All posts filed under: Personal Experiences

Tackling Biphobia: Why Bisexual Visibility Matters

For a long time, I thought self-acceptance of my bisexuality was enough. No one asked me for a label and I experienced very little overt discrimination. I toyed with the idea of telling my folks early on, but an older lesbian friend of mine advised against it. She knew that coming out to family could be difficult at the best of times, but the limited awareness and stigma associated with bisexuality in the 90s made it even harder. Thanks to the increasing profile of bisexual+ celebrities, such as Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming, bisexuality has become far more visible in recent times. As a result, an increasing number of people feel comfortable coming out as bisexual+ (or as simply neither straight nor gay). But acceptance of bisexuality has been slow, both in mainstream society and the LGBTI communities, despite evidence suggesting that there are more bisexual+ people than lesbians and gay men combined. Bisexuality is simply an attraction to more than one gender / regardless of gender. However, society is most comfortable with binary …

VIDEOS: Nick, Robin & Lex Share Their Stories for Trans Awareness Month

Last month was Transgender Awareness Month. We decided to share the stories of three transgender Australian’s to spread awareness of trans issues and experiences. Nick’s Story Hear Nick talk about his experiences growing up, coming out as trans, and founding TransFolk of WA. Robin’s Story Robin talks about her experiences coming out, transitioning and working with the transgender community! Lex’s Story Lex talks about being trans, the confines of the gender binary and their amazing artwork.

Transitioning on a Budget: a Trans Woman’s Experience

Once I realised the only way to ever be happy or at peace as a person was to transition, then my real battle began. For me, the steps I’ve had to take in order to transition hormonally and socially have been a huge burden on me financially. Trans people such as myself still face high levels of transphobia all over the world. This can lead to high unemployment rates and homelessness, as well as increased rates of mental health issues. In Australia, 25% of transgender people report current feelings of suicidal ideation compared with 2.7% of the general population. Up to 50% of trans people have actually attempted suicide at least once in their lives. To overcome all of this, and to then have the finances to comfortably transition, is an uncommon occurrence for transgender people. I was unemployed for a very long time in my twenties. This was probably due to a combination of lack of skill, lack of direction and bouts of depression I suffered on and off for many years, partly due …

Finding Hope in the Aftermath of the Trump Election

Since Trump was elected, I have not been in mourning, I have just been numb. I’ve cried, but even the terror and the sadness just doesn’t feel real. I just feel empty. Trigger Warning: sexual assault You can try to make this situation look better and claim that people supported Trump for various reasons that were not xenophobic, racist, homophobic, misogynist, but ultimately many people decided that he was the best candidate DESPITE these things which tells me that my existence as a queer womyn does not matter to them. It tells me that they disagree with my right to breathe and do not think that their actions and words cause me pain. And my mental defense is to just not feel. To be honest, I have not felt much since my sexual assault in September. It happened when I was black out drunk at a conference. I only vaguely remember vomiting in my hotel room, have no idea what happened before that except some memories from the hotel bar. I woke up naked the …