LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS
ANOTHER RAPTURE ANOTHER DAY
72
BANGS ON ABOUT FORTY RIDICULOUS YEARS IN SHOWBIZ
SPARKLEMUFFIN STEPS UP & OUT FOR INCLUSION
KALEIDOSCOPE ARTISTS’ STORIES OF CREATIVITY & SELF-DISCOVERY
2026 STARS PREDICTING PROFOUND CHANGE!
2025 SPRINGOUT FESTIVAL GUIDE
> NEVER STOP BELIEVING, CHANGE IS INEVITABLE FREE
EXECUTIVE
Alexander
CREATIVE
Christopher
ASSISTANT
Maxwell Elliff
CONTRIBUTORS
David Blanco
Dwayne Lennox
Rose Pappalardo
Scott Malcolm
Lee Wallace
Krystal Balz
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Nathan J. Lester
John McRae
Tobias Price
CONTACT FUSE 0412 309 992 hey@fusemagazine.com.au fusemagazine.com.au PO Box 844 Belconnen ACT 2616
PUBLISHER
Published
Ltd lithium.net.au ISSN 1836-8387
15 Bob Downe is coming to town, so we got the fluro out, combed our bangs and talked about his 40 ridiculous years in showbiz!
DID ANYONE ELSE BLINK, AND ANOTHER YEAR WAS ALMOST OVER AGAIN?
Time is a funny old thing; sometimes it feels like a day will never end, and then suddenly you blink and you’re another 10 years older. As humans, we can perceive time very differently throughout our lives. Those hours can move fast when we’re having fun or in a state of heightened emotional processing; and conversely, can feel incredibly slow in our daily routine, which invites a low psychological intensity. However we perceive it though, time carries with it constant change and nothing stops its march endlessly forward.
It’s certainly been a year of high emotional processing. Without wanting to launch into another editorial about the world being an absolute sh*t show, I will say how incredibly grateful I am to be living in Australia and that I hold hope for a better future for those living in pain at the moment. I truly believe that change is inevitable and as uncomfortable as it may be, before we all know it, time will have passed and the world will look and feel very different.
Talking about time, in the lead-up to his new show celebrating his glorious 40th anniversary in showbiz, we interviewed Mark Trevorrow about life in spandex and what it means to be the indelible and hysterical Bob Downe. The years must feel like they have been on fast forward for this Prince of Polyester, as he’s created his very own time bubble and filled it with fluro hairbands, shoulder pads and mix-tapes chocked full of all his favourite bangers. If you’re an ’80s or ’90s queer kid, you’ll most likely be a fan and aquainted with Bob’s special brand of quirky camp humour. Considering the current state of the world, it is a refreshing break to include something in this issue that’s light and ultimately drenched in the silliness it deserves. You’ll find Bob’s smiling face on our cover and feature interview on p15.
Our other cover is dedicated to local entertainer, drag king and producer Megan Munro, aka Sparklemuffin, who also brings joy to others via the stage. As a disabled person, time can move incredibly slowly for Megan, which is just one of the reasons why they work hard championing inclusion and visibility. We talked to Megan about The Queer Variety Show that they produce, why it’s so important to create space for people with disability, and what to expect from their SpringOUT show lineup, p18.
Yes, another SpringOUT is here and we are proud to once again publish this year’s festival guide, which is jam-packed with queer happenings. We’re in for another exciting month as we celebrate Pride in Canberra, p33.
We have some fun with a review of a new animated film, Lesbian Space Princess The story follows the adventures of Saira, a princess who has magic hands and hails from the planet Clitopolis a place reputed to be hard to find, but actually quite easy. Saira embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she romps through space attempting to rescue her ex-girlfriend from the evil Straight White Maliens. It’s insightful and hilarious, see p20.
Over on p23, stargazer Krystal Balz looks to the future and predicts profound new beginnings for 2026, both globally and personally. About time, right!
In our final feature, we chatted to seven talented artists who are all exhibiting in this year’s Kaleidoscope exhibition, about creativity and how art influences their lives. Kaleidoscope IV is running until 30 November, so make sure you get along to Belconnen Arts to check it out, p27.
I hope this issue brings joy and that everyone has a restful and enjoyable holiday season. Until next year, never stop believing. Change is inevitable. Warmly, Alexander
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In Japan, you can rent actors to play family members or friends. The service provides event partners, companionship and helps create a sense of normalcy for those who lack close family.
Everyone’s favourite gay, Southern gentleman detective is back! Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s third Knives Out mystery, with Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner and Kerry Washington part of the customary who’s-who ensemble for Johnson’s whodunnit. The standout, however, is Josh O’Connor, whose inquisitive reverend becomes Watson to Blanc’s Sherlock. Or should that be Hastings to his Poirot, given the obvious influence of Agatha Christie? Either way, let the fun, mystery and murders begin.
In his first leading man role since winning the Best Actor Oscar for The Whale, Brendan Fraser plays Phillip, an American actor living and working in Japan but struggling to make a go of either. That is until he is offered the role of playing a stand-in in actual people’s lives: absent dad to a young girl; best friend to a lonely video gamer etc. The debut feature film for writer-director Hikari (she directed episodes of Netflix’s Beef) promises to be a heartwarming tale of human connection, so you may want to bring along some tissues.
After 2021’s The Worst Person in the World, writer-director Joachim Trier’s follow-up feature was highly anticipated at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. And given the critical response to Sentimental Value, this tale of fathers and daughters has more than met expectations. When filmmaker Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgard) returns home to make an autobiographical film and reconnect with his estranged daughters, all manner of emotions, tensions and resentments arise.
In this period romance, Paul Mescal ( All of Us Strangers) and Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country) play musicians travelling the American countryside recording traditional songs who fall in love, just as World War I threatens to tear them apart. Directed by Oliver Hermanus, The History of Sound has been praised for its music and the lead performances, but criticised somewhat for its coyness when it comes to the central love story. Still, Mescal and O’Connor, two of the more exciting young actors working today, are reason enough to check it out.
CHECK OUT ALL THESE GREAT FILMS, LGBTIQ+ MOVIE REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND MORE ON THE FUSE WEBSITE
By
LGBTIQ Directory
Head to the FUSE LGBTIQ Directory where you’ll find LGBTIQ friendly and owned businesses, support pathways, community groups, sporting, social & support services. lgbtiq.directory
QUEER POWERPOINT
13 — 15 NOVEMBER
BELCO ARTS, TUGGERANONG ARTS & THE Q THEATRE
After selling out shows nationwide, the capital region’s own lineup of queer brilliance is finally getting its moment in the spotlight. Watch queer artists, thinkers, babes and glorious weirdos share their burning passions, most cooked theories and secret desires for your viewing pleasure. The only rule: participants must use Microsoft’s most mundane medium, PowerPoint.
CANBERRA POTTERS CHRISTMAS FAIR
5 DECEMBER — 14 DECEMBER
10:00AM — 4:00PM
CANBERRA POTTERS
1 ASPINALL STREET, WATSON
Think handmade this Christmas and support local ceramic artists at the annual Canberra Potters Christmas Fair. Impress this festive season and give unique and one-of-a-kind ceramics, including planter pots, tableware, jewellery, vases, decorations and more, from a variety of stallholders. You’re sure to find the ideal gift at the perfect price. Enjoy the relaxed market atmosphere as well as free parking.
SAT. 15 NOVEMBER
YARRALUMLA
WOOLSHED
Dust off your hat, polish your boots and get ready to kick up some glitter, because Bushdance is back for 2025. Presented by Pink Tennis Canberra, Bushdance is one of Canberra’s largest LGBTIQ+ events.
WORLD AIDS DAY SUN. 1 DECEMBER 9:30AM — 11:30AM NAT. ARBORETUM
Meridian will host an early morning event at the AIDS Garden of Reflection, followed by tea and coffee. This event will provide an opportunity to gather and show solidarity as we remember those we’ve lost to an AIDS-related illness.
KALEIDOSCOPE IV OPENING 17 OCTOBER UNTIL 30 NOVEMBER
BELCO ARTS
An LGBTQIA+ exhibition brought to you by Belco Arts and proudly supported by FUSE Magazine. Kaleidoscope celebrates uniqueness, diversity of perspectives, lived experiences and shared ambitions through art.
JULIUS CAESAR
10 — 18 APRIL 2026
CANBERRA THEATRE
Presented by Bell Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, a play that is 426 years old, seems to parallel modern events, resonating through its themes of the decay of a republic, the dangers of ambition and power, and the manipulation of the masses. Don’t miss this thrilling political masterpiece.
MORE HAPPENINGS
For more details on the above events and to stay up-to-date with other queer happenings visit us at fusemagazine.com.au/whats-on
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DID YOU KNOW?
In 1976, Dutch Member of Parliament Coos Huijsen became the first politician in the world to come out publicly as gay. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to office, while Maureen Colquhoun, from the UK, was the first openly lesbian politician.
Historians have reignited centuries-old speculation about Shakespeare’s romantic life with the discovery of a portrait miniature, possibly depicting the bard’s secret gay lover.
The painting, dating to the early 1590s, shows the androgynous beauty of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton Shakespeare’s first patron and long-rumoured muse for the famous “Fair Youth” sonnets.
Art historian Dr Elizabeth Goldring authenticated the miniature as the work of Nicholas Hilliard, renowned Elizabethan miniaturist and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. What captivated the experts was not just Wriothesley’s sensual appearance long golden hair, pearl earring, and embroidered finery but a tiny, pointed clue found on the reverse, a red heart obliterated and painted over with a black arrow resembling Shakespeare’s own heraldic spear. Such alterations to a highly personal love token, and the effort required to extract it from a locket, have led Goldring to theorise that Shakespeare might have returned the portrait to Southampton when their purported affair ended in heartbreak, possibly timed with Southampton’s marriage in 1598.
