Back To the Main SiteQueer Collaborations 2009
This year, Queer Collaborations was held at ANU, here in Canberra. Queer Collaborations is an annual student conference for students who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer, or Genderqueer. Robyn and myself went along on behalf of A Gender Agenda to present a keynote on being a Trans Ally on the first day, and attended the Trans/Genderqueer Caucuses. The Placards that were made for our Mardi Gras entry were displayed in the Queer Art Exhibition.The event was a lot of fun. Hugh Bartlett, from ANU’s Jellybabies, did a wonderful job of pulling the event together, and making sure it ran smoothly.
During our presentation on being a trans ally, there were lots of questions, and it was really obvious that the LGBT movement has a lot of work to do before cisgendered queers are really on top of the myriad of health, human rights, and political issues that face trans and genderqueer people. We didn’t even really speak about intersex rights, except for briefly mentioning Infant Genital Mutiliation. The thing I found most heartening was the number of medical students there, who approached me after the presentation to ask about how to do better than their predecessors.
QC is a bit of a self-reflective political event. No changes to the real world are ever actually made, and frequently attempted changes to QC don’t stick either. However its an important event for the networking opportunity it provides young activists. I’m very glad that I went, because I met a number of wonderful activists from other cities. We’ve already been able to provide each others organisations with support and assistance. These kinds of national alliances among queer organisations are invaluable.
The Butch Auction Fundraiser
From Transgender Day of Action 2009
June 26 saw our first ever Transgender Day of Action fundraiser. I have to admit it, I was nervous in the lead up, terrified even! However, on the night, things went incredibly well!
The venue was HUSH Lounge, and the price was right. People started rocking up well before we opened the doors. I’ve never seen Canberran’s looking so queer and fabulous. There were queers that had come all the way from Sydney and Melbourne because it seemed like such a novel event.
There were several main events. We had stage performances from the Canberra Kings, and a belly dancer who left all the ladies drooling for more. We also Auctioned off volunteers, including a Bondage Rope master, a Photographer, a Chef, and of course all the Drag Kings. One of the local dykes fetched the hefty price of $500 in return for one dirty dance!
We departed from the usual trans event policy of Unisex toilets, and split the bathrooms at HUSH along another binary. Head and tails! Our polite Toilet Valet would toss a coin, and tell you whether you were allowed to use the Heads or the Tails bathroom. Most people took this with good nature, in the spirit it was intended, but unfortunately one person took offence, and verbally harassed our valet. I find it utterly remarkable that anyone would come to a trans event, thinking that they can cause a fuss about being asked to use the men’s toilet! At least surrounded by trans folk, and our allies, she would have been thoroughly embarrassed for being the one scolded by the MC’s.
By the end of the night, I was exhausted. I’d MC’d with Mr Rocco Hardness, and staved off disaster when the Auctioneer called to say he couldn’t make it, 15 minutes before the Auction was due to begin. One of the local dykes, who usually Drag Kings but hadn’t been on stage that night, kindly volunteered to run the Auction for us.
We made about $2000 in donations, and it was truly a community effort. We couldn’t have done it without the support of the Canberra Kings, HUSH Lounges staff, and all the volunteers from A Gender Agenda who faithfully ran the Toilet stall, took donations at the door, and generally made sure the night ran nice and smoothly.
2009 Sydney Mardi Gras
Our Entry in Mardi Gras was a raging success. We had 22 people show up on the day to march with us. We wore fantastic green t-shirts, had awesome placards, and made waves with the crowd, the other floats, and the commentators alike!
It was my first ever Mardi Gras, and the feeling of marching with 21 other trans people, genderqueers, and our friends and families while being cheered on by the crowd, was an incredibly empowering experience. We handed out hundreds of stickers that said “Gender Rights are Human Rights” and lollipops with “Trannies are Sweet” written on them. Trans people and their supporters in the crowd screamed “I love trannies too!” at us from the sidelines, and we had post op FTM’s flash their scars at us.
I was thrilled to see the level of support for our community from other LGBT organisations, and from the wider community. Some people were obviously confused by our marching group, and our placards gave more than a few cause to pause and think about their preconceived notions of what a trans person looks like, and what they experience.
