All posts tagged: gay

Review: Briefs Close Encounters

The iconic boylesque boys from Briefs have graced Perth Fringe stages for a number of years, each time gaining popularity and selling out shows. It’s long been a known fact to avid Fringe goers that you’ll never find a last minute ticket to a Briefs show. This is because a Briefs show always makes for an entertaining and unforgettable night out to say the least. This year, not only have the Briefs boys returned, but they have a whole new show; Briefs: Close Encounters. The show is of course filled with a mix of comedy, drag, circus and burlesque that fans have grown to love and expect. Lead by comedy favourite Fez Faanana, the new show follows the boys through fun, fantasy and sci-fi, as they return from the future to communicate what is to come. In doing so they remind the audience to celebrate one another rather than tear each other down, creating a close encounter in the process. Following recent political events that saw arguments for and against marriage equality in the spotlight, bigotry …

The Australian Marriage Equality Postal Survey: How You Can Get Involved in Changing History

Let’s face it, the marriage equality postal survey sucks. We didn’t want it, much of the Australian public didn’t want it – but we’re stuck with it. Now that the High Court has dashed any hope of getting rid of the postal survey, it’s time to unite to make sure we win a YES for marriage equality. Unlike a regular election, it isn’t compulsory and we know from past statistics on postal surveys that young people aged 18-24 are the least likely to respond to them. It’s up to everyone who is voting yes to make sure we can encourage as many people as possible to vote in favour of marriage equality, even in the face of adversity and lies from much of the ‘no’ side. Here are some tips on how to win the marriage equality postal survey: One-to-One conversations Social media is incredibly important, but the truth is one-to-one conversations with as many people as possible will be key in determining who will win this survey. This means volunteering and making calls with …

The Importance of Self-Compassion Leading Up to the Australian Marriage Equality Postal Vote

News around the upcoming postal vote on marriage equality in Australia has been very topical on TV, social media and in conversations with family and friends alike. The non-binding vote, which will be mailed out on September 12, will show the Australian government whether Australian people agree with LGBTIQ+ people having the right to marry in Australia. When the general population are given the opportunity to express their opinion/s about someone else’s basic human rights, it can change the direction of the conversation immensely. Currently, despite the very positive voices of love and support across Australia, negative and harmful opinions have been amplified. This can, and is, taking a toll on the mental health and well-being of many LGBTIQ+ people in Australia. Everyone will react to the marriage equality debate differently. For some, it might take a while for things to set in, and time to process that this might actually be happening. In these times, when people may be making a lot of homophobic, biphobic, transphobic or intersex exclusionary comments, it’s important to know …

TropOut 2017, Half-Naked Cooking & More: An Interview with MKR’s Jordan Bruno

Jordan Bruno Never stops! Thank goodness though, because he continues to do some amazing and exciting work. Since his time as a semi finalist on My Kitchen Rules with mum Anna, he’s released an e-cook book to raise awareness for LGBTI mental health, started a YouTube Channel, become an outspoken advocate for marriage equality in Australia and more recently, an ambassador for New Caledonia’s TropOut 2017. We had a chance to chat to Bruno about all of this and more! A lot has happened since your time on MKR! How has your life changed since your time on air? It has been a very busy 12 months! My life is almost unrecognisable from where it was pre-My Kitchen Rules. I now get recognised wherever I go, and I’ve also been lucky enough to land ambassador roles with a range of high-profile organisations including my personal favourite, TropOut 2017. You released your own digital cookbook late last year to benefit youth mental health, in particular, LGBTI youth. Can you tell us a bit about that project …

