Issue 87.6

Queer Dit

ISSUE 87.6 AUGUST 2019

WEDNESDAY

social issue discussions,

21 AUGUST · 11AM - 3PM

letter writing, petition

WESTERN COURTYARD,

signing, tips and advice on

HUB CENTRAL

sustainable living

Editorial Guest Editorial What's On Union Election Notice State of the Union SRC Queer Officer Report Left, Right and Centre EconDit Vox Pop Econ Dit

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Artistic Evolution and Igor Who You Calling Queer?

Classics of LGBT Cinema The Disappearing L It Was a Riot! The Origins of Mardi Gras The Reality of Religious Freedom: Israel Folau & Beyond

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Rainbow logos aren’t solidarity Cheerful Despair: the gay, glittery, girl power art of Dead Peaceful A New Chapter Film Review: Hedwig and the Angry Inch Poem: Some convenience Poem: ‘The Worms We Plant Within Ourselves’ From the Archives

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Editors Imogen Hindson Sam Bedford Maxim Buckley Emily Savage Subeditors Clare Dekuyer Felix Eldridge Ella Michele Stasi Kapetanos Design Emily Savage Cover Art Felicity Erne @felicityerne_art

We would like to Acknowledge that the land of The University of Adelaide is the traditional lands for the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their Country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

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RIAL ED O T IT DI

ITORIAL E

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RIAL ED O T DI

L EDITORIA IA

TORI A L EDI E

EDITORIAL

IAL EDI R O

There is something fundamentally unique about queer culture. LGBT folks have a way of taking things and shaking them up, challenging heteronormative boundaries to create something entirely new. This is evident through the poetry we’ve featured and our artist feature of Rhiannon Faith. The culture we create is inherently organic, and one of true independence.

We reflect our personhood through our art, and that is one of the things that is most impressive about the LGBT community. We take the stereotypes that have been placed upon us, flip them on their head, and create something entirely new.

Australian LGBT activists have originated from a movement that challenged our nation’s all-consuming straight culture. We can see how far we have come when reading the piece ‘The First Margi Gras - It Was a Riot!’. As a community, we’ve reached a place because of the progressive activists who stood up against the prejudices thrust upon our community.

Trauma of conversion therapy, phyical and verbal abuse, the AIDS crisis, and a criminalisastion for simply existing.

This violence was not an abstract concept that occured outside of the scope of our modern environment - this violence was, and continues to, impact our community. We saw this violence recently on an international level through the physical assault of an English lesbian couple, who refused to kiss for the offenders whilst on public transport. Being gay can still result in a death penalty in 9 countries.

This violence is not limited to international states, but exists in our little old Adelaide. Historically, we saw it in the murder of Adelaide University’s Dr. George Duncan. Although we have moved in leaps and strides towards a more gender diverse society, there is much work to do. Despite our progress, we continue to face social stigma associated with queerness.

We face the heightened commercialisation of the LGBT community as a profitable commodity rather than a group of people with significant social barriers to success. 1 in 3 trans people have experienced assault with a weapon. We must push to challenge beyond the Western and palatable issues of protest such as gay marriage and adoption, and challenge issues such as trans visability, international standards of LGBT rights, and the right to exist not within a heteronormative society, but in a way we are able to define.

I take immense pride in my identity, in my community. It’s an absolute honour to bring you QueerDit, alongside our miraculous guest editors Oliver, Matthew and Anna. May you take as much love out of this edition as we put into it.

With love, Imogen and Sam.

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EDITORIAL

QUEER DIT

OLIVER As its name suggests, this issue of On Dit is dedicated to all things LGBT+. It represents a chance for queer writers and artists to share their work, be it lighthearted or stone cold serious, with the wider student body.

Some might question why Queer Dit even needs to exist, and it’s an interesting point. After all, queerness is no longer a radical or taboo concept. Even back in 1976, Marlon Brando casually admitted in an interview to having gay experiences in the past, boldly stating that “homosexuality is so much in fashion, it no longer makes news.” The irony with that quote is that homosexuality was still very controversial in 1976. For many queer people today, however, it rings true: one’s sexuality is simply an incidental part of their life. The very fact that Queer Dit can

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be regarded as ordinary is a testament to how far we’ve come.

That isn’t to say that homophobia and prejudice no longer exist – they certainly do, especially for people marginalised in more than one way. But I think we as a community often lose sight of our progress. Today, Australia has strong anti-discrimination laws in place and is one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world. We owe it all to those who came before us: the ones who risked everything to come out, in a time when it was genuinely dangerous to do so. This issue is dedicated to them, and to all the people living in parts of the world who do not enjoy such liberties. How terrible it is to face persecution over that which one has no control over.

GUEST EDITORS

MATTHEW There’s a lot to be said about the way that Australia has limped into the 21st century regarding LGBTQI+ rights, and there are a vast array of different lived experiences that shape the individuals that bless our cohort. Opportunities like Queer Dit provide an outlet for students to share their stories & creative works for the wider community, those who identify and those that do not. Even though there have been significant strides made recently for Queer people worldwide, celebrations of our culture; past, present & future, are still important for us to remember the sacrifices made that have allowed us to progress to this point. Not only is there solace in shared experience, there is power in the celebration of being true to yourself. No human is only their sexuality, and people who fit within the LGBTQI+ bracket are also your colleagues, schoolmates, teachers, family members and friends. We exist within the traces of history, we exist now and we’ll exist in the future. I take great pride in my identity, and I’m honoured to be able to participate in this year’s Queer Dit. I hope you enjoy.

ANNA Hi all!

My name is Anna and I am in my fourth year of Arts / International Relations.

Being a major history nerd (and a history major), I am aware of the boldness and tenacity of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Overlooked figures in mainstream history such as Bayard Rustin (an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr) have attributed hugely to my understanding of the world, and to my growth as an individual. Everyone look him up! Like Bayard Rustin, my friends and family who are part of the queer community are not confined by this one label. We are also students, advocates, professionals, soccer stars, and earring lovers.

Nevertheless, it’s a label to celebrate! I cannot describe my affection and love for my friends and family who happen to be part of the queer community. Their kindness and strength radiates, in part because of their daily fight for love.

Through studying history, I have seen how love transcends time, cultures, and people. It comes in many shapes and sizes. It’s a true honour to tell stories of love as part of On Dit’s queer edition.

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WHAT’S ON

AUGUST 9th

9th

9th

AUES BBQ @ The Cloisters, 9th of August

University Climate Walk Out @ Bonython Hall, 9th of August

An Evening with Peter Singer (Effective Altrusim Club) @ Horace Lamb Lecture Theatre, 9th of August

12th

13th

14th

LGBT Film Screening (‘Army of Lovers, or Revolt of the Perverts’, 1979) @ Mercury Cinema, 12th of August

Italian Society Film Screening (‘Mediterraneo’, 1991) @ Union House, 13th of August

Stage Play: ‘Jerusalem’ by Jez Butterworth (Performed by the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild) @ The Little Theatre (The Cloisters), 14th – 17th of August

16th

16th

18th

Queer Karaoke (UniSA Rainbow Club) @ The Voice Karaoke (Gouger Street), 16th of August

Adelaide Uni Law Students Society Quiz Night @ The Carrington Function Centre, 16th of August

-JUNE

Open Day @ The University of Adelaide, 18th of August

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ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY UNION NOTICE OF 2019 ELECTION POLLING DATES: Monday 2nd September to Friday 6th September 2019 NOMINATIONS: Open at 9.00am on Monday 12th August 2019 Close strictly at 4.00pm on Friday 16th August 2019 POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION: GENERAL MEMBER OF THE AUU BOARD (5 positions; each elected for a term of two (2) years) - the AUU Board is the governing body of the AUU and is responsible for managing its affairs. The AUU provides funding for activities, events and services on campus, as well as providing support and assistance to affiliated student organisations. The Board meets monthly and has various subcommittees in which Board members are expected to participate.

NUS DELEGATE (7 positions) - the National Union of Students is the body that is charged with the responsibility of representing student interests. Delegates will be invited to attend State and National conferences of NUS and are expected to contribute to the development of policy and action at a State and National level.

TO NOMINATE AS A CANDIDATE: 1. Only students currently enrolled at the University of Adelaide who are financial members of the AUU may nominate. Members must be over the age of 18 years, able to hold a liquor licence and be legally able to hold the position of a director of an incorporated association.

2. Nomination forms must be either: a) completed and submitted online at www.auu.org.au/elections or, where a candidate is unable to submit online, b) obtained from AUU Reception during opening hours and once completed given in person to the Returning Officer or their nominated delegate or mailed to the returning officer via registered post.

3. A policy statement and photograph can be submitted, if desired, online at www.auu.org.au/elections If you are unable to submit your policy statement or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer at returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au to arrange an alternative method of submission.   

Policy statements must not exceed 200 words including the candidate’s name and the position for which they are standing; any words over 200 will not be published.

No policy statements or photographs will be accepted after close of nominations.

If you are unable to submit your policy statement or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer to arrange an alternative method of submission.

4. All AUU Board candidates will be required to attend an information session, to be held before the elections, outlining the responsibilities of an AUU director and the structure of the organisation.

NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED POSTAL VOTES FOR THE ELECTION: Applications for a postal vote should be made in writing to the Returning Officer, by no later than 4.00pm, Friday 23rd August 2019.

QUERIES: Any questions concerning the Election should be directed to the Returning Officer via returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au or 8313 2201.

Published and authorised by the Returning Officer, July 2019.

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STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL NOTICE OF 2019 ELECTION POLLING DATES: Monday 2nd September to Friday 6th September 2019 NOMINATIONS:

Open at 9.00am on Monday 12th August 2019 Close strictly at 4.00pm on Friday 16th August 2019 POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION: SRC PRESIDENT (1 position) – responsible for the overall co-ordination and leadership of the SRC and as chief spokesperson for the SRC.

GENERAL SECRETARY (1 position) – responsible for calling meetings, taking minutes and general administrative roles.

EDUCATION OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to highlight issues relating to student’s education and other academic concerns.

WELFARE OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to promote the welfare of all students and to promote and strengthen support for students.

