Dear Ethel,
I just moved to Dunedin to begin my first year of study. I grew up in a small rural town and I didn’t meet another LGBT person. I have been questioning for a while now and have been excited about the possibility of coming to Dunedin and finally being able to meet other like-minded people. Then I came across an opinion piece in the ODT which was extremely homophobic and transphobic. What kind of place have I moved to? Are there any safe places for me to explore my sexuality/gender identity?
-Worried first-year
Thanks for your letter ‘Worried first-year’,
I can understand how reading that opinion piece would make you question whether there are any safe places in Dunedin to explore and question your identity. While there are, unfortunately, people living in Dunedin who hold some pretty negative attitudes towards people with diverse sex, sexuality and gender identities, there are some pretty awesome people too! Sally Shaw, a lecturer at the School of Physical Education, wrote an opinion piece in response stating that…
“Fortunately, in 2016, we’ve got increasing numbers of people who embrace the increase of discussions, festivals, and debates on the vagaries, the messiness, and the incredible and wonderful differences of sexuality and gender identity.”
Finding out about and coming to terms with the incredible and wonderful differences of gender and sexual identity is sometimes a challenging and confusing experience. It can be daunting to be confronted with labels such as gay, lesbian, bi, trans, ‘queer’. Therefore, it’s important that as a society we provide inclusive and safe spaces, where people recognise that sexual orientation and gender identity are not fixed but are part of what makes us the unique individuals that we are at any given time.
And there are plenty of opportunities for you to meet and chat with like-minded people here at the University of Otago. The OUSA Student Support Centre has a Queer Support service, where you can meet with the coordinator or one of their trained peer supporters’. You can also come along to the SPACE talking group for queer and questioning students’. You can contact Hahna at Queer Support by emailing: q.support@ousa.org.nz.
The campus also has the student run group, UniQ. The regular UniQ events are a great place to meet other queer and questioning students on campus. UniQ organises everything from a weekly coffee group to film nights to their XO parties. Check out UniQ Otago on Facebook or email: OtagoUniQ@gmail.com
-Ethel