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| Out of the bars and into the streets: how Mardi Gras is returning to its roots | Out of the bars and into the streets: how Mardi Gras is returning to its roots |
| (1 day later) | |
| Evelyn Gray and Nancy Mills are mothers with different experiences of raising LGBTI children. They are proud to be marching in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday but each faces a different fight to achieve equality for Gray’s lesbian daughter and Mills’s transgender son. | Evelyn Gray and Nancy Mills are mothers with different experiences of raising LGBTI children. They are proud to be marching in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday but each faces a different fight to achieve equality for Gray’s lesbian daughter and Mills’s transgender son. |
| Gray has been married for 40 years and has two daughters. One is heterosexual and married, the other is a lesbian unable to marry because of Australia’s laws forbidding same-sex marriage. | Gray has been married for 40 years and has two daughters. One is heterosexual and married, the other is a lesbian unable to marry because of Australia’s laws forbidding same-sex marriage. |
| “My daughter has been excluded from the same right as her sister, purely on the basis of the fact she’s fallen in love with a woman rather than a man,” Gray says. | “My daughter has been excluded from the same right as her sister, purely on the basis of the fact she’s fallen in love with a woman rather than a man,” Gray says. |
| “We really loved my youngest daughter’s wedding. I’m marching because I want to be the mother of the bride again for my gay daughter’s wedding. | “We really loved my youngest daughter’s wedding. I’m marching because I want to be the mother of the bride again for my gay daughter’s wedding. |
| “This is my third Mardi Gras parade. I’ll be marching every year until they make it legal and one more time to celebrate when they do.” | “This is my third Mardi Gras parade. I’ll be marching every year until they make it legal and one more time to celebrate when they do.” |
| With that sort of certainty Gray will fit right in on the Australian marriage equality float she is marching with. Its slogan for the night? “We will win.” | With that sort of certainty Gray will fit right in on the Australian marriage equality float she is marching with. Its slogan for the night? “We will win.” |
| The Rainbow Labor’s float organiser, Kieran Fitzgerald, says it will push the idea that only Labor will deliver marriage equality, and will use the logo from Gough Whitlam’s “It’s time” 1972 federal election campaign to get the message across. | The Rainbow Labor’s float organiser, Kieran Fitzgerald, says it will push the idea that only Labor will deliver marriage equality, and will use the logo from Gough Whitlam’s “It’s time” 1972 federal election campaign to get the message across. |
| The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, will march with the float, making him the first federal leader of one of the two main parties to do so. He will be joined by Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese and other Labor MPs and candidates. | The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, will march with the float, making him the first federal leader of one of the two main parties to do so. He will be joined by Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese and other Labor MPs and candidates. |
| The annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade attracts 10,000 participants on an array of colourful floats. They march or dance down the main drag of Sydney’s gay district, Oxford Street, in the city’s inner east. Hundreds of thousands of people line the streets, many as colourfully dressed and exuberant as marchers, and others just hoping to soak up the excitement and spontaneity of the mass celebration of love and sexuality. | The annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade attracts 10,000 participants on an array of colourful floats. They march or dance down the main drag of Sydney’s gay district, Oxford Street, in the city’s inner east. Hundreds of thousands of people line the streets, many as colourfully dressed and exuberant as marchers, and others just hoping to soak up the excitement and spontaneity of the mass celebration of love and sexuality. |
| Fitzgerald says Shorten marching is hugely significant because it is a concrete way to support the LGBTI community. | Fitzgerald says Shorten marching is hugely significant because it is a concrete way to support the LGBTI community. |
| “It’s easy to think these issues are largely resolved, and marriage equality is the final frontier, but it’s not really,” he says. “We can see with the review of the Safe Schools program at the behest of Cory Bernardi that the political consensus on LGBTI issues is quite fragile.” | “It’s easy to think these issues are largely resolved, and marriage equality is the final frontier, but it’s not really,” he says. “We can see with the review of the Safe Schools program at the behest of Cory Bernardi that the political consensus on LGBTI issues is quite fragile.” |
