Williams Institute Reading Room: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Law and Public Policy: Oceania (includes Australia & New Zealand)

In Making Gaybies Jaya Keaney explores queer family making as a site of racialized intimacy. Drawing on interviews with queer families in Australia, Keaney traces the lived experiences of choice and constraint as these families seek to craft likeness with their future children and tell stories of chosen family made through love. Queer family building often involves multiracial and multicultural encounters, as intending parents take part in the global fertility industry. Keaney follows queer family making through reproductive technologies and highlights the confines of varied transnational reproductive markets and policies as well as changing formations of race, gender, sexuality, and kinship. Whether sharing the story of white gay men choosing Indian and Thai egg donors to make their surrogate-born children's ethnicities visually distinct from their own or that of an Aboriginal lesbian and her white partner choosing a Cherokee donor from the United States to articulate a global Indigeneity, Keaney foregrounds the entwinement of reproduction, race, and affect. By focusing on queer family making, Keaney demonstrates how reproduction fosters a queer multiracial imaginary of kinship.
*Also available online (UC users only)

This book explores how to help teachers become better advocates for sexual orientation equality in secondary schools. Examining this issue through the lens of qualitative emancipatory action research, a group of Australian teachers embarked on a journey of teacher advocacy. Critical theory has long highlighted teachers as key players in either challenging dominant social narratives, or else perpetuating oppressive systems of power through traditional forms of education. Despite this important role, the life stories of teachers, which contributed to the development of their beliefs and behaviours about sexual orientation are rarely considered in the development of anti-discriminatory policy, designing the curriculum and most importantly, in teacher training. This book suggests and frames a model for advocacy, whereby teachers engage with their personal beliefs about sexual orientation, with their role as a teacher, and commit to advocacy through action by promoting student safety, challenging heteronormative narratives and role modelling compassionate behaviours in their school environments.

*Australia.
Fighting For Our Lives is the inspirational story of communities directly affected by the AIDS crisis. Against a harrowing backdrop of illness and death, fear and anger, hate and discrimination, they bravely took action. During the darkest years of the epidemic, marginalised communities--mostly gay men, sex workers, and people who inject drugs--came together to form organisations that gave them a voice in the corridors of power. They built an unprecedented alliance with politicians and medical experts, a three-way partnership that made Australia's response to AIDS one of the most successful in the world. Fighting For Our Lives captures the high-stakes drama of this extraordinary period and the stories of the people at the very centre of a life-or-death struggle. It is a gripping read, an important story, and one that must never be forgotten.

*Australia.
Gender and Sexuality Diversity in a Culture of Limitation provides an outstanding and insightful critique of the ways that contemporary education is impacted by a range of political, social and cultural influences that inform the approaches that schools take in relation to gender and sexuality diversity. By applying feminist poststructural and Foucauldian frameworks, the book examines the ongoing impact of broader socio-cultural discourse on the lives of gender and sexuality diverse students and teachers. Beginning with an overview of the impact of how a culture of limitation is realised in Australia, the focus moves beyond this context to examine state and federal policies from comparable societies in countries including the USA and the UK and their effect on the production of knowledges and what's permissible to include in educational curriculum. This research-driven book thus provides a comparative, international overview of the current state of gender and sexuality diversity in schools, and convincingly demonstrates that despite some empowerment of gender and sexuality diverse individuals, silencing and marginalization remain powerful forces. This book will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, academics, professionals, and policy makers interested in the field of gender and sexuality in education. It is essential reading for those involved in pre-service and in-service teacher education, diversity education, the sociology of education, as well as education more generally.

Compiled by celebrated author and journalist Benjamin Law, Growing Up Queer in Australia assembles voices from across the spectrum of LGBTIQA+ identity. Spanning diverse places, eras, ethnicities and experiences, these are the stories of growing up queer in Australia. For better or worse, sooner or later, life conspires to reveal you to yourself, and this is growing up. With contributions from David Marr, Fiona Wright, Nayuka Gorrie, Steve Dow, Holly Throsby, Sally Rugg, Tony Ayres, Nic Holas, Rebecca Shaw and many more.

