For the first time ever, Wagga will be hosting its very own Mardi Gras to support the queer community just one year after marriage equality was passed.
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The Daily Advertiser sat down with Holly Conroy, the city's first openly transgender woman, and Ray Goodlass, who came out in the 1970s, to chat about their experiences and what they have learned.
How do your experiences of being "out" compare?
Holly: There are definitely similarities, whether you a trans, gay, bi, intersex - it doesn't matter what letter you are, we all have an identity that we tried to hide. Before you come out and you see Mardi Gras, you have all these wants and what-ifs, but once you come out you are able to fully embrace all the celebrations.
Ray: Certainly going on that first Mardi Gras march in 1978 was in a sense formally coming out and formally bonding with other queers. I came out in Sydney in the '70s … a migrant from England and a very closeted migrant. It wasn't spoken about in England, but I wonder if my coming out would have been much more difficult if I hadn't been living in Sydney because there was a thriving queer counter-culture.
In Wagga, I worked in the theatre and education field, it was a very gradual coming out. It was no surprise to them. I still think, if you weren't a confident, sophisticated, well-connected queer person in Wagga now and you were just out in suburbia - it wouldn't be much different to me in the '60s. It can be quite hellish.
What could the two of you learn from each other?
Ray: I have learnt this transperson is wonderful, that's the short answer. You have no idea how much I admire you and what you have done. I have known lots of gay and lesbians all my adult life, a couple of intersex people, but you are the first transperson I have worked with. My internal psychology bonds with people I have worked with. People I have a work connection with, I trust and love and that has happened with Holly.
Holly: For starters, to grow up in an era where it was not only looked down upon to be gay, but it was also illegal and to come out the other end as a strong, confident person - I think that is amazing. Resilience is something I would learn from Ray. He grew up in a terrible era. A lot of gay people were murdered and to be out and proud that shows incredible bravery and resilience.
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Do you think Wagga's attitudes have changed?
Ray: Wagga has changed amazingly, it is much more diverse. Not just in terms of sexuality, but in terms of demographics. We are a refugee settlement city so our population is much more ethnically diverse. I'll make a passing reference to the famous editorial of the 1990s - the fact that this is happening in The DA is a good symbol of what has happened to Wagga.
Holly: I know the difference between when I first started transitioning at 27 and not getting the response that I needed and going back into the closet and then having to live in that closet for another 10 years. In that period, a lot has changed even just friends in my circle and that was due to people coming out. Carlotta and Caitlyn Jenner were big ones for me. I was going to move back to Sydney and a friend of mine convinced me to transition here. I think attitudes have changed.
What does Mardi Gras mean to you?
Ray: To me, it is still essentially a protest because that is how it started - agitating for gay and lesbian rights and now we include bisexual, transgender and intersex as well. Although we have achieved a lot in the past 41 years, there is still a way to go despite marriage equality. Until being queer is in no way an oddity, then there is a need for Mardi Gras parades.
Holly: It gives people a forum to express their identities. Having days like these allow people to really explore themselves. I think you will find people actually learn a lot about themselves during a Mardi Gras without being judged.
What message would you like to share ahead of Wagga's first Mardi Gras?
Ray: Don't just accept this parade and the people in it, but welcome and celebrate them.
Holly: Come down, have a great time. Show love and respect to everyone and try to learn something new.
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