When I came out 15 years ago, the word ‘queer’ had not yet been reclaimed and repackaged the way it has in recent years. Back then it still represented, amongst other things, being weird and different and more often than not, unaccepted. It was primarily used as a slur against the homosexual community, much like the use of the word faggot. Queer was thrown around to humiliate boys in locker rooms & on footy fields and ridicule anyone who didn’t fit the status quo of sexuality.
Now it’s ours. And it is glorious.
Identifying as queer is such a comfort for me these days. I love that I can be part of a community that opens its arms to so many. Gay? Lesbian? Transgender? You are welcome here. Bisexual? Intersex? Pansexual? Join the gang! Just questioning? We’re here for you too. Queer nowadays is such a broad term and it means so many things to so many people. It’s encompassing and inclusive and for anyone who needs it.
Queer nowadays is such a broad term and it means so many things to so many people. It’s encompassing and inclusive and for anyone who needs it.
My coming out was as simultanesously eventful and average as the next lesbian’s. Fear of rejection. Fear of loss. Of abandonment. Tough conversations with family & friends, awkward moments with work bosses and colleagues and long hard looks in the mirror. My partner then (and still is, bless her) alternated between frustration and empathy when I wavered in my openness. It took years to become truly comfortable with my queerness and even now, there are some rough days, albeit few and far between. Privilege allows me relatively safe passage through these days. I am not afraid of being stoned to death. Of being beaten and bullied and humiliated. I live in a contemporary community and surround myself with people who love and respect me no matter what.
Not all Australian queer folk have had my relatively easy experience. Many, particularly those in their teen years, have experienced a barrage of harassment, sometimes from the schoolyard, sometimes from areas as close as the family unit. Coming out can be a terrifying experience without the right support and finding your community can be tough if you’re not sure where to start. Oh, but once you do… the most amazing people will enter your lives!
So in the spirit of kinship, we wanted to share some of our greatest queer resources here. Communities, books and organisations who are doing their thing to make us all feel safe and acknowledged.
- https://www.minus18.org.au/ – champions of LGBTQIA+ youth, offering coming out and beyond support, workshops and other resources.
- ttps://lgbtihealth.org.au/ – The National LGBTI Health Alliance
- ps://qlife.org.au/ – QLife provides peer support and services Australia-wide. Phone or online, 365 days a year, from 3pm to midnight daily.
- https://www.theequalityproject.org.au/ – established after the marriage debate in Australia; to keep the momentum, creating space for individuals and organisations to work together. National conference in January 2020 in Victoria.
- http://www.blackrainbow.org.au/ – Black Rainbow Australia is a not for profit LGBTQIA+ advocacy organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander folks, 100% indigenous owned.
- https://www.facebook.com/SilverRainbowAU/ – Silver Rainbow provides national support programming and services for the elder LGBTQIA+ community.
- https://www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au/ – Australia’s only workplace support program for workplace inclusion (training, strategy and counselling).
Businesses across the country (and abroad) which provide cultural products and services to the LGBTQIA+ community:
- https://queerscreen.org.au/ – Queer Screen Film Fest 2019; September 18-22.
- http://heapsgay.com/ – originally parties and events for the LGBTQIA+ community, Heaps Gay now has an online media/news/lifestyle presence for queer issues and stories.
- https://joy.org.au/ – Australia’s Out, Loud and Proud radio station. Also online with streaming; podcasts, programs and important community announcements.
- http://www.starobserver.com.au/ – Australia’s longest running LGBTQIA+ on and offline publication. Go here for everything!
- https://www.them.us/ – US online magazine and community for all queer wonder!
- https://proudminority.com/ – very awesome trans & queer owned clothing brand. Based in Melbourne.
And the wonder that is the written word. Some beautiful books on all things Queerdom:
- Kindred: 12 Queer #loveozya Anthology Stories, edited by Michael Earp.
- Growing Up Queer in Australia by Benjamin Law;
- Queerstories: Reflections on lives well lived from some of Australia’s finest LGBTQIA+ writers’, edited by Maeve Marsden.
- Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride;
- Colouring the Rainbow: Blak Queer and Trans Perspectives: Life Stories and Essays by First Nations People of Australia;
- And coming soon: High School: Tegan and Sara (eeeeek! exciting!)
If you need some further assistance, or just an ear, please don’t hesitate to contact us here