WOMEN’S OFFICER (1 position) – Acts as an advocate for women’s interests, a co-ordinator of women’s action on campus. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as a woman.

QUEER OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of queer students, to promote and strengthen the rights of queer students on campus and to combat discrimination at university and the wider community. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as queer.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OFFICER (1 position) – Advocates on behalf of students enrolled as international students at the University of Adelaide, and to promote equality and opportunities for international students. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be enrolled as an international student at the University of Adelaide.

POSTGRADUATE STUDENT OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of postgraduate students of the University of Adelaide. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be currently undertaking postgraduate study at the University of Adelaide.

ETHNO-CULTURAL OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of students with a cultural or linguistically diverse background. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as having a linguistically or culturally diverse background.

ATSI OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of students who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

ENVIRONMENT OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate for environmental sustainability within the university and broader community.

SOCIAL JUSTICE OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to highlight issues relating to social justice.

MATURE AGE OFFICER (1 position) - Acts to advocate on behalf of Mature Aged students. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be over the age of 25.

DISABILITY OFFICER (1 position) – Acts on behalf of students with a disability on campus. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as having a disability, mental illness or chronic illness.

RURAL OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of rural and regional students. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must have must lived in a regional or remote area, or have moved from a regional remote area, within the last three (3) years and within six (6) months of commencing their studies at Adelaide University.

GENERAL COUNCILLOR (8 positions) – Acts as an advocate for all students, assists office bearers in the fulfilment of their functions.

TO NOMINATE AS A CANDIDATE:

1. Only students currently enrolled at the University of Adelaide who are financial members of the AUU may nominate. Members must be over the age of 18 years, able to hold a liquor licence and be legally able to hold the position of a director of an incorporated association.

2. Nomination forms must be either: a) completed and submitted online at www.auu.org.au/elections or, where a candidate is unable to submit online, b) obtained from AUU Reception during opening hours and once completed given in person to the Returning Officer or their nominated delegate or mailed to the returning officer via registered post.

3. A policy statement and photograph can be submitted, if desired, online at www.auu.org.au/elections If you are unable to submit your policy statement or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer at returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au to arrange an alternative method of submission.   

Policy statements must not exceed 200 words including the candidate’s name and the position for which they are standing; any words over 200 will not be published.

No policy statements or photographs will be accepted after close of nominations.

If you are unable to submit your policy statement or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer to arrange an alternative method of submission.

4. All SRC candidates will be required to attend an information session, to be held before the elections, outlining candidate election campaign responsibilities.

NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED POSTAL VOTES FOR THE ELECTION: Applications for a postal vote should be made in writing to the Returning Officer, by no later than 4.00pm, Friday 23rd August 2019.

QUERIES: Any questions concerning the Election should be directed to the Returning Officer via returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au or 8313 4406.

Published and authorised by the Returning Officer, July 2019.

Please recycle

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STATE OF THE UNION Words by AUU Board President Oscar Ong

Welcome back to (another!) semester of uni. For those who’ve just started Uni, I am the President of Adelaide University Union (AUU), representing 26,000 students.

I am currently studying aerospace and mechanical engineering. To find out more about our info and services, you can read our previous editions of On Dit. Recalling the end of the year of 2017, the results of the same-sex marriage mailing survey released on November 15 showed that 61.6% of Australians voted for "Yes" to legalize same-sex marriage. After decades of controversy and a particularly difficult year, samesex marriage in Australia was finally formally legalized.

Following the footsteps of the Australian Government, at 2 pm on May 17th, Taipei time, the Taiwan Legislative Yuan passed the second and fourth clauses of the samesex marriage bill, giving the LGBTQIA+ community the right to register marriage from May 24th. This means that Taiwan has become the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Union recognises that within the student community there are many communities defined by gender, ethnicity, faith and economic status, etc. Each community possesses a unique student experience and we value, embrace and promote that diversity.

The University also prohibits all acts of discrimination, including homophobic acts. I also want to take this opportunity to encourage you to support our nonheterosexual students. It’s never easy to come out from the closet, let’s work together to remove this closet altogether!

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Getting the right protection and sexual health advice is very important. The AUU and the university offers different free services to help students, including Student Care and Student Counselling Services to help students with their questions and concerns. You can also ask for help from our Queer Officer (srcqueer@auu.org.au) of the Student Representative Council. Shine SA also offers STI testing, contraceptive products and consulting services.

I am currently working with the University to provide information in different languages, so that everyone can understand and get the support they need. I also set up a working group with the International Student Support team to address and campaign against wage theft of international students.

Questions/suggestions about the AUU? You are always welcome to email me or send me a message through WeChat!

Oscar Zi Shao Ong AUU President auupresident@auu.org.au WeChat ID: oscarong1997

SRC QUEER OFFICER Words by SRC Queer Officer Rebecca Etienne

To all the girls, guys and NB folk, Hi! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Rebecca and I am the SRC Queer Officer for 2019.

When I was asked to write for QueerDit, I was really excited. It was the perfect opportunity to reach out to you all and tell you what I have been up to and what I’m hoping to do. QueerDit is also special because it gives me the chance to celebrate the LGBTIQ+ community once again.

This year, I’ve been privileged enough to have organised the George Duncan Memorial, which was held on the 10th of May. As we are approaching the 50th anniversary of his death, I found it incredibly important to commemorate his life and reflect on the law reform to decriminalise homosexuality that came into place after his death.

A week later, on the 17th of May, I collaborated with the coconveners Laura Grenfell and Ben Chandler from the ALLY Network for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia. I had the opportunity to speak at the event, alongside PRIDE President Jo BarryMurphy and the Vice Chancellor. We handed out rainbow donuts, lanyards and added coloured chains to the wall in support of LGBTIQ+ people on campus and all over the world. It was a great success, and I can’t wait to do it all over again next year.

As for what you can expect of me for the rest of the year, who knows!

Well, I do but that’s a bit of a secret.

Amongst campaigning, I’ll soon

be running an event with AUU, so please keep an eye out on the official SRC & AUU Facebook in the next few weeks!

I for one am more of a do-er, not a thinker. Do you have any ideas you’d like to come to life on campus? Feel free to email me at srcqueer@auu. org.au!

In this segment, I was also asked to touch on a current issue in the LGBT community. As trivial as it might be, I would like to focus your attention to an event - PRIDE Month.

PRIDE has passed, that is true. But this alone makes me think: why are we only celebrating for one month? PRIDE was created by the LGBTIQ+ community to reflect on the past, support positive change in the present and look forward to the future. By reflecting on the past, we recognise those who have come before us and got us to where we are now. The stonewall riots, for instance, sparked the beginning of a movement that was so desperately needed for queer people worldwide.

By supporting positive change in the present, we are making space for the emerging leaders in our community to use their voices in hopes of a better world. We are teaching our children that there is nothing wrong with being queer, being diverse or simply, just being who you are. Society is learning, but not fast enough.

By looking to the future, we are both actively reflecting and reconciling

on past mistakes and thinking about new ways to combat them. Marriage equality has only become a recent change, could you imagine what society could look like in say, 5-10 years from now? A world free of homophobia? That is the goal, but achieving goals takes time and social reform. So, why not start now?

While I can applaud some of the efforts made by companies throughout PRIDE Month, majority were subpar, cheap thrills. It seems that all it takes these days is to parade the rainbow flag for one mere month, soaking up all the love and attention on social media, in passing conversations and even news articles. Well, for me, that is not the case. The second we reach July 1st, the rainbows disappear, and we are back to silence. Silence against gay bashings, mercy killings in Pakistan, LGBTQIA+ sexual health budget cuts in Australia, the torture and arrest of lesbians in Chechnya, Russia.

We are not a novelty, a punchline and most certainly not your “ticked box”. Do not use PRIDE to increase your demographic of marketing opportunities. Donate some of your proceeds to local queer support groups, share petitions rallying for government support against conversion therapy, promote LGBTI figures in the media - ANYTHING to show that you actually care.

PRIDE Month has passed, that is true. But I’m not taking down that rainbow flag and calling it a day. I will continue to fight for equality, for better queer visibility and for those whose rights have been stolen and abused.

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LEFT RIGHT & CENTRE Left

Ben Foster-Dinning Socialist Alternative 1. In the short term, definitely the religious freedom laws the coalition are trying to bring in. They have nothing to do with protecting people’s expression of religion and are all about rolling back the solid victory that the campaign for marriage equality achieved.

That victory really matters both in real terms, and because the campaign brought in wide layers of society to take a progressive stand. This in turn shifted peoples ideas on an individual basis. For me, it really brought home how change in society occurs; the longstanding campaign which grew into mass movement was at its core, the reason for the ‘Yes’ campaign’s success. Really, it’s the same for any oppressed group - be it womens’ rights or black rights, all have required social movements to change the status quo.

The religious freedom laws hope to mitigate the extent of the legal gains, but the bigger element is emboldening homophobes to come out of the woodwork. They’re not challenging marriage equality on an open basis, but instead their attack is couched in coded language. This

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attempt to fly under the radar can’t go unchallenged.

2. Clearly that we haven't come far enough. At the moment, the far-right are feeling more confident which is emboldening bigots to carry out street violence.

3. I don’t think your sexuality automatically determines your politics. And you seriously can’t be good on LGBT rights if you’re conservative, it’s not possible. You can’t separate ‘social’ issues from those that are ‘economic’. In the real world, economic decisions have direct consequences for real people, especially the LGBT community.

Any number of conservative politicians have adopted a ‘progressive’ image around gay rights. Look at Malcolm Turnbull for example, and his then government then refused to legislate marriage equality right up until we won it in the plebiscite. The general order of business for Liberal and Labor is reducing funding for social services and how that disproportionately affects LGBT people is well understood.

On a positive note I think the increasing profile of openly LGBT people in politics reflects the shift in broader society that has come about off the back of the gay rights movement. Getting here hasn’t been nicely linear, there have been

pushbacks against LGBT rights - we’re facing one of them now - but we’ve just achieved something bloody fantastic so we should be confident to push forward.

