Teresa shares her story, spanning decades, of life, love, family and climbing the ladder in a male dominated industry. Teresa Avila is cofounder of the Red Rattler Theatre and was founding chair and treasurer for 10 years before stepping down last year. She has worked in engineering and heavy construction for over 20 years and is one of the ind ...…

Yen tells a story of moving to Canberra as a bright eyed undergraduate, seeking love, identity and shoes. Yen Eriksen is an advocate, writer and digital storyteller based in Canberra, interested in exploring the intersections between identity, race, gender and queerness. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden ...…

Kate shares a story about having a very gay year in 2009 - living in queer share houses, discovering mooncups and enjoying lesbian blogs. Kate Duffy is a community lawyer and educator. She established the Safe Relationships Project a domestic violence court assistance scheme for the LGBTIQ community whilst working at the Inner City Legal Centre ...…

Jonny reflects on his history, on family, and on how he grew up to be exactly who he is. Jonny Hawkins is an actor, writer and big time DJ. He was the recipient of the 2016 Sydney Theatre Critic’s Best Newcomer Award and you may have seen him in the TV Mini series PETER ALLEN: NOT THE BOY NEXT DOOR or the ABC film RIOT. In 2017 he made a short ...…

For years, Maeve and DeAnne have planned to host an event called Super Lesbo FunTime. This story has nothing to do with that, I am just trying to manifest the event by including it in this description. Enjoy! DeAnne Smith, a Canadian Comedy Award winner, has performed at Just for Laughs, JFL42, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Melbourne Internatio ...…

From Ani DiFranco to the Spice Girls, via Sophie B. Hawkins and Gia, Jess McGuire celebrates the inexplicable magnificence that is your QUEERFORCE. Jess McGuire is a DJ, writer, broadcaster, MC, and trivia host based in Melbourne. She appears regularly on ABC Local Radio and Double J as a reviewer and cultural commentator, and for many years sh ...…

An excerpt from a piece written for Archer Magazine, Julian Dahne Molony shares their journey to wholly embodying their gender. Julian Dahne Molony is an interdisciplinary artist who works with painting, video, performance and fibre art. They also operate an Artist Run Initiative named ‘Intersect Space’ based in Marrickville. This piece is adap ...…

A collection of tales from Ro's journey to becoming the Victorian Commissioner for Gender and Sexuality. Ro Allen is the Victorian Commissioner for Gender and Sexuality, has been a member of three Victorian Government LGBTI ministerial advisory groups. As founding CEO of UnitingCare Cutting Edge, Ro established Victoria’s first rural support gr ...…

Tilly Lawless describes four momentous bookings that either taught her something about herself or allowed her to process the personal through the professional. Tilly Lawless is a queer, Sydney-based sex worker who uses her Instagram to analyse her relationships, romances and motivations. Growing up in rural NSW her writing is often a bucolic lo ...…

Four scenes from a journey to parenthood: the terrors, tensions and tenderness of falling into parenthood from the margins. Gala Vanting works to create nuanced, compassionate, justice driven dialogue about sexual culture, sex education, gender and power, and access to embodiment and wellbeing for our gendered and sexual selves. They have spent ...…

Susie explores the ways that Aboriginal people, especially women, continue to be Othered by white-colonial ways of seeing. Susie Anderson is a Koori writer from western Victoria who lives and works in Sydney. Her writing typically focuses on erasure of Indigenous narratives throughout Victoria and Australia, and attempts to reconnect within thi ...…

How going into battle in live action role-play battle unlocked Scout's hidden gender quest. Scout Boxall is a non-binary comedian, clown and low-fi misandrist based in Naarm (Melbourne). After bursting onto the comedy scene in 2018 and making it to the Raw Comedy National Finals, they trained at the Philippe Gaulier clown school and performed i ...…

Declan shares an un-inspirational coming of age story. Declan Greene is an award winning theatre-maker and Resident Artist at Malthouse Theatre. As a playwright, his work includes Moth, Pompeii, L.A., Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, I Am a Miracle, and The Homosexuals, or ‘Faggots’, which have been produced across Australia, Europe, th ...…

Dibs speaks about unexpected challenges they encountered after starting hormone replacement therapy. Dibs Barisic Sprem is an energetic and avid queer rights enthusiast who identifies as non binary. Since their early teens Dibs has advocated solidly for the sex and gender diverse community. They have volunteered for LGBTIQA not for profits Wear ...…

Brandon reflects on his changing relationship with his father - influenced by webcams, men in uniform and bad jokes about Les Mis. Brandon Bear was born in Penang, Malaysia but moved to Western Sydney as a nine-month-old baby. After growing up and spreading his wings he began a career working with marginalised community members including managi ...…

Charles O'Grady broke his ankle doing something very masculine. Charles O’Grady is a queer transgender theatremaker, poet, and journalist, who lives between Sydney and Melbourne. As a playwright he has written multiple works focused on intersectional queer and trans storytelling, including Kaleidoscope, Telescope, and Are We Awake? He has worke ...…

