Category: Opinion

Michael Stevens reflects on the ever-changing face of Pride in Aotearoa and longs to be able to gather again. Happy Pride! Even though it is muted this year thanks to the pandemic. Instead of physically being in the same space we’re invited to be together online, and what choice did the organisers have? It must […]

Judy Virago feels proud as she highlights the important work of her trans whanau all over Aotearoa. Most LGBTQIA+ folk born this side of 2000 grew up being told that “It Gets Better”. I’m a firm believer that even when things don’t get better, we get better at responding to difficulties. Pride was born from […]

Judy Virago is ready to celebrate the Classic Kiwi Summer but that wasn’t always the case. She recalls hiding and hurting herself to fit into mainstream beauty standards before finding her place in the sun. Summer hasn’t always been my favourite season.  I had severe eczema as a child; the heatwaves and high pollen counts […]

Former NZAF Chair Michael Stevens asks why the organisation that used to be at the centre of our community has now sidelined itself to an online presence that has failed to effectively market PrEP. As World AIDS Day approached, I couldn’t help but wonder… Why haven’t I noticed much from the NZ AIDS Foundation lately? […]

Dick Richards theorises how the values we put on looks, wealth and other attributes, affect our power dynamics when dating and hooking up. When it comes to assigning roles, no one knows more about that than us gays. We’ve got our bottoms, our tops, our twinks, our daddies, our bears… you get the idea. If […]

As LGBT+ specific retirement communities open in London and New York, Michael Stevens says New Zealand needs the same and implores our rainbow MPs, activists and Pride groups to help make this happen. We rightly spend a lot of time and energy worrying about our queer youth, but we need to think about our rainbow […]

Dating these days is a challenge for people regardless of gender or sexuality, but dating while trans comes with a specific challenge – disclosure. Judy Virago discusses, at what point do you tell someone you’re trans? When does anatomy become relevant to a conversation? Do you need to disclose if you don’t want to have […]

Ahead of their talk at the NZ Young Writer’s Festival (28 – 31 October, Dunedin) Hana Pera Aoake (they/them) discusses gender from a Māori perspective. As Maaori we oscillate constantly between worlds: matauranga Maaori and matauranga Paakehaa. I was once told that it’s not a burden but a gift: a way of being able to […]