Centre Ali Amin Adelaide University Labor Club 1. An issue that can now receive greater attention is the ongoing use of conversion therapies to “cure” a person’s same-sex attraction. These harmful practices appear to have gone underground, but are actually more prevalent in Australia than ever before. Conversion therapies have been condemned by the medical profession as harmful and ineffective, nevertheless they continue in Australia.

South Australia should follow Victoria’s lead and setup a Health Complaints Commissioner as well as consider criminalising gay conversion therapy for minors. Gay Children deserve to live their lives authentically and should never be subjected to the abusive practice of so-called conversion therapy.

Another critical issue for the LGBT community is to prevent its hijacking by radical elements now that its primary base, gays and lesbians, increasingly become normalised

1.

What are the most important issues facing the LGBT community today?

2.

A same-sex female couple was recently assaulted on public transport in the UK by a group of

young men when they refused to kiss for their entertainment. What do you think this says about the social standing of women, and queer women especially?

3.

In recent times, the number of out LGBT politicians in conservative parties has drastically increased,

for example Ruth Davidson, Jeromy Farkas, and Peter Whittle. Why do you think that many conservative parties have become inclusive of the LGBT community? Why are many LGBT people shifting their views to the Right?

in society and are less involved in activism.

2. It demonstrates that same sex marriage, which the UK has had for a while, isn’t some end goal. Women are not equal in our society and the fight is far from over. The attack also demonstrates that visibility as a tactic is not enough, these women were visible lesbians and that’s what got them beaten up. We need to actually get out to communities, especially multicultural communities, disrupt damaging stereotypes and highlight the voices of LGBT people.

3. Being LGBT transcends all class lines and as discriminatory provisions have been removed sexuality has become normalised to the degree that class interest now trumps minority interest i.e. there are rich gays too who would identify with their economic and social strata above being gay and are more comfortable voting for right wing parties now that they’re less homophobic (at least in appearance).

Right William Miller Adelaide University Liberal Club 1. The normalisation of LGBT culture has further to go. Many people still refuse to understand matters from an LGBT perspective, and this further

creates an us/them mentality that is harmful to our society, but especially harmful to LGBT persons. We are not some ‘other’, we are functioning members of any society we are in, and that needs to be better recognised. Concurrently, there is still much to be done to further LGBT rights across the globe, as we see these hard-fought rights slipping or never having existed in many nations and communities overseas.

2. I think this says more about the attackers and their scummy behaviour. It’s a scathing indictment not on where queer women stand in society, but as how we tolerate those who peddle hatred. This is an issue of horrid people vs. decent people, and horrid people must never win. These types of attacks are shameful and sadly all too common.

We can change hearts and minds, but there will always be those who will overstep the bounds of human decency against any marginalised group.

automatically come with a set of defined beliefs and ideologies.

These are individually acquired throughout a person’s life. If the LGBT community has tried to prove anything to society at large in recent decades, it is that we are not just a stereotype; we come in all forms, just as the rest of humanity. Some gay people are conservative, some don’t give a stuff about politics. I don’t believe the LGBT community is a stalwart voting bloc for any political party, and I don’t believe it should be.

3. Inclusivity is subjective; however, I have always found a home amongst those in the Liberal Club.

I think conservative parties, like all other parties on the political spectrum, have evolved as society has evolved. Times change and the parties change with each new generation of leaders. This is where the normalisation of the LGBT community in society has triumphed.

Homosexuality does not

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VOX PO P

Iacovos

Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts 1. I think it definitely does continue the trend of the progress we have seen in so many other countries. But, we must be mindful of our queer siblings in far too many countries who face hostile and dangerous governments.

That's not to say there aren't many fronts still to fight at home.

Regarding more diverse queer representation, It is certainly higher but that's a low bar. Definitely not high enough.

2. I certainly have felt the repercussions, collective trauma doesn't go away so easily. The postal survey gave a platform for the most vial transphobia and homophobia, no matter the result. I don't feel more of less accepted because of the result, we'd know public opinion was on our side for quite sometime, that's why it was such an unnecessary and needlessly harmful exercise.

3. Yes, I go to the rainbow room. I would definitely recommend you check it out. It is nice to know there is a safe space on campus for queer students. Unfortunately, it is pretty small but the current Pride Club has done a good job maintaining the space.

4. Our pride and activism

Claudia Bachelor of Science

1. My immediate thought is that Eastern countries being mostly conservative, there must be at least some progress, however, marriage equality is but a drop in a pond of problems facing those in the LGBT community. Overall, marriage equality doesn’t necessarily reflect any real win if a country’s culture and people don’t move away from homophobia and abandon other homophobic laws.

I have noticed many examples of increased representation regarding gay people of various racial backgrounds, however, ethnic rep is rare and often treated as tokenistic.

2. It sparked discussion of sinful homosexuals™ in my religious school which was…not great. At the moment, the result of marriage equality hasn’t really been important as there are bigger fish to fry regarding issues facing gay people.

I couldn’t really say. Since the plebiscite, I haven’t seen much difference locally. There are always those typical homophobes, and those well-meaning, embarrassingly supportive straights, but it really just depends on where you are and what situation you’re in.

3. I have visited and it’s so dark and dingy! Going in there, it was incredibly unwelcoming - the only available support or anything were for gay men and trans people, and absolutely nothing for lesbians. There were no dental dams but lots of condoms. Not to mention the abundance of books on gay men’s history, but the only books about lesbians were erotica, mostly authored by men! For a place shouting inclusivity at every corner, it wasn’t all that inclusive.

4. Lesbians. I’ve found that my own community is very warm and inviting. They are who I relate to and love the most. The familiarity of meeting someone for the first time, yet immediately bonding and connecting is unparalleled.

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1.

How do you think the passing of marriage equality in Taiwan reflects the

progression in the LGBTQI+ movement in the past decade? Does the LGBTQI+ community have an overall higher intersectional representation?

2.

As a student who is part of the LGBTQI+ community, how have you felt

3.

Have you visited the Rainbow Room at Uni? If yes, would you

recommend it and why? If no, is there a reason?

4.

Whats the best part of the LBGTQI+ community?

the repercussion from the 2018 plebiscite?

Do you feel as though there is more or less acceptance of the community?

Elizabeth

Rebecca

Bachelor of Psychology

Bachelor of Psychology

1. I think the fact that Taiwan is the first country in Asia to pass marriage equality is highly symbolic in itself of how much momentum the LGBTQI+ movement has gained and progressed over the years. Here we have a very small, traditional country in the eastern world that has managed to become the pioneers for marriage equality in Asia thanks to the hard work and dedication of our fellow peers in the LGBTQI+ movement. Intersectional representation is definitely commonplace in the LGBTQI+ movement, However, I cannot say that intersectional representation is strong in the media.

It has only been in the last 10 years or so that tv shows and movies have started to stray away from having the typical flamboyant white, cis-male gay character, and is now starting to represent the other letters in the acronym.

2. Ultimately, the plebiscite resulting in the passing of marriage equality has definitely given our community more acceptance and validation that we are equal human beings who are deserving of having equal marriage rights to everyone else, however, I (and I’m sure many other queer people) still believe that the plebiscite was totally the wrong way to go about achieving marriage equality. At the time it definitely caused psychological harm to some individuals, but I can’t speak for if they’re still feeling that way to this day.

1. Certainly here in Australia I’ve noticed less homophobia and better legal rights over the years, but elsewhere there’s a lot to be done (especially for trans people and queer people of colour around the world). Marriage equality is a step forward but not all that needs to be done.

2. I haven’t really seen a huge change in acceptance of the community on a personal level. I think people just aren’t as vocal about it anymore. In my opinion the best and biggest change is that there’s much less bigoted discourse about our rights in the media. I’m just glad for “Vote ‘No’” to be a thing of the past.

3. I went in first year. It’s a cozy room but I remember it being hard to find and there wasn’t a huge amount to do except chill. I think it’d be lovely to go to with a group and just hang out.

4. For me it’s being surrounded by all different types of people who come together to celebrate something for which we’ve often been discriminated against, and the camaraderie we have because of that. Getting that instant connection to strangers at queer events and clubs is something I really love.

3. No I haven’t actually! I didn’t even know that it existed until now! I will definitely have to check it out sometime soon.

4. The best part about the LGBTQI+ community has got to be that everything about it represents and celebrates diversity.

It is one that encourages people to be themselves and be fearless, which in my opinion, is pretty fucking beautiful.

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Words by Madison Terrell and Madeleine Pemberton

EconDit

Throughout the last month, billboards, newspapers and social media were flooded with rainbow and inclusive, positive, self-love messages.

A number of companies adapted their logo to a rainbow embellished one, others launched a range of ‘pride products’, selling their current goods with a touch of rainbow. We saw drag queens calling AAMI on the side of the road when their car broke down, we saw a transgender man learn to shave using a Gillette razor.

This brand action demonstrates the significant amount of progress made in queer liberation and the increased acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in markets and the media. However, it is also a clever marketing strategy dubbed with the names ‘rainbow capitalism’ and ‘pink washing.’ Let us dive a bit deeper into that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Rainbow capitalism is when major corporations specifically incorporate and promote queerness into capitalism and the market economy to target the LGBTQ+ community and those who support it. Pink washing is about making products or creating an image appear ‘gay-friendly’ to economically exploit the LGBTQ+ community for financial gain. This has increased with the emergence of pink money.

A recent example sparking serious media attention is Taylor Swift’s latest music video.

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The singer was simultaneously applauded for championing equal rights whilst criticised for aligning herself with the queer liberation movement to boost sales. She’s set to gain millions off her new ‘pride anthem’, but is it all that bad if it’s a positive step towards queer representation?

As LGBTQ+ people became more accepted in society, their purchasing power increased.

Increased transparency means the political stance of corporations is not only accessible, but widely known - with the help of cancel culture, companies with homophobic stances are boycotted. The LGBTQ+ community want to support businesses who support them, and with an increase in both income and size of the community, this pink money is a highly popular marketing niche. A US study recently found that LGBTQ+ households spent on average 7% more than non-LGBTQ+ consumers, so not only do the community have more power, they spend more also. Corporations have realised they need to sell themselves as socially conscious, encompassing equality into their values, all to increase the value of their brands.