A coming-of-age story about struggling with frizzy hair and a frenemy. Raveena Grover is a multidisciplinary creative who has written for Sweatshop Western Sydney, UTS Vertigo and Hijacked. She has also performed poetry with Bankstown Poetry Slam and Between Two Worlds. She is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of how South Asian culture and q ...…

A reflection on growing older and the perils of dating - when you've tried chicken pecking and playing dead is it time to just give up? Laura Hart has been performing for over ten years, focusing on improvisation, comedy & drag. She performs regularly around Sydney, and has trained at Impro Australia, Improv Theatre Sydney & UCB. She has worked ...…

A story of ongoing connection to Country of Indigenous LGBTIQ peoples through the eyes of a terrible fisherman. Steven Ross is Wamba Wamba man from Deniliquin in southern NSW and has cultural and familial connections to the Wiradjuri, Mutthi Mutthi and Gunditjmara peoples. Throughout his life, Steven has been a dancer, singer, actor and storyte ...…

Krishna is trying their hand at stand up comedy. At Queerstories, they performed an excerpt from their first hour long comedy show, Beast. Krishna Istha is a performer, live artist and theatre maker. They have performed across the UK, Australia, USA and Germany. Currently, they are working on their new show 'Beast', an Arts House (Melbourne) co ...…

Nath meets one of his heroes. Nath Valvo tours Australia and the world as a comedian, and has an impressive list of TV appearances under his belt having hosted ABC’s Comedy Up Late and recorded an hour long stand up special as part of ABC’s Comedy Next Gen. He’s also been on The Project, Dirty Laundry Live and Just For Laughs Sydney. Queerstori ...…

Tropical island getaways are not for the faint hearted, and travelling alone can awaken some of the ugliest spiritual epiphanies, as Bobuq learnt on an Eat, Pray, Love inspired trip to Hawaii at the age of 20. Bobuq Sayed is a writer, multi-disciplinary artist, queer youth worker and community organiser of the Afghan diaspora. They have co-edit ...…

When nothing is black and white, but actually a whole lot of grey and the world is turned upside down from one sentence. A family secret is revealed, changing everything. Rachael Oak Butler was born and raised in Albury/Wodonga and has worn many professional hats in her time, such as Professional musician, working in shearing sheds, becoming a ...…

Peter reflects on his decades of activism. Peter de Waal is a foundation member of CAMP Inc (Campaign Against Moral Persecution) known for his 1972 appearance on the national ABC National TV program Chequerboard, with his late partner Peter Bonsall-Boone. His decades of activism encompass gay rights, the establishment of Phone-A-Friend, the pre ...…

On living through Thatcher, creating family meaning, and pushing to create Safe Schools. Roz Ward co-founded and directed Safe Schools Coalition Victoria. She sustained ongoing personal attacks through the public debates about Safe Schools and as a result became one of the most well known Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programme ...…

Writer and poet Ellen van Neerven reflects on team sport friendships, new cities and personal geographies. Ellen van Neerven is a writer of Mununjali Yugambeh and Dutch heritage. Her first book, Heat and Light (UQP, 2014), was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Indigenous Wr ...…

Hayley Katzen shares a vivid and colourful account of her experience of moving to a remote cattle farm in Northern NSW to live with her farmer girlfriend, Jen. Hayley is a writer who lives on a small cattle farm west of Lismore. Her play ‘Pressure Point' was performed at the Byron Community Theatre and her short stories and essays have won awar ...…

Virginia Seymour, born rugged, queer, alcoholic, tells how niche skills acquired through survival of an average dysfunctional family of origin are embraced and repurposed as "Super Powers" to escape probable disaster in the outback. Virginia Seymour aka Virg and Fur Mir is an ecologist and is a well-known legend in the local area for her enviro ...…

Fiona McGregor reflects on a long held family tradition. Fiona McGregor is a Sydney novelist, essayist, art critic and performance artist. She has published five books including Strange Museums, a travel memoir of a performance art tour through Poland. Her latest novel Indelible Ink won Age Book of the Year. She writes for The Monthly, The Satu ...…

After turning 36, Miranda imparts a little advice she's learnt along the way. Miranda Sparks is a wearer of many hats. She is a writer, public speaker, superhero fetishist, and presenter on Joy FM’s radio show The Gender Agenda. In what spare time she has left, she expands the prose universe of her personal superhero Glimmer Girl. Queerstories ...…

A trip to the 'homeland' of Slovenia teaches Krissy Kneen a thing or two about how cultures, individual families and individuals deal with trauma in such very different ways. Krissy Kneen is an award-winning writer and a beloved member of the Australian literary community. She has written memoir, poetry and fiction, and her latest novel, An Unc ...…

Vanessa remembers a trip she took to Cairns more than 20 years ago. Dr. Vanessa Lee, from the Yupungathiand Meriam people, is a social epidemiologist, educator and public health/ health sciences researcher in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. Dr. Lee is a director for Suicide Prevention Australia and she chairs the Nat ...…

For the first time in Charles' very talkative life, he has nothing to say. Charles O’Grady is a queer transgender theatremaker, poet, and journalist. As a playwright he has written multiple works focused on intersectional queer and trans storytelling, including Kaleidoscope, Telescope, and Are We Awake? He has worked on productions with such ma ...…

