It's all about me

[scarebear]

I've just got home from talking at a diversity high table dinner hosted by one of the Halls at ANU.

I have to say it was great to see 40 + young people interested in diversity. :)

After a glass of champers and a couple of glasses of Red, a wonderful meal I got up to do my bit. It seemed to go down well. I got laughs in the appropriate places!

The other speakers were also really interesting. The head of the ANUs disability unit, an international student form Kenya and a young MTF trans girl.

The last of these really touched me. I found it incredibly sad when she said that she hoped that hers would be the last generation of trans people to have to deal with the hardships she had dealt with. Unfortunately I remember thinking the same thing 10 - 20 years ago and I don't see society changing that much over the next ten years due to our political climate. I live in hope that things will change but in all honesty I can't see how. :(

Damn this ended up being more depressing than I hoped it would be when I started.

Off to bed me thinks.

Comments

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it went well - yay you.

As for hope for the future, look at the difference in climate between here and NZ. Ok, it's not a bed of roses in NZ, but it's still way better - Oz has gone backwards during this government. Remember when Australia was socially progressive, and NZ was still in the 1950s? That has certainly changed. Similarly, in the UK, trans issues are hardly burning ones over there, but there's no way that that kind of bullshit as was pulled with the passports here would happen - that's the difference with 10 years of Labour governments. Of course, things could still be better than they currently are... although at least the Gender Recognition Act was finally passed in 2004. Yay full equal rights under the law.

Here's hoping that the next election here will bring a new govt, and things will at the very least stop sliding back, and will hopefully improve.

Call me Pollyanna. :-)

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

With luck, the poltiical climate will change fairly soon.

I do remember when it wasn't like this, for a little while.

[faxon.livejournal.com]

I'll reply to both of you in one post. :)

I remember the reason I left NZ to come to Aus was b/c NZ at that time was too conservative and I couldn't cope with living there any more. Australia seemed the perfect haven at that time. Unfortunately soon after I arrived the luvverly Mr Howard became PM and it has all been Down hill since then.

Unfortunately I don't see much hope of change in the near future - even with a change of Gubberment. Mr Rudd's religious beliefs just may get in the way of any major changes in social policy.

I can only hope to be proved wrong. :|