| Although marriage equality may be the highest profile campaign at the moment, LGBTI causes championed at Mardi Gras extend further. | Although marriage equality may be the highest profile campaign at the moment, LGBTI causes championed at Mardi Gras extend further. |
| The Greens and Amnesty International Australia will both focus on trans and intersex rights in this year’s Mardi Gras. | The Greens and Amnesty International Australia will both focus on trans and intersex rights in this year’s Mardi Gras. |
| In New South Wales a transgender person must undergo gender transition surgery, not just hormone treatment, to change gender on their birth certificate. | In New South Wales a transgender person must undergo gender transition surgery, not just hormone treatment, to change gender on their birth certificate. |
| For a married transgender person, divorce is required to formalise the gender transition. Transgender children under the age of 18 must apply to the family court to begin hormone treatment. | For a married transgender person, divorce is required to formalise the gender transition. Transgender children under the age of 18 must apply to the family court to begin hormone treatment. |
| And that’s where Nancy Mills comes in. She describes herself as a “retired solicitor and proud parent of a transgender child”, and will march for the first time on the Amnesty float to call for reform of these requirements. | And that’s where Nancy Mills comes in. She describes herself as a “retired solicitor and proud parent of a transgender child”, and will march for the first time on the Amnesty float to call for reform of these requirements. |
| Related: How the beatings and humiliations of the 1978 Sydney Mardi Gras made reform inescapable | Related: How the beatings and humiliations of the 1978 Sydney Mardi Gras made reform inescapable |
| This time last year Mills’s child, Skylar, came out as transgender when he was 17 and halfway through year 12. Mills went to the family court, which found Skylar could consent to undergo hormone treatment and to transition to male. | This time last year Mills’s child, Skylar, came out as transgender when he was 17 and halfway through year 12. Mills went to the family court, which found Skylar could consent to undergo hormone treatment and to transition to male. |
| Skylar is now “calm and happy in his own skin and he’s doing really well”, Mills says. But the family court process caused a four-month delay in commencing treatment. “I can understand why he was upset by that, but by the same token it’s turned out well,” she says. | Skylar is now “calm and happy in his own skin and he’s doing really well”, Mills says. But the family court process caused a four-month delay in commencing treatment. “I can understand why he was upset by that, but by the same token it’s turned out well,” she says. |
| The next battle for Mills is to overturn the requirement for surgery before Skylar can change his birth certificate. | The next battle for Mills is to overturn the requirement for surgery before Skylar can change his birth certificate. |
| NSW Greens sexuality and gender identity spokeswoman, Jenny Leong,says these law reforms were important because “everyone within the LGBTIQ community would agree that actually trans and intersex communities are facing the most overt and most problematic forms of discrimination”. | NSW Greens sexuality and gender identity spokeswoman, Jenny Leong,says these law reforms were important because “everyone within the LGBTIQ community would agree that actually trans and intersex communities are facing the most overt and most problematic forms of discrimination”. |
| The theme of the Greens’ float is “Transcend bigotry – transform our communities”. | |
| Leong will be joined on the float by the Greens federal gender identity spokeswoman, senator Janet Rice, with Rice’s partner, Penny Whetton, who has been through a gender transition. | Leong will be joined on the float by the Greens federal gender identity spokeswoman, senator Janet Rice, with Rice’s partner, Penny Whetton, who has been through a gender transition. |
| Leong says: “The idea is recognising that law reform is about how we remove the stigma and empower those in trans community to make decisions about their own lives. | Leong says: “The idea is recognising that law reform is about how we remove the stigma and empower those in trans community to make decisions about their own lives. |
| “One of the problems that we have is when the law allows certain forms of discrimination and inequality in how people are treated then that almost justifies and excuses the types of discrimination you see in the community against trans people.” | “One of the problems that we have is when the law allows certain forms of discrimination and inequality in how people are treated then that almost justifies and excuses the types of discrimination you see in the community against trans people.” |
