Category: Opinion
Elijah Luke Michel discusses the need for trans recognition, remembrance and role modelling in film and television as Transgender Day of Remembrance approaches (Wednesday 20 November). I find it fascinating that there’s only one day each year – for those who are aware of it – dedicated to remembering the lives lost by people in […]
As Americans head to the polls to pick the next President of the United States, YOUR ex takes a look at both candidates and how they compare regarding LGBTQ+ rights. It’s no surprise that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris take starkly different approaches to LGBTQ+ protections and policies. As a large […]
Eli Luke Michel ‘thinks of the children’ and discusses the medication subscribed to trans kids entering puberty. “Won’t somebody please think of the children?!” It’s a popular line in the animated sitcom The Simpsons whenever the town is thrown into chaos, but it’s also pertinent to the issue of transgender children having access to hormone blockers. It’s […]
Jessie Lewthwaite says ‘love languages’ are a straight man’s concept, so she has created some of her own! While out with friends, the topic of love languages came up. At my age, basically all my friends are couples, and hanging out together looks like three or four sets of couples crowded around a table at […]
Recent media coverage of a New Zealand Mpox outbreak reminds Michael Stevens of the stigma faced by HIV+ communities. This year’s Winter Pride saw an outbreak of Mpox (formerly known as Monkey Pox). There was a definite whiff of hysteria in how it was reported. And a number of gay men, especially older ones, feared […]
Craig Young examines Family First’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion campaign. Some weeks ago, I did an article on Family First’s highlighting of equal employment opportunities and segment advertising to LGBTQI+ communities, recognition of Te Ao Maori, climate change and other far-right thought crimes. My assessment was that the “Woke Up” website wouldn’t arouse particularly much […]
While Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey continues to delay the release of expert ministerial advice about the prescription of puberty blockers to trans children and adolescents, Craig Young looks at what information exists about current medical practice in this area. According to a recent New Zealand Medical Journal paper written by Charlotte Paul, Simon Tegg and Sarah Donovan (27 […]
Elijah Luke Michel discusses the differences in transitioning outcomes (whether self or other-imposed), the importance of bodily autonomy and the right to choose how far we go in living our authentic lives. One of the greatest moments of my life was in the hospital, looking down at my torso after top surgery. Decades of dysphoria […]