. ‘She’ is not having a child, or being a daughter. ‘She’ is not always paid less, though she is more likely to be. ‘She’ may change her pronouns; perhaps many times. We do know that gender is highly complex, entirely individual, …
As an architecture student in the late 90s, I imagined an LGBTIQA Cultural Centre on a site next to Docklands Stadium. I was free then to idealise a city where my queer, underground musical and my mainstream sporting worlds merged – and naive enough to associate queer culture with prime real estate and government funding. …
In hindsight, getting through high school is still one of the most arduous experiences I’ve ever had. When I look back, the most vivid memories that come to mind are vignettes of a scared, frightened teenager whose biggest fear was being outed as gay against his will. It didn’t help that the circumstances back then …
I’m seated in the back of an Uber on a cold evening in Mexico City. The driver turns right and I can see the noticeable change between neighbourhoods as we leave the financial district of Reforma Avenue and enter Zona Rosa,the queer neighbourhood of the city. After liberal laws were passed here during the eighties …
Trans visibility, Safe Schools and living vulnerable: fighting back against the demonising of Transgender people
Today is Transgender Day of Visibility. It is a day – like many other such ‘days’ – that celebrates or makes prominent something in the public mind. For a day. Of course, the people who are represented by these days are living the issues associated with it every other day. International Women’s Day, for instance, is …
Two years ago, Sydney’s infamous lockout laws were introduced on Mardi Gras weekend. While the official Mardi Gras party lay outside the exclusion zone, the raft of parties on Oxford St and the CBD scrambled to remind revellers to be in by 1:30, create makeshift smoking areas, and decide what to do once last drinks …
The protest at this year’s annual Pride march in Melbourne, and the violent reaction it subsequently received, draws critical attention to the ethical compromises the queer community has made to gain the power, funding and visibility we now have. A group of queer and transgender activists disrupted the march in front of the NAB faction …
Last week the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission launched Pride Not Prejudice, a short film marking fifteen years since sexual orientation and gender identity were included in Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act. The launch night was pretty remarkable, as those in the video and on the panel afterwards reflected on what life was like …
No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would …
In 2004, then-prime minister John Howard introduced the Marriage Amendment Bill, which incorporated the common law definition of marriage – “the union of a man and a woman to exclusion of all others” – into both the Marriage Act and the Family Law Act. It thereby gave Australia’s same-sex marriage movement its impetus. Australia now …
On Friday 7 November last year after a long legal battle, three Malaysian trans women secured a historic victory as a Federal Appeals court ruled that a state Islamic law criminalising trans-women is unconstitutional. Malaysia has a two-track legal system with separate Islamic laws on civil matters only decided by the conservative religious ministry which …
Frustrated by Australia’s stance on marriage equality and inspired by John and Yoko’s ‘Bed-In’ protest, I decided to have a marriage equality Bed-In. I called it ‘In bed with the Unwed – Bed-In’, or simply ‘The In Bed Project’. In the context of the bed, I photograph those who support marriage equality, including singles, couples and families. The …
Yesterday, the Courier-Mail put the gruesome murder of Indonesian transwoman Mayang Prasetyo, killed by her partner Marcus Volker, on its front page. The article is breathtaking in its prurience and voyeurism. Even though Prasetyo was murdered and dismembered, The Courier-Mail deemed it appropriate to include a succession of photos of a seductively-posed Prasetyo in a …
IMMIGRATION ISSUES HAVE plagued parliamentary leaders throughout Australia’s recent history. In particular, the plight of asylum seekers who arrive by boat has captured the attention of the media and the public – harrowing images of people fleeing countries ravaged by war, violence and economic instability have flooded our screens since the infamous Tampa affair in …
LIKE THOSE IT marches for, SlutWalk is a diverse movement. You don’t have to fit any particular mould to join — not least because ‘slut’ is used against women so loosely the word has lost much of its meaning (though not all of its bite). It’s up to the individual whether they want to reclaim …
NEW LEGISLATION WAS recently passed by the legislature in the US state of Arizona that would allow businesses, under the pretence of religious beliefs, to refuse service to gays and lesbians. The bill, which was eventually vetoed by the Governor, would have created segregation within the state. We could have easily seen “NO GAYS ALLOWED” signs …
KATHLEEN HANNA, THE quintessential outspoken feminist, musician and debatable leader of the riot grrrl movement, is back on the scene after years of silence due to a chronic illness. Her new band, The Julie Ruin, sets to be a more laid back musical experience in contrast to the hard-hitting issues tackled by earlier bands Bikini …
Alastair Lawrie is a Sydney-based writer and long-term LGBTI activist. He has been involved with both the Victorian and New South Wales Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobbies. AS EXPECTED, THE HIGH Court today overruled the ACT’s same-sex marriage laws. This means that the much-publicised marriages of couples who had used the five-day window of opportunity …
AND IN HAPPIER news for sexual diversity, we have all been gifted a humbling welcome video from John Berry, the US Ambassador for Australia. Obama’s decision to appoint Berry, the first openly gay man to serve as ambassador to a G20 nation, seems a far cry from the situation here in Australia. Berry is a …