Miniatures were deeply intimate gifts, worn close to the heart and exchanged as private symbols of affection.
The new evidence, alongside Shakespeare’s sonnets, full of longing for the “master-mistress of my passion”, strongly hints at a queer relationship that transcended the strict social codes of Elizabethan England. This historic moment represents a rare reclaiming of queer love in literature, offering powerful new light on the personal passions of the world’s greatest playwright.
Whether Shakespeare and Southampton truly shared a doomed affair may remain mysterious. But with this exquisite miniature and the tantalising clues it contains, the conversation about LGBTIQ+ history and the bard’s own place within it is set ablaze once more.
Tasmania is taking the lead with historic reform to target LGBTQIA+ convictions by offering compensation to those previously penalised for homosexuality and cross dressing offences. The two bills have received bipartisan support in Tasmanian Parliament. The move aims to improve the state’s historically dark relationship with the LGBTQIA+ community after refusing to decriminalise same sex marriage between men until 1997, making it the last state in Australia to adopt these changes.
The US FDA has approved a new drug called lenacapavir, marketed as Yeztugo, which is the first twice-yearly injection for HIV prevention, offering an alternative to daily pills (PrEP) that many find challenging to adhere to. This long-acting injection requires administration every six months, with an initial short course of pills to ensure immediate protection. The drug’s global rollout will hinge on its price, currently around $28,000 per year in the US. However, generic manufacturers could potentially produce it for as little as $25. Lenacapavir represents a significant step in HIV prevention worldwide.
Regional young people are warning that the upcoming social media ban will leave LGBTIQ+ teenagers without access to support. For many queer young people outside major cities, social media also offers them access to peer support, identity affirmation and mental health resources not available locally. Advocates argue that the ban deprives some youth of supportive digital spaces and say better solutions would include stronger content moderation, age-appropriate education about online safety, and policies designed in consultation with those most affected, rather than blanket restrictions.
50 years ago, South Australia became the first Australian state to decriminalise homosexuality, a move seen as a defining moment in the nation’s LGBTIQ+ rights history. Despite the significance of the change, at the time it was met with minimal fanfare.
After 43 years, The Bookshop Darlinghurst, an iconic hub for Sydney’s queer community, will close its doors on Christmas Eve 2025, marking the end of a cultural era. Founded in 1982 by Les McDonald and Wayne Harrison, the shop first opened on Crown Street before moving to Oxford Street in 1984, where it became a cornerstone of LGBTIQ+ life. Beyond selling books, it served as a sanctuary during the AIDS crisis, hosted countless author events, and provided generations with affirmation, community and belonging.
The decision to close follows a challenging year. New owner Charles Gregory, who took over in June 2024, had ambitious plans to relocate the store into a modern space as part of the new Oxford & Foley redevelopment. However, repeated construction delays, combined with escalating expenses and slow winter trade, have left the business unable to survive.
In a heartfelt message, Gregory expressed sorrow at being unable to sustain the bookshop’s legacy, describing it as more than just a store.
“THE
.”
Community members, leaders, and longtime patrons have responded with grief and gratitude, highlighting the shop’s role as both cultural anchor and safe haven. Calls for intervention by the City of Sydney show just how deeply it is woven into Oxford Street’s identity. From distributing pamphlets in hostile times to celebrating queer stories of today, the shop’s shelves have preserved history, nurtured activism and offered solace.
Though its doors may close, The Darlo Bookshop spirit shines as a beacon of chosen family, dignity, connection and pride. It will live on in the memories of all it served.
Customers and community members are encouraged to visit before 24 December 2025, to share memories, buy books and help The Bookshop say farewell with the respect and love it has given so generously for 43 unforgettable years.
Sydney’s beloved photographer, performer and cultural storyteller William Yang has been awarded the ACON President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2025 Honour Awards, recognising his extraordinary contributions to the arts, photography and visibility of LGBTIQ+ communities across Australia. For more than five decades, William Yang has captured the intimate, joyful and sometimes painful realities of queer life. Rising to prominence in the 1970s and ’80s, his candid portraits of Sydney’s gay community became iconic records of identity and resilience. During the AIDS crisis, his photographs bore witness to both devastation and love, creating an invaluable archive of lives too often erased. His work, held in major collections including the National Gallery of Australia, remains central to how queer stories are remembered and honoured.
Beyond photography, Yang has built a unique body of performance work combining spoken word with projected images, blending autobiography, oral history and art. These deeply personal ‘slide shows’ have toured internationally, making him one of Australia’s most distinctive creative voices.
ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill praised Yang as “a cultural treasure whose life’s work has given visibility to our communities and preserved our histories with beauty and honesty”.
Although homosexuality was illegal in NSW until 1984, Oxford Street in Darlinghurst began its transformation into a space for the queer community to party, build connections and resist oppression over ten years earlier in the 1970s, eventually being known as Sydney’s gay “Golden Mile.”
While WorldPride 2025 in Washington, DC was hailed by organisers as a celebration of resilience in the face of hostility, it fell well short of expectations in terms of attendance and economic impact. Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric and current crackdown on visitors entering the US were blamed for keeping people away.
Several overseas LGBTIQ+ groups urged a boycott of the event and WorldPride DC organisers also lost over half their funding due to corporate pullbacks. Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, told the media outlets, “Nothing could have fully prepared us for the magnitude of fear and uncertainty that has gripped our community”.
Nina Albert, DC’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said the city had expected more attendees, saying, “the reality is that given the circumstances, I think we did OK. I think the most important thing is that folks came together in celebration we put on a great show”.
If you missed it, that’s probably because it didn’t happen... again! In the months before the predicted 23 September Rapture, Christian social media especially TikTok’s #RaptureTok was buzzing with excitement and warnings. Believers urged LGBTIQ+ people and other ‘sinners’ to repent before it was too late. Some quit jobs, sold possessions and shared detailed plans for life after they were gone. Concerns ranged from pets left behind to what clothes to wear when ascending to heaven.
Practical Rapture tips were shared too. One woman advised leaving doors unlocked and phones unsecured for non-believing relatives, while a YouTuber bulk-bought cheap Bibles adding personalised notes for those ‘left behind’. Others encouraged followers to bid farewell to non-Christian friends, certain they’d soon regret their choices.
When the date passed uneventfully, the only thing in need of saving was the group chat mood. This failed prediction joins a long line, from Harold Camping’s infamous 2011 flop to countless other online prophets many with suspiciously well-stocked merch stores.
In the aftermath, Christian scholars noted Rapture theology isn’t even mainstream Christianity, yet online evangelicals continue to set dates that expire quicker than milk in the sun. For now, the end times industry remains as booming as ever, even if the apocalypse never quite arrives. Here’s to the next prediction.
We will not rest until rights of all are a reality, no matter who they are or whom they love.
António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, delivered this message on IDAHOBIT day (17 May 2025) as he addressed the issues of violence, discrimination and injustice faced by LGBTIQ+ people around the world.
Trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up.
Lady Gaga at the Grammys, while accepting the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award (with Bruno Mars) for their song “Die with a Smile”.
The first rainbow crossing in the world was painted on Oxford Street in Sydney. It was created as part of the 2013 Mardi Gras 35th anniversary. The crossing quickly became an international symbol of pride and visibility, which has since been adopted worldwide.
Outright International, an NGO that promotes LGBTIQ+ rights globally, has unearthed a troubling trend, publishing a new report that shows politicians in at least 51 countries employed anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric during recent election campaigns. The findings point to a strategy where candidates exploit fear, stereotypes and misinformation to galvanise conservative support, often framing queer people as threats to traditional values or social stability. This tactic, according to the report, not only deepens societal divisions but also puts vulnerable communities at greater risk of discrimination and violence.
The study noted that by using language that stigmatises sexual and gender minorities, politicians often attempt to distract from pressing issues like corruption, healthcare or economic inequality. In some countries, such narratives have been paired with legislative proposals curbing LGBTIQ+ rights, reinforcing an atmosphere of hostility.
The report also offers a more hopeful development. In 36 countries, there has been a notable rise in openly gay, bisexual and transgender individuals running for political office. This increase reflects both the resilience of queer communities and shifting social dynamics in some regions. Despite the hostile climate, more candidates are choosing visibility and representation as political strategies, signalling a broader push for inclusion in governance and lawmaking.
Rights groups emphasise that this dual trend illustrates the complex reality for LGBTIQ+ people in politics today: while discrimination and scapegoating remain widespread, visibility and representation are steadily growing. Outright International said that openly queer candidates play a vital role in challenging stereotypes, shaping progressive policies and providing marginalised voters with stronger representation. For activists, the rising number of queer individuals in politics is a crucial counterbalance to the surge in anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric. The report concludes that global democracies stand at a crossroads, whether to allow exclusionary language to dominate or to embrace inclusive leadership.
In the US, Florida’s rainbow crosswalks, which were once vibrant symbols of Pride, are vanishing under state directives from Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican lead government. Cities from Orlando to Miami Beach have been ordered to erase multicoloured crossings and street murals that celebrated queer visibility or commemorated tragedies like the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
Although supporting their queer communities, local officials faced the threat of losing millions in state funding if rainbow art wasn’t removed by strict deadlines, resulting in crews scrubbing and painting over the crossings, sometimes overnight and sometimes surrounded by police to prevent community repainting.
However, the removal of rainbows from roads has sparked a resurgence of creative protest and resilience instead. Business owners, city leaders and activists are turning to new mediums painting bright murals on shop walls, organising community painting events in parking lots, and dedicating building facades as permanent canvases for Pride. In Orlando, the owner of Se7enBites converted his 49 parking spots into rainbow artwork to honour those lost at Pulse and to defiantly reignite visibility for the local LGBTIQ+ community.