Interview: Jack Colwell Talks About “No Mercy” & Raising Funds For QLife

The rights of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia have been thrust into the spotlight over the past 12 months. From the debate on marriage equality and the plebiscite, to the vicious attacks on young people and their right to learn about diversity through Safe Schools, nowhere feels safe. However, dark periods like this tend to ignite a flame within LGBTIQ+ people to fighter harder for our rights than ever before. One of these people is Sydney musician Jack Colwell. He’s passionate about the rights and mental health of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia and has just released his single “No Mercy” to raise funds for Australia’s LGBTI  telephone and web chat counselling and referral service QLife. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your music? I grew up listening to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and a Peter Paul and Mary live-in-concert album, singing harmonies with my mother – which was very reminiscent of that painful scene from Nick Hornby’s ‘About a Boy’. Now I listen to Hole and perform most of my material on the piano, …

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 …

VIDEO: The Powerful New Ad Pushing for Marriage Equality in Australia

Australian Marriage Equality has just released an ad as part of the Equality Campaign. The campaign aims to achieve marriage equality together as a nation, through a free vote in parliament, not a plebiscite. The ad, shows families, couples, friends, young and old, from all corners of the country coming together to paint a rainbow Australia on a blank wall, writing things like ‘for my mums’, ‘for fairness’, ‘for commitment’ and ‘for love’ in the process. “The Equality Campaign is about building on the momentum and energy generated across the nation for marriage equality and continuing to campaign for a straightforward change to be achieved by a vote in the parliament,” co-chair of Australians for Equality, Anna Brown told Huffington Post. “This campaign is about putting the human face of the issue back in the centre of the discussion. It is based on the importance of human stories and the message to LGBTI people, their families and friends that collectively we can be the agent of change.” Many have already tweeted their support for the …

Movie Review – Deep Water: The Real Story

Deep Water: The Real Story is a documentary film about the gay hate crimes that plagued Sydney in the 1980s and 1990s. The hatred towards gay people and the incompetency of the NSW Police Force in this time is more than uncovered in what is an eye opening documentation of the high level of homophobia that existed in Sydney less than 30 years ago.   It’s not often that the suffering of LGBTI people takes the forefront of Australian media. However, this documentary and the crime series drama of the same name are currently making sure it does. For the first time ever, the unsolved deaths from 30 potential gay hate crimes (of 80 total, as well as thousands of assaults) are being re-examined and exposed, each in more detail than the NSW Police Force ever committed to. The NSW Police Force have admitted they may have made serious mistakes while re-examining these cases, though unfortunately never made an appearance in the documentary, not through lack of trying from the filmmakers. To set some context; …

The Gay Chef: MKR’s Jordan Bruno Releases FREE Cook Book for a Cause

Perth Man Jordan Bruno was a semi finalist with his mum Anna, in the Australian cooking show My Kitchen Rules earlier this year. Not one to take a break, and someone who’s always willing to help the LGBTIQ+ community, Bruno has just released his latest project; a free e-cook book dedicated to raising awareness for mental health issues of all young Australians. Donations for the e-cook book, The Gay Chef, can be made to two organisations in particular; Minus18 and Headspace. Minus18 is Australia’s largest youth led organisation for LGBTIQ+ people offering mental health support, social events and volunteering opportunities all while aiming for a homophobia and transphobia free Australia. Headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing early intervention mental health and well being support and counselling for all young Australians. The e-book itself is full of some amazing recipes, info about Bruno, his family and his relationship with food, and dedicated largely to queer youth to which Bruno says, “You are not alone”. “This book is extremely close to my heart as …

The World’s First App for Gender-Non Conforming & Queer People

The admirable thing about people in the queer community is the amount of hard work we are willing to go through to build connections and friendships with people of all types of diversity. To listen to the stories of others and understand or empathise with the hardships, celebrate the successes, and be there for each other. To create safe spaces where we don’t have to justify anything, or feel like the odd one out, but can simply just be ourselves. Enter GENDR, an app that encapsulates all of the above. Released on July 12, 2016, GENDR is the end product of an idea from two friends who realised there were no specific apps available to bring together the people, products and places that connect to the continuum of human sexuality and gender identity. With gender non-conforming and queer members from all over the world, the community chats, private messages and shares photos and stories on topics such as transition tips, makeup tutorials, gender neutral apparel, breaking news, health resources, travel and more. The app itself …