| Caitlin Hall, a counsellor, is the head of the Mardi Gras’s transgender working group and a member of the advisory committee of a transgender advocacy group, the Carmen Rupe memorial trust. | Caitlin Hall, a counsellor, is the head of the Mardi Gras’s transgender working group and a member of the advisory committee of a transgender advocacy group, the Carmen Rupe memorial trust. |
| Hall says Mardi Gras has funded and organised a full program of trans rights events, including an IQ2 debate on recognition of trans people’s gender identities on Thursday, and a panel of “gender trailblazers” discussing religious and feminist challenges to trans identity on Friday. | Hall says Mardi Gras has funded and organised a full program of trans rights events, including an IQ2 debate on recognition of trans people’s gender identities on Thursday, and a panel of “gender trailblazers” discussing religious and feminist challenges to trans identity on Friday. |
| Hall says there is a growing recognition of transgender rights “but it’s a two-sided coin. As awareness increases it exposes some negative views, and there’s often a lashing out by some members of the community at trans people.” | Hall says there is a growing recognition of transgender rights “but it’s a two-sided coin. As awareness increases it exposes some negative views, and there’s often a lashing out by some members of the community at trans people.” |
| We were also seen as dangerous by our fellow gay people | We were also seen as dangerous by our fellow gay people |
| She cites vilification of the writer and soldier Cate McGregor by some commentators and bloggers. “It’s very damaging to the broader trans community, because they have very few role models, to see people raising awareness be attacked,” she says. “It leads into the ongoing trauma of trans people.” | She cites vilification of the writer and soldier Cate McGregor by some commentators and bloggers. “It’s very damaging to the broader trans community, because they have very few role models, to see people raising awareness be attacked,” she says. “It leads into the ongoing trauma of trans people.” |
| But Hall says Australian society on the whole was “headed in a very positive direction” on trans rights, pointing to McGregor’s nomination for Australian of the year, Caitlyn Jenner, and greater recognition in films and TV as evidence of improved visibility of the trans community. | But Hall says Australian society on the whole was “headed in a very positive direction” on trans rights, pointing to McGregor’s nomination for Australian of the year, Caitlyn Jenner, and greater recognition in films and TV as evidence of improved visibility of the trans community. |
| Listening to a group of the first Mardi Gras participants, the 78ers, at a panel event on 18 February, it was striking that most were involved because of their networks and activism for other progressive social causes, including anti-apartheid, women’s liberation and anti-Vietnam demonstrations. | Listening to a group of the first Mardi Gras participants, the 78ers, at a panel event on 18 February, it was striking that most were involved because of their networks and activism for other progressive social causes, including anti-apartheid, women’s liberation and anti-Vietnam demonstrations. |
| The 78ers recount marching from Taylor Square up Oxford Street, urging patrons of bars catering to LGBTI clientele to come “out of the bars and into the streets”. | The 78ers recount marching from Taylor Square up Oxford Street, urging patrons of bars catering to LGBTI clientele to come “out of the bars and into the streets”. |
| The process was not easy. Mark Gillespie recalls some patrons of bars, including gay people, hurling abuse from the balconies. | The process was not easy. Mark Gillespie recalls some patrons of bars, including gay people, hurling abuse from the balconies. |
| “Just try to understand how difficult it was for people who were closeted,” he says. “They went into a bar at Oxford Street, but went in surreptitiously, and actually resented people like us trying to take them out of their comfort zone because basically you could survive in this terrible homophobic society by passing as straight. | “Just try to understand how difficult it was for people who were closeted,” he says. “They went into a bar at Oxford Street, but went in surreptitiously, and actually resented people like us trying to take them out of their comfort zone because basically you could survive in this terrible homophobic society by passing as straight. |
| “We were seen as dangerous [but] not just by mainstream society. We were also seen as dangerous by our fellow gay people.” | “We were seen as dangerous [but] not just by mainstream society. We were also seen as dangerous by our fellow gay people.” |
