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https://theconversation.com/dennis-altman-urges-us-to-radically-reimagine-the-future-like-he-did-in-the-60s-275933>
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Review: Righting My World by Dennis Altman (Monash University Press)
At the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, nearly 50 years ago, 53 people
were arrested. Many lost their jobs when the
Sydney Morning Herald published
their names. That was in 1978.
Now, it’s the largest Pride event in Oceania – and a major income-generating
tourist drawcard. Its hundreds of thousands of participants include emergency
services, police and defence personnel.
In 2023, the Australian prime minister marched for the first time. Rainbow
signage in government buses, trains, ferries and light rail announced “Ride
with Pride”. This was echoed by exhibitions, fashion items, shop displays,
banners and murals. An activist element remained, with stickers calling for
“Queer liberation not rainbow capitalism”. That year also saw the resolution of
murder cold cases, and new inquiries into them.
This year, the rainbow flag flew from Sydney Town Hall and on Australia Post
boxes, and the route of the 1978 march was heritage listed. The celebration
received rapturous media coverage.
This incredible shift is because of people like academic and writer Dennis
Altman.
Righting My World, an anthology of essays spanning half a century,
tells the story of his long history in activism. It began in 1960s New York
amid the emerging gay liberation movement, which “grew out of the
counterculture and other radical movements, particularly feminism”.
For younger members of LGBTQIA+ communities lamenting their “missing fathers”
after the AIDS epidemic, Altman’s book counters the “absence of communal
history in any mainstream historical records”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