[Australia]. Despite ongoing challenges to the criminalisation and surveillance of queer lives, police leaders are now promoted as allies and defenders of LGBT rights. However, in this book, Emma K. Russell argues that the surface inclusion of select LGBT identities in the protective aspirations of the law is deeply tenuous and conditional, and that police recognition is both premised upon and reproductive of an imaginary of' 'good queer citizens'--those who are respectable, responsible, and 'just like' their heterosexual counterparts. Based on original empirical research, Russell presents a detailed analysis of the political complexities, compromises, and investments that underpin LGBT efforts to achieve sexual rights and protections. With a historical trajectory that spans the so-called 'decriminalisation' era to the present day, she shows how LGBT activists have both resisted and embraced police incursions into queer space, and how--with LGBT support--police leaders have re-crafted histories of violence as stories of institutional progress. Queer Histories and the Politics of Policing advances broader understandings of the nature of police power and the shifting terrain of sexual citizenship. It will be of interest to students and researchers of criminology, sociology, and law engaged in studies of policing, social justice, and gender and sexuality.

This book takes the globally recognised phenomenon of drag king performances as an opportunity for critical inquiry into the rise and fall of an urban scene for lesbian and queer women in Sydney, Australia (circa 1999-2012). Exploring how a series of weekly events provided the site for intimate encounters, Drysdale reveals the investments made by participants that worked to sustain the sense of a small world and anchor the expansive imaginary of lesbian cultural life. But what happens when scenes fade, as they invariably do? Intimate Investments in Drag King Cultures is unique in capturing the perspective of a scene at the moment of its decline, revealing the process by which a contemporary movement becomes layered with historical significance. Bringing together the theoretical tradition of scene studies with recent work on the affective potentialities of the everyday and the mobile urban spaces they inhabit, this book has appeal to scholars working across gender, sexuality and culture.
*ebook (UC users only).

*At Young Research Library.
Trans Dilemmas presents the findings of a three-year research project which examined the lived experiences of trans people in Australia's Northern Territory. The book argues that whilst trans people, who live in remote areas, experience issues which may not be distinct from those living in urban areas and the inner-city, these issues can be aggravated by geographic and demographic factors. By conducting online surveys and in-depth interviews, Stephen Kerry brings to light the issues for transgender people which are compounded by living in sparsely populated, remote communities. Namely social isolation, maintaining relationships with friends, family and partners, and the difficulties accessing health care. The book also includes significant findings on the experiences and treatment of Australia's trans Aboriginal people, also known as sistergirls and brotherboys. An analysis of first-person narratives by sistergirls and brotherboys reveals the racism within predominantly white trans communities and transphobia within traditional Aboriginal communities, which they are uniquely faced with. Trans Dilemmas represents an important contribution to contemporary research into the lives of transgender Australians. It gives a voice to those transgender people living in the more isolated communities in Australia, which up until now, have been largely unheard.

"I love this state-do not get me wrong. I love Queensland to bits. I don't want to live anywhere else in the world. But at that time we were four million years behind everything else, everyone else."--Lyn Fraser.
Since the end of the Joh Bjelke-Petersen State government, conditions for LGBTIQ identified Queenslanders have improved but remain a tenuous arrangement. As the struggle for rights continues, North of the Border uses documentary photography and first-person narratives to tell the intimate stories of eight lesbians who found themselves existing outside of the 'norm,' and how that experience informs how they identify as Queenslanders today. North of the Border explores the ways in which state politics and culture impacted negatively upon the lives of LGBTIQ women in Queensland. It gives voice to a group of marginalized women during a moment of renewed interest in sexual politics and identity, and systemic discrimination. This book is the culmination of Heather Faulkner's A Matter of Time project.

Drawing on in-depth interviews, Gay & Lesbian, Then & Now tells the intimate life stories of thirteen gay and lesbian Australians ranging in age from twenties to eighties. From the underground beats of 1950s Brisbane and illicit relationships in the armed services, to Grindr, foster parenting and weddings in the twenty-first century, Gay & Lesbian, Then & Now reveals the remarkable social shifts from one generation to the next. Where once gay and lesbian Australians were treated as criminals, sinners, or sick, today they are increasingly accepted as equal. The majority of Australians support same-sex marriage. This rapid transformation in attitudes has opened the way for lesbians and gays to 'become ordinary'--to experience freedoms that were once barely imaginable.

In a country known as one of the most queer-friendly nations in the world, most Australians support LGBTI rights, federal laws protect queer people from discrimination, transgender Australians are recognized legally as their preferred gender, and the renown of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival has reached across its borders. The eight visual narratives that make up award-winning Australian photographer Jenny Papalexandris's intimate and thematically rich Five Bells offers a celebration of queer life, giving the reader a visual portrait of everyday life among queer-identifying people, from joyful images of weddings and family gatherings to more contemplative portraits of rural youth and asylum seekers. In so doing, the book presents a series of neither caricatures nor stereotypes but of individuals--active agents in the universal quest for happiness, intimacy, fulfillment, respect, and a sense of belonging. This is the human face of the queer community in Australia, and these beautifully crafted and life-affirming photographs, in black-and-white and in color, show us the personal and psychological landscape of what it means to be part of a community that is as vibrant as it is diverse.