Being the capitalist and socially-aware society Australia is, it’s no surprise corporations are successfully making a profit off of people fighting their ingrained oppression and discrimination.

They’re turning ‘queerness’ into a type of

-

commodity people can buy and people are buying it! In today’s market, queer products for a straight audience have become the norm, ranging from vodka, fast food, credit cards and clothing. Some members of the LGBTQ+ community take this inclusion as a further step forward and at the end of the day, any publicity spreads awareness.

Rainbow capitalism also potentially gives LGBTQ+ people the confidence to parade their sexuality and be who they are. But is it really a ‘win-win’ for everyone?

Most of these companies slap on a rainbow filter for the month of June but fail to research or even understand the oppression the LGBTQ+ community face on a daily basis. They cash in on the celebrations but do nothing to make legitimate, long-term change.

The hypocrisy surrounding many of those rainbow coloured logos is unfathomable. Take ANZ bank, for example; they’re the principal partner of Sydney’s famous Mardi Gras, even this year coming out with bedazzled ‘GayTMs’ all around the city. However, do not forget that ANZ donated $250,000 to the Coalition in in 2017-18, the same financial year they refused to legislate marriage equality without a plebiscite. This lead to hateful public debate and undoubtable harm to the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, the big corporate sponsor’s cash takes Mardi Gras to the next level, but is the cash worth it knowing ANZ support Scott Morrison, a man who praised Israel Folau’s “strong character” when he told all gay people to go to hell?

Adidas launched a range of rainbow merchandise for Pride month despite being a major sponsor of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a country with some of the world’s worst anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Major liquor company Absolut are now selling their classic vodka with a rainbow label, ignoring the alarming statistics of members of the LGBTQ+ community having higher rates of substance abuse. YouTube changed their iconic logo to rainbow for the month of June, yet still allow homophobic content and comments to be posted.

Youtube also came under fire in 2018 to running anti-LGBTQ+ adverts on popular queer creators and demonetising videos with titles suggesting LGBTQ+ content, even for just using the word ‘transgender’. These companies economically exploit the community’s way of expressing themselves and in return, do absolutely nothing to help the real issues that those in community face every single day.

that exist throughout their businesses.

Take Apple who glitzed up their logo for June, it’s like they’re saying yeah we know the phones are made in sweatshops where the workers have few rights and abysmal pay, but love is love and be proud of who you are!

What about gas companies? We’ve damaged the environment enough so your children won’t have a sustainable planet to live in, but we don’t care what they identify as.

Consider Victoria Secret: our logos rainbow so how can we be homophobic for refusing to hire trans women?

By all means, we want to see more queer representation on television, we want companies to send out positive messages about sexual identity and most of all, we want pride to be celebrated! However, the next time you buy into rainbow capitalism, think about where your money is actually going and if it translates into actual progress for the LGBT+ community. Pink washing gives corporations the power to switch the focus of the queer liberation movement from protest and positive activism, to purchasing a rainbow flag or a ‘Love Is Love’ mug and calling it a day. As consumers, we have the power to stop this.

Corporations needs to realise the sour taste their pride products leave in our mouth when they aren’t providing genuinely inclusive workplace to their employees. If they’re going to sell a pride edition of their products, please donate some profits to a queer liberation movement.

By all means create more queer representation in everyday media, but at a minimum stand up against their continuing discrimination in everyday society.

There will always be a pot of gold, but as consumers we have the power to define the rainbow.The power of the social consciousness has made pink money the strong and sought after currency it is today. Let us, as consumers, ignore the smoke and mirrors of clever marketing, a rainbow version of a logo, and gay representation in a campaign, and call for the big money they make off the community to be fed back into it in constructive ways.

The irony is not lost. By going rainbow, corporations are trying to create a positive image of themselves whilst masking the real problems

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Artistic Evolution and Igor:

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TYLER, THE CREATOR’S UNUSUAL PATH

Words by Oliver Hales

Illustration by Emily Savage

T

yler, the Creator has occupied a curious place in the music scene since the very beginning. On his earliest solo works Bastard and Goblin, he established himself as a misanthropic rapper who had a bone to pick with anyone and anything.

His sound was dark and aggressive, accompanied by lyrics that were hateful and crude. He was still a teenager, and it showed. Tyler’s shtick – derived from the Eminem rulebook of offensiveness for offensiveness’ sake – was tedious from the start. Occasionally it was amusing. More often than not, it was simply misogynistic and homophobic. But he was clearly talented, self-producing all of his music, with a knack for unconventional wordplay.

So naturally, he amassed a fan base, most of them teenage boys, who resonated with his childish pessimism. On his next albums Wolf and Cherry Bomb, Tyler grew up a bit. In his own words, “talking about rape and cutting bodies up” just didn’t interest him anymore. He toyed with new sounds (to differing success), and his lyrics improved (kind of). Importantly, his edgy-façade began to crack, and we saw a glimpse of someone else underneath.

In 2017, Tyler reached full bloom with the appropriately titled Flower Boy, an album with a lush, warm sound unlike anything he’d previously done. It featured excellent appearances from the likes of Frank Ocean and Rex Orange County, and the lyrics were his most introspective yet, exploring loneliness, anxiety, and the search for connection. Most surprisingly, he came out of the closet, or at least, it appeared like he did. It was a hazy estimation at best, deduced from lyrics about him “kissing white boys since 2004” and looking for 1995 Leonardo DiCaprio. But the seed was planted, and naturally, people were puzzled. Was he actually serious, or just baiting everyone? Moreover, did it even matter? To his fans, it seemed like it did.

This was, after all, the same guy who used to routinely drop “faggot” like it was a punchline. But he offered no clarification.

He was an artist, first and foremost, and clearly wanted ambiguity.

This leads us to Igor, Tyler’s sixth album, released this past May. At its core, Igor is about a breakup. A lot is left in the dark: the listener doesn’t even know the gender of the other person (presumably an intentional choice). But Igor is concerned with the bigger picture. It’s a cohesive experience where each song plays off the last, detailing the journey from being in love, to trying to salvage it, to falling out of love, to finally getting over it. In this regard, it is Tyler’s most ambitious project so far, markedly different than anything he’s done before. It’s his least rap-heavy, with the songs centred around melody, instrumentation, and Tyler’s pitch-shifted vocals. The result is a collection of songs that are soulful, diverse, catchy, and surprisingly psychedelic. Like Flower Boy, Igor finds Tyler at his most vulnerable. Barr a couple of tracks (specifically ‘New Magic Wand’ and ‘What’s Good’), the cocky aggression that he became famous for is absent. On ‘Earfquake’ he expresses desire for his lover and begs them not to leave; on ‘Running Out of Time’ he bemoans the fragility of the situation; on ‘Puppet’ he acknowledges the power his lover has over him. It might sound like gloomy stuff, but the tracks themselves sound fantastic, sugarcoated with beautiful synths and stirring choruses that are intended to get stuck in one’s head.

Like his prior albums, Tyler produced and arranged Igor entirely himself. The significance of this cannot be understated; it’s a remarkable feat that few other artists can match. Even the current greats – Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, etc.

– have co-producers and co-writers that

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help aid their vision. On Igor, it almost feels like he’s showing off. The use of samples is excellent, with Tyler clearly owing a lot to the R&B stylings of artists like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams (especially on standout tracks ‘A Boy is a Gun’ and ‘Gone, Gone / Thank You’, where the influence is especially obvious). West, of course, paved the way for sad hip hop on 2008’s influential 808s & Heartbreak, and Tyler has long voiced his adoration for Williams. Not coincidentally, both West and Williams make appearances on Igor, yet one might not even realise it – their vocals are somewhat obscured in the music, and none of the guest features are credited in the track listing, the first time Tyler has done so.

The album also warrants repeated listens, as there are so many little moments and touches to be appreciated.

Despite Igor’s melancholic subject matter, Tyler has never seemed more confident in his abilities as an artist and producer. It is evident that the critical success of Flower Boy strengthened his drive to develop further as an artist. Post-Igor, Tyler is more fascinating than ever. His artistry is a mix of old and new: the distinctive lo-fi, synth-heavy sound of his past, paired with the introspection and musical ingenuity he brought forward on Flower Boy. Lots of artists change up their sound as they progress over the years, but rarely do they undeniably get better in doing so. Igor is an accomplished work in its own right, but it is also an important stepping stone in what will surely be the long, fruitful career of Tyler, the Creator. In his own words from a recent tweet, “6 albums in and just getting started fuck”.

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WHO YOU CALLING QUEER? ON SLUR RECLAMATION WORDS BY SAMANTHA BEDFORD

Even etymologists cannot quite pinpoint where the term originated. One theory proposes that it originates from the Old German ‘quer’ meaning ‘oblique’ – not parallel or straight, but in-between.

Despite initial innocuity, the use of ‘queer’ in modern English has always been either vaguely negative or explicitly pejorative; “queering the pitch” meant to disgrace or debase, being on “queer street” referred to bankruptcy. The word eventually came to apply to people whose behaviour fell outside the rigid societal norms of the 19th century, especially any acts which could be considered sexually deviant.

as a powerful explication of political disaffection.

The manifesto of controversial NYC LGBT organisation Queer Nation explained why they identified as such; “ When a lot of lesbians and gay men wake up in the morning, we feel angry and disgusted, not gay. Using ‘queer’ is a way of reminding us how we are perceived by the rest of the world.”

Even this supposedly radical conceptualisation of queer identity gets it wrong; the persecution of gender and sexual minorities stems from targeted homophobia and transphobia, preceding our protestation of such treatment. To suggest otherwise Into the 20th century, homosexuality became a is to imply that the LGBT community is in some way codified mental illness with the development of the culpable, that we encourage our own oppression fields of psychoanalysis and psychiatry. In 1952, through political activism or simply by outward the same year mathematician Alan Turing was expression of identity. In this conviction, I hear the convicted for “acts of gross indecency” and 2 years tacit consolidation of statements like “don’t be so before he committed suicide, the British newspaper, blatant” and “why can’t you keep it to yourself?”.

