Last week in Review: Venues and Places

I still seem to be on W.A. time so I thought I'd do a post. Having it in Perth however complicated things. Why? Because Perth is my old home city.

Now when I went to the previous QC in Perth back in 2005 this didn't seem to be an issue in the same way. It'd been a few years since I'd been there before and the biggest shock I had was the result of "Perth CBD's war on cinemas" - out of 10 cinemas that existed in the CBD when I left, only two remained in 2005, and now it's only one! I was an avid film goer when living in Perth so that was a big shock - especially the cinema replaced by a Woolworths! This time around I found that Mr Samurai in Barrack street was gone, replaced by another Japanese food place. Also in the process of demolished (or downscaled) was Governor Stirling Senior High school (Gubbo) where I went as a teenager. If only I could have pressed the plunger on the dynamite, but I guess it's not that sort of demolition.

But other venues and places were significant in my stay. One of the conference's venues for social events was the Court Hotel. There was a performance night planned for the Wednesday but that was problematic. Despite flying a rainbow flag the place is actually a mixed venue that caters for gays and lesbians and on the whole not a Queer or Trans friendly environment. Trans people had been bashed there and otherwise discriminated against in the past. There was a hotly debated motion to ban going to that venue which got passed. I wasn't on the floor at the time that happened, because after being "triggered" on Tuesday I didn't go to anything on the floor for the rest of the event. And frankly whether there was a ban or not, I had no plans of going to the court for any reason.

Shortly before I had a death threat at my workplace, and on the way home from a Star trek club (both in Perth) I'd almost been bashed by a patron at the Court (I outran them), so I wasn't going in there for any reason. I heard one of the organisers reasons for using that venue (a way of changing their behaviour apparently) but to my way of thinking it isn't the management that's the problem, it's the patrons. This was born out later in the week when I met a trans woman who had gone to the event only to (allegedly) cop trans-phobic remarks from someone there (particularly revealing when I heard who it was from, but I'm not repeating that without confirmation). There was an alternative venue for that event at the Tavern at Uni of W.A., but it was broadcast very clearly that there was no security at the venue. Considering that there'd been a couple of stabbings at UWA in the last two months, and that transport from there was less frequent, I skipped that as well.

Travel around Perth was a bit of an issue in contradictory ways. Overall I had little trouble getting to Curtin and back home to Mum's all week. The most I had to wait for a bus or a train was 18 minutes and that was at Murdoch Station at night. On average it was between 2-8 minutes, and express travel sped the journeys further. Perth has improved its public transport network significantly since I' lived there. However its also increased security significantly as well. When I went in 2005, waiting for the last train home was a scary experience - what seemed like gangs of youths hung around central station eyeing each other and there was a tension about it all. On this visit often there seemed to be more guards than passengers at that Station and pairs of transit police rode the trains most times.

At Midland station there were additional guards and once a guard rode the bus I took, which was followed by a car of additional guards ready to jump out an assist if needed. While that might have made me feel safer, it also made me think that the underlying problem here hadn't been resolved, merely "fixed". One time I waited for the bus at Midland station I listened to two adult men (mostly drunk) who were debating whether or not to pick up some 12 year old girls! Uh, right.

Even so, travel was an issue. In the previous two QCs (Canberra and Wollongong) I'd stayed at the same hostels/motels as the rest of my group, and late night sessions were the rule rather than the exception. Stay at my mother's at Midland instead of the hostels in the Perth CBD, I chose not to go to most events because it was awkward to get home when they finished. Mum had a stroke scare while I was there, averted by a tablet under the tongue, and I didn't want to aggravate that further. Also, I had trouble with my right knee and leg, and was limping towards the end of the conference. Doesn't inspire going out to nightclubs or bars much.

I found it funny that a number of "Eastern Staters" were amazed at just how clean Perth (and public transport) was. I used to think that when tourists came back and said that Perth was "very clean" that they meant it was dull. However, comparing Perth to cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle (and their respective public transport) it IS really clean. "They have carpets on the trains!" was an observation I heard more than once. Even so there was a price for that. In Perth CBD (in a city of over 2 million now) the Woolworths closes at 9pm. In Newcastle (a city of maybe 400,000) The Woolworths in Glendale is open until Midnight! Go figure.

Last Week in Review: Issues with QC

My experiences at Queer Collaborations last week highlighted my need to (probably) make this one the last QC I attend.

Why so? Well for one I've been to seven QCs, and overall although the individual events vary greatly, overall they are a repeating pattern that doesn't change much. At an average QC there will be at least one issue of great contention fought bitterly on the floor which upsets the noobs; there will be a good deal of socialising outside the official events; there is a certain "on tiptoes attitude" which while well intended obscures issues affecting sub cultures within the attending Queer Community; and for me, there tends to be something that "triggers" me. This year's was no exception.

