Semper Floreat is the University of Queensland Union's free & independent student newspaper.
If you’re queer or LGBTQIA+ and pro-Palestinian, chances are you’ve been hit with the phrase ‘you’d be killed for being gay in Palestine’ or something similar. This is an example of pinkwashing. According to DecolonizePalestine, Pinkwashing ‘refers to when a state or organization appeals to LGBTQ+ rights in order to deflect attention from its harmful […]
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Just around the corner from Ipswich train station is an intimate bar that serves as a gallery, workshop, and live music venue, as well as a reminder that intersectional, inclusive spaces can be found everywhere. I’d come to see a punk music show but discovered a beautiful expression of the joy of community. The walls […]
Continue ReadingBetween F and M And warnings that Deviation May betray my safety in certain countries, I choose ‘other’, Unspecified, Undetermined. I *am* other. I am outside and both And nothing all at once and Fluctuating // deviating From expectations: From the ‘safe’ route. X is who I am. I am willing to forfeit my ease […]
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I sat down with Piper and Kit, two members of Magandjin People’s Pride (MPP), to talk about their involvement, how things get done, and queer advocacy and community. What is your current involvement with MPP? Piper: I’m a member, I help to organise events and rallies, and this is my third year in MPP. There […]
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Completing a PhD is challenging under regular circumstances, but even more so when you’re a trans person hiding who you are. This was part of my motivation for coming out in the past year, a decision I had put off for years because in my home country, serious violations of LGBTQ rights are commonplace, and […]
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When I think of you, I think of the poem ‘Simplify Me When I’m Dead’ by Keith Douglas, specifically the lines, “Thus when in a year collapse particular memories, you may deduce, from the long pain I bore the opinions I held, who was my foe and what I left, even my appearance but incidents […]
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The primary subtractive colours of cyan, magenta, and yellow can be mixed to create all the colours of the rainbow. For our Queer Edition, I’m gifting you birdies proudly displaying these colours. Cyan – Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) A recently-published study, ‘Personality predicts song complexity in superb fairy-wrens’, reveals that superb fairywrens’ beautiful songs hold […]
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Queer Fest was a massive festival with a ring of 55+ stalls, food trucks, a stage, and plenty of areas to kick back and chill. It was an explosion of queer creativity and community, with all types of creatives represented behind stalls and on stage. Artist stalls were loosely grouped by discipline and this grouping […]
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I The body I call home isn’t mine. Nor was it ever, it was destined to be deemed public property And handled with such disregard for its being Measured solely by its desirability details And the displeasing flaws that draw the eye The strangers eye is one of assessment With it only to judge your […]
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Anxious. Nauseous. Terrified. Do I cancel? Nice pants and a button up. Big black combat boots. My nice underwear; the ones with dinosaurs on them, neon red and black; make my arse look phenomenal. Most realistic packer. Strap-on in the backpack. Just in case. Black eyeliner. A gold chain? No chain. A ring. Or two. […]
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