Queer community stands strong despite setbacks

By Nicola Ceccato

Nov 20, 2023

Working as a team: The Rainbow Community Angels stood around the protesters and kids and their families, creating a protective barrier. Photo by Megan Fisher

The unwavering spirit of Shepparton’s queer community was on show last week following the cancellation of an OUTintheOPEN festival event.

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Rainbow Storytime was meant to take place inside the Shepparton Library on Thursday, November 16, but was cancelled by the library the day before following concerns for the participants’ safety due to a planned protest.

However, this didn’t stop the queer community from coming down to the library and making some noise of their own.

With the help of the Rainbow Community Angels, a community-led safety initiative launched earlier this year, a pop-up drag storytime took place outside the library.

The event was attended by nearly 100 people, with the community angels surrounding kids and families at the event, as drag queen Frock Hudson read stories to them.

Sharing some words: Frock Hudson came along to read a collection of stories to the kids. Photo by Megan Fisher

Convenor of the OUTintheOPEN festival Damien Stevens-Todd said it was a great event to be part of despite the circumstances leading up to it.

“I think today was a beautiful community event with many different people coming together in solidarity to show their support for rainbow families for inclusion, for pride in LGBTIQA+ people and our culture,” Mr Stevens-Todd said.

“Events like this, which are optional, allow LGBTIQA+ people to celebrate as a community their collective queer culture in ways people can choose to join in or not.

“You have a few people who aren’t coming to these events and have no interest in the events at all; so they just need to let us do our own thing.”

Out in the open: OUTintheOPEN convenor Damien Stevens-Todd was one of the many community angels at the event. Photo by Megan Fisher

Rainbow Storytime was one of the several events cancelled at the festival this year due to similar safety concerns.

Queer-aoke at the Railway Hotel Merrigum on Wednesday, November 15, and Sunday Serve at the Aussie Hotel with drag queens Gabriella Labucci and Daisy Chains performing on Sunday, November 19, were cancelled.

It also follows the postponement of Wangaratta’s Rainbow Ball in June, among other cancelled Rainbow Storytimes across libraries in Victoria.

Making a scene: Wren Marlowe and Ruby Wyatt-Carter showed their support. Photo by Megan Fisher

Goulburn Valley Libraries chief executive Felicity Macchion said they had run the drag storytime event for four years now as part of the festival.

She said it was wonderful to see the community come together to celebrate; however, it was a “bittersweet” event as it highlighted some of the systemic issues within the community when it comes to events like this.

“It was so disappointing,” Ms Macchion said about the original cancellation.

“Libraries are for everybody, we celebrate diversity, and this storytime was a fun event to say, hey, let’s celebrate all the different families we have in Shepparton.

“We didn’t want to risk (the safety of) our families, so it was a really difficult decision, one that we didn’t take lightly.”

“But to see how unthreatening the angels are, they’re just supporting the LGBTIQA+ community, and that’s what we all want to do; we all want to be there and support them.”