Murals and public installations are sprouting up on private property everywhere, reflecting an intent to make Pride and inclusivity impossible to erase, even as the government shuns it from official cityscapes.
Activists say the crackdown on Pride art is the latest assault on LGBTIQ+ rights after the recent bans on gender-affirming health care; but this shrinking public space for queerness has only galvanised determination to express Pride, solidarity and remembrance in new, creative ways. Florida’s streets may lose their rainbows, but those six colours find fresh form wherever community and the spirit of inclusivity endure.
By Alexander Thatcher
HE’S A NATIONAL GAY TREASURE WITH A GRIN THAT COULD LIGHT UP THE CANBERRA FORESHORE AND BANGS THAT ANY ’80S GIRL WOULD KILL FOR.
For over four ridiculous decades, Mark Trevorrow has been making audiences laugh, sing and swoon through his fabulous, iconic alter ego — the ever-charismatic Bob Downe.
In this very 1980s fluro feature interview, Mark reflects on Bob’s glitter-dusted history, queer comedy in Australia and the joy of camp that refuses to fade.
From the early days of Oxford Street cabaret in Sydney to the big stage around the world, Bob Downe remains a beacon of humour, heart and unapologetic queer fabulousness. Get ready for sequins, sincerity and a few cheeky surprises — because Bob’s still got it and Mark’s still loving every minute.
Choose Bob... and we did!
WITH HIS NEW SHOW TOURING AUSTRALIA AND COMING TO THE CANBERRA THEATRE ON 7 DECEMBER, WE CHATTED WITH MARK TREVORROW TO REVISIT HIS EARLY DAYS OF CABARET, THE GLITTER-SOAKED NIGHTS OF THE 1980S AND THE ENDURING MAGIC OF BOB DOWNE — SOMEONE WHO HAS MADE US LAUGH ’TIL IT HURTS AND EVEN CHARMED THE MOST FAMOUS QUEEN OF ALL, ELIZABETH II.
Sharp, camp and joyfully irreverent as ever, Mark reflects on his legacy, laughter and why, after forty ridiculous years, Bob Downe still hits the stage like it’s 1984.
FUSE: THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US. AS A ’90S GAY BOY, I’VE BEEN A FAN FROM THE DAY I FIRST ENCOUNTERED BOB DOWNE ON OXFORD STREET IN SYDNEY. I’D LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST TIME YOU EVER STOOD ON A STAGE AND WHAT THAT FELT LIKE.
Mark Trevorrow aka Bob Downe: It was electric! I literally stopped the show at the Murrumbeena Methodist Sunday school concert. I was holding my sheet music and a lighted candle, with a long-haired blonde girl right in front of me. Put it this way at age 5, my hand-eye coordination wasn’t what it is now.
BEFORE BOB, THERE WERE THE GLOBOS, WHO RELEASED TWO AUSTRALIAN TOP 20 HITS: ‘TINTARELLA DI LUNA’ IN 1982 AND ‘THE BEAT GOES ON’ IN 1983. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THOSE DAYS AND THEIR IMPACT ON YOUR CAREER.
The Globos was the start of everything. Me and my late bestie Wendy de Waal roped in our mates to put on a 1960s lip-sync show in June 1980 at a party in our South Yarra flat. The show was such a hit that the police arrived. With the help of my Herald Sun colleague Wendy Harmer, we started doing the Melbourne new wave cabaret circuit. Then at Wendy’s 25th birthday party (she’s turning 70 this year) I met Gina Riley, who introduced us to St Martin’s Youth Arts Centre, where we met the performers who made up the professional version of the Globos when we were booked for the opening season at Kinselas cabaret in Sydney. That very same month (August 1982) we were Countdown Chartbusters with ‘Tintarella Di Luna’. What a start! And the rest is history.
FROM BARISTA TO SHOWGIRL, HOW DID BOB’S FIRST APPEARANCE HAPPEN, AND WHAT INSPIRED HIS PERSONA?
After the Globos broke up in late 1983, I started working at a family friend’s cafe in Glebe, where I met a hilarious woman named Cathy Armstrong. We immediately started riffing in different characters and then at the 1984 Glebe Food Fair we staged a skit outside the cafe, where Bob was born he started as a shop dummy ‘Amrrrkn’ showbiz interviewer, parodying those nasty interviews Rona Barrett was doing on Entertainment This Week
Someone from the ABC Radio Comedy Unit was in the crowd and within weeks we were writing and recording radio sketches! In January 1987, I went solo with Bob at the Harold Park comedy pub, and then appeared at the inaugural Melbourne Comedy Festival where I was nominated Best Newcomer.
LOOKING BACK, WHAT ARE YOUR MOST TREASURED MEMORIES ABOUT THOSE EARLY DAYS?
Being booked to headline and host variety shows at the fabled Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant in Melbourne in 1987. Gina Riley and I then created a music trivia game show, Bob & Coralee’s Pick-a-Hit, which played six months at the Laugh in 1988-89. And then being physically pushed on stage by Richard Fidler from DAAS for my very first Edinburgh Fringe appearance where the crowd went instantly wild. I went on to do 18 (count ’em!) Edinburgh Fringe festivals, were I met the incredible Lily Savage (the late Paul O’Grady) in 1991. My tours and TV work with Lily were the most fun I’ve ever had, on and off stage!
BOB IS KNOWN FOR HIS SINGING PROWESS. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TUNE AND WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Bob allows me to make a living singing all my favourite pop songs. I’m probably best known for my cover of the 1965 Georgie Fame classic ‘Yeh, Yeh’. All kinds of music inspires me as Duke Ellington famously said, there’s only two kinds of music: good and bad.
DO YOU THINK COMEDY HAS CHANGED SINCE YOU FIRST HIT THE SCENE IN THE EARLY ’80S?
Comedy changes all the time it has to, it’s a reflection of where we’re at as a society and culture right now! But the changes are so subtle and incremental, it’s actually hard to pin them down. All I know is, you either keep up or you don’t.
Mullet or bangs
I’m rocking both in my new show!
Sleaze Ball or Mardi Gras
We miss Sleaze, we still love Mardi Gras.
Fanny pack or scrunchie
My two favourite drag queens.
Shoulder pads or leg warmers
Cameo band with brooch, to hide the chooky neck.
Kath or Kim
Darryl of course!
Kylie Minogue or Boy George
Oh please, don’t make me choose.
River Phoenix or Brad Pitt
OMG Brad, every time. He just gets hotter.
Disco, rock or hip-hop
Easy, yacht rock.
My Little Pony, Monopoly or Rubik’s Cube Monopoly. I’m old school!
BOB BECAME AN ICON DURING A TIME WHEN QUEER VISIBILITY WAS STILL RARE. DID YOU REALISE THE CULTURAL IMPACT YOU WERE HAVING?
At the time, I didn’t! Looking back, it amazes me that I slipped past the gatekeepers, thanks mainly to the nine Mardi Gras broadcasts I co-hosted. Now being gay is a career move! I’ve lost my point of difference. Everyone’s gay!
YOU’VE PERFORMED ALL OVER THE WORLD ON STAGE AND SCREEN. WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AND STANDOUT MOMENTS FOR YOU?
Appearing in the 1995 Royal Variety Performance in London, in the presence of the Queen and Prince Philip. It was a terrifying and ultimately triumphant occasion. Hosting the Sydney Olympics Torch Night concert in the Domain with 80,000 people was pretty incredible too. And what a gift Gina and Jane gave me with Darryl Lee, my recurring character on Kath & Kim
DOES BOB STILL SURPRISE YOU?
It just amazes me that no matter how I’m feeling or what’s going on behind the scenes, I hit that stage and Bob never lets me down. It’s miraculous. Of course, after all these years, the audience carries me along in a wave of acceptance and love — what a blessing.
WITH THE WORLD BEING AS IT IS AT THE MOMENT, WHAT LIFTS YOU UP AND INSPIRES YOU?
Alfie and Lotte, the two schnauzers I share with my hub Stefan. They’re just constantly happy, energetic and loving. And they’ve never even heard of climate change or Trump!
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOUR NEW SHOW?
I decided not to do a greatest hits, so I’ve learned 30 classic ’80s bangers in honour of my birth in 1984. And you’ll love meeting Bob’s nepo-nephew, Philip McKrevis, and my Merch Hub Stef!
IF BOB DOWNE HAD A MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD IN 2025, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Can we please go back to low-res, cathode ray tube, corduroy TV? HD came along at a very unfortunate time for some of us. Ask Kerri-Anne!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE PRINCE OF POLYESTER?
I’m hanging out for a commemorative 50¢ coin, or at least a stamp!
For more Bob and tour dates visit: bobdowne.com
CANBERRA’S DRAG KING SCENE HAS A GLITTERING GEM IN MEGAN MUNRO — BETTER KNOWN AS HER ALTER EGO, SPARKLEMUFFIN. A DRAG PERFORMER, ARTIST AND PRODUCER, MEGAN IS THE CREATIVE FORCE BEHIND THE QUEER VARIETY SHOW, WHICH HAS AN INCLUSIVE FORMAT THAT CENTRES ON DISABLED LGBTIQA+ PERFORMERS AND PROVES THAT ACCESSIBILITY AND GREAT ENTERTAINMENT CAN GO HAND IN HAND.
Launched in 2022, The Queer Variety Show was born from Megan’s own experiences of feeling excluded from queer and mainstream events due to inaccessibility. Determined to change that, she built a space where every performer and audience member feels safe, supported and seen. Since then, the show has grown into one of Canberra’s most inclusive creative stages earning Megan the Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award for Excellence in Making Inclusion Happen.
We sat down for a chat about Megan’s drag journey, inclusion and disability in entertainment, and what it means to be able to express yourself with dignity and pride on stage.
