Baby don’t hurt me.
LGBTIQ acceptance is by no means done and dusted, but goodness have we come a long way in recent years. The fact that suburban, ABC-watching dads are now following the every move of a powerful lesbian lawyer (love you, Janet) without question or remark, is amazing. We have a lesbian, Malaysian-Australian Senator telling homophobic politicians that they are “not her type” while Parliament is in session. One of the nation’s favourite faces in comedy is a transgender woman (you are awesome, Jordan Raskopoulos).
However, LGBTIQ children and adults still suffer far worse mental health and risk of suicide than their heterosexual, cis counterparts, and this does not happen in a vacuum. Ill mental health in LGBTIQ people is the product of a homophobic, queerphobic society, and not of being LGBTIQ. So clearly we still have a long way to go.
Acceptance starts with understanding, and understanding comes from authentic representation.
Luckily for all of us, Australian Gemma Hendricks has created a 10-part web documentary series called “What Is Love?,” which seeks to give voice and visibility to Australia’s LGBTIQ community.
Explains Gemma, “It is for anyone out there questioning their identity on any level, but it is also for society as a whole so we can take a step forward in becoming more embracing and more loving to one another.”
Episodes are approximately 30 minutes long each, and feature heartfelt, honest interviews with members of the LGBTIQ community from all around Australia.
It’s likely that you’ll shed a tear at some point, to be honest, whether it is from frustration at injustice or happiness for love. One segment features an interview with a queer man, Nick, and his proud Mum, Angela, and Nick has this to say:
We know, we’re crying happy tears too.
To view the 10 episodes in full, for free, click here.