All posts tagged: QLIFE Australia

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, …

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 …