It's the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras & SANE is celebrating all things LGBTQIA+

[Former-Member]

With the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2022 festival opening tomorrow, we thought it would be the perfect time to again welcome a discussion about all things LGBTQIA+.

So to hold the banner high and celebrate diversity and inclusion, we’re kicking things off with our own Mardi Gras celebration! Starting today and concluding with the Mardi Gras parade on the 5^th March, this 3 week celebration will highlight moments of struggle, honour achievements, celebrate what it means for us to be LGBTQIA+, and also provide a safe place to land for those who may be questioning or struggling with their identity.

Message to our SANE LGBTQIA+ allies; you’re welcome to celebrate with us! Please feel free to don your best party outfit and contribute to this thread in whichever way feels right for you – we’re stronger together and as a community 🧑‍🎤👩🏾‍🎤

Building a community that’s safe and inclusive for all is one of the foundations of the SANE forums, and part of that commitment is ensuring that within this space our LGBTQIA+ members feel not only safe, but at home. So if there is anything you’d like to explore across the next 3 weeks, please feel free to reach out with your suggestions, either here or by sending an email to teams@sane.org.au and we’ll do our best to ensure your amazing ideas are incorporated in the celebration 🌈

Some of you might be wondering, what does LGBTQIA+ stand for? These initials refer collectively to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and their allies. It’s also important to acknowledge that these terms expand beyond a label, and that everyone comes to the umbrella definition with their own sense of what identity means to them and where (or indeed if) these terms are representative of their identity.

One of our awesome moderators @Jynx  has previously put this list of terms together which might be helpful in understanding some of the colourful and diverse spectrum of identity:

• Cisgender: Identifying with gender assigned at birth
• Transgender: Identifying with a gender other than the one assigned at birth
• Gender diverse: Umbrella term used to describe anyone who identifies outside of the gender binary (i.e. male or female) and includes nonbinary, gender fluid, agender, and others
• Asexual: Someone who does not experience sexual attraction to others
• Grey-Asexual: Someone who only experiences sexual attraction occasionally
• Aromantic: Someone who does not experience romantic attraction to others
• Intersex: Someone born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male

And if you’d like to read the a previous Topic Tuesday thread on LGBTQIA+ & Mental Health check it out here.

To get the celebration and story sharing started, we’d love to put two questions out to the community:

Where/how/when do you experience joy, happiness, or euphoria related to your LGBTQIA+ identity?

AND

In light of the debate that took place in parliament and around the nation over the past few weeks related to transgender and LGBTQIA+ students (link to the powerful speech by MP Stephen Jones here), if anyone has been struggling with painful emotions the proposed bill may have elicited, please feel free to share your story here with the community – this space is for you

Tagging forum members, as well as peer support workers, who may identify as being an ally or LGBTQIA+:

@TheVorticon  @petrichor  @Former-Member  @wellwellwellnez  @Clawde @TideisTurning  @Former-Member  @Former-Member  @cloudcore  @Paperdaisy  @Daisydreamer  @Corny  @NatureLover  @outlander  @Oaktree  @SJT63  @Shaz51 @frog  @Maggie @Fluttershy1  @Adge  @Rebel  @eth  @Jynx  @Schitzo  @Former-Member  @tyme  @Former-Member  @RiverSeal  @Former-Member  @Former-Member  @greenpea  @MDT  @Former-Member @rivergal  @Appleblossom 

As always, let’s keep this space safe, inclusive and kind, and if any of the topics covered here cause any distress and you’d like to chat with someone, please call the SANE help centre on 1800 187 263 (Mon-Fri 10am-10PM EST), the crisis support numbers here or Qlife on 1800 184 527 (3pm till midnight everyday).

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[Former-Member]

Thank you so much @Former-Member for starting the celebrations for this years Mardi Gras 🎉

Having many friends & family who are part of the rainbow family I am passionately here as an ally standing with you in celebration for the beauty & diversity that is the LGBTQIA+ community!!

Looking forward to the many different conversations that we can have here!

Flybluebird ❤️

[petrichor]

Happy Mardi Gras everyone 🌈 💚

what makes me happy? I’ve started testosterone a year ago and every day I feel happy when I apply it. I’m not out, I’m not ready to planning either and I take a bit of effort to hide some of the changes I experiencing but it makes me happy. 

