You weren’t allowed to be gay at my high school, but of course that never stopped anyone – my best friend included. We’d known each other for five years, been out of school for one, when she came out to me. It wasn’t anything major on my end, she was my friend and her sexuality…
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‘Ladies and gentlemen, and those who are yet to make up their minds…’ Would you be surprised if I told you that this was a pre-game announcement at the football? Last weekend, the inaugural Pride Game took place between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans, a game that aimed to celebrate diversity, as well as…
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*TW: Discussion of domestic violence* Domestic violence is a horrific epidemic. One in three women experience a form of domestic violence from the age of 15, and almost two Australian women are killed by partner abuse each week. Persistent gender inequalities continue to run rampant in our society. This can be seen in double-fold: the…
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Written, directed and starring Desiree Akhavan, Appropriate Behaviour (2014) is her debut feature film. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, it didn’t take long for her name to become one of wide acclaim, with the New York Times commending the screenplay as ‘packed with smart remarks [and] clever and unpredictable turns of phrase that…
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A few years ago I went rummaging on Amazon to find something that doesn’t cross most peoples’ minds. I purchased a book called The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability. I bought this book so I could flip through the pages and hopefully recognise a little bit of myself in them. Growing up with a…
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Today Yarra Glen Football and Netball Club will host the second annual Pride Cup – an event that recognises and celebrates the diversity and inclusion of members of the LGBTIQ* community in sport. The match is also marked by International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), an annual initiative seeking to educate people on the…
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Pregnant asylum seekers have difficulty accessing medical assistance on Nauru, Senate inquiry told Pregnant asylum seekers detained on Nauru are unable to walk long distances across the island to gain medical treatment, a Senate Inquiry into the Nauru processing centre’s conditions and circumstances has been told. Non-governmental organisation, Save the Children brought forth the…
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Trigger warning: slurs, abuse, suicide A few mornings ago, I hopped on Twitter to find a big screenshot of Brisbane’s The Courier-Mail, its front page salaciously covered with a woman in a bikini and the headline: “Monster Chef and the She Male”. I know I joke with friends that Queensland’s a little behind in…
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Trigger Warnings: murder, transphobia, transmisogyny, transmisogynistic slurs, cannibalism, sex-worker-phobia, sex-worker-phobic slurs This week, major news outlets discovered that Mayang Prasetyo, a transgender woman of colour, was murdered and in the process of being cooked and eaten by her husband, Marcus Volke. Media outlets have been quick to report that Ms Prasetyo was a “transgendered…
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Join Sarah Iuliano for Lip’s new fortnightly column ‘Back to Ba(Sex)‘ for all things, sex, sexuality, sexual health, and more! Sex education is one of the most important lessons in life. Unfortunately, for some of us it is a cringe-worthy experience in school (and for many, our first and last point of contact on the birds…
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On the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), it is fantastic to see the LGBTQIA community and so many of its allies come out in support of this amazing cause and to help show that the world is becoming more accepting of sexual and gender minorities. It is also a day to remember that…
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You may be one of my friends or family or I may have never met you but I’ve been thinking, and there’s not many other ways I can word how I feel about you. Whenever I see you, or hear of something great you did, I feel an exciting, refreshed feeling. There’s a weight lifted…
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Laverne Cox came prominently into the public eye as Sophia Burset on Orange is the New Black, prisoner, hair stylist, and transsexual, and pretty soon a fan favourite. Cox herself is transgender and a vocal and active advocate for LGBTIQ rights. Just last month, GLAAD awarded her the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, one of their…
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India’s high court has ruled that its transgender community will be recognised as a third gender. India is home to a significantly large trans* community who have campaigned for their equal treatment and the end of discrimination. Because trans* people are not legally recognised in India, many have to resort to prostitution or beg for…
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