Sunday Pictorial published a series entitled ‘Evil Touted as an act of radical reclamation, the use of a Men’ which described homosexuals as a societal slur as a bespoke moniker, which in every semantic scourge. The paper spoke of “pansies—mincing, permutation has carried negative connotations, effeminate young men who call themselves queers” further others us and reinforces our categorisation as “freaks and rarities”. The tabloid decided that as aberrant and fundamentally wrong. “what is needed is a new establishment for them… it should be a clinic rather than a prison, and these Modern queer theory is dominated by the men should be sent there and kept there until they overarching concepts of identity and performativity, are cured.” Treatment with aversion, conversion, the likes of Judith Butler proposing that gender and hormone therapy, even invasive transorbital and sexuality are constructed, malleable, and lobotomy and clitoridectomy procedures, became fluid. Playing on this notion of fluidity and identity medically justified standard practice. This shift is as affectation, ironically naming one of her major reflected in idioms like a “queer fellow” and “queer works of queer theory Undoing Gender, she claims in the head” - descriptors for people deemed that “gender is in no way a stable identity or locus unseemly and strange. of agency from which various acts proceed; rather, it is an identity tenuously constituted in time - an The nature of ‘queer’ as a blatant slur has been identity instituted through a stylized repetition diminished somewhat since the early 80s - in of acts.” This perspective describes queerness as contemporary practice, it is used as a broad catch- something which is embodied through curated all for anyone who defines themselves as nonbehaviours and a contrived image in line with heterosexual and non-cisgender. Having gradually gender constructs and their relation to sexuality. gained popularity in radical and academic circles

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Rather than ‘undoing’ binarism, the inherently oppositional postmodern onus on fluidity reinforces the categories it intends to defy and reject. While postmodern gender theory may speak of identity formation as organic expression of deep truth divulged in defiance against normality, the primacy of affectation in constructing queerness actually instantiates artificiality. Postmodern queer theory ignores the fact that even ambiguous modes of presentation functionally rely on established norms; for there to be an ‘other’ there must be a standard convention against which to differentiate itself.

To be ‘queer’ is a choice, a conscious decision to reject heteronormativity and binary gender roles, rather than an innate and unchangeable orientation. In 2016, Vice published an infamous essay titled “Can Straight People Be Queer?”, which despite never coming to any meaningful conclusion, suggested that interest in anything besides monogamy and missionary were ‘nonnormative’ and therefore queer.

Another great linguistic triumph came from this ideological shift to post-structuralism with the term ‘queering’. The verb form describes gender and sexuality through action rather than being – it is something you do rather than an innate aspect of your being, Butler continues that “further, gender is instituted through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements, and enactments of various kinds constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self.” Gender and sexuality are thus explicable, but incoherent – completely individuated and idiosyncratic, and impossible to form a cohesive community with clear political aims. The semantic ambiguity of queerness invites opportunistic self-professed woke types to claim political clout through proximity to the community.

It seems that the real political impact of queerness is corruption, not disruption – its main focus is standing counter to the ‘normality’ of heterosexual society, rather than improving our condition within it in material terms. Invoking pretense and posturing as our ontological backbone, and the resultant lack of a concrete descriptor, leaves us not only vulnerable to redefinition, but also appropriation by cishet hanger-ons and opportunistic corporations seeking a new target demographic. This becomes especially troubling when married same-sex couples are met with accusations of assimilation from heterosexual couples (constituted by

members of the community) whose main claim to oppression is not being referred to with the slur due to the assumption that they’re straight.

The modern form of LGBT activism is primarily concerned with marginality and minoritarianism, which ascribes certain authority status to smaller, less recognised groups, often at an intersection between different axes of oppression.

The sentiment itself is completely sound and a necessary consideration for dominant discourse to take on. However, in practice this preoccupation does not, in fact, upend the social hierarchy. The looseness of the term ‘queer’ enables the language of truth speaking to be coopted by removing any parameters by which this status could be demarcated, encouraging self-serving lateral antagonism between groups competing for the same meagre crumbs of visibility and discursive eminence. The dogma of queer politics also falsely conceptualises oppression as an aggregate experience of microaggressions rather than a structurally ingrained top-down social force.

While radical for its era, the term ‘queer’ no longer carries the same meaning and power. If the ‘in your face’ blatancy of the LGBT acronym decried as limiting and in itself, oppressive, what we are left with is a word that describes anyone and everyone. We all exist between the extreme constructs of gendered performativity.

As the corporation co-opts queer aesthetics by incorporating rainbow motifs into its branding, we see the LGBT community shift to a mere consumer rather than a political entity. By becoming caught up in our societal perception, we have supplanted our lives and cause to the heterosexual gaze.

It leads that without political contention or cause, ‘homosexual’, ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’, ‘bisexual’, and ‘transgender’ would cease to be meaningful.

But surely, how we define ourselves should not be contingent upon, nor diminished by political antagonism. If the community is truly an expression of solidarity between groups oppressed on the same axis, we must ask why inclusion is currently the primary focus rather than attaining legitimate material goals which would end this subjugation. It is clear this lack of discursive and ideological clarity is irreconcilable with a politic of genuine emancipation.

It is time to ask ourselves; Who are we? What do we want?

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CLASSICS OF LGBT CINEMA Words by Oliver Hales

MOONLIGHT (2016)

THE BIRDCAGE (1996)

Moonlight is a thoughtful examination of a subject rarely seen on screen: the intersection between blackness and queerness. The film follows Chiron, first as a child, then as a teenager, then finally as an adult. By employing a three-act structure, director Barry Jenkins allows the viewer to the experience seminal moments of Chiron’s development, as he is pulled and shaped by those around him. Chiron’s mother is addicted to drugs, leading to him being neglected as a child, which stifles his ability to trust and communicate with others. This, tied with the pressures of masculinity brought on by his black identity, leads to the suppression of his sexuality. That Barry Jenkins created such a layered portrait of personhood is no small feat, and the achievement is further bolstered by the film’s emotive cinematography and its solid performances. Moonlight is an important film in both its ambition and subject matter, and represents a type of poetic filmmaking that one can only admire.

As the only outright comedy on this list, The Birdcage smartly treads the line between a laugh out loud concept and the all too real act of suppressing one’s identity. Nathan Lane and the late Robin Williams are perfectly cast as a married couple who must pretend to be straight for their son’s benefit. The movie manages to poke fun at queerness in a funny way while still maintaining the emotional heft of a family drama. The Birdcage was a deceptively smart film for its time, using comedy to ridicule homophobia and allowing mainstream audiences to resonate with concepts they might not have been familiar with. It is also worth noting that it’s a remake of the 1978 French-Italian La Cage aux Folles, which is also considered a classic.

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MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1991)

A true cult-classic of queer cinema, My Own Private Idaho was lightning in a bottle from the start. Gus Van Sant, still a few years away from hitting the mainstream with Good Will Hunting, directs an unconventional story of two young men, one a narcoleptic street hustler, the other a rebellious mayor’s son, who embark on a road trip together in search of one of their mothers. The story is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, and the dialogue weaves in and out of Shakespeare’s elaborate prose.

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves are well cast as the rugged, fresh-faced duo. However, is is Phoenix who truly excels in his role as Mike, a languished soul in search for genuine affection. When viewing the film today, one can only feel a great sadness about Phoenix’s untimely death, as he was simply the real deal. My Own Private Idaho remains his crowning achievement, a work just as dreamlike and tender as he was.

CAROL (2015) Carol tells the story of a swirling love affair between two women in 1950’s New York. Visually, the film is a sight to behold: the costuming and sets are impeccable, and the whole thing is gorgeously shot. The vintage feel of the film is just sublime, and it evokes a restrained style of filmmaking one cannot help but miss.

Unsurprisingly, Cate Blanchett gives a fantastic performance as the titular Carol; she straight up oozes elegance on screen, and Rooney Mara is similarly great in her role as the doe-eyed department store worker for whom Blanchett catches the eye.

Despite their age difference, the two are mesmerising together, making for a compelling story of forbidden love.

BOYS DON’T CRY (1999) Boys Don’t Cry tells the tragic true story of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man from Nebraska who was brutally raped and murdered in the early 1990’s. There is not much to say other than that it is a very powerful film about self-identity and the hardships faced by transgender people. Hillary Swank won an Academy Award for her performance as Teena and it was well deserved – it’s one of those career-defining performances that truly cements an actor as great. It is not a particularly graphic film, but it’s certainly distressing, and serves as a stark reminder of the disproportionate violence that transgender people still face to this day.

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR (2013)

Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (2001)

Though it has been tarnished by its director’s alleged mistreatment of lead actresses Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos during production, Blue is the Warmest Colour remains an impressive portrayal of first love. The film was particularly controversial upon its release for its long, explicit sex scenes, which some found gratuitous in light of the director being, well, a middle-aged man.

Indeed, the film is self-indulgent in pretty much every way, from its three-hour run time, to the way it lingers close on characters faces, showcasing every little emotion. Nonetheless, there’s no denying the talent and craft here. It’s a passionate, raw, and genuinely heartbreaking piece of cinema. Finally, the performance from the two main actresses is nothing short of incredible.

Before he directed Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, and last year’s Roma, Alfonso Cuarón made this gem about two teenagers who go on a road trip with a woman in her late 20’s. Calling it an ‘LGBT’ film would be disingenuous – its narrative is not preoccupied with anything queer. Still, the men share a close friendship imbued with homoerotic elements, which eventually plays a role in the film’s powerful ending, which is the film equivalent of being punched in the gut. The cinematography, shot by the tremendously talented Emmanuel Lubezki, is especially beautiful, floating between characters and sets in a way that emboldens the sensitive, humanist tone of the film. However, it is the characters, and the coming of age story they undergo, that make this film a quiet masterpiece.

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THE DISAPPEARING

L

WORDS BY CLAUDIA BANKS

Going through the world as a lesbian has always been especially hard, and not much has changed. If anything, these past few years have only gotten worse.

Lesbians as a whole have been targeted, harassed, had our spaces vanish, have faced immense hostility in LGBT spaces, and finally, the only thing left to us, our sexuality, has been attacked. Such behaviour can be found all around the world, in our cities, and online. It is ubiquitous.

