Lisa Melville is a lesbian mother and PhD student at Waikato University where she’s looking at the decisions and experiences of lesbian mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Here she talks about what those experiences can look like. A lesbian has just told you that she or her partner is pregnant. What is the best … Read more
We’re back for month two of Congratulations, She’s a Boy, a monthly column following the female-to-male transition of Wellington writer Felix Desmarais. Read part one here. Great news! One and a half months on testosterone, and like an almost decade-long tradition of uninspiring Labour leaders, my voice is breaking! #TopicalTrans. I just got a haircut. … Read more
Kath Cooper, an early childhood lecturer who parents four children with her wife, believes all parents need to actively support LGBTQI-friendly environments at their children’s schools. With input from the Rainbow Families NZ community, she’s sharing this article in the hope that it will spark conversations at your child’s early childhood education centre, primary school, … Read more
Charles Arthur Allen Aberhart was 37 when he died in 1964, the victim of a gay hate crime that would later inspire the New Zealand homosexual law reform movement. His relative Nicole Skews-Poole tells his story. Content note: This article includes a description of homophobic violence. Under layers of Holden memorabilia and orange-toned photos of … Read more
Each year the New Zealand International Film Festival brings gay-themed movies to an audience. David Herkt explores this history, what it means, and one of this year’s featured movies. A personal history is also, inevitably, a history of movies seen. Exploration of one’s own sexual desires will often occur through movie characters and movie plots. … Read more
On Wednesday Express magazine published an article about Paul Heard, confirming his resignation from the New Zealand Aids Foundation in the wake of a racist Facebook post. The community reaction was immediate, vitriolic and problematic, writes Sam Brooks. Paul Heard is a former owner of Urge bar and was until very recently community engagement manager for the New … Read more
A new regular column following the female-to-male transition of Wellington writer Felix Desmarais. Month one: ‘It’s not easy having your balls put in your butt.’ Hi! My name is Felix and I am a 14 year old boy studying journalism at Massey University. I’m also going to turn 30 next year. I am female-to-male (FTM) … Read more
In the second instalment of Sam’s Celebrity Game Reviews, Sam takes a spin on a five year old game fronted by a somewhat successful and famous-within-a-specific-niche sportsman. Previously on Sam’s Celebrity Game Reviews: Demi Lovato – Path to Fame I’m going to be honest with you, when I was scrambling through lists of celebrity mobile … Read more
As we near the end of Pride Month, the Spinoff Parents is sharing some stories from Rainbow families. First off, a story of getting pregnant from a lesbian couple who wish to remain anonymous. Content warning: This post talks about fertility and conception and may be upsetting to couples who are trying to conceive. For … Read more
Felix Desmarais rewatches The L Word, one of the first mainstream TV shows to put queer voices on the small screen. The year is 2005. In the dark – past midnight – in the lounge, I am lit by the glow of The L Word on TV and I am feeling things. They are very teenage things. … Read more
Earlier this year an otherwise liberal Auckland girls’ high school, where diversity is celebrated, invited Family First’s Bob McCoskrie in to talk about gay marriage. A gay student who was in the audience shares her experience. Update May 23 2017: Bob McCoskrie has responded to this story, disputing some of the events as depicted below. … Read more
Author Chaz Harris on growing up without positive gay role models in a homophobic world – and how he’s created Promised Land, a fairytale so that our children don’t go through the same. I was at the last Out in the Park with my golden tutu-d and pink gumbooted little boy. We had marched in the parade as … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Will Cooper Barling and Nikolai join host Henry Oliver to talk about LGBTQIA+ issues in music. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to Will Cooper Barling, who performs as WCB and Nikolai, both of … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Tash Keddy and Harry Dickinson of Shortland Street about how the soap consistently progresses LGBTQIA representation like nothing else on local television. Even if you haven’t watched Shortland Street in years, there’s no denying that Ferndale hit a home run last week. All it took was The Cloud, an iPad and … Read more
All week we’ve revisited the Mervyn Thompson Affair – the strange, powerful 1984 incident when six women abducted an Auckland university lecturer, chained him to a tree in Western Springs, and labelled him a rapist. We conclude the series with a personal essay by Talia Marshall. A while ago Steve Braunias at The Spinoff emailed … Read more