Some of the most personal things I’ve published – which, perhaps not un-coincidentally, have been the hardest ones to write – have turned out to be my favourite posts.
Obviously, as someone who has been engaged to be married for more than a decade, but for most of that time was prevented from doing so by homophobic Governments and Parliaments, marriage equality features prominently among these articles. As does LGBTI politics and law reform which, given my history as a long-term advocate and activist, is equally unsurprising.
Anyway, here’s a few of the personal posts of which I am most proud (starting from those published most recently). I hope you enjoy them:
About my life growing up on a farm in Central Queensland, and how that has shaped my life, even if I didn’t realise it at the time (content warning: suicidal ideation).
About my experiences at a religious boarding school in Queensland in the 1990s (content warning: homophobia; violence; suicidal ideation).
Written on the 20th anniversary of my coming out to my parents, which was a bit more melodramatic than you might expect if you know me.
My desperate plea to all MPs and Senators to treat relationships like Steve and mine exactly the same as everyone else’s (ahead of the final vote on Dean Smith’s Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017).
Even after the unnecessary, wasteful, harmful and divisive postal survey, and the 61.6% Yes result, many within the Liberal-National Government were trying to add more religious exceptions to the legislation that would give it effect. How very dare you…
Written on Steve and my 9th anniversary – on a bus from Sydney to Canberra, and about the decision of the Turnbull Liberal-National Government to hold a postal survey about our relationship.
“One day, hopefully not too far in the future, we deserve the right to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, and not our 8th, 9th or even 10th engagement anniversary.”
Written on Steve and my 8th anniversary – and also the 2nd consecutive census in which we had to declare that we were still not married.
Written after the successful campaign to stop the unnecessary, wasteful and divisive plebiscite, celebrating the achievements of an LGBTI community that stood up and stopped the seemingly unstoppable.
About my (indirect) connection to the 1967 Indigenous referendum, and including my thoughts about the then planned plebiscite on marriage equality.
As the title suggests, a look back on some of the highlights from the first five years of this blog, including thanks to the readers (and above all, to my fiancé Steven, whose support has made it all possible).
I also include the ‘Top Three’ from my countdown of the Ten Things I Hate About Marriage Inequality, which I wrote in 2014 on the 10th anniversary of John Howard’s ban on marriage equality:
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