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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 were a bunch of people who had started MPP back up in 2023. I kind of just saw a flyer for this queer group doing activism, I rocked up and they were organising this event for Stonewall Day. I just helped out with things like trying to find a venue. I’m kind of the only one left from that 2023 cohort so I got put into that de facto role of ‘you know what’s going on so, maybe take care of stuff for now’. It was pretty hectic but it was a good challenge. It’s something I’m passionate about. I have so much ambition and a lot of the time it outstrips my capacity. We have a really awesome team, and we always get people who just pop in and help, and they’re a big part of what makes MPP work as well.
Kit: I run and organise the art collective. I’m very socially anxious and I’m disabled so I wanted to create a space where if you feel a bit anxious so you can’t really go to protests, you can still take part in community. So I created the art collective.
Piper: I think what has happened over the last couple of years is that we spend a lot of time organising events and protests, which are really impactful and important, and the events are great opportunities for the community to get together, but they’re also one-off things, they’re finite. And I’ve been wanting to do more community building, more ongoing stuff, and more stuff where we can get people involved with each other and also kind of involved with the other work we do if they want, but also to make a nice space for queer people to be able to connect with each other, and Kit wanted to do an art collective and that was the perfect opportunity.
Kit: And for me, art is so important to queer history, and I find it the best way that I can do activism. I get very overstimulated by protests so it’s a nice relaxing space where I’m able to do that and other people are able to do that.
Piper: Occasionally we’ll have a banner painting day which is really nice, it’s a mix of the art and the protest sides.
Kit: It’s really good for connection, because I find it so much easier to connect and talk to people if I’m doing something near them.
Piper: Mostly we just sit around and work on our own personal stuff, but everyone is chatting and we’ll look at each other’s things, it’s just a really wholesome place. As an autistic person I find it a really easy place to just chat with people without any pressure.
Kit: It’s like an activism wind-down time. Especially because you bring people from protests.
Piper: Often we’ll have a counter-protest on a Sunday and an art collective afterwards.
What’s on the radar for MPP at the moment?
Piper: We have a few main events throughout the year. We have a Stonewall Day rally and celebration, which is meant to be an alternative to what Brisbane Pride has become. It’s like a pride event that has ethics and morals and is made to actually serve the community.
Then we’ve got Pride Outside which is our event in September outside the Brisbane Pride Fair where we’re like ‘hey, don’t pay to go into that stupid thing, just come hang out with us – we’ve got some markets, some food, it’s a good time’.
For the last 12 months we’ve been doing a lot of counter-protests. There’s this cheeky little group of TERFs and we rock up and be silly most of the time. It’s half sincere and half silly. We’ll have people talking like at a normal rally then the rest of the time it’s us singing or just having fun, because I really didn’t want us to get bogged down and become a reactionary thing. I wanted to make sure that if we’re protesting bigots, we’re still uplifting ourselves.
We do protests and rallies, we’ve organised a lot of protests with other local activists, the collaboration is really nice. We just did one for trans day of visibility, and we helped a mum of a trans kid organise one the day after Tim Nicholls announced his youth gender affirming care ban.
For Stonewall Day, it’s an important anniversary because it’s about violent rebellion, and uprising against a system and the police and the government and a state that is actively oppressing you. I think we’re back in that feeling right now, obviously for some of us it’s a lot worse than others, but I think it’s really important to remember that one of the foundational parts of at least the Western queer rights movement was a bunch of people saying ‘we’ve had enough. We’ve tried having our own spaces away from you all, and hiding who we are, and you still came and beat us and arrested us, and we won’t take it anymore’. And they did, they were violent and unruly and they actually made change happen. Fuck the idea that the only type of protests that exist are peaceful protests.
Kit: No matter what, a peaceful protest will be skewed into being something dangerous.
Piper: Can’t even have peaceful protests these days without people being like ‘oh it’s a bit much, isn’t it?’ A lot of it is fun, there’s music and events, but we try and get local queer bands.
Kit: It’s not about the event itself, it’s about the people at the event.
Piper: We want to make a space for community, and we want to do it ethically.
Kit: Especially because you usually do a march before the event, it’s great aftercare to have a party afterwards.
Piper: We have the fun stuff but it is really important that we have a protest and remember the history of that day. We’re not doing a march that is like some rich cunt speaking about how queer stuff is so great, then having the premier of Queensland speaking. Great, the politician that is still oppressing a lot of people, is complicit in genocide. That’s not what we’re about. We’re about dismantling those systems of oppression, not buying into them.
Kit: I think that’s why the panels are important, because you’re intentionally choosing people who often have unsanitised experiences.
