It’s been a big year for many in our communities. We’ve seen our first legal same gender marriages across Australia, and, with that, the end of forced divorce (in most states and territories) for transgender people wishing to change the gender on their birth certificate.

But with the good comes the bad, and this year also saw intense debate about religious freedom to discriminate against LGBTI students and teachers, and the proposed re-scheduling of amyl, which could have significant impacts on the sexual pleasure of many within our communities.

Across the world, we’ve seen Trump’s continued attacks on marginalised communities. The introduction of SESTA/FOSTA has had global ramifications for sex workers, and reminds us of the importance of sex worker activism and solidarity.

Relationship hierarchies: Defending queer friendships, community and being single by Iris Lee. Image:Leonora Giovanazzi. Licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.

We’ve had a big year too. We launched our ‘HISTORY’ issue in July, and our ‘GAZE’ issue was launched just last week. Our new editor-in-chief, Adolfo Aranjuez, has really been killing it. Our founding editor and publisher, Amy Middleton, gave birth to a pretty wonderful kid back in February, and has been looking after both her children (the actual baby and her Archer baby) in stellar fashion all year.

We said goodbye to two of our wonderful volunteers, deputy online editor Bobuq Sayed and content adviser Lottie Turner, and we welcomed a new deputy online editor, Roz Bellamy.

2018 proved to us the importance of continuing the fight, that we can’t be complacent after marriage equality. Our most read stories reflect that. They show that our writers and readers are committed to so much more than just marriage, whether it’s activism, alternative relationship structures, or the specific fights of intersectional marginalised communities.

Nic Holas’ piece on tina and gay men can’t be toppled, and neither can Steven Lindsay Ross’ article on Homosexuality and Aboriginal culture. We love that you love our classic pieces, with these ones appearing in the top ten for the fourth and fifth year in a row, respectively. Check out the rest of the list below. We’ll be re-sharing some of our favourites over the holiday period.

A big thank you to everyone who has subscribed, purchased, or read Archer Magazine this year. We love you.

See you next year, from all of us at Archer Magazine.

Feeding my desire: Intimacy and breastfeeding by Amanda Galea. Image: Piotr Łohunko, from Tookapic

The most read stories of 2018

Managing crystal meth: tina and gay men by Nic Holas. Image: See-ming Lee. Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Licence.

1. Managing crystal meth: tina and gay men by Nic Holas

“Drug use is not a new issue to us as gay men. Recreational drug use is inextricably linked to the gay community; perhaps even part of its identity. Opiates, heroin, cocaine, speed, poppers, ecstasy, GHB, tina; pick an era and you’ll find the drug de jour that has run through gay communities in Australia.” Read more…

2. Feeding my desire: Intimacy and breastfeeding by Amanda Galea

“At first surprised by the idea of it, she soon found herself enamoured and inexplicably healing through the process, something she often described to me as making her feel ‘stronger’ after each feed.” Read more…

Making space as a sex worker by Tilly Lawless. Image: Byron Spencer

3. Making space as a sex worker by Tilly Lawless

“What do you do when the spaces in which you should belong don’t accommodate you? I build a nest within them: a concave in the intersections, warmed with fronds and friends, and the beating of bodies of those who accept all of what goes into me: not just the sex work, not just the queerness.” Read more…

4. Bisexual women and mental health: You must be this queer to enter by Ruby Mountford

“Growing up, there were no bisexual figures to model myself after; no bi women in government, in media, or in the books I read. Bi women were either being graphically fucked in porn, or cast as psychotic nymphos in thriller movies. I never saw bisexual women being happy and healthy and loved.” Read more…

5. Relationship hierarchies: Defending queer friendships, community and being single by Iris Lee

“I have found it tricky to navigate sexual intimacy in a culture that automatically assumes growing relationship expectations known as the relationship escalator. People in couples rarely acknowledge the power they have in dictating terms with new connections, while having a strong support system to fall back on.” Read more…

6. Homosexuality and Aboriginal culture: a lore unto themselves by Steven Lindsay Ross

“When you’re Aboriginal, you’re always reminded of your difference… When you’re Aboriginal and gay, there are layers of difference and this can be challenging for some people.” Read more…

7. PrEP revolution: Shame, class and bareback sex by Shafik Zahyr

“PrEP unlocked the promiscuity I had always espoused ideologically, but rarely executed in practice. I was finally getting to be the slut I had been so afraid of becoming. With PrEP, the possibilities of sex expand and mutate. Strangers are far less threatening now, and a cum shot doesn’t resonate with the echo of a loaded gun anymore.” Read more…

Aboriginal families: Beyond flesh and blood by Nayuka Gorrie. Image: Laura Du Ve

8. Aboriginal families: Beyond flesh and blood by Nayuka Gorrie

“As I get older, and understand myself more, I realise that my blackness and the relationships we form in the black community have allowed me to hold many different truths about myself. In many ways, this informs my queerness and self-expression. I am both soft and hard. I am both the eldest sister in my family and someone’s younger sister. These things can exist at the same time.” Read more…

9. How to be a good slut: top 5 tips for all genders by Jessamy Gleeson

“Alongside knowing that consent is key – as in, absolutely essential – you’ve gotta remember that consent also needs be active, and enthusiastic. If you’ve detected any level of reluctance, anxiety or hesitation in your partner/s, that means consent has not been actively given.” Read more…

Non-binary fantasy and the erotics of Daddy/son play by Shafik Zahyr. Image: Milan Stojanovic.

10. Non-binary fantasy and the erotics of Daddy/son play by Shafik Zahyr

“Engaging in Daddy/son play, regardless of how gender specific the terms are, cannot undermine my gender identity because there is no singular way to be man, woman, both or neither. Being misgendered or fucking in a certain way does not subvert the very personal relationship I have with my own gender. It does, however, beg the question of why I find a sexual dynamic built upon binary iterations of masculinity so immeasurably arousing.” Read more…

Lucy Watson is the online editor of Archer Magazine.

BUY ARCHER MAGAZINE