Sun 27 Mar 2016 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
Massage and bodywork treatments will be offered free of charge to give thanks to veterans and survivors of the Homosexual Law Reform Campaign. The event is being organised by Nonprofit artist Creek, who has a practitioner's certificate in relaxation massage from the Lotus College of Natural Therapies in Dunedin. HLR30 Hands On will provide massage and bodywork by volunteers who are both members of the LGBTI communities, and are professionally trained in their chosen technique. “I've thought a lot about the ways in which being queer can bring tension into the body - mainly because of the way we internalise other people's fear of us I think,” says Creek.“That in itself can make it harder just to live our day-to-day lives sometimes.” “Then last year a meeting was held with lots of different LGBTI community groups present, to float ideas for events this year to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Homosexual Law Reform. I just kind of suggested this massage idea on the spot, and it was met with enthusiasm from people in the room, including those who were around in 1986. “Massage and other bodywork techniques are concerned with relieving tension from the body, which seems like an appropriate way to acknowledge the suffering caused by state-sanctioned shaming of queer bodies.” Originally conceived as 'massage for the Homosexual Law Reform activists’, Creek says the more stories they heard of that time, the more they reshaped it as 'massage for the Homosexual Law Reform survivors’. The event is simply free massage and bodywork treatments for anyone who made it through the 1970s and '80s as an LGBTI person. “Normally I just do massage at home as a gift for queer friends when they're in need,” says Creek “because I have an office job that pays the rent. “I do a basic Swedish style of massage; some of the other volunteers are more versatile and trained to a higher level than I am, so I'm glad of their experience. It means we're able to offer treatments like deep tissue work and craniosacral therapy as well.” Creek says those receiving the massage are thought of as elders in the community “they perceive a cultural inheritance for which they're grateful. “I think ours is a really rich community; it has its factions and fights of course, but I'm still really glad and grateful to be able to stand here. Visibility equals a place in the world, in a way, and they have handed us a good-sized chunk of place.” So far a dozen appointments for full-length treatments have been booked and people are also planning to attend the drop-in aspect of the event; “that's where they can just show up at Thistle Hall for a shorter treatment of say 15 to 20 minutes without a booking,” says Creek. “We still have capacity for another dozen or so full-length treatments - those are about an hour, an hour and a-half, but people do need to make a booking for that, and they are still very much welcome to do so. Despite everyone's enthusiasm for this event, it's been quite a challenge convincing anyone they are deserving of the relaxation on offer! “My response to that is simply: yes, you are. It's plenty enough to have survived.” - 27th March 2016