Piper: The panels are my favourite part of the event. I’m really keen to find some people with experiences that a lot of people wouldn’t have been exposed to before, who have a lot of struggles that a lot of the community doesn’t know about, and to have them be able to share their experiences and their stories.
What is the behind the scenes like of MPP, how is it structured and how does shit get done?
Piper: At the moment we have a small group of people who are chatting and meeting up regularly. We try and have an online meeting about once a week to talk about plans and go over everything we need to do. We have a bunch of people who will regularly come and help with the running of events and volunteer. Right now we’re in the lead-up to planning the Stonewall event of the year. I really want to try and get a lot more people involved in smaller ways. A lot of people have a lot of experience and connections and that is really useful.
For events, we kind of have a system down. We find a venue. For music, Mikki is amazing, she’s a musician and she’s been in the industry for ages and has so many connections. She literally just booked us a bunch of bands. We organise food and activities, panels are always a tough one because you can’t leave that to the last minute and we all have ADHD, and then getting community groups. A lot of it is sending emails. So it’s a lot of admin.
Protests are a lot easier. Basically you send a cheeky email to Trina Massey’s office saying here’s the equipment we need. They have tons of stuff that anyone can borrow. We borrow their portable PA system, their picnic mats, marquees sometimes, water cooler, chairs, cushions. It’s basically a ready-made rally pack, and you just pick it up during office hours. It’s fairly straightforward, we usually try and get some food and sit down and have a picnic.
What came before MPP in the realm of queer community and activism for you both?
Kit: You’d been to a bunch of protests before.
Piper: I had been searching for something, I had been looking for a place to connect, and a way to actually make a difference in the world. I had found bits and pieces. Kit and I actually met at this queer board games night, which was really cool.
Kit: I moved to the city right before the pandemic, so at the leaving the lockdown stage I had no friends here. That’s one of the reasons why we met because I was also searching for community. Sometimes it’s fucking tough to find community.
I think community is really good because for me, community isn’t just making friends. Community is a place that is welcoming. Sometimes there are going to be people who you’re not necessarily comfortable with, but it’s important to have places where even if there are people you’re uncomfortable around, you can still learn to be around them.
Piper: Our crowd is very transgender, disabled, and neurodivergent, especially autistic. And I think in that crowd it can be a real challenge when you have a bunch of different types of autistic people all spending time together. It is really good to be able to make everyone feel welcome, even if they have conflicting personalities.
Kit: I think a lot of people forget that community isn’t a group of friends.
Yeah, you have to put up with people who you don’t like in order to have solidarity with your community.
Kit: Yeah, and this is something I’ve struggled with in art collective with conflicting personalities and the younger ones being young and loud, which is okay, they’re allowed to. I think people tend to forget that people are so complicated.
Piper: There’s a tendency in queer communities of hyper-moralism. And I think a lot of people do it to keep themselves safe, but when it’s in a community space there are always going to be people who have a problem with other people. We need to allow for people to grow and change, and not blacklisting people or cutting them off.
Kit: I think MPP does a really good job of that.
How can our readers do the same kind of things you do with MPP and uplift the communities they belong to?
Piper: Find what’s accessible for you. If you want to do something concerned with activism or be part of a regular group that does something, reach out! I think people don’t know where to start, and it can feel daunting and tricky. As organisers and members of these groups we should do our best to make things accessible and approachable. If you’re like this looks cool but I don’t know, just send a message, reach out. They’ll get back to you and try and work out how to make it a possibility for you.
Kit: And just also try different things until you find the thing that works, because eventually you’ll find the thing that clicks for you.
Piper: I’ve been to a lot of activist spaces and they’re all very different. For me at least, a lot of it is finding people who you click with and who you can work well with.
Kit: And if it doesn’t work for you, you can always figure out how you can start your own thing as well.
Piper: Any of the council libraries, you can book those rooms for free. You do have to go in person and ask them what’s available, but they’re free and provide you with resources as well. I would definitely recommend just trying things out.
Do you have any parting words, any sage life advice?
Piper: Work on your mental health. Please.
Kit: Don’t go towards doomerism, despite the fact that everything seems to be not going good at the moment. If you focus on community and people instead of being defeatist, you’re going to feel a bit better.
Piper: It can be really empowering to actually do a bit of work and get a positive outcome. Because it makes the fucked up state of the world seem just a little less fucked up. When Tim Nicholls announced that healthcare ban, I felt really bad and really angry. Having this wide network of people and one mum says let’s do a snap rally tomorrow morning, and then this huge network of people all helped to pull this off. Being around people who are just as frustrated and worried as you, who are all ready to stand up and try and make things a bit better is so repairing. It just makes you feel like you’re not alone, and things can get better if you fight for it.
Piper and Kit interviewed by Jester Roach
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