The recent discussion about the religious discrimination bill has made me very upset. The coverage in the media and the comments from people I know on social media have been crushing. It makes the thought of coming out trans even more impossible. I also wonder what the plebiscite for same sex marriage was for and sad that we need a religious discrimination bill to protect our religious friends. It makes me sad that we need discrimination laws and it makes me sad that we can’t have just a single one to protect our freedom, whether we are lgbt+, religious, men, women, blacks, whites m, every colour of the rainbow. Makes me sad to the core. Really sad.

but Happy Mardi Gras! One day I’ll be there, I’d really love to 🌈 💚

[RiverSeal]

Great time to support your community and connect with your peers!! I hope everyone enjoys the Mardi Gras and if you are going have a great time and stay safe. 🙂 🏳️‍🌈

[Daisydreamer]

Hi @petrichor Happy Mardi Gras 🙂 

Thank you for sharing what makes you happy- it sounds like being about to start testosterone has been really affirming 🙂 

I sit with you and hear you around the deep sadness across our country as a result of the discussions about the religious discrimination bill- "It makes me sad that we need discrimination laws and it makes me sad that we can’t have just a single one to protect our freedom". As an ally, it was heart breaking to see the impact for so many of my friends from the trans and non-binary community Did you have any support during that time, or people to talk to about the sadness you were sitting with?

[petrichor]

Hi @Daisydreamer 

thank you for your message and for being an ally. It’s sometimes hard to remember that there are allies. 
i struggled for years to accept that I don’t fit the gender binary. Starting testosterone is a very private victory but it also has to remain a private victory. I cannot jeopardise the few support persons I have and they’re anti LGBT and more so anti ‘people who don’t know what they want’ - like me. That makes me sad. I grew up hiding (not related to LGBT) and I still have to ‘hide’ whether it’s my gender, sexuality, mental illness, suicide attempts, cultural background… or just makes me sad. But yes, I’m happy every time I apply T and it feels right. 
my hopelessness and desperation about people not accepting others reaches much deeper than the latest discussion in the media. I have literally been scared for my life for nearly 40 years for other reasons than gender identity. I will never allow myself to be that vulnerable again and will choose another option. I will never experience that again. I have talked to helplines and someone in my acute care team, thank you for asking.

i hope that we’ll have a vivid community here for Mardi Gras as I think they’re are so many who feel alone. 💚🌈

[petrichor]

🌈 not many rainbows on sane 🌈

[Paperdaisy]

Standing by your side as an ALLY for everyone in this wonderfully diverse community 💕Spreading the love, acknowledging the bravery and hoping for a kinder world where everyone feels they can be themselves.  🌈🌈🌈

Happy Mardi Gras!!! 🏳️‍🌈

[eth]

Hi @petrichor @RiverSeal @Daisydreamer @Former-Member @Paperdaisy and anyone else posting in this thread.

Forgotten from the definition list was Pansexual (me) - a person who gets to know someone and falls in love with who they are, their mind and personality and then if the friendship is deep it may become intimate physically - regardless of gender id.  I have also been polyamorous at different times in my life.  I'm also the parent of a transgender non-binary person who is parenting beyond the binary also, allowing their children to make their own informed choices as to whether they want to be cis or sit somewhere else on our infinite spectrum (which I see as no longer linear, rather spherical and you can be anywhere on it, or fluid is an option too).

There are so many words these days to describe a person's identity, sexuality and more - I think it really empowers people when they find the language that works for them.

One of the times I experience joy in being part of the lgbqita2++ community is when my written works about this are published.  I like to debunk stigma however I can too.   Another is when I'm with my adult child, especially since they had the surgery that liberated them from dysphoria, and the joy of seeing young children not bound by gender id, but making their own choices as their language and identities develop.

Have a great mardi gras to those who celebrate it, and best wishes to those who don't too.  From a queer peer and ally.

[Daisydreamer]

Hi @eth, Happy Mardi Gras!

"There are so many words these days to describe a person's identity, sexuality and more - I think it really empowers people when they find the language that works for them." I wanted to highlight this beautiful quote, because it is so important  

Like you, I am really optimistic about the future when I hear of the inclusive ways in which some parents are raising children to allow more space, exploration and open conversations about gender, sexuality and identity. Publishing your books sounds so empowering, and hopefully something that we will reach and support thousands of others who are looking for peer who understand Happy Mardi Gras to you and your family Eth! Will you be doing anything together to celebrate as a family?