southernatwoodblog-blog

[southernatwoodblog-blog]

LGBT+ ‘Crash Course’

With pride events occurring throughout the country recently and annual celebrations throughout the month of June, it should be explained why these events occur and why June is important. The Stonewall riots, also known as the Stonewall uprising, is an important piece of LGBT+ history. This event began early on June 28, 1969. It was a series of violent encounters between gay activists and police which lasted for some time. Following this, the fight for equality and the end of great mistreatment towards the community followed. This call for equality had the aims to get rid of harassment, discrimination (both in workplaces and legal), and slowly grew worldwide. Stonewall encouraged the education about the community and sparked radical groups which fought for civil rights globally. Therefore, as the Stonewall riots started and largely occurred in June, the month has been deemed ‘Pride month’ and celebrations are held to remember the lives lost to discrimination, the progress made of the community and looking forward to the future and furthering this progress. People of colour in the LGBT+ community are at a higher risk of being physically or emotionally harmed, or even be killed because of their sexuality. An article published by USA today (published online in 2018), twenty-eight murders of transgender women occurred in America with 19 of the victims being people of colour. Racism exacerbates homophobia towards people of colour, which makes both issues important to address to save and protect lives. There are more articles and reports done on this issue available online if anyone is interested in learning about the subject. As June is still a while off, I want to celebrate the history of the LGBT+ community and in particular, some of its history in New Zealand. Before colonisation, Māori celebrated homosexual love and heterosexual love equally. Both were represented in art mediums like carvings, stories and music. Once colonisation occurred in New Zealand, these mediums in general by Māori were greatly censored. In modern times, it is becoming increasingly accepted in New Zealand society that the ability to be who you are and be with who you love is very important for mental health and wellbeing. I highly recommend looking at the Te Ara page on this subject’s as it’s very interesting and informative. In the twenty-first century, the LGBT+ community has come a very long way since the restrictive and conservative times of colonialism and fifties to the late sixties, but there is still a long way to go to ensure the political and physical safety of those in the community.

Sources 1. https://www.britannica.com/event/Stonewall-riots 2. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/06/28/anti-gay-hate-crimes-rise-fbi-says-and-they-likely-undercount/1582614001/ 3. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/08/16/lgbtq-hate-violence-increased-pride-month-ncavp-reports/2028537001/ 4. https://teara.govt.nz/en/hokakatanga-maori-sexualities