#australian queer history

[queerasfact]

Nellie Small (right in both pictures) met Edith Meggitt in Sydney in the late 1920s. At the time, Nellie was an out-of-work performer, making ends meet working as a caretaker in a block of flats and running a private library out of her home. Edith was a housewife raising two young children.

The two women immediately became close, and not long after that first chance meeting, Nellie moved in with Edith and her family. She lived with the Meggitts for the rest of her life.

Nellie went on to become a successful male impersonator, recognised throughout Australia as one of the country's best jazz singers, while Edith supported her from the front row of every show, and picked out her socks and ties behind the scenes.

Learn more about Nellie and Edith

[Image source: State Library New South Wales]

[userdocumentary]

QUEERSTRALIA (2022) Episode 1 dir. Stamatia Maroupas

[asynca]

Anyone who’s interested in ‘Australia’s Stonewall Moment’ will be interested in reading about the ‘78ers: the first marchers in what they coined the ‘Mardi Gras’ which turned violent after police blocked them off and began to violently arrest people. 

Tonight, 45 years later, Sydney hosts World Pride 2023 and the 45th Mardi Gras parade and it’s a huge celebrated event. 

We’ve got a long way to go - but we also need to celebrate our tenacity, our survival and how far we’ve come. 

[grahamkennedy]

So I made bad, angsty collage art about Graham Kennedy.

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 30: Murder and

Disappearance Edition III

Given that Roanoke and the Dyatlov Pass Incident are credibly solved, though not 100% provable, I'm leaving them out in favor of things more mysterious. I almost left out Amelia Earhart from a previous edition, but the evidence there is sketchier.

No, I'm not doing JFK. I refuse.

Please add new suggestions below, if you have them, for future consideration.

[bibuckleykinard]

how many times do we need to learn as people that irony and hyperbole can be harmful because 'jokes' aren't easily distinguished from genuine thoughts and feelings until we stop rewarding people for speaking or posting about violence

like even if you're joking/don't actually believe that/think whoever you are insulting is bad/immoral/fictional therefore deserves it - ad hominem attacks always do more harm to the people who share those characteristic then the individual you intend to cause harm to or discredit

[archival-dodger]

Tonight marks the 45th annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, one of the seminal moments in Australian queer history. Unfortunately— and in part because of the dominance of (US) American pride discourses, in part because of the transition of the parade from protest to celebration— there’s a general tendency to merely view Mardi Gras as ‘our Stonewall’ without understanding the broader context of Australian histories of sexuality and gender, or recognising the significant differences between Stonewall and Mardi Gras.

This year, I’m marking Mardi Gras by posting three excellent, accessible, and historically informed pieces on what happened on 24 June, 1978 & a piece about life for lgbtq+ elders, some of whom discuss the climate of the 70s and 80s:

ABC’s investigative, multimedia report on the 1st Mardi Gras— featuring interviews with the 78ers.

Sydney’s Mardi Gras: 40 Years of Pride and Protest— in pictures— Text by Nick Henderson, of the Australian Queer Archives.

The joy is waking up and liking who you are— Interviews with 6 lgbt+ elders, on their experiences growing up and growing to love who they are now.

It’s also worth noting that the ABC is airing a series on Australian queer history— Queerstralia— from Tuesday next week. Again, the Australian Queer Archives were one of the groups deeply involved in this, and I’m confident that it will be a genuine contribution to the public history of queer Australia.

Happy World Pride, and Happy Mardi Gras!

[oranglesswrld]

so did anyone else know about the gay lesbian kingdom of the coral sea islands off the coast of queensland. bc i only found out today

[queerasfact]

Invasion Day

On January 26 1788, the First Fleet of convicts from Britain arrived on the lands of the Eora Nation and the establishment of a British colony in Australia began.

Although the day is now official observed as Australia Day, it is, to quote Victorian community organisers, “an annual reminder of invasion, occupation, genocide and the ongoing impacts of colonisation that continue to destroy our land and waters”.

Keep reading under the cut - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that below is an image and names of deceased persons.

First Nations people have publicly marked 26 January as a Day of Mourning since 1938. The photo above comes from 1988, when, on 26 January, Australia officially celebrated its bicentenary. In response to public celebrations of the day, gay Aboriginal and South Sea Islander man Malcolm Cole and artist Panos Couros came up their own way to mark the occasion – a float in Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade a month later.

The float, known as the “Aboriginal Boat”, took the form of a sailing ship manned by Malcolm, dressed as Captain Cook, the British man who “claimed” the lands of First Nations people along Australia’s east coast for Britain. Narungga and Kaurna man Rodney Junga-Williams played botanist Joseph Banks, who was also instrumental in the decision to colonise the continent. The float was pulled by their white friends.

As Australians ourselves, living on the stolen lands of the Kulin Nation, we encourage you to spend the day doing what you can to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation is one organisation working to support queer First Nations people, that you in turn can support.

[Image source: Photograph taken by Ken Lovett, Australian Queer Archives, via ABC]

[userdocumentary]

QUEERSTRALIA (2022) Episode 3 dir. Stamatia Maroupas

[diaspoqueer]

ODBQ POST 1:

Keiynon Lonsdale

Keiynon Lonsdale is a biracial singer, actor, and dancer of Nigerian-Australian descent. As an actor he is know for playing Wally West in the CW DC original The Flash. As a singer-songwriter he is known for his songs Preach, Rainbow Dragon and Higher. He makes bops. Although he states he is attracted to multiple genders he uses the term gay to describe himself!