FUSE: IN WHAT WAYS IS THE QUEER VARIETY SHOW DIFFERENT TO OTHER SHOWS THAT PEOPLE MAY HAVE SEEN OR PARTICIPATED IN?
Megan Munro aka Sparklemuffin: Accessibility is key to everything we do. Myself and our team, Temerity Outrè, Velvet Garnet, Ditzy Dreams and Dread Sexy, have added many features to the event to aid in access for everyone. Our model means that even if someone is unwell or unable to do their bit, another person can step in.
My health has been my biggest challenge. It is unpredictable; some days I’m fine, other days I’m not. I have been disabled for almost the entire 20 years I have been performing. This has meant I have missed out on being able to participate in training, travelling and generally going out. I must pick days to do tasks, know my limits and when to ask for support. I find that ableism is also a big issue; there is a lot of performative ‘inclusion’ with other events, for both audience members and performers.
Usually the quiet ones, and knowing that a performer did a really great job when it was their first time on stage. Knowing that a performer feels comfortable when they make a mistake, because we have created a very safe environment, always feels good. Having audience members tell us how much they love the show and how safe they feel. Every show we have a box to collect ‘love notes’ or feedback for any of the performers. People can leave comments which we share later and post online. It’s a really nice way to support and engage with the artists.
by
WHAT DO THE PERFORMERS GET FROM BEING ON STAGE?
As well as the opportunity to share their stories through art in an inclusive and safe space, I also think the performers get a real sense of community.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE AUDIENCES TAKE AWAY FROM THE SHOWS YOU PRODUCE?
It’s simple. I hope they are entertained, have a good time, feel safe, connected to community. I also hope they realise that disabled folk are just as capable and entertaining as anyone else, because we are.
THE SHOWS OFTEN FEATURE A MIX OF DRAG, BURLESQUE, POETRY AND MUSIC. HOW DO YOU WEAVE SUCH DIVERSE ACTS INTO A COHESIVE, EXCITING NIGHT?
For me, this is almost an instinctual thing. I usually go for the ‘vibe’ of the individual performer and consider how that will go with the other acts happening. I often start the show with something energetic a burlesque or drag act. I like to put acts that might be heavy or challenging in the middle of the show and end it with a positive or fun act. That way, people are taken on an emotional journey.
WHEN SEEING MAINSTREAM ENTERTAINMENT, WHETHER IT BE FILM OR STAGE, DO YOU FEEL DISABLED PERFORMERS GET ENOUGH REPRESENTATION?
No and often the ‘disabled person’ is performed by a non-disabled person. I think disabled actors and entertainers bring actual lived experience and nuances that you can’t possibly get if the person is non-disabled. Disabled folk are underemployed and underrepresented.
CAN YOU TELL US HOW SPARKLEMUFFIN AND YOUR OTHER DRAG ALTER EGOS CAME TO BE.
I started performing as a drag king in Canberra 20 years ago, as Mr Green Teal. I got this name when I was thinking about doing drag and was chatting to a woman on The Pink Sofa. I told her about my drag aspirations and then later that the colour of the paint of my bedroom was a green teal. She started calling me Mr Green Teal and so that name was used for some years.
About 5 years later, I started doing burlesque. I needed a new name and came up with Arachne Phobia. This is because I love spiders. I’m also a textile artist and I play around with threads a lot in a lot of different ways, like spiders. I later decided to change my drag name again because it still didn’t feel right. I eventually chose the name Sparklemuffin to capture all my performance, drag and burlesque.
Sparklemuffin is a nickname of the peacock spider, Maratus jactatus I also have a burlesque character, who is relatively new, Mena Paws. I felt that Mena was a very distinct character of her own and needed her own name. I’ve also used Skid Mark and Aladdon Heat. Basically, it took me many years to realise I’m character-driven with my acts and I don’t have one style.
By Alexander Thatcher
I think I’ve always challenged ideas in drag culture. For many years I was the only visible drag king in Canberra. Being a drag king early on was a real novelty. Many people I came across had never seen a king. These days, it’s my age and the fact that I often use mobility aids in my acts that would challenge drag culture. I must admit, I feel quite removed from that culture because I’ve always felt so different. For me, all my presentations are drag; but they are also an expression of who I am, so therefore, not drag.
I often mix things up. I will present as masculine on the outside, then I will strip down and do tassel twirls or have very feminine underwear on. Not many people in the ‘drag scene’ have seen these types of acts. My shows are about disability, queerness and now age or being older because this is who I am. So just being me challenges stereotypes.
We also have other people in Canberra who are challenging stereotypes as well. Desire Bility is an amazingly talented drag and burlesque performer. She is a wheelchair user and finds it difficult to get to gigs in Canberra. Sometimes she can’t even get her wheelchair in the door of the venue to perform. This can be a common problem.
AS A CROCHET ARTIST AND MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CREATOR, IS THERE ANY CROSSOVER IN YOUR PERFORMANCE WORK?
There are loads of crossovers. This can be seen in my costumes. I have a few acts with elaborate costumes that I have made. I style and put most of my costumes together, and often add a lot of embellishment or extra bits to them. I do have one costume that is all crochet, including a crochet wig I unravel out of it.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOUR SPRINGOUT SHOWS COMING UP AT SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE?
We have our Seven Deadly Sins Show, presented by Velvet Garnet. It will be a colourful show with loads of different ways to interpret the seven deadly sins. Our It’s a King Thing Show will be all drag kings. I will be recording the emcee parts as Mena Paws, with intros being on a screen. Then I’ll also be performing as Sparklemuffin. I’m developing a new act, based on the sparklemuffin spider mating dance. Our last show for the year will be our I-Day Eve Show, curated by Temerity Outrè. I-Day is the International Day of People with Disability. This show will have the usual variety of acts, including burlesque, drag, music and poetry.
For show details see our SpringOUT Festival Guide p33.
In Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese’s award-winning directorial debut, Lesbian Space Princess, outer space emerges as a new and inclusive habitat for a smart, funny story exploring the inner spaces of lesbian consciousness and self-affirmation. The film pushes hard against the gendered conventions of the sci-fi genre, re-pointing them to unexpected ends.
Lesbian Space Princess is structured around a basic quest narrative. Can introspective Princess Saira rescue her exgirlfriend, Kiki, from the evil clutches of a rogue group of incels known as the Straight White Maliens? Low on self-confidence and belittled by her royal lesbian mothers, Saira sustains an unshakeable attachment to Kiki, a soft-butch bounty hunter who is as attachment avoidant as Saira is clingy.
Saira battles through the beautifully drawn pink-hued reaches of constellations and moonscapes in a spaceship (depressively voiced by Richard Roxburgh). As she reluctantly traverses outer space, she must step up to its greatest challenge: plumbing the messy depths of her inner world.
Saira hails from Clitopolis, a place reputed to be hard to find but actually quite easy (one of many running jokes that tap into lesbian takes on heterosexual inadequacy). She has grown up in an exclusively gay space, kept safe by the bubble of drag.
But once this camp seam is pierced, she finds herself in a masculinist universe dominated by Straight White Maliens and others determined to steal her totemic labrys. The Maliens appear as cigarette shapes devoid of colour. Their differences are delineated only by the amount of anger and frustration conveyed in their single-line eyebrows.
They hector and rage in their aptly named man cave, where they train themselves in the old arts of mansplaining and making non-consensual advances. Desperate to pull “hot chicks”, the Maliens have no idea how to build relationships with women.
On the other hand, the lesbians don’t seem to know how not to. They meet, they crush, have great sex, and then the intensity of attachments gets too much. Almost instantly, one starts “friendzoning” the other. This take on next-gen lesbian relationships is an amusing counter to the slow-burn tedium of the sapphic costume dramas that have won so many fans, chief among them Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019).
By Lee Wallace
Like the Wachowskis’ Bound (1996) and David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. (2001), Lesbian Space Princess comes from the counter-tradition in which the sex happens early then gives way to the ecstatic pulses and rhythms of story. In this case, the outer-space story is the stimulus for an inner journey in which Saira comes to understand herself differently. She comes to see herself not as a needy young princess capable of pleasuring others with her magic hands (astute viewers will notice she has been gifted an extra finger on each hand), but as a competent, caring and self-reliant person.
Ultimately, Lesbian Space Princess delivers Saira to her destiny as a quirky and isolated royal whose emotional sustenance comes from self-love rather than crushes. This character development arc is supported by the guitar-based songs laced through the frenetically paced genre mayhem of the film.
Derived from familiar indie genres, the songs are a welcome respite from the propulsive quest mechanism that drives the story.
Beginning with a comic scene of Ed Sheeran busking in outer space, the songs bring depth to the flatly drawn world of the space adventure story. The musical interludes are drawn and filmed with the spatial depth of Japanese anime. They’re more in line with the psychic dreaminess of Hayao Miyazaki than the many 90s animations that inspired the noodle-armed citizens of Clitopolis.
This inward turn enables Saira to ditch both Kiki, the outlaw ex, and Willow, her emo-goth replacement. With the girlfriends out of the picture, the film achieves sentimental closure by zooming in on the odd-couple friendship that has developed between Saira and the jalopy of a spaceship that has been supporting her all along.
Rather than provide lesbian romantic satisfaction or ground its utopian energies in the bold new world of queer community, Lesbian Space Princess lands in the relatively unexplored space of allosexuality. The way desire is experienced by the self is more important than who or what it is directed toward.
You can stream Lesbian Space Princess on Binge.
By Krystal Balz
AS WE APPROACH 2026, PLANETARY ALIGNMENTS SUGGEST A YEAR OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGE, ACCOMPANIED BY A DYNAMIC AND SOMETIMES CHALLENGING LANDSCAPE, WHERE STALE STRUCTURES BEGIN TO DISMANTLE AND NEW WAYS EMERGE.