| Sandi Banks, a 78er, recalls that the demonstration descended into an “absolute riot, with violence extraordinaire”, including police beating protesters, people fighting back and metal garbage cans flying through the air. | Sandi Banks, a 78er, recalls that the demonstration descended into an “absolute riot, with violence extraordinaire”, including police beating protesters, people fighting back and metal garbage cans flying through the air. |
| Of the more than 2,000 protesters, 53 were arrested. The next day their names, addresses and occupations were published in the Sydney Morning Herald. Many lost their jobs. Last week, after 38 years of trying, the 78ers got an apology from the NSW parliament and from the Sydney Morning Herald. | Of the more than 2,000 protesters, 53 were arrested. The next day their names, addresses and occupations were published in the Sydney Morning Herald. Many lost their jobs. Last week, after 38 years of trying, the 78ers got an apology from the NSW parliament and from the Sydney Morning Herald. |
| The 78ers have a complex relationship with the Mardi Gras now. Ken Davis complains broader participation in the parade can detract from more hard-hitting floats confronting issues such as the environment, racism, sexism or LGBTI oppression. | The 78ers have a complex relationship with the Mardi Gras now. Ken Davis complains broader participation in the parade can detract from more hard-hitting floats confronting issues such as the environment, racism, sexism or LGBTI oppression. |
| “We’ve got a lot to say about mainstream issues,” he says. “We need to say it in a satirical and hard-hitting way – we can really confront power with our talents. The community can do that, but that’s blunted when you’ve got every government department there, and got bloody Ikea and the banks. What’s the message from Ikea and Stolichnaya vodka?” | “We’ve got a lot to say about mainstream issues,” he says. “We need to say it in a satirical and hard-hitting way – we can really confront power with our talents. The community can do that, but that’s blunted when you’ve got every government department there, and got bloody Ikea and the banks. What’s the message from Ikea and Stolichnaya vodka?” |
| Mardi Gras board co-chair Fran Bowron told Guardian Australia that hundreds of thousands of people want to watch and participate in the parade to express both political and celebratory messages. | Mardi Gras board co-chair Fran Bowron told Guardian Australia that hundreds of thousands of people want to watch and participate in the parade to express both political and celebratory messages. |
| “This is in turn reinforced by the increasing support from corporate Australia that join our community both in celebration and to highlight disparities and inequities with LGBTQI rights,” Bowron said. | “This is in turn reinforced by the increasing support from corporate Australia that join our community both in celebration and to highlight disparities and inequities with LGBTQI rights,” Bowron said. |
| Banks (Sandi, that is) participated in only one Mardi Gras after 1978. “I didn’t like the way it had gone,” she says. “It had moved away from being any sort of political statement into what I saw as pure commercialism.” | Banks (Sandi, that is) participated in only one Mardi Gras after 1978. “I didn’t like the way it had gone,” she says. “It had moved away from being any sort of political statement into what I saw as pure commercialism.” |
| Gay marriage would be great, but there are people being killed in other countries due to their sexuality | Gay marriage would be great, but there are people being killed in other countries due to their sexuality |
| But this year she’s coming back to ride in the 78ers big red bus near the front of the parade. “I’ve decided I’m going to have a fun time,” she says. “I’m going to enjoy being at Mardi Gras and going on that red bus because I can’t walk the distance.” | But this year she’s coming back to ride in the 78ers big red bus near the front of the parade. “I’ve decided I’m going to have a fun time,” she says. “I’m going to enjoy being at Mardi Gras and going on that red bus because I can’t walk the distance.” |
| Gary Schliemann, another 78er, says there is a lot of dross in the Mardi Gras parade but a lot of good floats shine through, such as No Pride in Detention. | Gary Schliemann, another 78er, says there is a lot of dross in the Mardi Gras parade but a lot of good floats shine through, such as No Pride in Detention. |
| No Pride in Detention’s float organiser, Leila Barreto, says the group wants to raise awareness of the plight of LGBTI people in countries where homosexual acts are illegal. | No Pride in Detention’s float organiser, Leila Barreto, says the group wants to raise awareness of the plight of LGBTI people in countries where homosexual acts are illegal. |
| “If they seek asylum on that basis, they’ve been told to conceal their identity and go back, risking persecution and death,” Barreto says. “Gay marriage would be great, but there are people being killed in other countries due to their sexuality. | “If they seek asylum on that basis, they’ve been told to conceal their identity and go back, risking persecution and death,” Barreto says. “Gay marriage would be great, but there are people being killed in other countries due to their sexuality. |
