Pride thrives at the end of Melbourne's rainbow

Melbourne is a thriving haven for the queer community, with its landmark Pride Centre among the jewels in the crown, writes Denise Pilien 

In the aftermath of the lockdown years, Melbourne took tentative steps to a post-pandemic life -- and among the shining lights to grace the city was the Victorian Pride Centre, the first purpose-built centre for Australia's LGBTIQ+ communities.

Located in St Kilda, it is a place of safety, inclusion and celebration.

Abby Pedersen shares the purpose of the centre from her volunteer experience.

"The Victorian Pride Centre is a purpose-built hub that has 15 different resident organisations that all support the queer community in different ways," she says.  

Melbourne is ranked one of the most queer-friendly cities in the world. Photo: Denise Pilien

“It’s a bookable space, where different people from the queer community can have the events at our space and know it's going to be a safe space for them.

“Being in St. Kilda, there's a huge homeless community and they are welcome to come into our centre and often do, and it's nice that they feel safe, even if they don't identify as LGBTQIA+.”

Situated within the centre is JOY Media, the only radio station in Australia that represents queer people by sharing stories, events, news and music of the community and allies.

Dannii Karametos is a trans-woman working at JOY as a manager.

"Media is what shapes the way people think about these minorities. We have to educate people from grassroots," Dannii says.

“I lived in Brisbane for five years and employees didn't know I was trans. I never felt unsafe, but I was always very cautious of where I went there. Whereas I can walk in Melbourne and not feel that at all."

It’s no surprise that Melbourne has been named as the 4th queer friendliest city in the world by Big 7 Travel, scoring an impressive 98 on the equality index. The city has been described as having an edge and a distinguishable personality to make it unique. 

According to a Visit Melbourne article, Melbourne organises a pride march every year where LGBTQIA+ members and allies come together to proudly celebrate the diversity of gender and sexual identities. The community marches right next to Jackson Street, one of Victoria’s rainbow-painted roads. 

Just as rainbows are often present with rain, there are always hardships that can challenge the expression of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Victorian Government reports that queer Victorians faces higher levels of discrimination, exclusion, and stigma. 

In the past 12 months, 58 per cent of queer Victorians have faced unfair treatment based on their sexual orientation. 77.7 per cent of the trans and gender diverse Victorians have faced unfair treatment based on their gender identity. 22.6 per cent have faced harassment, such as being spat on, or being given offensive gestures.

Although visibility has become as a positive means to celebrate being queer, it can also lead to danger. 

The Victorian Government also reported that queer members in regional and rural areas were more likely to have higher rates of psychological distress, compared to those living in the inner-city areas; more than 36.4 per cent of queer individuals experience social exclusion.  

Dawn, a member of Swinburne’s Queer Collective, shares some bad experiences.

"I'd prefer it if we had less of a police presence when it comes to pride parades and stuff. We once had someone go missing for like two weeks, and the police barely did anything. So, I'd say I want community to rely on one another and trust one another a lot more,”

Rainbow roads are part of the Melbourne queer experience. Photo: Denise Pilien

But the LGBTQIA+ community in Melbourne is still proudly marching on and confidently strutting through the streets with influential fashion. According to the Injection Magazine, fashion is inherently one of the ways to express one’s identity, especially in the queer community due to an array of historical influences. 

Abby, from the Victorian Pride Centre said: “It’s a really nice way for people to express themselves and have fun with different clothing that they may not have had the opportunity to explore with when they were younger.

“Growing up, I always used to love getting [her brother’s] hand me downs because they were just like boys’ clothes and quite androgynous.” 

At JOY Media, Dannii celebrates the city's diversity.

"When I was growing up in this community, ‘queer’ was used as a derogatory term. Over time, we've taken that ownership of the word back. It’s exciting that young people want to embrace this word."