melbourne
Melbourne rally against religious exemptions this weekend
A Melbourne protest rally this weekend will oppose religious legal exemptions and LGBTIQ discrimination in the name of “religious freedom”. The Morrison government will unveil its controversial religious discrimination legislation within weeks. But advocates are concerned about the detail of the bills and their impact on the LGBTIQ community. Marriage equality campaigner Ali Hogg and …
Gay Melbourne artist’s work ‘pulled for being homophobic’
Warning: nudity Gay Melbourne artist Paul Yore has said he’s “devastated” a provocative artwork has been misinterpreted and pulled from an exhibition in Wales. Yore entered his artwork Taste The Feeling in a competition at Mostyn Gallery in North Wales. The gallery selected it from hundreds of submissions as a finalist. But visitors complained the …
More than half of LGBTIQ people access mental health services
More than half of the LGBTIQ community access mental health services according to new research by Melbourne’s Drummond Street Services. Markedly, cis women and trans people show up as most likely to access help. The Queerspace Survey Results 2019 show some concerning findings and a need for more research into different cohorts of the LGBTIQ …
Homophobic harassment still a problem within Victoria Police ranks, report finds
Warning: distressing language Homophobic and transphobic threats and jokes are still tolerated by some in Victoria Police ranks including senior officers, according to a new report released on Friday. The report, by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, found a lack of trust in internal reporting processes and “poor management responses” hindered LGBTIQ …
Melbourne drag queen cops vile online abuse over children’s story time event
A Melbourne drag queen who copped a barrage of online abuse for hosting a children’s storytime event at a Victorian library has said she won’t be deterred and the event will go on. A Facebook post by Whittlesea Library, north-east of Melbourne, announcing the “Rainbow Storytime” hosted by drag performer Annie Depressant was removed after …
Police apologise for bungled queer bookstore raid that injured innocent man
Victoria Police have admitted to “stuffing up” a bungled raid on Melbourne queer bookstore and bar Hares and Hyenas that left an innocent man seriously injured. Armed police broke in through the garage of the premises on early Saturday morning. Bookshop owners Crusader Hills and Rowland Thomson posted on Facebook that the heavily armed police …
REVIEW: Hannah Gadsby’s follow-up to ‘Nanette’ is an act of considered self-care
By Jana Perkovic, University of Melbourne Hannah Gadsby’s new show, Douglas, is not earth-shattering the way Nanette was; but then, nothing could be. Many of us watched with fascination as Gadsby’s tenth solo show, Nanette, took her from a local niche market in queer comedy to international superstardom, skipping quite a few steps in between. …
Melbourne man avoids jail for extorting money from engaged Grindr user
A Melbourne man has avoided jail time after he blackmailed and extorted money from an engaged Grindr user he threatened to “out” to his fiancee. On Friday, Timothy Ruge was ordered to serve a 24-month community corrections order and complete 220 hours of unpaid community work by a Victorian County Court judge, 9 News reported. …
Melbourne man Rad Mitic wins Mr Gay Pride Australia 2019
Melbourne man Rad Mitic has been crowned Mr Gay Pride Australia 2019 at Daylesford’s ChillOut Festival at the weekend. The 36-year-old Melbourne man won the annual competition, beating runners-up Liam Davies from New South Wales and fellow Victorian Prashant Bhatia. The competition’s participants competed in seven social media and face-to-face challenges, including interviews in front …
Hannah Gadsby was preparing to work in retail after ‘Nanette’
Hannah Gadsby was so sure that acclaimed stand-up show Nanette would kill her career, she was planning to work in a shop after it was released. Nanette was supoposed to be Gadsby’s swansong before quitting comedy, but when the acclaimed show was recorded and released on Netflix it instead made Gadsby a global star. In …