All posts tagged: queer

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

Published by thequeerav

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 …

Interview: All Trans Band Ryan Cassata & The Rhythm

Published by thequeerav

Ryan Cassata & The Rhythm formed in July of this year, the by-product of connections formed through college, social media and the Long Island music scene. With a rock sound, a passion for music and some studio singles in the works, I’m not surprised if you think this band sounds a lot like the many others out there. This however, is not the case.   The thing that sets this band apart are its members, Ryan (singer, acoustic guitarist, harmonica player) , Jordi (electric guitarist), Destroy (drummer) and Acadia (bass player). They are all amazing musicians, and they ALL identify on the trans spectrum. Trans visibility is continually increasing but still low, so to have an all trans band making some noise in the music scene is amazing, and up until this point more or less unheard of! Lead member Ryan Cassata is well known as many things; a singer-song writer, actor, YouTuber and LGBTQ activist. We had a chance to ask Ryan a few questions about the newly formed band, trans visibility and projects …

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

Published by thequeerav

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 …

13 Awesome YouTuber Coming Out Videos

Published by thequeerav

Today, October 11, is National Coming Out Day! YouTube is a place where I’m sure many of us have found ourselves at one time or another as we try to understand what it means to be LGBTIQ+ and what coming out might mean for our future. Because of this, we’ve put together a list of YouTuber coming out videos and stories for you to enjoy! 1. Ingrid Nilsen – Something I Want You To Know (Coming Out) 2. Danielle Brianne – I am Transgender 3. Connor Franta – Coming Out 4. Shane Dawson – I’m Bisexual 5. Kat Blaque – My Coming Out Story 6. HeyoDamo – Coming out as Asexual 7. Troye Sivan – Coming Out 8. Lane S – Coming Out to Your Parents as Nonbinary 9. Joey Graceffa – Yes I’m Gay 10. Hannah Hart – So. This is me. 11. AmandasChronicles – My Coming Out Story 12. Jazzberry Rose – Coming Out as Pansexual! 13. Mason Healy

R U OK? 12 Videos of LGBTI People Talking Mental Health & Suicide

Published by thequeerav

R U OK? is a question Gavin Larkin started asking in 2009 due to the loss of his father to suicide in 1995. His aim, to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and support anyone struggling with life. Now, R U OK Day is a widely popular day in the year where Australians are encouraged to communicate and check in with their loved ones with the overall aim of preventing suicide. Suicide is a particularly important issue for the LGBTI community given their higher rate of suicidality than any other population in Australia: LGBTI young people aged 16 to 27 are five times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population Transgender people aged 18 and over are nearly eleven times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population People with an Intersex variation aged 16 and over are nearly six times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population LGBT young people who experience abuse and harassment are even more likely to attempt suicide 16% of …

Review – The Queen of Ireland

Published by thequeerav

The Queen of Ireland is a documentary film about the life of Rory O’Neill, better known as Irish drag queen Panti Bliss. The film looks at everything from O’Neill’s life growing up gay in the small town of Ballinrobe, County Mayo, to living with HIV and his gay rights activism, particularly in the lead up to the historic marriage equality referendum in Ireland in 2015. The film is beautifully directed by Conor Horgan who, until this point, was most well known for directing the 2009 post-apocalyptic Irish drama One Hundred Mornings, the winner of many awards. After watching The Queen of Ireland though, I can’t help but feel he has reached new levels of artistic achievement, and that this film will go down as a classic in queer cinema. You see, he didn’t just lay out the facts of a story already written, he captured the honest, intelligent and quirky character that is Rory O’Neill/Panti Bliss. He showed us why Panti is a hero and an inspiration for LGBTI activists everywhere, even when, in fact …

Young People Tell us What Makes Them Proud on Wear It Purple Day

Published by thequeerav

Today is Wear It Purple Day! Wear It Purple Day is a day where people can wear purple to support young LGBTIQ+ people and their right to thrive, irrelevant of sex, sexuality or gender identity. To celebrate and commemorate the day, we asked young people what they are proud of. Here’s what they had to say! 1. Kirsty, 23   2. Jordan, 24 (My Kitchen Rules Contestant 2016)   3. Logan, 22   4. Chessca, 22   5. John, 21   6. Maggy, 15   7. Elle, 21   What are you proud of? Write in the comments section below!

10 Talented Queer Musicians You’ll Be Singing Along to in No Time

Published by thequeerav

I’m always excited about listening to music, especially from talented queer artists! And so, I’ve compiled a list of queer musicians who I listen to on the regular, and who I think everyone should be listening to right now. 1. Abbe May – This Western Australian musician’s genre is described as “electronica dance doom pop goth n ‘be sexrockita dirty hip hop beats and vitriol” which, if you listen to any of her songs, you’ll totally understand why! You may have heard her cover of “Pony” on Triple J’s Like A Version Nine a few years ago. The cover is amazing though doesn’t even begin to show just how talented she really is. Check out her song “Are We Flirting” below, from her upcoming 5th LP Bitchcraft. Also be sure to check out the photos we took of Abbe May at the Queers on the Lawn event she performed at last year! To hear May talk about her sexuality, read Out In Perth’s article Abbe May Has Something to Say.   2. Ryan Cassata – He’s …

Meet Eli Erlick: A Trans Youth Activist Who Stars in Tegan and Sara’s New Music Video “Faint of Heart”

Published by thequeerav

Tegan and Sara released the music video for their song “Faint of Heart” last month. The song, from their 2016 album Love You To Death, is an 80’s inspired pop anthem about listening to your heart and not worrying what other people think. The music video, starring a group of young and inspiring LGBTQ people dressed as iconic figures in music history, is a beautiful hit of nostalgia, self-love and diversity. One of those young and inspiring people is Eli Erlick. Erlick is a queer transgender youth activist, writer and public speaker. She is also the Co-Founder and Director of Trans Student Educational Resources and has an uncanny resemblance to the Quin sisters themselves. We had the opportunity to talk to Erlick about the trans activism work she does, working with Tegan and Sara, and what it’s like to be the long lost Quin sibling. How did you get involved in the filming of the new Tegan and Sara video – Faint of Heart? It all started with a shirt. A friend commented that the …

6 Queer Athletes Who are Totally Winning (Medals) at Rio 2016

Published by thequeerav

So it turns out the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics holds a record number of publicly out LGBTI athletes,  approximately 50, depending on which publication you read. There’s no doubt this number will continue to grow in coming Olympic Games as the stigma of being LGBTI in sports and in life generally continues to decrease. In honour of this record number, we’ve decided to compile a list of all the queer athletes who are winning medals at Rio 2016, so far anyway! We’re sure there’s more to come! 1. Rafaela Silva (Brazil) – She defeated Mongolian Sumiya Dorjsuren to win gold in the judo 57kg weight division. 2. Carl Hester (Great Britain) – Won a silver medal in equestrian team dressage alongside Fiona Bigwood, Charlotte Dujardin and fellow out athlete Spencer Wilton. Germany won gold while the USA took bronze. 3. Spencer Wilton (Great Britain) – Won a silver medal in equestrian team dressage alongside Fiona Bigwood, Charlotte Dujardin and fellow out athlete Carl Hester. Germany won gold while the USA took bronze. 4. Rachele Bruni (Italy) – Won silver in …