All posts filed under: News

Top Queer Picks – Fringe World Festival Perth 2015

Perth Fringe is Finally here and in all my excitement I’ve compiled a list of of Top Queer Picks for 2015! I haven’t seen any of these shows before so this list is based purely off what I think looks and sounds a) entertaining b) super queer. Get excited! HEX – “Award-winning young choreographer James Welsby presents HEX, an hour-long, three person dance work reflecting on AIDS, activism, sex, and disco through the eyes and bodies of Generation Y. HEX depicts the arc of the AIDS epidemic and its impact on the queer community through allegorical vignettes using popular club dance vocabularies.” Le Gateau Chocolat – I Heart Chocolat – “This is an exclusive party featuring a delectable hand-picked selection of musical arrangements, as random as a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get! But you can guarantee Le Gateau’s infectious energy and gargantuan voice will satisfy your festival taste-buds. From Glyndebourne Opera to singing for the Queen as part of the Jubilee Flotilla and touring the globe with La Soiree; to performing at the …

Vagine Regime hosts WA’s first Queer Derby Bout

Vagine Regime hosted Western Australia’s first queer derby bout Sunday January 18 at Morley Rollerdrome. Vagine Regime is an international community of queer derby folk and allies who promote and celebrate the inclusion of queer peeps in the sport. In an interview with Out In Perth Recently, WA Co-founders Mary Fagdalene and Nurse Stax talked a bit more about it. “The Vagine Regime aims to build an international community of queer derby folk. Through a commitment to inclusive solidarity we hope to create networking opportunities, cultivate acceptance, and foster derby love matches.” Said Nurse Stax Mary Fagdalene went on to say “Whilst it might not be a big thing to be ‘out’ in derby, it can still be a very difficult to be queer in the world. For gender queer or trans people, being involved in sport can be very challenging. VR has worked to advocate for the acceptance of trans women in the sport and to call out discrimination where it is present. If we can build a safe and accepting environment within our sport then it …

Internet Cat Video Festival 2015

Crowds of people gathered at Northbridge Piazza (Perth) yesterday for the 2015 Internet Cat Video Festival. Whilst this wasn’t a queer specific event, I thought I would still go down to laugh at some funny cat videos, enjoy the amazing weather, admire everyone’s cat costumes and go pet some kittens. Unfortunately, the kitten petting line looked like over an hour wait so I gave that a miss. As for everything else, it was cat-tastic! Plus, free entry! The event was brought to Perth by Cat Haven WA, the team at Northbridge Piazza and City of Perth. It was hosted by THE ever popular Famous Sharron, with Delish Ice providing the treats and the team at Flying Glow Worm Entertainment providing face painting fun for everyone. Check out the photos below!

2014 – What a Queer Year!

A lot has happened in 2014, and a lot of progress has been made for the queer community. Let’s end the year on a high note and have a look at some of the more positive events and milestones from the last 12 months. The Queer Av! Okay so this is not exactly global or anything but I’m in the process of changing the name of this blog from The Gay Av to The Queer Av to make it more inclusive of the whole community. In other news, we are now on Instagram (@thequeerav), AND there are new and exciting projects and articles to come in 2015. Watch this space! A looooot of people came out this year in the LGBTIQ community. I’m not a fan of the whole ‘coming out ritual’ and I wish is wasn’t necessary for people to have to do. I can’t wait for the day when peeps don’t assume one’s gender and sexuality from the get go and therefore the event of coming out won’t exist. Having said this, it’s still …

Perth Community Comes Together For World AIDS Day 2014

WA AIDS Council invited volunteers, staff, clients and supporters to join them at Robertson Park December 1 for World AIDS Day. The theme for this years World AIDS Day was Getting to Zero; zero fear, zero stigma, zero discrimination, zero ignorance, zero risks, zero new cases and zero deaths. During the event WAAC announced that almost $3,000 has been raised by staff members to be donated to BaanGerda, an organisation located north of Bangkok which provides homes to children orphaned due to HIV and HIV care. WAAC volunteers were thanked, in particular office volunteers Natalie Seed and Jenny Thomas who received awards. Visit www.waaids.com to learn more about what’s happening in the Perth community and what you can do to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In My Shoes – The Gender Centre Project

‘In My Shoes’ is a documentary short looking into the lives of five transgender people – the good times, the struggles and how they’ve got through them. It’s an initiative of the Transgender Anti-Violence Project at The Gender Centre Inc., NSW. “We hope that this film will serve as a resource for the wider community to better understand the issues facing young transgender and gender diverse people,” says the Gender Centre. “We also hope that it encourages transgender and gender diverse people of all ages to come forward and access support if they need it. “Thank you to these extraordinary young people for sharing their stories and to the incredible co-directors Monique Schafter and Mat Govoni.”  

Ian Thorpe: "I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man"

Ian Thorpe, former Australian Olympic swimmer, has come out as gay  in an interview with Michael Parkinson. If you haven’t heard already, you’ve probably been living under a BIG GAY rock. “I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man and I don’t want young people to feel the same way that I did,” said Thorpe, who also discussed his battle with depression and suicidal ideation. “You can grow up, you can be comfortable, and you can be gay.” Thorpe has been in the spot light from a young age, and has been asked about his sexuality right from the get go. “I concealed this and I think that I’ve held this as such a weight and there’s so much pain in this,” he said. “I had anger around this because I felt like I shouldn’t have been asked about it. If I wasn’t asked I feel as though I would have been much younger when I came out as being comfortable about this.” I think a lot of people would agree, coming out shouldn’t be this …

Gaining Employment: A Trans Perspective

A few weeks ago I wrote an article talking about my experiences in gaining employment as a queer person. The post was popular so I decided to post again about gaining employment, but this time from a trans perspective. I was able to ask Oskar about the ups and downs of gaining employment as a trans man in Perth and here’s what he had to say! What are the main problems you’ve had to face when it comes to finding employment as a trans person? As I’ve been struggling to change my name – my legal name is my biggest indicator that something is up – particularly since I don’t present as female at all these days. Little things such as what clothes to wear – female clothes or male clothes at a job interview? I’ve been forced to present as female for job interviews and it sucks. I worry a lot about my future career – I’m worried that despite my studies, I still won’t be hired in my chosen profession because I’m trans. …

Why You Shouldn’t Gay Yourself Down For Anybody, Including Your Potential Boss

When I was twelve-years-old I decided that I wanted a career in Journalism, the reason being of course, I wanted to meet Hilary Duff and nothing was going to stop me. This is what dreams are made of…Am I right?! This of course transformed into a desire to meet many interesting people from all over the world. Flash forward a few years to when I was 16 and my dreams were still as strong, my degree picked out and my goals set whilst those around me fumbled with what they wanted to do with their lives and what they wanted to study. I began a degree in Mass Communication majoring in Corporate Screen Production and Journalism at the beginning of 2010 (Aged 19) at Curtin University. I was shocked at first to find the degree, and indeed my future profession seemingly dominated by an array of picture perfect, feminine, stereotypically straight looking women. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel threatened. With my much more masculine appearance and identifying in the not …