This page features computer generated text of the source audio. It may contain errors or omissions, so always listen back to the original media to confirm content. You can search the text using Ctrl-F, and you can also play the audio by clicking on a desired timestamp.
Listening this morning to, um, something about, um, research in Australia. It sounded pretty rough on young people school. Particularly. My strong sense was that that that that if you started talking human rights in schools, then teachers and and staff might not really understand where you're coming from. Um, because there might not be that many human rights in school for kids. I, I think for us, I I me personally, I've just finished university and [00:00:30] going into schools. I'm a first year teacher. Um, being recently being a youth and being going through the the whole schooling process, Um, it's really different from for us my point of view, you know, in New Zealand, because of how we as a society function and how we sort of see the world, um, New Zealand tend to look more about rights because of our relationship with the treaty and all those kind of things. I mean, we've all had, um, culture and diversity training [00:01:00] within schools first and foremost, haven't we through social studies and through all those, um, curriculum things that we do? Um and I mean, even with our work through, um, it's exposing those ST, um, kids that come into our youth group and be able to, um, express their rights and sort of say OK, if if there's something wrong, then what do I do? And the processes that are embedded within the youth now and in the culture and the society within our schools [00:01:30] actually give us a whole lot of, um, protection and rights. I also do think that, um, based on, like, hearing about other places in the world, it seems to be a majority of the schools that have a problem with it. Whereas, like in Hamilton, it kind of it feels a lot less like that. It feels like there's a minority out of all the schools, there's a minority that are still against it, and a majority of them have accepted it and incorporated not necessarily education. [00:02:00] But like it's kind of you can tell that the environment is very friendly and to the point of like teachers, if you're out, they will discuss it with you and that kind of thing. And especially at my school, we're allowed same sex partners and always have. I think, um well, all have for a number of years, and so that's when it comes to balls and things like that is not an issue with my school, and it's a coed. So, yeah, [00:02:30] um, I think when compared to other countries like Australia, it is a lot better, especially for other people like teachers. Especially like a seminar yesterday was talking about the harshness that teachers can't actually be out in Catholic schools or else they'll be fired. And so, yeah, I think New Zealand has got it quite good. And so young people themselves benefit from teachers having greater freedom. [00:03:00] I think it's the whole, um, the society as well, Like it's more accepting for us. I mean, we were just at, um, which is our national museum, and we went walked through and we saw, uh, an exhibit on New Zealand homosexuality Reform Bill, and that was so touching because, um, I'm 23. So when I was born in 1987 was the year that, you know it passed. So it was only 23 years ago, and yet we've made so much progress and all the the the the problem we have [00:03:30] now for me anyway, as a young adult is educating those who are younger than me to. Then look at Hey, remember all the hard work, all the big wins that all these people have done. Remember that you and the way you do things and the way that the rights that you have were won by so few people and, um, got to just give that recognition to them, I think also, um, especially at my school. Um, um, there have been teachers who have been out in the workplace, [00:04:00] and I think the common trend that's been, um, in Hamilton definitely is that a majority of people and and the majority of schools that are OK with it if they're not out, it's personal choice. It's not. They feel like they can't be out. It's a personal choice that they don't want to be out and that that they don't want to be out to their colleagues or whatever. But it's not because of fear of losing their job or anything like that. It's simply [00:04:30] their own choice, which I think is a real positive thing. And it reflects that, you know, we've made heaps of progress. And what about other ways of of looking at sexuality and gender in the Pacific, like um, Takata? Um uh, is that Did you know that the the full extent of the way those people, people who call themselves that can feel say, [00:05:00] Well, I'm not gay. Um, uh, I'm a I'm a man physically, and I feel as if I have the woman spirit inside of me, but that's quite normal. I don't want that to change. I don't know about these boys, but with me, I I've had, um, dealings with a diverse group of people. Um I. I lived on K Road for a couple of months when I was, um, 18. And just with friends and stuff and having the, uh, the drag queens [00:05:30] and the and the the that were out there, um gave me a better insight, but it, um it also brought out the harshness of the the realities of sometimes difference does there is a bigger pool of difference. It's not just the black and white that we see. So it's It's, um it's really hard as a young person to accept. Maybe I'm not. I'm not so right. And maybe I don't fit into these tick boxes [00:06:00] that we've created. I mean, we've had to create these these tick boxes, but now they're sort of being made redundant. I Before I went, before I started going to wacky, I had a very kind of limited knowledge. It was generally what I think I knew was, um gay, lesbian and bisexual. And that was probably the extent to my knowledge of, um, GL BT. Um but then as the more I became involved in, um, wacky and the more I learned from [00:06:30] Wacky, um, the more terms I became familiar with and the the more I I actually have, um, because of Waki met drag queens and seeing people in drag and so that that kind of thing, by being by being involved in a youth group, it builds your understanding and you meet a lot of different people because they because queer is such a big umbrella in it and and it covers all areas. [00:07:00] That means you're meeting not just gay males or not just gay females. But