LGBTQI community connection and information
The Chief Minister Michael Gunner will be apologising in Parliament on behalf of the NT Government to people convicted of consensual homosexual offences prior to 1984. This is an important step towards righting the past wrongs inflicted on the NT’s LGBTQI community.
The Territory Labor Government has introduced to Parliament new legislation to allow Territorians to have their past convictions for consensual homosexual relations expunged.
This is the fifteenth newsletter from OUT NT.
Hello.
As the weather cools down, the NT will heat up with election fever and queer activities galore – enjoy the start of the dry season and get in contact if you want to be part of electioneering or any other queer season activities.
Keeping it short and sweet as there is a lot down below :) the end of the newsletter is always “Cake to Share” so if you don’t see that, expand the email.
Rainbow Territory has started engaging with NT politicians in the lead up to the 2016 election (we’ve heard 27 August). We have a big list to get through. We need some help in the following areas:
Rainbow Territory runs regular meetings every second Tuesday. We are trialling a dial in process so that if someone can’t attend in person, they participate by telephone. We are also having a social/well being dinner after the meeting. All are welcome :) Please bring some $ for your dinner. Full details on the OUT NT website.
Darwin has joined 37 other councils in supporting marriage equality. A room packed full of community members spoke in support of the vote, and helped to change minds on the night.
That Council put a motion forward to the 2016 National General Assembly of Local Government asking them to support changes to the Marriage Act to achieve marriage equality for same sex couples.
Council should then publicly support the removal of any legislation that discriminates against members of our community: which the Marriage Act currently does.
Qnews, NT news, and the national campaign group Australian Marriage Equality
NTAHC is running free LGBTQI awareness training in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs.
Darwin – May 23rd & June 27th 2016
Katherine – June 15th & 16th 2016
Alice Springs – May 26th 2016
This project is delivering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) aged care awareness training to a broad range of staff working in ageing and aged care, students studying aged care, aged care assessment teams nationally and people that work with LGBTI community.
This free, comprehensive, one day training will help promote a better understanding of the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people. It will provide staff with more confidence to deliver inclusive, best practice service.
Silver Rainbow is a national partnership between Alliance members in every State and Territory.
· Exploring the lives of LGBTI Australians
· Terminology
· Social stigma and assumptions
· Impacts of negative attitudes
· Ageing issues specific to older LGBTI people.
· Current legislation.
· Inclusivity in the work place and working with clients
Please book as seats are limited. Please contact Hande Noyan on 8944 7777 or hande.noyan@ntahc.org.au for more information and to register.
The call for CANS is on again in 2016. Want to see a rainbow flag flying over Mindil beach? Get can collecting and drop them off to NTAHC Darwin. If you want to help build the boat, get in touch :)
All the goss’ from last year: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/13/beer-can-regatta-darwin-swaggers-and-swelters-with-croc-repellant-on-standby
IndigiLez
Leadership and support group for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Lesbians and Same Sex Attracted Women.
Founders Rebecca Johnson and Tanya Quakawoot formed IndigiLez Leadership and Support Group in 2008. Both women are passionate advocates for improving the lives of Indigenous lesbians and same sex attracted women. The women’s personal experiences of growing up in their respective small country communities in the Wide Bay-Burnett and Central Queensland areas have encouraged them to make a difference in the Indigenous community and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community. As young adults Rebecca and Tanya encountered extremely challenging obstacles because of their identity. Aboriginal, women and lesbian.
OUT NT is a website that is run by Rainbow Territory to provide information and community connection to LGBTQI people living in or connected to the NT. It is run by Rainbow Territory members, but operates for the community to help bring people together. A strong and connected community is an active community that can work together to achieve change. This newsletter is part of how people are connected, as well as a Facebook page to communicate between newsletters. Please tell people you know in the NT about outnt to get them connected.
If you have an event that you want to promote, or some news you want to share, or something creative you’ve been working on, please email outnt@outnt.info
Cake to share is a random section of the newsletter where people can share something with others. Not all cake suits all tastes, so please sample or skip as you wish. Thanks to all who sent in some cake to share. Email your cake to share to outnt@outnt.info
Email through any random articles that you see to outnt@outntinfo or share directly to the OUT NT Facebook page. Get the stories you find interesting out to your community.
Fairytale love that crosses class boundries and gender!
An LGBTI-themed fairytale book, about a prince named Leo and a farm boy named Jack who meet and fall in love, will be officially published after surpassing its crowdfunding goal.
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-12/promised-land-long-overdue-lgbti-fairytale-comes-to-life/7320074
Idris Elba Calls For Better LGBT Representation In TV And Film. The talents of LGBT, black, female and disabled actors are being “unfairly ignored,” he said.
http://www.newnownext.com/idris-elba-calls-for-better-lgbt-representation-in-tv-and-film/01/2016/?xrs=synd_facebook_logo
Australia’s secret history of sexual fluidity
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, Trans, fluid: The spectrum of sexuality and the labels we use to describe it might seem very new, but if we look back, we can see that Australia’s past is chock-full of queerness, Graham Willett writes.
Daisy Meadows, a trans woman incarcerated in a men’s prison, isolation is used both as punishment and “protection.”
