THE 24TH MELBOURNE Queer Film Festival (MQFF) kicks off tonight. For the next 11 days cinemas throughout Melbourne will light up with some of the best LGBTI films from Australia and abroad. There are over 150 films to choose from, so the team at Archer has come to your service and picked the top 5 …

UNMARRIED SEX. PORN. Sex toys. Brothels. Heterosexuals dabble in these practices with as much freak and fervour as homosexuals and yet somehow it’s the gay person who threatens heterosexual relationships, the gay person who devalues the sanctity of marriage. I’m not interested in writing a defence of same-sex marriage. I am, however, fascinated by assumptions …

Marry Me depicts the everyday experiences of an average Aussie gay man: arguments with family; flawed, drunken sexual encounters; the use of sex-based phone apps and the coveted afternoon beach visit when it all gets a bit much.

TONIGHT, ARCHER FOUNDER Amy Middleton will talk about sexual diversity and the language we use to describe it for Melbourne Free University. As the person in charge of hand-picking articles for Archer’s blog and print edition, Amy spends a lot of time in the community speaking to people about their varied approaches to sexuality, sex …

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 …

Archer intern Erin Stutchbury is a Melbourne-based writer and grammarian. She is a multiple Mardi Gras attendee and general gay scenester and event-goer. AS THE WONDER that is Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras enters its final weekend and you prepare to don your glitter, sequins and rainbow dust for one last shake-down at the parade, …

A Guide to the Yarra River’s Beats by Sam Wallman. Sam Wallman is a Melbourne-based cartoonist. He has published four books of drawings, in which he captures the ridiculous, the visceral and the personal aspects of politics and society. His latest book  is entitled Pen Erases Paper. View more of Sam’s artworks at his website: http://www.penerasespaper.com

Guest blogger Abby Corson comments on controversial Australian beauty pageants and the dangers of sexualising children, both for the girls on show and society at large. Fake tan. Spider eyelashes. Push-up bras. Acrylic nails. No, I’m not describing a night out in Hollywood. Disturbingly, these are all common attributes of the underage entrants of the …

OU WOULDN’T BE ALONE in feeling frustrated, isolated, devalued and depressed if you were suddenly labelled “asexual” at your next birthday. Millions of older Australians feel the same way when they’re suddenly assumed to be asexual at their 65th birthday. But research shows that older people are sexual and that sexual expression is important for …

The rotating image on Google today depicts six Olympic sports taking place against a rainbow backdrop, ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Sochi games are shrouded in controversy due to recently established anti-LGBTI propaganda laws in Russia. Google’s homepage also features a quote from the Olympic Charter – a set of guidelines for the …

Send us your pitches for issue 2! We are on the hunt for writing that captures Australian attitudes to sexual diversity in 2014. (Historical and overseas content is welcome, as long as it has an Australian slant.) What we are looking for: * Archer values honest and open communication; real human stories; difference and sameness; …

“I wanted to know what I was besides a sick person. Every time I play music, I’m like, this is really who I am.” Kathleen Hanna chats to Archer Magazine.

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 …

Guest blogger Rebecca Shaw is a freelance writer from Brisbane. She is a lesbian with a sense of humour who tells jokes on Twitter and over her comedy podcast Bring a Plate. YESTERDAY, A MOVIE called Bamboozled was crowned the winner of annual short film competition Tropfest. Basic synopsis: a man named Pete runs into …

The world’s first glimpse of Archer Magazine is happening in Melbourne this month. It’s going to be one hell of a party. LAUNCH OF ARCHER MAGAZINE: MELBOURNE WHERE: St Heliers Street Gallery Abbotsford Convent, Collingwood WHEN: Thursday, November 28 7pm WHAT: Life drawing by Michael Hawkins Readings from Archer Magazine by Dr Lauren Rosewarne + Aram …

Guest blogger Teddy Cook was invited by Archer to blog on the media’s use of language. THE TRANS* EXPERIENCE is as diverse as the population it represents. Remember this: we aren’t all ‘trapped in the wrong body’, we aren’t all desperate for diagnosis and surgery and hormones. We aren’t all connected to your ideal of …

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 …

Founding editor of Archer Magazine, Amy Middleton, offers a personal response to the outcome of the 2013 Australian federal election. I’VE OFTEN WONDERED how democratic leaders responsible for atrocities throughout history were elected by the people they would come to oppress. I used to put it down to corruption and dishonesty in the democratic process. …

Guest blogger Amy Russell bears witness to an unlikely protest incited by free dessert. THERE’S NOTHING WORSE THAN sitting at your desk all day. It’s up there with visiting the dentist, having a pap smear or, as I discovered today, narrow-minded people raining on a gay parade. In need of some fresh air at lunch, …

Our Pozible campaign has kicked off. We need to raise $20,000 to cover the printing of our first two issues and payment to ALL our contributing writers and photographers, with a little left over for marketing. Donations over $50 receive an exclusive Archer mug. Other than supporting a much-needed new media outlet in Australia, what …

For someone who is set apart from the majority by an obvious point of difference, the incessant questioning from the public can become exhausting. Example: I’m a woman in a relationship with a woman. I’m also gluten-intolerant. Each of these traits sets me apart from the majority and I often have to remind myself, during …

My reaction to the leadership spill this week blind-sided me. As a woman in a lesbian partnership, I should be feeling optimistic now that Kevin Rudd is back in power. After all, since his last term as PM, Kevin has come out in support of marriage equality. He’s the first PM to publicly support gay …