Category: Opinion
When I was 15, I sat inches from the TV in the family lounge room. The glow from the old CRT monitor lit my face up as I nervously turned the volume down even lower so it was barely audible, even from this distance. With many nervous glances around, I watched myself being represented in […]
Michael Stevens reflects on ageism in the Rainbow community and asks, ‘where is the support for older queers?’ Last month, the first retirement community specifically for LGBTQ+ seniors opened in London. There are a few in other big cities; Berlin has had one since 2008. I doubt we’ll ever see one here in Aotearoa; the […]
A gin-fuelled night out leaves Jessie Lewthwaite spotting signs that a girl might be queer. From body language to types of tattoos and placements of piercings, has she mastered the ‘Gaydar’? I am being a tourist and crawling straight bars with my straight guy friends. I’m very supportive of their lifestyles. I’m an ally. We […]
Rainbow Counsellor Elijah Michel returns to express to offer advice to those attending the peaceful protests in support of trans communities. For those attending the peaceful protests against the visiting anti-trans speaker in Auckland and Wellington this morning, a few words of wisdom and encouragement: Stay safe – there are talks of various groups of […]
Mentalist and magician Jeremy Rolston shares how his faith-based upbringing led him to ignore his sexual attraction to men, repress romantic possibilities and even say ‘no’ to marriage equality. I love being gay, I really do. It’s been an interesting and difficult journey to get here though. For my whole life I thought I was […]
As the dust settles on Pride Month, Michael Stevens investigates the parent company of Auckland Pride’s principal partner and believes they have teamed up with a bad cookie. In November 2022, Auckland Pride announced that Oreo had become a “principal partner” for the 2023 festival. Oreo is owned by Modelez International, a vast multi-national with […]
George Fowler is so in love with being queer he wants to shout it from the rooftops, but it wasn’t always like that. Here he shares his journey of becoming, truly, proud! I didn’t always think it was a good thing to be queer. In fact, I remember the exact moment the dread kicked in […]
Artist Sung Kwan Bobby Park presents two unique, yet intertwined exhibitions this Auckland Pride Festival. Here he shares his frustratingly complicated and contradictory journey of being othered by his intersectionality. When making work in an environment as an outsider, be it a queer individual in a heteronormative society, an Asian living in a Pākehā colonised […]