Last century, homophobia was rampant, violence seemed inevitable, and homosexuality was illegal in many places – and yet, lesbian spaces were thriving.

There were clubs, bookshops, cafes, festivals, events, and much more. Now, with our marriage equality, and sexuality being legal, our culture has diminished to almost nothing. How exactly have we fallen so far?

Lesbian specific spaces have been boycotted or forced to close, leaving us with none of what the older generation provided for their fellow dykes. The rich history of lesbians has been so deeply uprooted and hidden: the voices of our elders, stories, books, journals,

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achievements, music, culture, all on the verge of complete suppression This generation of lesbian are coming out, only to find nothing for them, no support, no community, no representation whatsoever. In turn, young lesbians researching themselves are more likely to be confronted with countless degrading porn web results, rather than a helpline or support group.

There are myriad reasons this could be happening. The most likely answer is entrenched misogyny and homophobia, the eternal sexualisation of lesbians, which has led to us only being seen by society as sexual prey and a target deserving of violence. Our sexuality has always posed a psychological threat to men and women alike. We are proof that women can live an existence that isn’t dependent or revolving on or around men and their needs and desires, and we don’t need to be a housewife or servant. Our mere existence subverts the entire system of male domination, it cannot be natural when we exist in defiance of it.

Unfortunately, this hatred has spilled over into the LGBT community, or maybe that was always there. Without lesbian-only

spaces, many of us have no choice but to settle for “queer” events which are open to literally anyone. There is an unmistakable disdain and hostility directed towards many visible lesbians in so called queer spaces, which a few friends have described as “being in a space no different than the heterosexual world, afraid to touch my girlfriend, afraid to show affection and talk about my sexuality – the exact opposite of what it should be like.” This real-life experience is entirely unsurprising, especially considering the profound hatred directed towards lesbians in online spaces.

This brings us to the issue of “inclusivity” of so-called progressives. Queer: adjective 1. strange; odd. It is all too common for a newly out lesbian to proclaim her disidentification with that category a few months later, and instead declare herself Queer. This slurturned-identity has made waves in the LGBT community, which, as a result, has rebranded it “the queer community”.

One of, if not the only, well-known lesbian dating app, HER has become a place for anyone to use, having rebranded itself as “for queer womxn, by queer womxn”.

This, this is yet another example of lesbian-only spaces being shut down, pandering to the masses calling for inclusivity of the highest. If a lesbian only space is rebranded as queer, and anyone can fall under that label, then anyone can enter that space. It isn’t a lesbian-only space anymore. It literally stands for nothing. When lesbians are being battered on public transport for refusing to perform for men, it is obvious why lesbian-only spaces are necessary. If outward expressions of our sexuality will be met with violence, then we require places where we are

able to be free and safe to do so. This is unfortunately neglected by the broader queer community.

The redefinition of not only queer, but of lesbian, and woman means our own sexuality has been twisted, taking away a fundamental part of us. Our sexuality is more than an identity that anyone can just arbitrary assign to themselves, it is a sexuality exclusively for females who only love other females. It is NOT a preference. It is NOT a choice. It is NOT fluid. It is NOT male inclusive, no matter one’s self-identification or gender.

Much of the time, if a lesbian does not agree that femaleness or homosexuality are a choice or actively opposes these proposals, she experiences reproach for her homosexuality and for the sexual boundaries that come along that. The insistence that lesbian women are uncertain of their sexuality and that female sexuality is inherently ‘fluid’ and accepting of males, is as common within our own community as it is to heterosexuals. Butch lesbians are often asked their pronouns as if masculinity negates their femaleness, as if they are actually heterosexual because they “wear the pants” in the relationship. We see the recategorization of lesbians, and gay men too, as oppressors within our community.

As a result, any lesbian and lesbianonly spaces are rejected, protested, boycotted, and shutdown. Is the insistence on homosexuality as repressive not enforced closeting within our own community?

Everyone must uncover the extent of this pervasive lesbophobia and stand up to it, especially those who claim to be allies, for the sake of mine and the next generation. We aren’t going to disappear.

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It Was A Riot!

The Origins of Mardi Gras Words by Leigh Briar CW: Homophobia, abuse, police brutality.

March 2nd, 2019 marked the anniversary of the 41st Mardi Gras parade in Sydney, the largest and arguably most iconic LGBTQIA+ celebration in Australia. It was the second since the victory of the extraordinary demonstrations that won marriage equality in 2017. But four decades ago, it was blood, not glitter, on the streets after Sydney’s first Mardi Gras.

It was a Saturday night – June 24, 1978 – when a street parade organised by Sydney’s Gay Solidarity Group, a celebration of gay and lesbian resistance, marched, danced and chanted down Oxford Street to Hyde Park. “Out of the bars and into the streets!” they cried as they marched. Following a demonstration earlier in the day commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Riots and demanding an end to homophobic laws across the country, the Mardi Gras crowd were persistent to end a day of political activity in a blaze of colour. What was originally a celebration of the LGBT community soon became an

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evening scolded into the memories and culture of modern Australia.

an act of mass defiance in breach of a police permit.

The police soon began harassing Lance Gowland, the organiser of the march and the driver of the lead truck – the only float for this first year – while he read messages of support to the crowd in the Park. When he refused to stop, they dragged him off the truck and confiscated it, along with the PA system.

It was here that numerous police vans appeared, cops pouring out of them and laying into the crowd.

The cops had removed their identification numbers to avoid being held accountable for the ensuing chaos. Batons and fists fell upon the demonstrators, many of whom were shoved ruthlessly into the paddy wagons. People were punched, dragged from their hair, kicked.

The revellers resisted, chanting, “Stop police attacks on gays, women, and blacks!” as they freed Gowland before linking arms and pushing on towards Kings Cross,

With little opportunity to escape, they fought back. Garbage cans and their contents, as well as other

objects, began flying through the air at the gangs of NSW police. People were liberated from police vans to once again join the struggle. Those being dragged away by cops became the subjects of a tug of war.

Joseph Chetcuti, one of the 78ers (those who attended the first parade), recalled the night: “We’d had enough of the state and the church telling us what to do with our bodies… a crowd of mostly gay men and lesbians stood up to the police. The Stonewall riots may well have been a watershed for the worldwide gay and lesbian rights movement but for Australia, the Mardi Gras of 1978 was our first very public act of resistance

and a turning point in our struggle against oppression.”

Fifty three people were arrested that evening, dragged to Darlinghurst Station where they were detained in cramped cells.

The police targeted the organisers of the parade, such as gay liberationist Peter Murphy, who was severely beaten. His screams could be heard through the thick concrete walls. Outside, hundreds had gathered, calling for bail money and for the freedom of those arrested.

The fight did not end with the riot that evening. The morning after the march, the Sydney Morning Herald printed the names, occupations and addresses of

those arrested, outing them against their will and causing many to lose their jobs or become estranged from their friends and family.

On the following Monday morning, hundreds mobilised outside the Liverpool Street courthouse in solidarity with those arrested. Entry was difficult as police were barricading doors, resulting in multiple scuffles and seven arrests.

A mass meeting was called for July 1st, a week after the riot, to organise the “drop the charges” campaign. Another week later, a march retracing the route of the June 24th parade became the largest LGBTI rights demonstration Australia had ever seen.

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PHOTOGRAPHER BRANCO GAICA

PHOTOGRAPHER BRANCO GAICA

There was a continued series of clashes and demonstrations until the NSW police quietly dropped the charges against those arrested at, and in the aftermath of, the first Mardi Gras. The state Labor government also had their hand forced by social pressure from the strong campaign to repeal the hated Summary Offences Act (NSW), which was the law used by the police to stop protests by LGBTI organisations and a wide range of other groups. The right to march for everyone had been won in a shining rainbow victory.

Undeterred by state repression, the 78ers, Gay Liberationists, and everyone else who marched for equality in the momentous year of 1978 offer a lesson that should be taken into all the campaigns we are part of, and all the demands we make: a defiant spirit of resistance and relentless perseverance is absolutely necessary to change the world.

Today LGBTI people in Australia are able to openly and proudly declare who they are.

Without those fighting police in the first Mardi Gras, marching against backwards laws, we would not have reached the level of social inclusion and formal equality we have today. The demonstrations for marriage equality and annual pride marches across the country are the living, breathing legacy of activists from decades past.

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PHOTOGRAPHER - BRANCO GAICA

PHOTOGRAPHER - BRANCO GAICA

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PHOTOGRAPHER - CHRIS JONES

PHOTOGRAPHER - BRANCO GAICA

THE REALITY OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: ISRAEL FOLAU & BEYOND WORDS BY CHRISTOPHER GARRAND

Recently, the Australian press has been filled with controversy regarding the termination of Israel Folau from Rugby Australia. Folau’s contract was terminated for posting a comment on Instagram claiming homosexuals would go to hell “unless they repent of their sins and turn to God” [sic]. Folau is an outspoken Christian, previously stating in 2017 that his faith in Jesus Christ is “the cornerstone of every single thing in my life.” Folau’s termination has proved divisive, with some calling his comments homophobic, while others, namely Christian conservatives, saying his views are protected under Australia’s religious freedom laws. When asked about the issue on ABC’s 7:30 Report, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that there was a gap in legislation when it came to religious discrimination, which he intended to fix. This begs the question: if new religious freedom laws are passed, what will be the cost of their implementation?

First, it’s important to understand the current state of religious freedom in Australia. As it stands, the Australian Constitution has been interpreted to

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protect religious freedom. There are already anti-discrimination acts in place, which protect religious freedoms in and outside the workplace, the most relevant being section 351 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This states that employees are protected from unfair treatment in the workplace based on their religious beliefs. To provide an example, barring someone from a promotion on the basis of their faith would be considered religious discrimination. However, the Fair Work Act does not protect employees from breaking any contract they have with their employers as a result of religion.

In posting his comment online, Rugby Australia claims that Folau contractually breached the code of conduct established in his contract, which requires players to use social media in a respectful manner.