Those who are adaptable, open-hearted and grounded will be better prepared to successfully navigate the unpredictable energies of the year and emerge stronger and more aligned with their true selves. People who refuse to embrace change may find it an emotionally challenging year. Despite the current global political climate and ongoing troubles, the 2026 horoscope offers hope and a path toward a better future.
On a global scale, as the world grapples with declining social cohesion and environmental upheaval, we may witness significant shifts in leadership, economic policies and social movements, as communities start demanding change inspired by planetary shifts and the transformative energies that will accompany the dawn of the Aquarian age.
On a personal level, 2026 will be a year for embracing authenticity in a time of great change while deepening your understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Whether you’re a believer or not, astrology has offered people and communities guidance, affirmation and foresight for thousands of years. And if the cosmic chatter is to be believed planetary shifts coupled with the dawning of the Aquarian age and its increased influence 2026 marks a genuine turning point. It’s a shift that’s exciting for some and truly terrifying for others.
Next year is predicted to be a big year when it comes to change and renewal. Although challenging at times, know that 2026 will provide a solid foundation for future growth and human transformation.
We can expect a year when celestial alignments are thought to push humanity toward realignment, authenticity and a reclamation of purpose as we navigate an unpredictable global struggle. A war of old and new. Despite the challenges ahead, the stars urge gentleness, resilience and courage. Change can be uncomfortable, so buckle up or let go because nothing stays the same.
Circle 28 February in your diaries, as six major planets will align visibly in the night sky Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Venus and Mercury, with a gleaming 90% moon for company. This rare planetary parade serves not just as an astronomical spectacle but as a symbol of coming together after years of isolation and upheaval. You can read more about this at starwalk.space, search ‘planet parade’.
For those of us who find spiritual comfort in the universe’s vastness, this alignment is a cosmic embrace and a reminder that community and connection, even from afar, can make us feel part of something immense and beautiful.
Astrologers are unanimous that 2026’s loudest call is for transformation. Pluto, newly ensconced in humanitarian Aquarius, is currently influencing the rewriting of the rules on power, equality and collective action. Think of protests, tech revolutions, and LGBTIQ+ and human rights movements finding new footing in unexpected places.
Meanwhile, Neptune wades into fiery Aries, sparking a fresh global awakening around compassion, gender and justice. For queer and trans folks doing it tough at the moment, this could translate into creative activism, gender-blurred art, or simply learning to live and love without apology.
Uranus, dancing through chatty Gemini, promises wild leaps in communication. We may see a surge in queer voices utilising AI to combat discrimination, as well as new technology for increased visibility and safety.
The Age of Pisces is coming to an end. This era has been associated with faith, dogma, sacrifice and emotional complexity — its conclusion has not been subsiding quietly. In contrast, the upcoming Age of Aquarius is characterised by reason, technology, equality and collective consciousness. The transition between these astrological ages, which spans centuries and is driven by the precession of the equinoxes, involves a human struggle between the old and the new. The arrival of the Aquarian age marks a significant shift in consciousness and societal values, moving from individualistic concerns to a more global “we” mentality. This new age is seen as a time of hope, innovation and progress, with a focus on equality, community and the expansion of the mind and spirit.
LGBTIQ+ communities often serve as a bright rainbow beacon of change, embodying many traits associated with the Age of Aquarius. This terrifies oppressive governments, many conservatives and some religious bodies who remain heavily influenced by the energy of the Piscean age. They carry a great fear of anything different or new that they can’t control. As a result, we have witnessed a disturbing increase in hostility toward LGBTIQ+ individuals, particularly in countries like the USA and Russia. The negativity prevalent on social media and the news cycle has been emotionally challenging for everyone.
There is hope in the stars, however, as they foresee the start of an inevitable shift in direction and upheaval to the status quo. There will be pushback and it may be an uncomfortable ride at times, but change is on the way. It will be important to hold fast, nurture joy and authenticity, while embracing softness as much as fire. 2026’s celestial alignments encourage us to reconnect with chosen family, uplift those at risk and find pride in authenticity, even when it’s hard.
Prepare for the beginnings of profound transformation, fuelled by the alignment of planets and stronger Aquarian forces. This new energy fosters group collaboration and challenges old hierarchies, promoting community focused solutions. Aquarius points to a collective destiny tied to societal restructuring, while Uranus, Neptune and Pluto suggest beneficial, emergence-focused change. A significant Jupiter-Pluto opposition in August will encourage growth and new ways of living.
The universe will be asking us to let go of the things that no longer work as the outer planets urge humanity to remember the lessons of our elders and honour our origins, heritage and family.
2026 sets the stage for healing old wounds and rediscovering what lights you up, regardless of what the outside world has expected in the past.
As AI and other advancements rapidly rise, sudden social shifts will force us to reassess how we consume technology. Expect revolution around all types of media as communities start to demand change. We may need to adapt in a very fast-moving environment. Flexibility with an open heart will ultimately triumph.
Expect the beginning of a significant political realignment, as well as the start of a major shift in priorities that emphasises authenticity, honesty and inner growth. This transition will mark the beginning of broader societal changes, manifesting as a pushback against established systems.
2026, coupled with the emerging Age of Aquarius, will bring the beginnings of a new age of freedom to people who don’t fit the outdated moulds of the past, especially those who are part of the LGBTIQ+ community. With the passing of Pisces, fences and barriers to self-discovery start to come down, while Aquarius teaches us that the universe and human spirituality have never been about dogma. Every sign, every planet, belongs to all regardless of their colour, gender or identity. 2026 invites everyone, including those under the rainbow banner, to let go of old destructive ways, seek healing and find compassion for people everywhere.
Although we will see the cogs of change begin to move, it’s important to recognise that stars do not point to an easy 2026. If anything, these planetary realignments will be challenging for some and correspond with the fear of change, growing pains and shifting ideas.
LOOK AND FEEL NEGATIVE ON THE SURFACE, BUT IN TIME, WE REALISE THAT THE UNIVERSE IS MAKING SPACE FOR SOMETHING NEW.
The message for 2026 seems clear: change is not easy and requires both courage and compassion. If the ground shakes, it is so that we can rebuild better. The invitation is to step forward honestly, forging safe creative spaces for love, protest and queer joy together.
Stay connected: A supportive community and chosen-family ties can help even the most anxious individuals. Embrace genuine connections with others.
Get creative: Energy is a powerful force when used with purpose, especially during difficult times. Get creative to process uncertainty find an outlet to express yourself, even when words fail, as they may.
Advocate with heart: The year 2026 will be unique, with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune working their magic. These energies favour people who wield kindness and compassion as a tool for change.
Let go: Despite how it may look, you’re probably exactly where you need to be. Learn your lessons and honour your truth so you can let go of the things you no longer need. Move forward with pride, honesty and a loving heart.
As we stand at the threshold of a new year, the future offers both challenges and blessings. Remember who you are and realign with what truly matters so your light will shine brightly. Here’s to a year of courage, connection and cosmic pride.
BELCONNEN ARTS HAS ONCE AGAIN TRANSFORMED INTO A VIBRANT CANVAS SHOWCASING QUEER CREATIVITY AND PRIDE WITH THIS YEAR’S KALEIDOSCOPE IV EXHIBITION.
The group exhibition, running until 30 November, vividly reflects how LGBTQIA+ artists perceive the world around them. We spoke with seven artists who are sharing their unique creative voices and talents in the exhibition, about their artistic journeys, creativity, self-discovery, love, defiance and the joy they get from their work.
Paal has been creating art for almost 35 years. His Kaleidoscope IV piece Water Axis Tango is hand-screen printed on dyed linen, then patchworked and stitched.
WHAT THEMES DO YOU FIND YOURSELF RETURNING TO IN YOUR ART?
In my art, I often return to the concept of the body within a specific place or location. I have lived in Canberra for over 16 years and I find its natural environment and uniquely sheltering hills an inspiration that I can’t resist. I’m drawn back to them whenever I want to express concepts of intimacy, safety or home.
HOW DOES YOUR IDENTITY INFLUENCE WHAT YOU CREATE?
Being an openly gay man liberates me and makes me less afraid to break out of presumed masculinity or gendered artistic norms. I find household-based artistic pursuits, often denigrated as craft and traditionally seen as feminine, beautiful and fun. I like overworking my hand screen-printed fabrics, dying and stitching them not to mention adding stolen buttons from my mother’s button tin! It gives a sensual tactility and familiar intimacy to the work that wouldn’t be achieved in other, more ‘butch’ mediums.
WHY IS ART IMPORTANT TO YOU?
There are always multiple things vying for our attention or demanding a response. My art uses rhythmic and repetitive techniques that help me work off my nerves while inviting a quiet space. I create something new from pieces that would otherwise have little or no value; it’s quite cathartic.
Tara and her partner have experienced a challenging IVF journey. Once they conceived, sunflowers, sunflower seeds, swallows and rainbows all felt like visual signs that their baby was happy and healthy. Her gouache painting Birth Talismans portrays symbols that felt like spiritual messages and protective talismans that came to them.
WHAT THEMES FIND THEMSELVES IN YOUR WORK?
Connection with nature as spiritual practice, storytelling, patterns and symbolism.
WHAT GETS YOUR CREATIVITY FLOWING?
I love being outside in nature and noticing textures and patterns of things like bark, leaves, moss and plants. I am also inspired by relational experiences with loved ones and seek ways to symbolise them through objects from the natural world.
HOW DO YOU SEE QUEER ART CONTRIBUTING TO BROADER CULTURE RIGHT NOW?
Currently LGBTIQ+ art and perspectives are more important than ever. Collectively, we need to know what the lived experiences of queer people are right now so we can hold space for each other and help to support our communities as much as possible.
