Murray Riches

In a recorded interview during the Marriage Equality Conference held in Wellington, Murray Riches, a communications student from Waikato University, discusses their research project "How Do We Make It Better" which explores the challenges faced by queer youth in New Zealand. The interview takes place against the backdrop of the 2010s, a pivotal decade for LGBTQ+ rights, and specifically mentions the use of the research in discussions on fighting homophobia by MP Jan Logie.

Riches, who grew up in a small town near Mount National Park, describes a childhood where queer visibility was nonexistent, with negative connotations surrounding the term "gay." It wasn't until leaving for another small town at 17 that Riches began to explore their sexuality and find a support network. Riches underscores the significance of having visible queer role models and how their absence contributes to feelings of isolation.

The use of derogatory language and homophobic humor was rampant and unchallenged in their formative years, highlighting a culture that perpetuated negativity towards the queer community. However, upon moving to a new town, the introduction to an older gay man provided Riches with a role model and an entry point into the queer community, which they found deeply liberating.

Riches' research project, initiated through collaborations with lecturers and politicians like Kevin Hague, seeks to improve the lived experiences of young queer individuals in New Zealand. Though progress has been made, there remain significant challenges such as homophobic bullying in schools, mental health issues, and higher rates of substance abuse within the queer youth community.

A key element of Riches' research involves interviews with community activists and youth workers, aiming to bridge grassroots knowledge with policy-making. Through these interactions, Riches crafts a set of recommendations promoting greater specificity in anti-bullying policies and increased queer visibility through public celebrations like pride parades.

Riches discusses the complexities around language and identity, noting generational shifts where younger individuals prefer the term "queer" to encompass a broader spectrum of identities. Against this backdrop, Riches hopes their research will drive meaningful changes, particularly in educational settings where policies on bullying and queer issues need to be critically examined and addressed.

The Marriage Equality Conference gives context to the broader movements happening across New Zealand. While initially skeptical about prioritizing marriage equality over youth issues, Riches acknowledges the empowerment it brings to the queer community, encouraging individuals to share their stories and confront heteronormative structures.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Murray Riches

2010s, activism, alcohol and drug abuse, aotearoa new zealand, bullying, church, closeted, coming out, community, community law (wellington), education review office (ero), gay, gender identity, green party, hero (auckland), heteronormativity, homophobia, how do we make it better (report), human rights, insideout kōaro, interviewing, invisibility, it gets better, jan logie, kazam youth hui (2011), kevin hague, labels, language, marriage, marriage equality, marriage equality conference (2012), media, mental health, mentor, murray riches, pahiatua, politics, pride, pride (hamilton), queer, queer straight alliance (qsa), rainbow youth, regions, religion, research, rural, silence, stereotypes, study, suicide, support, taumarunui, visibility, waikato, wellington, youth, youth'07 survey

abuse, acceptance, acting, anxiety, assumptions, auckland, change, christchurch, class, coming up, communication, conference, connections, conversation, culture, difference, education, email, energy, engagement, equality, exercise, face, family, friends, frustration, future, gay straight alliance, gender, ghana, growing up, hamilton, health, heterosexual, hit, homophobic bullying, hope, identity, kindness, lesbian, lgbt, love, marriage equality, mary, masculine, member of parliament, mental illness, middle class, nelson, news, normal, other, packers, parents, paris, passion, people, policy, poverty, power, prejudice, queen, rainbow, rally, relationships, resource, respect, review, scene, school, sex, sexuality, social, speech, sport, statistics, straight, struggle, stuff, substance abuse, tasmania, time, touch, tough, trans, university, violence, voice, wisdom, work, youth