Whether or not Folau breached his contract is the subject of a forthcoming lawsuit, as Folau maintains he was unfairly dismissed. Rugby Australia has previously stated “as a sport that is proud of the values of inclusion… we want people to feel safe and welcome regardless of their gender, race,

background, religion or sexuality.”

One can see how a claim that gay people will go hell goes against the core values of Rugby Australia, who aim to promote inclusion. The situation is heightened by the fact that Folau is a known public figure; further, Rugby Australia had already cautioned him against posting material that could be seen as discriminatory. It is important to note that Folau was not fired for holding the personal view that gay people will go to hell. Rather, he made such beliefs public when they are contrary to his employer’s core values.

This situation has sparked a widespread debate regarding the scope of religious freedom in Australia, with over $1 million donated to a GoFundMe supporting Folau’s defence case. The Liberal Party of Australia have also considered the introduction of new legislation protecting religious freedom. However, it’s also important to consider the effect religious freedom has on minorities.

Take for instance the Catholic Church, which has long campaigned against homosexuality, as well as promoting

conversion therapy as a way to ‘cure’ it. These beliefs have had significant impact on the gay community, as highlighted by artistic pieces such as Stef Smith’s Joyboy, a short film centred around the internal conflict of a gay boy growing up within a deeply Catholic family. In the film, we see the boy forced to suppress his sexuality in an attempt to maintain the ideals of his Catholic faith, only to fail and ultimately separate from both his family and faith in order to express himself as an individual. Such situations are not unusual, and individuals often develop lasting mental health problems as a result of them.

It would be a gross error of judgement for our government to further extend religious freedom laws, as it would come at the expense of Australia’s gay community. As it stands, Australia is a country which prides itself on its encouragement of diversity. I believe passing legislation that allows for the active discrimination of LGBT people will only be a step backwards for our country, one which diminishes the work achieved by activists and our wider community.

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RAINBOW LOGOS AREN’T SOLIDARITY WORDS BY ETHAN PENGLASE

American liberals and self-proclaimed progressives aren’t well known for their tact. Last June, the rusted-on #Resisters of the decaying Cult of Clinton lauded Queen Elizabeth for “throwing shade” during her state visit meeting with President Trump. The tiara she wore, apparently, wards off evil and illnesses. The implication here being that the colonial plunderer-in-chief was totally owning Trump by suggesting he was some kind of bad omen.

Resistance to Trump and everything he stands for—racism, unchecked corporate power, militarism, et cetera, et cetera—is so easy, anything counts as resistance! Well, apparently not.

Now, this is the kind of moment where I would readily accept a “slay queen” or two. Unfortunately, I seemed alone in my endorsement of Sanders’ attack on performative marketing departments everywhere.

“He doesn't even bother to mention the LGTBQ community *specifically* on his list of demands. Multiple states pass laws against them but Bernie is like UNIONIZE AND YOU WILL BE FINE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS” writes Anita.

“Right wing hate groups and Bernie are often on the same page. Christian hate groups are attacking these same companies for bravely sponsoring Gay Pride events. Now Bernie joins them from the Left” tweets John Smith.

In the spirit of Pride Month, Democratic presidential candidate-hopeful Bernie Sanders took to twitter to challenge the authenticity of And, perhaps my favourite, from Candice: corporate America’s support for the gays.

“Do not cheapen the struggle for dignity and freedom.” Take your own advice. This isn’t “LGBTQ people face unacceptable your opportunity to push your cis straight workplace discrimination and abuse. I white male focused agenda.” say to the huge corporations rainbowbranding themselves for #PrideMonth: This bizarre mode of thinking—if we can even call it that—isn’t confined to the US, but it is Pay your employees fairly. most prominent there. The fact that the attempt Let them unionize.

by Sanders to include general demands of the broader working class into pro-LGBT rhetoric Support their right to health care. can be met with such backlash in a country where roughly 15% of people live in poverty Do not cheapen the struggle for dignity and almost one-third are in near-poverty is and freedom.” troubling.

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Amazon urged the US Supreme Court to make same-sex marriage legal. Wonderful!

But thousands of Amazon workers are wearing diapers and peeing in bottles because Amazon doesn’t give them enough time for toilet breaks. In one survey, 55% of Amazon employees said they had suffered depression since beginning work at Amazon. Goldman Sachs has marched in many pride parades and yet, it also has a habit of purchasing privatised rentcontrolled housing, raising rent and thereby forcing people out of their homes.

This issues of workers’ rights and housing may seem completely distinct from LGBT rights, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. We know that LGBT people face an increased risk of depression and homelessness, so it’s difficult to see how the corporate world’s supposed support for LGBT rights is in any way legitimate when it is largely the source of mental illness, homelessness and poverty—the material consequences of homophobia and transphobia.

By understanding the inherent intersection of the interests of labour and of LGBT people, it is obvious why the gay rights movement cannot be captained by the captains of industry, but by ordinary working people.

The struggle for LGBT rights is a struggle for equality, and equality is at the heart of the union movement.

In Australia, it was unions that fought to protect LGBT people in the workplace

by incorporating protections against discrimination into workplace agreements.

It was unions that fought for Medicare for all Australians which now covers much of the cost of gender confirmation surgery.

And it is unions that continue to fight for and improve the rights of LGBT people and all workers.

To my fellow gays, I say this: Join your union, because rights aren’t handed down by glib capitalists, but through unity, solidarity and building independent, working-class power. While ANZ’s bedazzled GayTMs are aesthetically appreciable, what’s really impressive is the union movement’s longstanding and materially genuine support for LGBT people, and not just a conspicuous support conveniently timed for when gay men started earning more than straight men on average.

So the next time you see Scott Morrison and the other lackeys of big business in the Liberal Party attacking trade unions, remember this: they are not just attacking the organisations that fight for fair wages and safe working conditions, they are attempting to undermine the solidarity, love and unity that holds working class and all marginalised groups together and which has won us the rights and liberties we enjoy today.

Be loud. Be proud. And never vote Liberal.

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Rhiannon Faith is an Adelaide based artist who among a myriad of other crafty things, creates hand painted denim art for her brand Dead Peaceful. As a queer artist she expresses her passion for the LGBTQ+ community through her work and draws upon themes of empowering women to create glittery works of art. Rhiannon talked with Melissa Griffin about how her queer identity comes through in her art, and where she gets all her creative energy from.

Not long ago, before we had met irl, you told me that you wanted to get back into drawing because you hadn't done it in a while but enjoyed it when you were younger. You are the most creative person I personally know, and I can't imagine you without have an outlet to express all that creativity. What were some of the ways you explored this creativity growing up and how do it progress into painting jackets?

Growing up in a creative household, with an artist mother, meant that we were always doing little art and craft projects. I used to scrapbook a lot, and I’ve always loved experimenting with my hair and makeup. Although I tried a lot of different mediums throughout my teen years, I never really found anything I thought I was good at. Having a mental illness

was a huge barrier to finding ‘my thing’ too. I’m pretty lucky I found the jacket thing, really. It was almost an accident.

When I quit my job as a teacher, I had about a year and a half of unemployment. I needed to get my head right and process. During that time, I was drawing a lot of angry charcoal drawings, and trying to learn watercolour. Randomly, my mum asked me to paint her a jacket.

It was a cat in space, Bowie vibes.

From that point on, I knew denim was my canvas.

Is being tagged as a ‘queer artist’ something that features in your work? What are some of the effects of that part of your identity in your work and business?

Yes. Haha. I am very openly and overtly queer. It’s sometimes hard for me to represent that in my jacket designs without being cliché or rely on outdated imagery, but regardless – I’m a queer artist and therefore I make queer art.

Obviously, the discussion of queer identity is huuuuuge and beyond what I can talk about here, but in short and in my personal and brief history as Dead Peaceful (I started under that name in October of 2018), my queerness has been the thing that’s helped me make connections in the art community in Adelaide. My jackets were first stocked in a queer-run store. My first workshop appearance was for a queer youth drop in centre. The first wave of friends I made because of the jackets were all queer women.

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Even if I wanted to (which I do not), I’d not be able to disentangle Dead Peaceful from my queerness.

With help from your housemate you've turned the spare room in your house into an amazing glittery craft space; how important is it to you that you have this space to create and be messy?

Oh, friend. I’ve gotta have space to just make things for the sake of creation. In that room I make zines, head pieces, jewellery, pom-poms, messy abstract paintings, and a lot of other random things. Having a room dedicated to art means I’ve always got a little oasis from the rest of the world. That’s super important to me in managing my mental illness, and my business too.

There are some really cool stories behind the commission pieces you have created for customers. What are your personal favourites?

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The fact that people want to commission me still blows my mind.

They’re all super special for that reason. The Jack River one I did for you, Jack River liked irl. The Childish Gambino / Brockhampton design turned out way better than anticipated. However, the best story is probably the snake / bearded dragon one; a mum commissioned me to create a jacket for her daughter’s 18th birthday. That alone was a big honour. The back of the jacket had a snake on it, and the front a bearded dragon – both of which were her real-life pets Gerald and Marshall. The birthday girl took photos of the animals with the jacket and they were so cute I almost died.

I've seen the progression from when you first started making the jackets, and it's obvious with each new one, your skills are continuously evolving.

Do you ever take a step back and appreciate how far you've come in such a short time?

Absolutely. Some of the first few I did are even a little embarrassing, haha. They ended up with friends and family, so it’s okay. But yeah, I’ve learnt a lot in a short amount of time about making colour pop, and the power of using the right tools for the job.

I like being able to see the growth; it’s super motivating. Often when my head is all cloudy with existential dread, abject despair, or insomniainduced panic, I convince myself that I’m not getting any better in any area of my life. Then, I’ll look at the first jacket I did and the most recent, and I see the change. It’s something, you know? It’s like… even if I feel like I’ve not moved in two years, I clearly and objectively have. It helps.

What's next for Dead Peaceful? Do you have anything new and exciting on the horizon?

Dead Peaceful is very much a passion-driven project. It’s something I do because I like to paint, and I like to make people feel good about themselves and give them a way to wear their identity proudly. Because of that, I’m not too motivated by sales or anything like that.