Rudie has been creating art with any materials she could find for as long as she can remember. Her Kaleidoscope IV series of paintings titled Anonymous Couples is a letter of love and recognition to anyone in the closet, those whose families refuse to use their chosen names, folk who have to be less themselves to be accepted, and to queer people who feel they have to hide behind something they are not.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR CREATIVE DIRECTIONS.
Throughout my art, I often use animals, bright colours and circus themes to revive a sense of whimsy and childlike wonder that I feel the world lacks. I want my work to be bright and overwhelming, catching your eye so you can’t look away. I like using animals in human situations because I feel they are the perfect blank slates to portray emotions. They also represent the sensation of feeling out of place something that resonates with me as someone who grew up unaware of their autism diagnosis, and was always so confused and uncomfortable in the world for seemingly no reason. Feeling like I was existing in a world that was not meant for me feels similar to how I feel with the animals I put in my art.
DO YOU SEE YOUR WORK AS POLITICAL, PERSONAL, OR BOTH?
My work is definitely a combination of both. It is deeply connected to my experience living as a queer neurodiverse individual. Just existing, creating art and using it as a platform to speak about my life is very political.
DO YOU BELIEVE ART CAN ACT AS A TOOL FOR SELF-DISCOVERY AND WELLBEING?
My art has helped me discover who I am. My favourite and most impactful piece that I have ever made is one I created in 2023 while in hospital during an art therapy class. The task was to create a mask that showed who we are on the outside and the inside. For the first time, I had to confront who I was as an individual living with borderline personality disorder. I realised that my loud and sometimes obnoxious personality was a mask for someone who, on the inside, felt static with no sense of self. While this was a devastating realisation, it was also my first step towards living mindfully and feeling comfortable in my body. It’s incredible how art has had such a profound effect on my life.
As an artist since childhood, Fox May’s Kaleidoscope IV piece b(r)easts uses instant film and paint markers to encapsulate the many feelings about their upcoming top surgery and deep feelings of self-love. The array of colourful, orange-tinted images, with notes written over them, speaks of the draining agony of years of dysphoria, the exciting anticipation of transformation, the bitter ache of waiting and ongoing joy of gender euphoria.
HOW DO POLITICAL AND PERSONAL THEMES WORK IN YOUR ART?
All good art is inherently both political and personal. I also believe art is self-portraiture, albeit to varying extents. It’s almost impossible to make art as an openly queer or trans person without it being understood through a political lens, especially since my identity is currently being highly politicised at the moment. My work is particularly personal as it is concerning a topic that is quite close to my heart.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR PIECE?
I want this piece to convey the idea that gender affirming care, including surgery, is an act of self-love! We do these things because we love ourselves and our bodies, not because we hate our bodies or our identities.
by
Ian has been working with textiles for over 20 years. In these dark days of creeping authoritarianism and barely masked homophobia and transphobia, his Kaleidoscope IV piece Beloved is a celebratory reminder that we are all loved.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR PIECE?
Together we are strong. In the words of Maya Angelou, “No one of us can be free until everybody is free”.
HOW DOES YOUR ART CONNECT WITH YOU PERSONALLY?
As someone who came out late in life, I use my work to honour the queer kid I never allowed myself to be. Finally, he gets to play with sequins, jewellery and all the sparkly things he always craved. My process of making is wonderfully cathartic and healing.
HOW DOES YOUR IDENTITY INFLUENCE THE FORMS YOU CREATE?
As a queer artist, my identity is the primary influence on everything I make. I like incorporating the aesthetics of camp, drag and disco into work that has a political stance much as queer community confronts negativity by fighting back with colour and joy.
Aveline has been an artist since she was 13 and works with glass, timber and found materials. Her Kaleidoscope IV piece Human from Cast #2 made by slumping reclaimed window glass represents the identity and the fragility of being a human.
WHAT EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES SPARK YOUR CREATIVITY?
I absolutely love looking around at things one wouldn’t usually look at in detail. I find myself picking everything in the room up. The most fascinating part is always the bottom, where tool marks or seams are hidden, giving away how something was made and what it was made from. Discovering hidden secrets inspires me.
WHAT ROLE DOES VISIBILITY PLAY IN YOUR ART?
The nature of glass gives me control over visibility in the literal sense. My work speaks to the dynamic and complex nature of queer identity, something which is inextricably linked to social, material and historical circumstances.
Victoria has been doing art all her life. Her Kaleidoscope IV piece is an oil painting a new medium for her titled Lavender Menace and explores the old and new methods of signalling to other lesbians that you’re one too.
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL WHEN THEY SEE YOUR WORK?
That being undeniably queer is a beautiful thing and to ignore it when straight people call you “too much”, because being yourself is a hard-won right that shouldn’t need to be hidden in codes and signals anymore.
WHAT DOES ART AND BEING CREATIVE BRING TO YOUR LIFE?
Art is obviously a form of self-expression, and being closeted for a good chunk of my life means I have a lot of self-expression to catch up on. Art is a way for me to take what’s internal and make it external, even if it feels vulnerable sometimes. Art helps me sort myself out.
DO YOU IDENTIFY UNDER THE UMBRELLA AND FIND IT DIFFICULT TO ACCESS MAINSTREAM EXERCISE SERVICES?
All In! is an inclusive exercise space for LGBTQIA+ and Gender Diverse people. Driven by Holly Hazlewood, a queer Exercise Physiologist, with the aim to provide a safe and welcoming clinical exercise setting for the queer community.
We understand some of the barriers to accessing mainstream healthcare services, and our goal is to help you prevent, treat and/or manage any chronic conditions through physical activity in a queer-friendly exercise environment.
Every new client will have an initial consultation with our exercise physiologist, where your health and injury history will be documented. From there, a personalised exercise program will be designed to address your areas of concern and personal goals.
Your program will be delivered in a one-on-one, ongoing basis from a proud member of Canberra’s LGBTQIA+ community.
DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL NETFLIX
Adapted from Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, Boots follows Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), a closeted gay teen who impulsively enlists in the Marine Corps, alongside his straight best friend Ray (Liam Oh), in the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ era of the 1990s. While the synopsis may sound heavy duty, series creator Andy Parker has described his show as “Full Metal Jacket as written by David Sedaris”. Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring) also stars in this sassy coming-of-age dramedy that puts the ‘camp’ in boot camp. A poignant and powerful exploration of identity.
HBO MAX
In the wake of its surprise but highly satisfying 2025 Emmy win, there’s no better time to discover this gem of a comedy. That Emmy (Supporting Actor in a Comedy) was for Jeff Hiller’s hilarious and heartfelt performance as Joel, who befriends Sam (Bridget Everett), whose return to her Kansas hometown for family reasons has left her grieving and directionless. A series about family, both blood and found, as well as the power of friendship and music, Somebody Somewhere will make you cry just as much as you laugh. Although axed by HBO, you can still enjoy all three fabulous seasons on its streamer.
By Dwayne Lennox
In 1927, Paramount Pictures released Wings, a movie about two World War I combat pilots, which is notable for featuring what is considered the first romantic gay kiss in an American film.
In adapting Henrik Ibsen’s famous stageplay Hedda Gabler, writer-director Nia DaCosta shifts the drama from 19th century Norway to 1950s England, and makes the titular heroine (Tess Thompson) a Black bisexual woman now married to an academic (Tom Bateman). But at a party to celebrate their return from their honeymoon, Hedda’s ex lover (Nina Hoss) threatens to upset the already anxious hostess’ evening. It’s a welcome change to see Thompson in a dramatic role outside Marvel films, but it is Hoss, by all accounts, who steals every scene in this stylish period drama.
With his second feature, 1993’s The Wedding Banquet, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) announced himself as a filmmaker to watch; the film was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and two years later Lee would direct Sense and Sensibility Andrew Ahn (Fire Island, 2022) directs this remake which allows for more progressive gay and lesbian representation, but sees the characters still struggle with both familial expectations and their own concepts of what love is. Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang and Kelly Marie Tran star, but it’s Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) who provides the film’s heart.
FREE EVENT
WHERE BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE 118 EMU BANK, BELCONNEN WHEN 17 OCTOBER — 30 NOVEMBER MORE DETAILS BELCOARTS.COM.AU
In its fourth year, Kaleidoscope is an open exhibition where LGBTIQA+ artists in Canberra and Australia-wide can express their experiences of queerness, sexuality, gender and unique individuality through art. Painting by Victoria Rose, Lavender Menace
FREE EVENT
WHERE GLEBE PARK
CORNER OF AKUNA & BUNDA STREETS, CITY WHEN SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER
11:00AM — 5:00PM
Canberra’s largest LGBTIQA+ community event, Fair Day, kicks off the annual SpringOUT Festival program. Come and connect with your queer tribe in Glebe Park while you enjoy a free fun-filled day with music, song, dance and drag. Fair Day will also include a market village filled with stalls representing our diverse community and local businesses, plus heaps of delicious food and drinks to keep you fed and happy all day.
WHERE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA WHEN SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER 10:30AM — 1:00PM WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 5:30PM — 8:00PM SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2:00PM — 4:30PM
Explore LGBTIQA+ stories from the past, meet other LGBTIQA+ young people, have fun making stuff and contribute to a research project exploring what LGBTIQA+ young people think about LGBTIQA+ history today.
‘SEVEN DEADLY SINS’ WHERE SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE 76 ALINGA STREET, CITY WHEN TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER 7:00PM — 9:00PM TICKETS
$25 | $20 CONCESSION ARACHNEART.COM.AU
The Queer Variety Show features LGBTIQA+/Queer and disabled performers and our allies. We have been running bi-monthly all through 2025. This event is a special themed show curated by Velvet Garnet. It features various types of performances with the theme of the seven deadly sins. The show includes drag, burlesque, poetry and singing.