When I look back at the QC, more often than not something there triggers me. Brisbane in 1997 didn't though I did feel a little overwhelmed. Newcastle in 2001 induced a huge panic attack after tensions on the floor got out of hand (read about it here) and I had to be driven home. For Perth 2005 it was the Kiss-in at the Red Lion that triggered me (guess who never gets kissed) and I was walked to Perth Station by Thom. Never happened in Sydney for 2006 but others did get triggered. In Canberra 2009 I was too cold to notice, and sooner or later everybody who stayed at the hostel in Dixon was sick anyway. At Wollongong in 2010 I got triggered in the Woman's Caucus and later at the first nights meal over issues of isolation and alienation - later I almost choked on pretzels.

This year's trigger was someone using my laptop to check a pornography DVD for their workshop related to a trans porn star. I had thought that I wouldn't be affected by this, but I was (I have problems saying "NO"). I don't think of myself as a prude but how on earth is a scene where one of the actors pees while sitting in a sink sexy? After it was checked I had a huge anxiety attack, no doubt related to anxieties surrounding lack of sexual and physical contact. Thing was, I can't predict what will set me off so that means in effect that as a whole QC is not a "safe space" for me.

And I seem to be getting diminishing returns. I hate to admit it but last year I was mostly bored at QC. It was hard for me to whip up enthusiasm for much of it. This year I spent more time hanging out in the queer space than not. I met some interesting people there and watched more than a few films and TV shows. But it says something when the most memorable stuff was what's on TV! Not that there weren't interesting panels and workshops. For me the issues over Gender Recognition legislation (which I'd helped draft) were important and it was helpful to meet Zoe again. Also realising that pansexual was a useful label for me was good thing. Though I felt discounted in the woman's caucus I was glad to volunteer for the Plenary on Mental Health and share my experiences as a client in that area. A pity then that the thing was on Saturday and barely 20 attended.

More over, my current issues related to heath and fitness affected my capacity to enjoy or participate in the conference. At 136 kg I am obese by any definition and this affects my asthma, and the arthritis in my right leg. The result was that by the end of the conference that leg in general and the knee in particular were hurting almost continuously. Got to do something about these problems, but losing weight is easier said than done when there are difficulties exercising. This is also the reason I didn't go to the clubs and pubs much. The events there were geared towards the young and/or the fit, of which I'm neither. When I did the tourism thing on Monday (by visiting the W.A. Art Gallery and Museum) I felt tired and hurting by the end of it.

I am glad I ran the QC: Is it worth it? workshop. This addressed the issues of how people return value from QC to others at their universities, but what came out of it was also the varying levels of funding and support that each collective gets on an annual basis. When you only have a $1000 dollars for a whole year's budget sending more than one person to QC in another state becomes problematic.

That being the case, I probably won't be going to QC in Adelaide next year. I do have a couple of ideas for workshops - one on Mental Health and another on virtual queers (in SL and elsewhere) - but I feel uncomfortable going to any more QCs and being subsidised for that. If I go (about a 25% chance at the moment) it will be under my my own funding, representing myself only. However, the other thing is that I've been thinking of going to other events on around the same time. NOWSA (feminist conference) might be more interesting for me, as might SOS (ecological). Maybe I should look for a Fine Arts conference instead?

sleeping in

I may still be on Western Australian time. I was on teh computer last night until about 4am, catching up with things and posting reports. Slept until after 10am today. Felt good to be in my own bed. My right leg has been hurting today and though I will be going out for shopping today (and maybe go to the library at Wallsend) I won't be doing much else.

A good day to tie up loose ends and chase up neglected opportunities from home.

QC - It gets better (?)

A video I appear in:

 

Last Week in Review: Gender Issues

I seemed to get my nose rubbed in things when  my sister-in-law referred to me as "he" when ordering at a cafe and the waiter called me "sir" afterwards when delivering the meal. And that was within 2 hours of arriving. Mind you, there were other reminders about the issues for me in Perth.

Still no update that i know about the status of the High Court appeal over the gender recognition of AB and AH in Western Australia. . The Trans plenary  on Friday was however very informative, especially the talk given by Zoe. I hadn't realised that apart from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders  (DSM), that there is another reference for medical use out there produced and maintained by the World Health Organisation (WHO) , the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). That means we can quite easily delete certain offending sections of the DSM that pigeon-hole trans folk as mentally ill if we use the ICD.

There may be be some progress in human rights in W.A. as well. At the the moment you have gender reassignment before granted gender recognition which changes one's birth certificate. And only those with gender recognition get anti-discrimination protection! However, this maybe changed soon. 

The incident at the Court Hotel just reinforces my opinion about Western Australia being a parochial and conservative state. Am glad that I don't intend on living there again, any time soon.

As heard on Gothville Radio