[our-queer-experience]

I hear a lot of talk about two spirit people, which is wonderful, but I thought as an australian I should mention brother boys and sister girls.

I am not a First Nations person, and don’t know a lot about these cultural identities but I’ve never even heard them mentioned in online queer spaces other than on one australian queer self help webchat.

Brother boys are Indigenous trans men, and Sister girls are Indigenous trans women. (I’m pretty sure at least) I think that there is a connection to country that links with these identities, but again I am not a First Nation’s person, and I don’t know any Brother boys or Sister girls personally so I can not say I know this for sure.

I’d love to learn more about these identities if anyone would like to share, and I really hope I have not misrepresented anything in what I have said and if I have I apologise and please say so. :)

ok but this article was really interesting. i hadnt read up on aboriginal queer history and culture yet but this is really interesting, thank you so much for prompting me to look into this!

[our-transmasc-experiences]

mod intros:

hey! I’m Hound, or Mod 🐾. I’m transmasculine, nonbinary, and an aroacespec butch dyke, and I use he/they/it pronouns! I’m also a certified dogboy and coyoteboy (in a therian way), and Nivrah Ben HaSmashot (“born between the suns,” a term for queer Jews) :3 I’m the founder and one of the three moderators of this blog; please keep in mind that I am a minor and full-time student, so I won’t be available 24/7 ^^

Hi everyone! I'm Mod 🐈‍⬛, a genderqueer trans man who also identifies as a catboy. I use he/it pronouns, am demisexual & polyamorous. I'm a disabled Australian, so I've got a bit of time on my hands, but I'm an adult so I do have all the life responsibilities that come with that 🥲.

I also run the blog @transmasc-positivity, so feel free to check that out if you want!

Heyo! I'm Possum/Mod 🐭, a fagdyke trans man and also the token human of this blog. I mainly use He/Him pronouns but the occasional They/Them is fine by me. I'm also a student so I'll have periods of time where I'll be pretty quiet but I'll try to warn yall ahead of time.

about the blog:

right now, there is a worrying trend towards reactionary sentiments worldwide; notably, in the United States, the rights and resources of trans people are actively being undermined. transmasculine people are especially prone to being erased or made invisible in the historical record; in a time of adversity, I hope this blog can become a supportive community and a living archive of trans men and mascs’ experiences, insights, struggles, hopes, questions, and more.

all transmasculine people are welcome here: trans men and mascs, transmasculine people who are nonbinary, multigender, or genderfluid, transmasc or genderqueer butches, intersex trans mascs and men, and anybody else who identifies as transmasculine in any way. however, as this is a space for transmasculine people, I will request that anybody who is not transmasc refrain from sending in submissions, starting arguments, or derailing posts.

here’s a non-exhaustive list of things we’d love to receive as asks or submissions or be tagged in:

testimonies of experiences with transandrophobia/transandromisia/antitransmasculinity

discussions of the effects, ramifications, and intersections of transandrophobia

stories about transmasculine life experiences, positive or negative

questions about identity, transitioning, transmasculine history, etc.

advice, information, or resources regarding identity, transitioning, transmasculine history, etc.

art (visual or written) with transmasc characters or themes

resources, databases, and archives of transmasc/generally queer media

tagging system below the cut!

#discussions of transandrophobia: for any and all discussions/anecdotes/etc. regarding transandrophobia

#transandrophobia testimonies: specifically for stories about experiencing or witnessing transandrophobia

#transmasculine struggles: for posts about negative aspects of the transmasc experience, transmasc vents/vent art, and transandrophobia

#transmasculine positivity: for posts about positive aspects of the transmasc experience, positive transmasc art, appreciation/positivity posts, and other celebrations of transmasculinity

#transmasc questions: for any questions submitted to the blog

#transmasc resources: posts that include resources or useful information/instructions (eg. how to spot a high-quality binder, how to legally change one’s name)

#transmasc tips: advice/information for transmasc folks that doesn’t specifically include resources/links/etc. (eg. blocklists of known transandrophobes, general life advice)

#transmasc history: for information specifically regarding transmasc history and transmasculine historical figures

#transmasc creations: for art/writing by transmascs and transmasc media or literature recommendations

#terminology and coining: terms, flags, etc. made specifically for transmasc use

#current events: information about current events, especially regarding anti-trans government action in the US

#transmasc chatting: tag for casual conversations/anons, or just casual posts by mods

list is subject to change; feel free to suggest more tags for categories/topics that y’all want to see specifically compiled!

[archival-dodger]

A collection of four gay liberation papers, demonstrating the close ties between left-wing organising and the Australian gay lib movement. The top two come from the 1976 Manifesto of the Socialist Homosexuals, the bottom two are from a queer anarchist paper and satire Marxist groups by painting them as bourgeois intellectuals who would rather talk politics than engage in praxis.

(Photos my own, taken at the Australian Queer Archives. You can find a substantial collection of gay lib material on the site Reason in Revolt).