| “Our message is [LGBTI rights are] not just about western freedoms but being killed for sexuality and gender identity.” | “Our message is [LGBTI rights are] not just about western freedoms but being killed for sexuality and gender identity.” |
| The list of causes represented at the parade goes on. The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby will not march this year. Instead, it will collect signatures in the marshalling area from the 10,000 participants to protest against religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws. | The list of causes represented at the parade goes on. The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby will not march this year. Instead, it will collect signatures in the marshalling area from the 10,000 participants to protest against religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws. |
| Private and religious schools, hospitals and aged-care facilities are exempt from the state’s anti-discrimination law which means LGBTI employees can suffer discrimination. | Private and religious schools, hospitals and aged-care facilities are exempt from the state’s anti-discrimination law which means LGBTI employees can suffer discrimination. |
| While the 78ers on balance love the Mardi Gras parade, their feelings about marriage equality are mixed. Steve Warren thinks it is important because what they had always fought for was equal rights. “Marriage might be alien to our generation because we saw a lot go wrong in marriage,” he says. “But I feel we respect the right of people to choose to get married, which at the moment we can’t do, and that’s another wrong that needs to be righted.” | While the 78ers on balance love the Mardi Gras parade, their feelings about marriage equality are mixed. Steve Warren thinks it is important because what they had always fought for was equal rights. “Marriage might be alien to our generation because we saw a lot go wrong in marriage,” he says. “But I feel we respect the right of people to choose to get married, which at the moment we can’t do, and that’s another wrong that needs to be righted.” |
| But Gillespie is uneasy: “We were resisting authority for the right to be different ... to be not like everyone else, in a way. And so the contradiction here, the irony, is that we’re fighting to be the same.” | But Gillespie is uneasy: “We were resisting authority for the right to be different ... to be not like everyone else, in a way. And so the contradiction here, the irony, is that we’re fighting to be the same.” |
| Leong says Mardi Gras is an amazing celebration but “in the context of the apology to the 78ers, it’s important to remember it was founded as an action fighting against discrimination”. | Leong says Mardi Gras is an amazing celebration but “in the context of the apology to the 78ers, it’s important to remember it was founded as an action fighting against discrimination”. |
| “Being able to make sure that every year we are vigilant about pushing the agenda on areas we still need to do work on is an ongoing tribute to what the 78ers did all those years ago,” she says. | “Being able to make sure that every year we are vigilant about pushing the agenda on areas we still need to do work on is an ongoing tribute to what the 78ers did all those years ago,” she says. |
| “It’s incumbent on us to look where can we improve, where can we make more change to further equality.” | “It’s incumbent on us to look where can we improve, where can we make more change to further equality.” |
| Hall says the roles of Mardi Gras as a celebration and a chance to further political causes are not mutually exclusive. “It’s been a feature of Mardi Gras this year to return to its grass roots of taking social action and advocating for social justice,” she says. “It can still be a celebration as well – they work hand in hand. | Hall says the roles of Mardi Gras as a celebration and a chance to further political causes are not mutually exclusive. “It’s been a feature of Mardi Gras this year to return to its grass roots of taking social action and advocating for social justice,” she says. “It can still be a celebration as well – they work hand in hand. |
| “It’s heartbreaking as a counsellor to see so much isolation and loneliness in the community. Trans people have great difficulty stepping out. Mardi Gras sends a message you can come out and join in.” | “It’s heartbreaking as a counsellor to see so much isolation and loneliness in the community. Trans people have great difficulty stepping out. Mardi Gras sends a message you can come out and join in.” |
| Thirty-eight years later and the message for Saturday’s parade is unchanged: out of the bars and into the streets. | Thirty-eight years later and the message for Saturday’s parade is unchanged: out of the bars and into the streets. |