This Brief is the first national study on female-to-male (FtM) transgender people's experiences in Australia. It describes an extensive study that fills the current gap in Australian research on the specific experiences and beliefs about transition for contemporary Australian FtM transgender people. Following an overview of current literature on the various aspects of and approaches to transgender issues, this brief describes in detail the design, participants and findings of the study. The Brief offers useful statistics and stories related to participants' identities, education, health, sexual and social lives. It ends with recommendations to all those working in the various offices and institutions that FtM transgender people encounter in their everyday life, and represents and invaluable resource for researchers, service providers and gender diverse communities alike.
*Also available as an eBook (UC users only): Female-to-Male (FtM) Transgender People's Experiences in Australia

Special issue of Law in Context, Volume 28, Number 1 (2010).

*At Young Research Library.

Share the personal stories of gay and lesbian couples who immigrated to Australia! This fascinating book examines the Australian government's innovative immigration program for same-sex couples. Covering the time from the early 1980s to 2000, Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration: Together Forever? offers a powerful glimpse into the gains and costs of immigration. Its twenty-year span offers insight into both immediate and long-term implications of this policy. Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration intertwines the personal stories of gay and lesbian immigrants, including the author, with thoughtful, detailed political analysis. This groundbreaking book analyzes the Australian government's reasons for recognizing the validity of same-sex couples. It also scrutinizes the emotional and social implications of government policies for these couples. Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration explores the issues immigrant same-sex couples faced, including: HIV/AIDS; proving homosexuality; migration stress; dealing with bureaucracy; financial dependency; and success and failure in relationships.

"Sunshine and Rainbows" is a history of the development of homosexuality as an Australian subculture. Proceeding chronologically from the 1820s through to the vibrant alternative culture that exists in 2000, "Sunshine and Rainbows" argues that the manner in which gay and lesbian identity has been constructed in Queensland is typical of Australia generally. Beginning with isolated acts suppressed by criminal law and medical opinion, a homosexual identity developed, which by the mid-nineteenth century was based on male appropriation of public space.A clandestine social subculture was in place during the first half of the twentieth century. Despite continued relgious, social, legal and medical repression, it became an obvious part of Australian sexuality, expressed through Beats and early gathering places such as coffee shops, hotels, and theatres. Well developed in urban areas by the 1930s and 1940s, the subculture strengthened in the 1970s and 1980s, when clubs, gay commercial venues and political organisations emerged. The fight for gay law reform, recognition of the rights of same-sex partners, and of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, continues today. "Sunshine and Rainbows" discusses the different roles of gay men and lesbians in the subculture, arguing that by the end of the twentieth century a transition had occurred to a fully-developed alternative culture.
*At Young Research Library.

30 Queer Lives explores the lives, struggles and successes of LGBTQIA+ New Zealanders. The author, Matt McEvoy, notes that as a young gay Kiwi kid growing up, books about All Blacks and Sir Edmund Hillary were ubiquitous, while stories about other New Zealanders struggled for a place in school libraries and bookshops. 'The singular elevation of the sports-hero genre made us feel that perhaps we weren't "real New Zealanders". 'To this day, there still has not been a book to celebrate queer expression and contribution to New Zealand life, and show how LGBTQIA+ people strengthen our rich culture.' This book, bold and bright as the rainbow community itself, fills that gap. It explores the lives of queer people across New Zealand society, from north to south and from soldiers, celebrities, lawyers, drag queens, businesspeople and Olympians to farmers and fa`afafine. From the famous - Grant Robertson, Gareth Farr, Chlöe Swarbrick - to the less well known, these 30 stories encourage empathy and understanding, challenge stereotypes, and offer courage and hope. '30 Queer Lives is a wonderfully encouraging book that I'm sure many of us wish we had when we were young, and it is the perfect gift for young allies, the recently out, family and anyone else just seeking to understand.
- NZ Listener

[New Zealand] Emerging from a case study in secondary schools, this book explores young bisexual women's notions of bisexuality through their own sense of self-identification and how they express their personal beliefs. McAllum sheds light on the presence and practices of "bisexual misrecognition" and "bi-misogyny" in school settings, and draws out the implications of this bias on bisexual women. Incorporating women's own spoken and written anecdotes, this book reveals hidden narratives and helps boost awareness about the social and learning needs of young bisexual women.

*At SRLF

*Includes information on New Zealand.