LATEST EVENT UPDATES!
See What’s On—page 7 and the FUSE website for the latest additions to the SpringOUT 2025 Festival program and other happenings.
WHERE
EVELYN SCOTT SCHOOL
2 BIELSKI STREET, DENMAN WHEN SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER
FREE EVENT
1:00PM — 3:30PM TICKETS
$10
SPRINGOUT.COM.AU
Grab your friends and skate the floor to disco classics and fresh hits.
WHERE
BOOKFACE GUNGAHLIN
WHERE
ALBERT HALL
100 COMMONWEALTH AVE, CBR WHEN
SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER
3:00PM — 7:00PM TICKETS
$39 | $34 CONCESSION
CANBERRAQWIRE.ORG.AU
A special concert that celebrates the many aspects of feeling about home, friendship and belonging, from familiar surroundings as well as from afar.
FREE EVENT
33 HIBBERSON ST, GUNGAHLIN WHEN THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER
6:00PM
Join MARION, Bookface Gungahlin and Canberra region authors for a celebration of queer literature. This informal event will be full of queer book recommendations, literary discussion and connection.
WHERE QL2 DANCE
GORMAN ARTS, BRADDON WHEN FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER
5:30PM — 8:00PM
This workshop will give participants an insight into writing through discussion, observation and practical exercises to improve the rhythm and energy of their writing, whether it be poetry, prose or for live performance.
WHERE SHINE DOME 15 GORDON STREET, ACTON WHEN SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER
2:00PM — 5:00PM TICKETS
$20
SPRINGOUT.COM.AU
In conversation with eX de Medici, an artist of almighty fortitude. eX uses her work as a mirror to society’s insidious ills, using her mastery of the medium to detail and destabilise systems of injustice, abuses of power and violence that exist in our lives.
30
WHERE
SHINE DOME
15 GORDON STREET, ACTON WHEN TUESDAY 11 NOVEMBER
6:00PM
A conversation with Dipa Mahbuba Yasmin, an independent Bangladeshi filmmaker, human rights defender and curator of Epiphania Visuals, the First Queer Art Gallery of Bangladesh. As an asexual multidisciplinary artist, she fuses folk art with queer themes.
WHERE
YOUTH COALITION OF THE ACT
46 CLIANTHUS STREET, O’CONNOR WHEN WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 6:00PM TICKETS TRANSITIONBREATH.COM
Queer Breathwork hosted by Joshua Wrest is a unique LGBTIQ+ gathering. Its purpose is to create a safe and supported space for Canberra’s LGBTIQ+ community and their allies to gather, process unconscious energies held in the body, access higher states of consciousness and inner wisdom, and celebrate queer energy.
WHERE NATIONAL HOCKEY CENTRE 196 MOUAT STREET, LYNEHAM WHEN FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER 7:00PM
A fun get together for athletes, allies, family and friends to meet and mingle in celebration of LGBTQIA+ sport. There will be food, drinks, music and a drag queen or two.
WHERE
BOWEN PARK, BOWEN DRIVE, BARTON WHEN SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 8:30AM — 11:00AM
Join Canberra Frontrunners for their epic annual CBR Pride Stride! It’s a free event for everyone run, walk, ride or strut. This event is all about having fun and a chance to meet other amazing individuals!
WHERE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE WHEN SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 10:00AM
Come and try rugby union, gridiron, touch football, football (soccer), hockey, squash, crossfit. roller derby, fun run (bridge to bridge) and rugby league. Sport is for everyone.
LATEST EVENT UPDATES!
See What’s On—page 7 and the FUSE website for the latest additions to the SpringOUT 2025 Festival program and other happenings.
WHERE PHILLIP ICE SKATING RINK
1 IRVING STREET, PHILLIP WHEN SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER
5:00PM — 7:30PM
FREE EVENT
Something new is hitting the ice in Canberra! The Capital Riot is the ACT’s first LGBTQIA+ ice hockey team. We’re here and we’re queer… as puck!
WHERE SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE
76 ALINGA STREET, CITY WHEN SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 9:30PM — 11:30PM TICKETS
$30 | $25 CONCESSION SMITHSALTERNATIVE.COM
Six Degrees of Separation will serve up an electric night of live music, dance, drag, trivia and disco this time inspired by the musical legacy of the great rock ‘n’ roll icon, Freddie Mercury.
WHERE HAVELOCK HOUSE
85 NORTHBOURNE AVE, CITY WHEN
THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER
4:00PM — 6:00PM
WHERE
SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE 76 ALINGA STREET, CITY WHEN
THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER
6:30PM — 9:00PM TICKETS
$20
SPRINGOUT.COM.AU
This special 18+ life drawing session will feature two partnered models posing together. This local queer couple will explore their connection together through joint poses.
WHERE THE STREET THEATRE 15 CHILDERS STREET, CITY WHEN FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER 6:00PM TICKETS
FREE EVENT
Join Meridian for the afternoon to say hello, meet their team and learn more about the services they offer and exciting opportunities to get involved in.
$25 | $20 CONCESSION THESTREET.ORG.AU
A night of hilarious madcap queer humour hosted by Holly Hazlewood and featuring Caitlin Maggs, Anneli Cole, Felix McCarthy, Brent Thorpe, Chris Knight and Dylan Holmes.
30
1 –
WHERE THE STREET THEATRE 15 CHILDERS STREET, CITY WHEN SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 7:30PM TICKETS
$33 | $30 CONCESSION THESTREET.ORG.AU
A wild ride about what life is like as a Daddy and how much fun getting older really is. And it doesn’t stop there. In the wake of Pride and Drag Story Time events being cancelled across Australia and the world, DADDY is more than happy to give right wing conservatives exactly what they want.
‘IT’S A KING THING’
WHERE SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE 76 ALINGA STREET, CITY WHEN SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER AFTERNOON TIME TBA TICKETS
$25 | $20 CONCESSION ARACHNEART.COM.AU
The show is part of Smith’s Alternative Cabaret Cabal weekend. It is a special themed one hour show, curated by Sparklemuffin and featuring all drag kings. The line up includes Sparklemuffin, Ravi Oli, Ty Zahn and Friends, Rat Bastard, Reggie Cox and Magnus Magnum.
WHERE
TILLEY’S DEVINE CAFÉ BRIGALOW & WATTLE STREETS, LYNEHAM WHEN SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER 9:00AM — NOON BOOKINGS NOT REQUIRED | BUY YOUR OWN BREAKFAST
Join us for the FUSE Big Gay Breakfast, now in its 17th year. It is an LGBTIQ+ and everyone-in-between event. Eat, drink and be merry on a beautiful spring morning with all your fabulous friends and make a few new ones. Champagne is generously supplied by Tilley’s.
WHERE
CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY (CMAG) 176 LONDON CIRCUIT, CITY WHEN SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER 12:30PM — 2:30PM
From the Rainbow Roundabout to the Homosexual Law Reform Society, Canberra has a long and storied queer history which is begging to be heard! Join Russell from ‘The Canberra Series’, Zev from the ‘Queers Past’ Podcast and MC Jenni Atkinson for a compelling deep dive into Canberra’s queer history.
WHERE
DISSENT CAFE AND BAR
181 CITY WALK, CITY WHEN SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER
2:00PM — LATE TICKETS
$20 | $15 CONCESSION SPRINGOUT.COM.AU
Be part of our inaugural all-ages live music night featuring an all trans and non-binary line-up. Powerful voices, fresh sounds, big feels. Featuring Stella Eve, Transista Groove, nonbinarycode, Shoeb Ahmad and Kalokairi. Free entry for First Nations mob, please email vice-president@springout.com.au
WHERE QUESTACON
KING EDWARD TERRACE, PARKES WHEN WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER
6:00PM — 8:00PM
FREE EVENT
WHERE THE VAULT 1 DAIRY ROAD, FYSHWICK WHEN SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 6:00PM — 3:00AM TICKETS
$50 | $40 CONCESSION SPRINGOUT.COM.AU
Join Out for Australia for an evening of queer achievement, storytelling and joy. Connect with LGBTQIA+ community groups and services. Meet interesting new people. Enjoy drinks and snacks whilst geeking out at Questacon!.
WHERE
COURTYARD STUDIO
CANBERRA THEATRE, CITY WHEN
THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 6:00PM TICKETS
$39 | $35 CONCESSION CANBERRATHEATRECENTRE.COM.AU
Canberra’s queer history podcast, Queers Past, will be live on stage with host Zev Aviv in an evening of intimate LGBTQIA+ stories that span decades.
Heaven Nightclub Canberra 1993–2001 reunion. Expect past Heaven DJs to be playing all night long! Plus drag queens and kings, performance art, tributes to the past, hot performers, gay anthems, handbag houses, club bangers, techno-house, and explorations of the heavenly rave beginnings of the carefree ’90s and noughties. Put your hands up in the air, party and celebrate with two generations of clubgoers.
FREE EVENT
WHERE SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE 76 ALINGA STREET, CITY WHEN TUESDAY 2 DECEMBER 7:00PM — 9:00PM TICKETS
$25 | $20 CONCESSION ARACHNEART.COM.AU
Celebrating International Day of People With Disability the theme ‘Amplifying the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future’.
We are a free, friendly, non-judgemental and confidential specialist sexual health centre.
To help maintain social distancing across the clinic, we now have an appointment system.
Please do not come to the clinic if you do not have an appointment as you may not be able to be seen.
Call 02 5124 2184 and one of our sexual health nurses will discuss your needs and book an appointment as necessary.
To book a Mpox (monkeypox) vaccination call us on 5124 2184
> You can get PrEP prescriptions at Canberra Sexual Health Centre
> Condoms and PrEP are the most effective ways of stopping HIV
> Syphilis and Gonorrhoea diagnoses are going up!
