Colonialism and the religious dogma that arrived on these shores along with the boats and settlers brought with them queerphobia, transphobia and homophobia. Sistergirls, Brotherboys and other Blak queer and gender diverse people have always been and always will be a part of this Land and Culture. It is an honour and a privilege to continue to do what I can to support my Sistergirls, Brotherboys and other First Peoples who identify as LGBTQIA+SB.
Settler queer, trans, gender diverse, intersex people and others in the LGBTQIA+ community have a long history of standing alongside First Peoples in this Country. Together we will work on creating communities that centre justice, equality and liberation and we all know that our collective liberation is inextricably linked.
Recently there has been much talk of the census and as the government backflipped and has now included questions on gender and sexual orientation, unfortunately, intersex (innate variations on sexual characteristics) has not been included. I will do what I can to make sure this erasure will not continue into the next census.
While the census can seem like a tedious thing, it is vital in gathering data. This data capture allows organisations to predict demand and allocate adequate funding for services for LGBTQIA+SB Community members.
The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW) identified a ‘help seeking quandary’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA+SB community members with suicide as the fifth leading cause of death for First Peoples compared with thirteenth for non-First Nations people across the country.
“there continues to be limited information available to service providers on how best to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people, and where they access care (Uink et al. 2020).”
LGBTQIA+SB community members are denied life-saving treatment as service providers are unable to accommodate the intersecting needs of First Peoples who have been demonised by colonial religious practices preventing them access to their People, Country and Culture. It is crucial that frontline services can provide culturally appropriate and gender affirming care for our LGBTQIA+SB community members.
Colonisation has created a number of myths, ranging from terra nullius to justify land theft and Genocide of First Peoples, to imposed belief systems (religious and societal), like the idea that there are two genders and that the “normal” way to do things is to be straight, white and cisgender (to choose the gender you were assigned at birth). I will continue working with my community so that all of us can have a better understanding of these colonial delusions to overcome them and build a society that is truly rights-based and grounded in and celebrates First Peoples' and LGBTQIA+SB peoples' knowledge systems, systems that we know have existed for tens of thousands of years.
LGBTQIA+SB youth are the future and I recently had the privilege of reading a speech by a staunch young First Nations Person, as part of the Raise Our Voice campaign which you can view below.
I will keep applying pressure at every level of government and until then, to my community: please keep fighting. We must continue looking after each other and knowing that we must rely on ourselves and the connections we build. Liberation is ours.
From the River to the Sea, Always was, Always will be.
Last updated 9 October 2024.