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/the-shocking-painful-trauma-of-being-a-trans-prisoner-in-solitary-confinement
Cae Monae’s Debut Music Project, an Examination of Color and Trans Femininity
http://bullettmedia.com/article/cae-monaes-debut-music-project-an-examination-of-color-and-trans-femininity/
Solomon IsIands – New Report Finds Traditions which Emphasise Difference Must be Challenged to Address Inequality
http://sxpolitics.org/solomon-iands-new-report-finds-traditions-which-emphasise-difference-must-be-challenged-to-address-inequality/13951
20,000 lesbians in the desert (not a story about Alice Springs…)
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/07/dinah-lesbian-festival-women-palm-springs
India’s 1st LGBT cab service ready to roll in Mumbai
http://m.timesofindia.com/articleshow/50662703.cms
Weird or no?!
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/straight-celebrities-pose-as-gay-couples_us_569fd3d9e4b0a7026bf9eb9f
Two Spirits, One Heart, Five Genders
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/01/23/two-spirits-one-heart-five-genders
Coming out in aged care: Michael shares his story
https://youtu.be/hy1zkEhWZUI
Ellen Page’s Gay Imperialism is Not Activism
http://harlot.media/articles/1513/ellen-pages-gay-imperialism-is-not-activism
Is a gay strike on the cards?
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2016/mar/31/why-knot-a-spirited-panel-discussion-on-marriage-equality-live?page=with:block-56fce661e4b0c9ed7992f8aa#liveblog-navigation
Hello.
At the start of last year this occasional newsletter used “New Year New Territory” as a kick off for 2015. Do you think the Territory changed between then and now? What will it look like in 2017 after an NT election and a federal election?
Some wonderful things happened during 2015, made possible by hardworking groups and individuals.
All of these actions (and many others not mentioned) change and shape the Territory to make it a place where our community wants to live. 2016 is your opportunity to get involved and get active. If you are going to provide a politician with a new term this year, make sure it is on your terms.
Rainbow Territory is very conscious that this is an election year. While some great ground work has been done in 2015, this year is a time where there is a lot of momentum for change, but we need help to make it happen. Rainbow Territory needs you to join and get active. Our community continues to be discriminated against. The national focus is on marriage equality, but even if that is changed our community will continue to be discriminated against under NT law, in employment, adoption, access to IVF. Services for trans people, young people and others in our community will continue to be unfunded or ignored. This can change if we get organised:
What is next for 2016? Come to the next Rainbow Territory meeting or get-together to find out how to get involved and organised
Email through any random articles that you see to outnt@outntinfo or share directly to the OUT NT Facebook page. Get the stories you find interesting out to your community.
Homemade cake! A Darwinite in Melbourne penned this song to a well known tune to deal with discrimination at a dentist.
My dentist don’t mess around, she asks me straight out if I’m homo or bi.
Making the transition: Long before Caitlin Jenner came out, people who feel they have been born in the wrong body have taken steps to change what gender they’re identified as.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-weekend/audio/201785675/making-the-transition
Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project
http://queermuslimproject.tumblr.com/
Marriage inequality. Briton who died on honeymoon in Australia to have same-sex marriage recognised. South Australian premier Jay Weatherill gives personal guarantee that David Bulmer-Rizzi’s death certificate will be reissued with correct status and vows to amend legislation to recognise overseas same-sex marriages
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/21/briton-who-died-on-honeymoon-in-australia-to-have-same-sex-marriage-recognised
Weird Questions Gay Couples Get “Are you going to have gaybies?”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/kevinmcshane/weird-questions-gay-couples-get#.irgp8mKqJ
The Chilean Ministry of Health has issued instructions to its national health sector to stop “normalising” medical interventions on intersex infants and children. This guidance is a global first: the first time that a health ministry has shown leadership in taking this step without legislation or legal action. They have done this while awaiting the development of human rights-affirming treatment protocols and legislation to offer protection from discrimination on grounds of “sexual characteristics”.
Chile Ministry of Health instructs its department of health to stop ‘normalising’ medical intervention on intersex infants and children
https://oii.org.au/30250/chilean-ministry-stops-normalising/
‘In My Shoes’ asks five transgender young people what it’s like to be them – the awesome times, the challenges and how they’ve gotten through them. This short, collaborative documentary film is an initiative of the Transgender Anti-Violence Project at The Gender Centre Inc., NSW and is produced by Tahlia Trijbetz, the Transgender Anti-Violence Project (TAVP) Officer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDuVbsg0eMo
The 6 Pack Band, India’s First Transgender Band Just Released Their First Song
http://www.buzzfeed.com/srishtidixit/speechles#.rfbxvV2Ba
Fiji turns cold. Fiji’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has been quoted saying that if a woman in Fiji wants to marry another woman, “they should go and have it done in Iceland and stay and live there.”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/the-prime-minister-of-fiji-wants-gay-citizens-to-get-married#.lsBJq32N8
Meet the Texas teen feminist whose body hair set the twittersphere on fire
https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/meet-the-texas-teen-feminist-whose-body-hair-set-the-twittersphere-on-fire?utm_source=vicefbanz
What a lesbian feminist looks like
http://www.lotl.com/Lifestyle/What-A-Lesbian-Feminist-Looks-Like-846/