So, maybe next year YOU will be marching with us too! :)
Mardi Gras – Final Update
Mardi Gras is coming up this weekend. Here at A Gender Agenda, we’re in a tizz of excitement over it. There’s been a little less activity on our website recently, as we’ve been busy in real life organising the Gender Diversity BBQ, and our Mardi Gras entry.
This year A Gender Agenda are marching with Tranny Panic Art Project. They are providing the art, we’re providing promotion and awesome awesome t-shirts. If you want to join us, there is still time. We’ve got a facebook event, and you can email us for more details.
Gender Diversity Day BBQ – A Huge Success!
We had our Gender Diversity Day BBQ at Glebe Park on Saturday, 28th of February.
WHAT A FANTASTIC TURNOUT!!!!
It was fabulous to spend the afternoon with such a diverse range of people.
The vibe was amazing – a truly honest celebration of diversity with a sense
of community that felt REAL…
Thanks to everyone who attended and made it such a wonderful day.
(and of course we encourage even MORE people to attend our next event!)
– Peter
As Peter said, the BBQ was a great success. We had a whole host of people we’d never met before rock up. There was such a good vibe over the entire day. We had WIN News show up and film us for a while, but we haven’t seen that broadcasted yet. If anyone knows when that will be aired, please let us know.
So, a toast to new friends and old! I hope to see even more new faces at our next event.
- Ryan
Gender Diversity Day BBQ
We’ve decided to call TransAction Day, Gender Diversity Day here in Canberra (and hopefully Australia when it catches on elsewhere!)
To celebrate Gender Diversity Day we will be holding a BBQ. It will be a laid back, no pressure event. A bunch of us will be around eating food and hanging out for several hours, so even if you don’t feel like staying for an entire meal, feel free to just drop by and say hello.
This event celebrates Gender Diversity in all its forms, and so we encourage everyone to come along… whether you are gay, lesbian, straight, trans, non-trans, genderqueer, a parent, a partner, or a friend of someone who would like to come. The more the merrier is our philosophy!
The BBQ will be in Glebe Park at 1pm on the 28th of February. Bring your friends, and family and partners. This is a kid friendly event, and is definitely open to non-trans people as well as trans people and their families.
ATCOSS Information Forum
Spreading the word for ATCOSS:
The ACT Human Rights Act: What do recent changes mean for ACT Community
Organisations?In 2009 amendments made to the ACT Human Rights Act come into effect, that
specify that “public authorities” must act in a way that is compatible with
and gives proper consideration to human rights. There is a right to bring a
complaint against public authorities if they fail to do so.ACTCOSS is co-ordinating an information forum for ACT community
organisations on these changes to the ACT Human Rights Act, and what they
may mean for community organisations.The ACT Human Rights Commission will provide an overview of the changes, and
other speakers will deliver information about possible impacts on your
organisation.Where: Room 6, Griffin Centre, Genge St Canberra City
When: Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pmLight refreshments will be provided.
Please RSVP to Brooke McKail on 6202 7222 or brooke.mckail@actcoss.org.au
Brooke McKail
Policy and Development Officer
ACT Council of Social Service Inc. (ACTCOSS)
TransAction! Vs TransAwareness!
TransAction! is held on February 27, and Trans Day of Action is held on June 27 this year. I think that those names are far too similar – Its confusing! TransAction Day has never been held before, but Trans Day of Action has been running in New York for 4 years, so I think if either is going to have their name changed, it will have to be TransAction Day.
I’m not asking for GLSEN to change the name of their event, but I think that Australian organisations could hold an event with a name that sounds a little less like a day when you do your banking. I think that “Trans Awareness Day” is an excellent title, and one that as far as I can tell isn’t taken. (Gendered Intelligence in the UK ran a single Trans Awareness Day back in 2007, but it hasn’t been held since). However, it is very trans-centric. Perhaps “Gender Diversity Day” would be a more inclusive and appropriate name?
A preliminary survey of my friends revealed a strong leaning towards Gender Diversity Day. What do other folk think? Suggestions for other names are also welcome!
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