you're meeting a whole wide variety of people. And so that's where I gained my knowledge. I probably have to say that I'm a little like Jake, like I didn't know a lot about the gay community before going to, like, I knew the basic identities of gay, bisexual lesbian, but, um, meeting people and hearing [00:07:30] about, like, people they know it really does extend your, um, vocabulary for the gay community. And even today, like like LGBT was extended to LGBTI Q for me. Like a lot of like, I don't use that word that often now. And I probably should still look at the meaning what it is. But yeah, I'm definitely learning. Thanks to all this extra education, [00:08:00] this is a very Pacific event. I guess that my ob observation it's not It's not a event. Um, it would be impossible to say that it's been invented by pakeha. Exactly. Um, because there are so many people from the Pacific here do do. Do you feel New Zealand is Pacific country? I think I think New Zealand, um, encompasses a wide variety of people. And I think [00:08:30] that's a really good thing about New Zealand. As long as you like when you live here, no matter if you're Asian Maori Um pakeha, um Dutch, you know, you're you become a New Zealander. You be You recognise yourself as a kiwi, and that's a really good thing about New Zealand. There's kind of no definition to like. We're not one particular colour or one particular race. We are just all united, [00:09:00] and I think that's one really good thing about New Zealand. That's how it feels to me that everyone in New Zealand is united under the one banner being New Zealander or Kiwi. The support I think of, um, the the whole Pacific coming together here in Wellington, Um just brings about that diverse sense of difference and difference in a good way. Um, it gives I think it gives us, um, a greater sense of what it is to be [00:09:30] at GL BT I Not just as, um, citizens of New Zealand, but citizens of the world. And so And it's a really good thing, Any thoughts And have you thought what you might take away personally, Um, and in the work you do or your more public involvement community and the rest of it anything in particular that that this these last few days of I think for for me [00:10:00] and being a facilitator at Wa youth is just getting the information I've learned from this conference and just, um, giving it out to, um, those younger students and and, uh, peers in Hamilton and and saying, Hey, look, these are some of the awesome things that I've learned. Um, I I want to share it with you and hopefully you learn something from me and just, you know, creating that that bank of knowledge within that community so that it keeps growing and growing [00:10:30] I for for me, I'm gonna take away, like, a better understanding about what it means to be, um, a queer person and a a more a better understanding of how I fit into it. And, um, also the good thing about this is that every point someone makes it makes you think you're not sitting there and just listening to someone drawn on. You're actually sitting there listening to someone who has had experience [00:11:00] in this area and who's done studies and all this kind of stuff, and it really triggers your triggers, your thinking. You just keep on coming up with ideas and and new ideas. Um, I know yesterday I was sitting in, um in all the workshop, different workshops to do with education, and I jotted down about 20 pages of notes and you know half of them, half of them were triggered from an idea that someone someone, one of the people speaking and said And I came up [00:11:30] with something that could relate to, um um the youths that attend Waki or facilitators or, you know, um, our culture kind of thing. So it's really just cut going away with an intent, a good knowledge, a good in depth knowledge and a good understanding of what it means to be LGBT. I think I've I'm improving my understanding of the gay community from this, um [00:12:00] being exposed to a lot of ideas that you generally wouldn't hear about in the media or school. Like Like he enormity like I've never really heard about that until, like, briefly at but and deeply here, and it's been pretty good, like it's it's a good base for me because I wouldn't say I'm an expert on all of these things, but it is a place for me to start. [00:12:30] I think that that networking, um I mean, we we do a lot of that within our own circles, and, um, we do go away to local conferences which hopefully we will again this year. But It's just the the feel of having a load of Australians come over and and other cultures around that have presented. And it's just saying that it's not all that different as well. I mean, it may not be exactly the same, but it's also they're facing the same problems that many [00:13:00] of our, um students are facing. So it's just there is that innate problem that is there. I mean, yeah, so that's that's cool. But I mean, the things that we learned from this conference, we hope to take it away to the local conferences that we do do. And that would be quite excellent, like we've got coming up soon. And, um, we we might be hosting a conference later on this year. Um, so it's it's for youth [00:13:30] by youth, so that's pretty much where our core is and where we want to keep going. So these guys are the next next next sort of leaders within, Um, when we start getting a bit too old and he goes, you know, and we just keep rolling through. And as as long as we keep the flame alive that you know, there were these people who used to be us or used to be the youth. And now I have moved on, and this just needs to keep going. So we get the awesome conferences like this [00:14:00] making it Pacific and sure, if you can Yeah, I mean, in itself is based on, um, the Maori principles of strength and unity. And and that's basically what you do, you queer youth in New Zealand need is, um, having the strength to be able to surpass those those obstacles is thrown in in in your way. And, um I mean, these guys are exam Great examples of those who have come through and, you know, become really [00:14:30] good citizens of the GL BT community because they are being proactive about learning and then passing on that knowledge to the next generation, as we have done.
This page features computer generated text of the source audio. It may contain errors or omissions, so always listen back to the original media to confirm content.
Tags