Gay rugby, a missed flight and finding new confidence in performance. Simon Copland is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the Australian National University. He is a freelance writer who has been published in the Guardian, SBS Online Australia, BBC Online, and co-produces and presents the podcast Queers, not to be confused with the podcast you’re ...…

Ally shares a cautionary tale about the dangers of meeting up with a drug dealer. Ally Garrett has been writing and speaking on body politics and fat activism for the past decade, with her writing featured in The Guardian, Daily Life and ABC Life. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events in ...…

Ali reflects on being a shy kid and on his work as a photographer. Ali Choudhry is a collector of slashes. He is a gay / person of color / Asian / refugee / photographer / activist. And those are just the ones he can think of off the top of his head. Ali is a Brisbane photographer whose work explores the dichotomous aspects of identity: differe ...…

Eddie Ayres shares two stories from the 1960s to remind us how to be brave. Eddie Ayres learnt the viola as a child in England, studying in Berlin and London before eight years with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He presented a long-running and extremely popular breakfast radio program on ABC Classic FM, while teaching music privately and professi ...…

James looks back on the queer flavours of childhood in 1980s suburbia, and an early taste of the definitive bonds and disruptions of adulthood. James Beach works in theatre and has directed and produced several independent productions in Sydney since he graduated from NIDA in 2007. The list of credits is long so I won’t list it all – look him u ...…

Shaun sheds a spicy light on their experiences as a queer person of colour living so far away from home. Shaun D’Souza is a Brisbane based youth worker and LGBTIQ+ artivist, and a firm enthusiast of naps, books and tea. Their current projects include tackling transgender-homelessness in Brisbane and advocating for queer people of colour visibil ...…

Geraldine Hickey terrifies the listener with a slow burning tale about how she managed to manifest her own arachnophobia. Geraldine Hickey is revered in the industry as a comedian’s comedian and has been shortlisted for the ‘Piece of Wood’ award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival multiple times. A veteran of many seasons of The Melb ...…

Tara Suamba shares a story about her constant conflict between her queer and Balinese identities. Tara Suamba studies, practices and teaches law with a human rights focus. She enjoys time with her greyhound Sonny, taking down institutions from the inside and crosswords. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, ...…

Transgender singer Mama Alto recounts her experiences of traveling through the USA to attend an Aretha Franklin concert. Mama Alto is a gender transcendent diva, cabaret artiste, jazz singer and community activist. Her cabaret performances and collaborations have garnered critical praise at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Malthouse Theatre Compan ...…

Nayuka Gorrie has moved back to Melbourne. They share a little of their vulnerability and reflect on the strong black women who help them deal with it. Nayuka Gorrie is a Kurnai/Gunai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta freelance writer who has written for The Guardian, Junkee, Vice, SBS and others. They also write for TV, most notably for ...…

Crusader reflects on his relationship to sex and his body, on the punk scene and on his long relationship with partner (and business partner) Roland. Crusader Hillis is a writer, editor, curator and producer. He co-founded (with Rowland Thomson) the queer bookshop Hares & Hyenas in 1991. In its 23-year history, Hares & Hyenas has presented over ...…

Pola remembers her childhood in Tonga, and shares her often heartbreaking journey becoming the woman she is now. Epipola Taulafo is an an entertainer, singer, dancer, and a member of the LGBTIQ group in the Asylum Seeker Centre. She is currently studying business management, and is a former Miss Galaxy Queen 2008-09. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ ...…

Faced with the chance to change herself, Liz Duck-Chong had to ask herself if the act of changing would involve a bigger shift than expected. Liz Duck-Chong is a writer, sexual health advocate, filmmaker and transgender bon vivant who is a true renaissance figure in the sense that most of them were really gay. She can be found on Twitter at @li ...…

Chantell Martin reflects on her experiences of transition and some of the major emotional turning points in her life. Originally from New Zealand, Chantell Martin has worked predominantly in the community sector. She worked for ACON as their housing officer, then went onto work for the Gender Centre as a case worker and housing officer within t ...…

Wil shares stories about family and relationships, about how lives intersect messily but, in the end love helps us heal. Wil Roach is a writer of poetry, short stories and essays, and he has completed a memoir manuscript currently being edited for publication later this year. As a performance poet and creative producer, he has had work performe ...…

Groovii Biscuit recalls a series of queer life lessons learnt while living at the Twenty10 LGBTQI youth refuge in the late 80s. In the 90s, Groovii Biscuit contributed to many a queer gathering, Club Bent and the Alternative Mardi Gras parties to name a few. Groovii was one of the original trio that birthed Club Kooky and is committed to sprink ...…

Originally performed at Nailed It (another excellent Giant Dwarf event), Rebecca Shaw's thesis that the sky is gay is watertight, and bloody hilarious. Rebecca Shaw AKA brocklesnitch, is a writer and creator of the parody Twitter account @notofeminism, which was developed into an illustrated book with Affirm Press. She was on the writing team a ...…