Probably a bad business model tbh, haha. That being said, I have a few markets booked, and an art show towards the end of the year. I’ve also been hired to run a school holiday workshop for little kids; we’re going to paint lil’ baby jackets and it’s gonna be cute as heck.

Another project I’m working on is Write Club. Myself and four other girls in Adelaide are putting together a writers’ group for women, non-binary, genderqueer, etc. people (i.e. anyone that doesn’t identify as a man/boy). There’s a Facebook group for it, and we hold our first writers’ night on the 5th of July. Visit us at facebook.com/groups/writeclubadl.

Where can we find your jackets? And what kind of advice would you give to someone who has an idea for a commission piece but doesn't know where to start?

If you’ve got some time to kill in the city, head to Topham Mall and visit Bruce at his store Perch. My jackets are stocked there, as well as heaps of other amazing stuff by other local makers and artists. You can also find him on Instagram @blueyboronia. Otherwise, just hit me up on Insta @imdeadpeaceful. You’ll find links to my Etsy, Write Club, and more there.

Honestly, I live for making people happy. If you want a jacket, we can do it. Just slide into my DMs and tell me your feelings. I’m good at asking questions to get the information I need. Even if your idea is something like, “I just want a… witchy… jacket… with green…” I can work with that. We’ve got this, my friend!

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A NEW CHAPTER WORDS BY REBECCA ADAMS

I’ve been standing next to her locker for what feels like forever, but I know it’s only been a few moments since the bell rung and a busy chatter echoed through the halls. But now it’s just me, alone, edge of my textbooks digging into my stomach, lump in my throat.

When my friend finally rounds the corner, I realise I’m terrified. I’m not ready— I can’t say this, I can’t possibly tell her, how did I think I was ready?

She says hello and I feel my hands sweating.

We barely exchange pleasantries before the much-rehearsed words are out of my mouth. “I need to tell you something.”

I’m sixteen, and I’m tired of hiding.

When I first came out to my friend as bisexual in 2012, the world felt like a dangerous place for people like me. By then I’d known I was queer for more than three years. I’d been bullied and excluded because I was different to others my age, and was often hurt by thoughtless comments people made: “Bisexual people are greedy.”

“They’re just confused.”

“It’s only a phase.”

By the time I came out to my friend, I’d been deeply affected by not just those personal hardships that many queer people face, but also by how we were viewed by society as a whole. In 2009, same-sex marriage was legal in just eight countries. I read about the AIDS crisis of the eighties, police raids, murders, conversion therapy, and the countless other prejudices and hardships that queer people faced then and still face today. Coming out in such an environment was terrifying, but even

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more terrifying was the prospect of keeping such an integral part of myself hidden away forever.

So I began to come out, bit by bit.

I’m seventeen and sitting in the car with my mum on the way to see a friend act in a play.

We’re parked and talking about dating, when she mentions me dating a girl with a chuckle.

Numbness overtakes me and suddenly I’ve told her I’m bisexual, dazed with the release of a secret I’ve been holding for half my life.

She says it’s probably just a phase and gets out the car.

Later that night I pad barefoot into her room and tell her again, this time clear about how sure I am, and she accepts it quietly, but it takes two, three more times of mentioning my attraction for women before she stops dismissing it. For the next few years I’m

selective of who I come out to, ever wary of hearing denial or seeing the glistening of held-back tears again.

Seeing queer people in the media has always been important for prompting discussion and developing understanding amongst the wider public. Ellen DeGeneres paved the way in the nineties; in recent years, influential celebrities such as Ellen Page, Troye Sivan, Miley Cyrus, and Laverne Cox have come out, catapulting the unique struggles of queer people into the mainstream. Visibility is important in creating role models for the LGBTQ+ community, especially youth. Us humans are social animals who like to belong, and sometimes all it takes for someone to be comfortable in their identity is to give them the opportunity to point to someone else and say, “I’m like them, and that’s perfectly fine.”

Two weeks ago I’m at my old high school, invited back to play in the school orchestra for a small concert. I’m backstage reading, near a young group of girls who can’t be older than fifteen or sixteen. They chatter about Minecraft and one of the girls laughs

and runs a hand through her hair and mentions her girlfriend. There’s no hesitation in the offhand way she says “my girlfriend”, and the group laughs along with her, easy and unforced with the carefree lightheartedness of youth. I hide a smile. When I get home I tell my mum what I heard. She smiles too and I remember telling her for the first time about a girl I was dating, and how she smiled then like she is now. We hug, and that night in the car feels a lifetime ago.

For many of us in Australia, coming out has seemingly become easier over the years, perhaps due to shifting public understanding, legal reforms – same-sex marriage is now legal in 28 countries around the world – and greater visibility in the media. However, with prejudice and violence against LGBTQ+ people still present around the world – especially against transgender people of colour – our society has a long way to go in its treatment of queer people, and the queer community has a part to play in leading that change. But if that young teenager can feel as comfortable telling her friends about a girl she likes as I do telling mine now, seven years after I first came out, we must be doing something right.

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Film Review: Hedwig and the Angry Inch Dir. John Cameron Mitchell, (2001) Review by Kyle Dolan Adelaide University Film Society Committee John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch follows Hedwig Robinson, an “internationally-ignored” genderqueer punk rock singer from East Berlin. The story follows Hedwig’s journey, which begins with her being forced into a sex-change operation in order to marry an American soldier, only for him to leave her a year later, on the day the Berlin Wall is torn down.

The film uses the destruction of the Berlin Wall as a metaphor to represent the struggle for identity faced by the LGBT+ community. Hedwig is more than a traditional woman or man, and this film deconstructs and reconstructs philosophies and religious attitudes towards love and identity.

The David Bowie-inspired music written by Stephen Trask is pitch perfect. Its mixture of punk and glam rock heightens the emotional beats of the film in ways that dialogue wouldn’t be able to.

Often rock-musicals can have a watered down and cleaner sound, but Hedwig is proper ballsto-the-wall rock music. Further, John Cameron Mitchell’s vocals as Hedwig are incredible, and the rock score to this movie belongs up there with the best albums of all time.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is by far the greatest movie musical in my opinion. Not only that, it is an example of an adaptation justifying its own

existence. Often films are adapted solely for commercial value and, especially when it comes to stage-to-screen adaptations, the film version can just be an identical copy transplanted onto screen. Hedwig makes necessary changes, often cutting high quality parts, in order for it to work in a cinematic setting.

The role of Hedwig is typically considered to be one of the toughest in the musical theatre canon. Hedwig is played here by John Cameron Mitchell, but has also been played by Neil Patrick Harris, Ally Sheedy, Michael C. Hall, Andrew Rannells, and many more. The beauty of the role is that it is written in a way that it can be played by anyone, regardless of gender, race, shape or size. That is what the movie represents: it is about self-discovery, which is a universal struggle and the freedom of its casting often conveys that.

With Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell has written, directed, and starred in a film that was not only inventive and ahead of its time, but will still be relevant in a hundred years. This film speaks directly to the struggles faced by many LGBT+ people about discovering their identity and true self, but there is also a universality that transcends that. Simply put, this is a film that everyone needs to see.

SOME CONVENIENCE

by Kayla Murray I was wondering if the sound of your voice is truly that of silver and honey warmth or if my feeble hope has distilled the taste of forbidden fruits violets, chests, in the rim of my glass I am here, quite often, yes in so much consequence, in reflection, wearing something I hate on me, but loved on the rack Are you walking alone tonight? could i meet you somewhere else? like a park, with a bench, or some other room, I could change, from gin, to whisky,

some convenience, beautiful, enough to pull me into a trance and let you trace again, the rim of my glass,

I could look dangerous, if that’s what’s turns you on, then so be it, let me be it

your eyes are the exact shade of blue we wish the sky always was I do not care much for this openness Another for my good friend, please I desire closure, to break out from my teenage bedroom door and now the locket around your neck is framed by the redness of drink and I’m wanting to know, exactly where it is I can finally get up to something

‘The Worms We Plant Within Ourselves’ Poem by Gemma Thorne And a worm found its way into my ear Shuffled along my mind and Settled among my heart With it was left a residue And it glistened the way you did that night I was caught off guard by this feeling because I haven’t felt it in a long time What it feels like to be bewitched and mesmerised at the same time When I was young my brother taught me how to convince our parents I was sick And we gulped down air in a green 70s era bathroom until it filled a deep empty part of ourselves And that’s what I did with this feeling Forgot about it as it lay hidden Dormant and waiting I remember the first time I fell into air that warm and sweet Her skin soft and safe A way of existing that I didn’t know how to stay And it hurt more than any boys rejection ever could Because it was something so unattainable and hard to find So hard to keep Falling through my fingers like her hair used to And when it hurt it tasted of bitter So my tongue longed for that taste in so many boys mouths The tongues and lounges my body is supposed to And I fell into the patterns of the dance My self worth fumbled in young boys hands When I was five I did ballet and there’s a photo of tutus lined up in a row and me facing the wrong way Since then I have never wanted to be caught acting out of place I met men that taught me how to dream of being desired not to desire and I called that love And my orgasms vibrated with that of my ego Maybe all that air we gulped made me fall to the bottom of the lake Full of feeling without words just colours and shapes As I got older I learned to own a title but only ever in a way that was palatable And here is that worm it’s cocooned and bloomed and butterflies are pouring out of my ears And there wings they are the most beautiful colours Blue red indigo Every colour of the rainbow.

Iconic Gay Tracks Words by Matthew James

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Dancing Queen ABBA

Believe Cher

When Doves Cry Prince

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I Still Remember Bloc Party

See You Again Tyler the Creator

06 Pussy Is God King Princess

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Tilted Christine and the Queens

Your Dog Soccer Mummy

Glowed Up Kaytranada

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Thinkin Bout You Frank Ocean

Stay With Me Sam Smith

DFTM Cry Club

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Carrie (I want a girl) Moaning Lisa

Hibernia Brendan Maclean

I’ll Never Want a BF Bec Sandridge

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Sometimes Cub Sport

Sunday Best Washington

Spectrum (Say My Name) Florence and the Machine

YOUR MONTHLY MIX

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