LGBTI Conversations

Braeden Rhys AKA  KARA ZMATIQ   is the iconic  Live-Singing Drag Queen of Australia , best known for their stellar performances on Australia's Got Talent and appearances on Radio, Feature Films and Reality Television. ​ . ​ A serendipitous night out at Sydney's Iconic Drag Club, Stonewall Hotel Sydney, took Braeden from being led by prayer, to being on his knees for a whole new reason, embracing h...

Sexy Galexy began her career performing in drag shows and events around her home city of  Perth during the 90's golden age of lesbian and drag king culture before following the bright lights to Sydney to appear in her weekly shows alongside DJ Sveti at Kingki Kingdom. Sexy Galexy has performed in drag shows and pride festivals in Europe and North Americas and the  Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras...

Ben Graetz AKA Miss Ellaneous is a descendant of the Iwaidja and Malak Malak clans in the Northern Territory and of Badu Island in the Torres Strait, with over 20 years of creative practice spanning both First Nations and LGBTIQA+ identities. Recent career highlights include Artistic Direction of the Arafura Games ceremonies, Creative Producing independently and for companies including ILBIJERRI T...

Kate studied law and began her career in various legal roles including a one year appointment as Associate to Supreme Court Justice Steven Bailey (NT), and legal positions at Maddocks, Buchanan Group, and Port of Melbourne Corp. While completing a Master in Business Administration, Kate lectured at University of Melbourne and was a director of mid summa Festival for just over three years. From the...

Harry Cook is a British-Australian actor and author, best known for his roles in Accidents Happen alongside Geena Davis & the Australian thriller Caught Inside to name a few. It was his role in Drown that earned him a Best Supporting Actor Award at the FilmOut San Diego Film Festival in 2015. In September 2018, Cook's debut memoir Pink Ink Pink Ink was released, followed by his worldwide debut you...

Ken Felts  a ninety-year-old gay man who had never come to terms with his gift of homosexuality. Born in 1930 during the great depression, he grew up first in a small Western Kansas town and was indoctrinated into a somewhat, fundamental Christian church. After his first male-to-male sexual experience, the influence of the church teachings to which he had been exposed forced him to internalize his...

Danica now describes herself as Bi gender and discovered her sexuality whilst growing up in a remote town with a population of less than 400 people. Her first same sex relationship blossomed during her senior year of school but she was shortly outed and experiencing regular panic attacks. Together the pair escaped to Melbourne but as time goes by Danica felt terrified and bedridden, without a roof...

Tucker Shaw is an author and editor who first found his own gay tribe in New York City's East Village during the 1990's.  In 2018 Tucker overheard a young man on his way home from work talking about the AIDS crisis. The nearby voice proposed how that era "galvanized the gay community" and "had spurred change". He added that it had "paved the way to make things better, in the long run". Tucker publ...

Our next guest coming of age story began in the late 1960's in the steel city of Newcastle NSW, where Glenda Jackson first walked on stage in drag. Glenda has worked alongside other drag legends over time like Bubbles Le Gay and Carlotta to name just a few. Who would have guessed that a city that was built on coal and steel would have such a thriving drag scene, the queens of today would have been...

Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell's journey began in an antiques shop in Dallas when they discovered a photograph of two men, unmistakably in love. Nini and Treadwell saw themselves in the two men in the photograph and were filled with so many questions about who they were. Neither of them expected that this photograph would become the first of a 2,800-image collection and that they would publish their...

We all know Carla from Bankstown as the sassy Queen of social media, TikTok influencer, star of Celebrity Apprentice and the comedic personal assistant of NSW Premiere Gladys Berejiklian but now meet the very talanted man behind the character, Benjahmin James who is also equally as fasinating.    

Shannon Molloy is an award-winning journalist and author with more than a decade of experience working for major media outlets spanning print, digital and publishing. Shannon is the 2020 recipient of Journalist of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards. His debut book Fourteen, a memoir about growing up gay in regional Queensland, is a critically acclaimed bestseller that is now being adapted fo...

As Sydney's only Lebanese, lesbian, ex-Jehovah's Witness, comedian, Naomi Mourra grew up as a door-knocking Jehovah's Witness and closeted lesbian to Lebanese parents in the 1980s in Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia.  Naomi is your gateway woman to chicks, chickpeas, cults and culture.  Her solo shows, An Open Book, debuted in 2018. An Open Book, Naomi explores her own anecdotes as well as some of th...

Lee – Ann  is a proud Awabakal woman who grew up in Newcastle and has had extensive experiences in the LGBTQIA+ community, beginning as a Committee member of Rainbow Visions Inc committee from 2004 – 2010. Lee was involved in a number of significant community projects, amongst many, creating "Mixed fruits in suits" and the annual Winter Ball held at the Newcastle City Hall. Lee passionately believ...

Andrew Mercado has been named one of TV's most significant commentators while The Sunday Telegraph describes him as a walking TV encyclopedia. Andrew Mercado developed a love of TV and movies early on in his youth while spending every Saturday night hanging out with the projectionist at his local suburban picture theatre. His first job in television was a Village Roadshow Movie World Studios as Lo...

Tobias Madden is an author and editor from Sydney, Australia. His debut young adult fiction novel, ANYTHING BUT FINE , is out now in Australia at https://www.thebookshop.com.au/new-forthcoming/new-releases/anything-but-fine/ New Zealand at https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/anything-but-fine-9781761042027  USA  at https://www.amazon.com His second novel, TAKE A BOW, NOAH MITCHELL, is coming to Aus/NZ...

Reformed Mormon missionary Brad Harker speaks his truth about his religious upbringing, the struggle to come out at 42, fighting for marriage equality and finding love and acceptance within the community.