> Condoms are still the best protection against most STIs
> Sexually active men should consider STI checks every 3-6 months PEPINAN IfEMERGENCY beenyouthinkyouhave exposedtoHIV, asPEPshouldbestarted maysoonaspossible,but betakenupto72hoursafterthe exposure.
Building 8, Level 4, Canberra Hospital Call 5124 2184 or check our website for opening hours at health.act.gov.au/CSHC
health.act.gov.au | act.gov.au Enquiries: Canberra 13ACT1 or 132281
WHERE SHADOWS NIGHTCLUB
21 EAST ROW, CIVIC WHEN
FRIDAY 5 DECEMBER
10:00PM — 3:00AM TICKETS
$25 | FREE FOR FIRST NATIONS MOB SPRINGOUT.COM.AU
Presented by Stun, come out for a fabulous night of disco and house vibes with very special guests, including Tynga Williams (First Nations fem queen), Venus Mantrap, InkBits, Guy Alias and Bambi Valentine. Plus a myriad of local drag acts, live music artists and DJs. Hosted by Tina Cox.
FUNDING PARTNER
MEDIA & LAUNCH PARTNERS
Agency 9
BMA
Canberra Weekly FUSE Magazine
Star Observer
Stun
FAIR DAY PARTNERS
A Gender Agenda
Bentspoke
Canberra Mini Garage
Deloitte
Rainbow Fertility
FAIR DAY PRESENTING PARTNER
Meridian
COMMUNITY & EVENT VENUE PARTNERS
ACT Veteran’s Rugby
Albert Hall
ANU Queer Youth Histories
Belconnen Arts Centre
Bookface Gungahlin
Canberra Drag
Canberra Frontrunners
WHERE THE PLAYHOUSE CANBERRA THEATRE, CITY WHEN SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER
6:00PM TICKETS
$69 | $55 CONCESSION CANBERRATHEATRECENTRE.COM.AU
One of our most loved and enduring comedy characters was created back in the swinging ’80s. Bob Downe is celebrating with a brand new show, a high-energy comedy concert of ’80s bangers, power ballads and mega pop classics, with hilarious standup and madcap surprises in between.
Canberra Museum and Gallery
Canberra Qwire
Canberra Theatre Centre
Capital Riot Ice Hockey
Chroma Wines
Deloitte
Dissent Cafe and Bar
Diversity ACT
Evelyn Scott School
eX de Medici
Fox May
FUSE Big Gay Breakfast
Gorman Arts Centre
Guy Alias
Havelock House
Kaleidoscope IV
Localjinni
MARION
Meridian
National Film & Sound Archive
National Hockey Centre
National Museum of Australia
OM Events
Phillip Ice Skating Rink
QL2 Dance
Queer Breathwork
Queer Life Drawing
Queer Variety Show
Questacon
Rainbow Fertility
Rainbow Racquets
Reclink Australia
Royal Military College
Salthouse Centre
Shadows Nightclub
Smith’s Alternative
Sport Your Pride
The Book Cow
The Shine Dome
The Street
The Vault
Tilley’s Devine Café
Tranz Australia
Tuggeranong Arts Centre
Westfield Belconnen
Youth Coalition of the ACT
Tell us what life’s really like for LGBTIQA+ people in Canberra.
If you’re 16+, jump in. 12–15 year olds can take part with a parent or guardian.
The night skies are stirring up transformation. Mercury retrograde in November will ask us to revisit passions and address old wounds. December’s energy invites us to reflect on our year. Over Christmas, Venus will shine brightly, encouraging authentic connections. This is a time for deep conversations, honest reassessment and gentle self-nurture among our chosen families.
January 21 – February 18
Opportunities will arise to express your full, fabulous self even if it ruffles a few feathers. As social circles shift, authenticity will spark new friendships. TIP: Don’t hesitate to speak your truth; your unique ideas could bring an unexpected windfall.
April 21 – May 21
Jupiter will bring finances and home life centre stage, making it a good time to reassess investments or living arrangements. News may come from an old friend or lover; listen, but don’t get caught in past patterns. TIP: You’re encouraged to trust your intuition.
July 23 – August 23
As the Sun offers up a surge in creative energy, the next few months will be a good time to sink yourself into artistic endeavours or home projects. TIP: The coming period offers a chance to reflect and unwind, preparing for the transformative year that lies ahead.
October 24 – November 22
There’s energy for new beginnings. If you’re able to let go, old insecurities will fade and the universe will clear a path for transformation. New and intense bonds may open up space for intimacy. TIP: Brave discussions may be hard, but they lead to lighter days.
February 19 – March 20
Dreams may reveal hidden longings. Don’t ignore them, even if they seem improbable. Old habits may surface, but with awareness you can break free and embrace healthier routines.
TIP: Give yourself quiet moments to recharge; solo time sparks inspiration.
May 22 – June 21
While Mercury’s retrograde antics might muddle communication, mindfulness and deep listening will be your saving grace. Social invitations will deliver delightful surprises and new connections. TIP: Triple-check your calendar before overcommitting.
August 24 – September 23
You may find yourself reassessing your priorities as new opportunities suddenly emerge from unexpected sources. Keep an open heart and mind. TIP: Making time for quiet reflection will help clear any old cobwebs, paving the way for the new year.
November 23 – December 22
Wanderlust soars as you visit old haunts or plan exciting new journeys. Be mindful that Mercury retrograde may mean travel plans can change without warning, so stay extra flexible. TIP: Conversations with elders bring wisdom soak up their stories.
March 21 – April 20
Expect a buzz of activity as the year draws to a close. Projects gain momentum and relationships benefit from heartfelt honesty. If you hit speed bumps, channel any fiery energy into self-discovery. TIP: Be careful not to burn out and schedule downtime.
June 22 – July 22
An unexpected travel opportunity may present itself. As routines are shaken up and social relationships highlighted, the universe will encourage you to consider nutrition and new self-care rituals. TIP: During Mercury’s retrograde, take extra care around money and contracts.
September 24 – October 23
Libras can expect a strong ending to the year, with opportunities for growth and relationship harmony. A surprise financial boost may come late 2025 or early 2026. TIP: Meaningful collaborations and connections will be beneficial as you move into a new year.
December 23 – January 20
Capricorns can anticipate a period of emotional clarity, potential financial opportunities and a sense of accomplishment as the year winds down. TIP: Rest and reflection are paramount, especially if the past twelve months have been challenging.
By Rose Pappalardo
Dear Rose,
I’m a young trans guy and have just started dating. A few first dates have told me I’m too emotionally full on. I’m looking for a deep connection, not just a curious conversation, but I seem to be scaring people off. What should I do? K
Dear K, Bravo for putting yourself out there. Here’s the thing: wanting a deep connection isn’t the problem. But on a first date, going full “soul excavation” can feel like jumping from a cup of tea to a six-course banquet. Not everyone’s appetite will match yours. I suggest pacing yourself. Think of dating like music: start with a gentle intro, then build to the chorus. Share little pieces of yourself, watch how they respond while leaving space for curiosity. Deep connections are built over time, not in a single date. Don’t be discouraged, just take things slower.
Dear Rose,
My partner is nearly always scrolling on their phone and that includes during meal times. We hardly talk anymore, and I often find myself feeling invisible and even lonely at times. How do I tell them I need more connection and conversation without coming across as needy? JJ
Dear JJ,
You’re not needy you’re a perfectly normal person to want connection with your partner. Current studies show that addiction to our phones and social media is a global issue that significantly harms wellbeing when used in excess. In relationships, it’s responsible for decreasing quality time, causing disconnection and reducing overall satisfaction.
I’ve said a million times before, communication is the key to healthy, happy relationships. I suggest starting with a heartfelt bid for connection and intimacy. Maybe something like, “I miss connecting and talking with you, especially during dinner. Would you mind if we made meals a phone-free time?” Frame it with intimacy, rather than a restriction. If your partner resists, reiterate your need for connection. If you still have no luck, it may be worth asking why the scroll is more important than the soul across from them. Sometimes, bad habits point to bigger problems but sometimes it’s just TikTok.
Dear Rose, I’m 42 and have not had a girlfriend for over 15 years. I’m wondering if I’m just not desirable anymore and have missed my chance to find love. I desperately want a partner to make me feel whole. What should I do? Lonely Heart
Dear Lonely Heart, I want to start by telling you your worth isn’t measured by how many years you’ve been partnered and love doesn’t have an expiry date plenty of people find meaningful relationships late in life. It sounds like you’re placing a lot of weight on a partner to “make you whole.”
That’s a tender longing, but be careful; when we seek someone else to fix our loneliness, we risk building relationships on shaky ground. The truth is, you’re already whole.
So, what to do? Start by nurturing a life that feels rich on its own: explore new hobbies, deepen friendships or volunteer. Put yourself in spaces where people share your values. Online dating can feel awkward, but it’s also a tool to meet people outside your usual circles. Most importantly, cultivate a relationship with yourself that feels good because the love you give yourself sets the tone for the love you attract. Your story isn’t over; in fact, the next chapter might just surprise you.
Brené Brown
“
Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.”
An American academic, podcaster and researcher. She is known for her work on courage, vulnerability and empathy, and for her widely viewed 2010
TEDx talk.
Need help or someone to talk to? Support is available for anyone in distress by phoning 24 hours QLife 1800 184 527, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Meridian’s counselling services on 02 6257 2855. If you require relationship support or services call Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277
If you need help or have a question email : dearrose@fusemagazine.com.au
Hukup Australia is designed to connect Australians based on shared interests, values and preferences. Hukup Australia provides a user-friendly and secure environment for individuals to discover meaningful connections.
