Linda Evans (Left), Alison Laurie (Right) Wellingtonian Alison Laurie has pushed for LGBT rights and freedoms in NZ, Denmark, Norway and the US; she was a key proponent of homosexual law reform and now teaches gender and women’s studies at Victoria University. Who are you and what is your background? I'm Alison Laurie - I'm of mixed Pakeha and Maori descent (Cornwell, Ngai Tahu, Guernsey and Scotland). I was born in Wellington, attended Island Bay Primary School, South Wellington Intermediate School, and Wellington East Girls' College. I came out as a lesbian at secondary school, spent a short period at Victoria before running off to Sydney to join the kamp crowds in the Cross, came back, worked for Broadcasting, and left for London. I worked on lesbian, gay and feminist politics there and in Denmark, Norway and the US before returning to NZ and becoming involved in lesbian organising here. I left again, but came back to stay in the eighties. I came late to academic life - I've worked as a broadcaster, international tour manager, teacher off English as a foreign language and community educator, among other things. I was a founder of Sisters for Homophile Equality (SHE), the first lesbian organisation in NZ, of circle magazine, the first lesbian magazine, of the lesbian community radio programme on Wellington access radio, and have worked in gay liberation, the gay task force, the campaign for homosexual equality, the lesbian coalition, Lesbian Action for Visibility in Aotearoa (LAVA) and many other groups, especially on human rights campaigns. How long have you been working at Victoria University and what do you do? I've worked at VUW since 1988, though did some tutoring and lecturing on a casual basis before then. I work for the Gender and Women's Studies Programme, and am currently Programme Director. I started the first LGBT Studies university courses in NZ from 1990, as well as teaching Lesbian Studies community courses through the WEA, Continuing Education and Nelson Polytechnic. I also teach Oral History and Auto/biography, Feminist Writing, and contribute to a range of GWS courses including the introductory, theory and images courses. What's the most enjoyable aspect of your work at University? I like teaching, and enjoy research and writing. Why do you think it was important for lesbians to join with gay men in demanding homosexual law reform over 20 years ago? Lesbians didn't just "join with gay men in demanding homosexual law reform". Many lesbians had been at the forefront of lesbian and gay politics in New Zealand since the 1960s. Lesbians were early members of the Homosexual Law Reform Society, and provided leadership as well as strong participation throughout the country during the early 1970s in Gay Liberation, and during the later 1970s in the National Gay Rights Coalition. Lesbians became politically active far earlier than many gay men, as their political cconsciousness was raised not only by the appalling way they were treated as lesbians, but by the humiliating and discriminatory treatment they received as women - compounded of course, by race and class. For example, women could not obtain finance for mortgages or even open an account at a department store without a male guarantor until the early 1980s in some cases, and even today women earn just 82 cents for the full dollar that men earn. Lesbians and radical gay men fought together on the Young and Freer campaigns, especially against the proposed Wall Amendment (fortunately defeated), and had a commitment from the 1970s to an equal age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual practices. Further, lesbians and radical gay men campaigned for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Human Rights Act from its passage in 1977, until this was finally achieved in 1993. The 1985 -1986 campaign was a continuation of these politics - the difference being that many more lesbians and gay men became involved in what developed into a nation-wide campaign involving the whole country. Lesbian interest in homosexual law reform from the beginning of this history was because: 1. While any form of homosexuality was criminalised, there was an ever-present risk that the law would be extended to include women. There was a serious attempt to do this in the UK in 1923, and lesbian sexual practices were illegal in a number of countries, including some US States. From time to time there had been threats to criminalise lesbian sex here - the 1961 Crimes Act had introduced lesbianism into the law, by making sex between women over 21 and girls under 16 illegal - once this was there, it could have been extended. Thus lesbians had a strong personal interest in having consenting male homosexual practices decriminalised with an equal age of consent to heterosexual practices. 2. Because male homosexuals were regarded as criminals, lesbians were seen as criminal by the police and others, especially when attempting to socialise in public. Police were reported as telling some lesbians "we can't lock you up, but we should be able to. You better watch out, because we will find something to get you for". This was also true in Australia, and other countries where male homosexuality was illegal - all queer people were regarded as beyond the pale and de-facto criminals. 3. The criminal association meant that lesbians and gay men could be, and were, fired from jobs, evicted from their homes, and generally faced constant harassment and discrimination as social undesirables. Lesbians could not escape from a criminal association, while male homosexuality remained illegal. Decriminalisation was the first step towards some kind of social acceptance and eventually human rights protection against the worst abuses. What characterises the New Zealand LGBT community for you? I think that there are many different LGBT communities - there is no one "community". Communities are divided by race, class, age, gender, sexual practices, geographic location, disability, religious belief, and many other factors. Unfortunately, though there is much to be said for such rich diversity, this lack of unity means a lack of recent political organising. We have lost many of our LGBT institutions and meeting places, and with the demise of events like Devotion and Hero, the all-important principle of lesbian and gay liberation - that of VISIBILITY is on the wane. I think LGBT people who imagine fondly that they have been assimilated into the wider society, and that visible LGBT political communities are no longer needed, are whistling in the dark. It doesn't take much to fan up homophobia and hatred - for example, the protests and arguments used by Brian Tamaki and his followers during the Civil Union campaign were identical with many used 20 years ago in 1985-1986. I think that the e-communities created by GayNZ.com are very important, as are the tele-communities created by programmes like Takatapui and Kiwifruit, but we need also face-to-face interaction through clubs and public events. LGBT community development is our single most important activity. What is the worst thing for you about being lesbian? Being a social outsider..... What is the best thing? Being a social outsider! It gives me a critical edge! Relationship status? Live with my partner Linda Evans, we have now been together for 25 years. Favourite food and drink? Oysters, kina, all sea-food really. Drink - many white wines (chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris) as well as many red wines (pinot noir, merlot). Am a coffee addict, and enjoy the occasional single malt, or gin and diet tonic. Worst habit? Procrastination. Most noble feature? Making myself complete tasks like filling out this questionnaire. Favourite TV programme? Coronation Street. Favourite movie? This changes all the time, but at present it's "Som det ar i himmelen" - "As it is in heaven". Qualities you most appreciate in a LGBT person? Awareness of LGBT politics, courage to be visible and confront oppression. What are you reading at the moment? Alison Bechdel "Fun Home, a family tragicomic". This is her autobiography, done as a cartoon strip. Who in the world, including New Zealand, would you most like to have a coffee and a chat with? My partner and/or my good friends - to have a nice relaxing time. Role models? Early lesbian, feminist and gay activists who fought consistently and with great courage, often without recognition or reward, to improve conditions. What is the most pressing issue currently facing the New Zealand LGBT population? Human rights both here and internationally. If you could have one wish granted what would it be? Time to write and publish several more books and anthologies on LGBT topics. GayNZ.com - 5th September 2006