The title of this recording is "Mahs - Q12". It is described as: Mahs talks about being young, demisexual and panromantic in 2012. It was recorded in Whanganui, Manawatū on the 16th August 2012. The duration of the recording is 18 minutes, but this may not reflect the actual length of the event. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. A brief description of the recording is: In this podcast Mahs talks about being young, demisexual and panromantic in 2012. The content in the recording covers the 2010s decade. A brief summary of the recording is: The podcast titled "Mahs - Q12," recorded in Whanganui, Manawatū on August 16, 2012, presents an intimate discussion with an individual named Mahs, focusing on themes of identity, sexuality, and personal discovery during the early 2010s. During the 18-minute conversation, Mahs shares experiences of being young, demisexual, and panromantic in 2012. Through a lively dialogue with the interviewer, Mahs recounts moving from Australia to New Zealand at the age of nine and embarking on a career as a hairdressing student with a penchant for asymmetrical styles. Alongside a passion for hairdressing, Mahs identifies as a "giant geek," enjoying video games, art, and the visual arts movement Dada. Despite a humorous attempt to downplay these interests, they are acknowledged as an integral part of Mahs' identity. The conversation dives into Mahs' exploration and understanding of sexuality. Identifying as demisexual, Mahs explains that this means experiencing sexual attraction only after forming a strong emotional connection with someone. The journey to this realization involved a progression from identifying as bisexual to pansexual, before finally resonating with the concept of demisexuality - a middle ground between sexuality and asexuality. Mahs shares candidly about the process of coming out, highlighting initial reluctance due to fears sparked by the experiences of schoolmates and societal perceptions. Ultimately, courage was found, and the first person Mahs confided in was a best friend. Reactions from friends were mostly supportive, with many already suspecting or affirming Mahs' sexuality. By contrast, the family response was initially negative, with Mahs' mother struggling to understand and accept the situation, although support was still present. Another aspect of the conversation tackles romantic relationships and Mahs' current partnership with a straight male best friend who finds Mahs' sexuality fascinating rather than problematic. Mahs' describes a balance between a sometimes masculine presentation and feminine dressing when required, as well as past challenges with gender identity. Mahs also discusses the methods used to interact with the broader LGBTQ+ community and finds common ground with others through shared interests such as video gaming and attending events like Armageddon. Accessories like a bracelet for a friend with leukaemia and another promoting safe sex practices symbolize Mahs' supportive network and engagement with wider issues. Finally, the recording delves into Mahs' perception of virginity as a personal and subjective concept, highlighting that definitions may vary greatly among individuals and be influenced by religious or cultural backgrounds. The full transcription of the recording begins:  Hello. How are you today? I'm good. Thank you. That's good. What's your name? Mars. Mars. Like the planet or the Mars Bar on the planet? No. Yeah. Mars. You're just from a different planet. Yeah, Exactly. Pretty much. Yeah. So how old are you? I'm 18. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Um, I was born in Australia. I moved here when I was nine years old. And I'm a hairdressing student here at what's your favourite thing to do in hairdressing? I don't know. Um, I'm really into the asymmetrical real out there stuff, you know? Lady, go. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Try that thing. That's, um That looks like a frozen sneeze. Yeah, exactly. Rule out there. Love it. Yeah. So, um, so how about hobbies or interests? Um, I'm actually a giant geek. I really like video games. Um, I'm really into art painting all that sort of video game. Yeah, I know. It's horrible. I try not to admit it when I'm not stuff like this. It's not alcoholic. Anonymous. Anyone wants video games? Anonymous? Pretty much. I try to keep that little fact to myself. So you like art? What's your favourite artist. Um, I really like Oh, there's heaps of them. Oh, I don't really know about artists. I really like the art movement. That was a Yeah, that was really cool. Real Spanish stuff. That's yeah, about it. Yeah, it's my favourite. What video games do you play? Oh, gosh, this is so embarrassing. I really like the survival horrors, which I know like, Yeah, it's pretty bad. Did resident evil Silent Hill hm? Yeah, Yeah, I can see you. Just, uh, just playing like PlayStation or something. Going, like die. You fucking Yeah. Pretty much. Three o'clock in the morning. So I went online. I was like, Oh, screw you. Yep. With the little headphones. That's me. Yeah. It's horrible with, like, um, a bottle of coke right next to you? Yeah. That. Yeah. I'm not gonna lie. That's pretty much, Yeah. Corn chips, corn chips, potato chips, like, um, any lollies? Yeah. Couple of beers, if I need it. Sometimes it's pretty pretty bad. I love it. So, um, what is your original sex? Female? What's your identity? Female. And what is your cultural identity? Oh, What do you mean by that? What do you like kind of like See, what culture do you like to be? But you're more involved. Oh, if I say Australian does that count? Yeah. OK, um, what is your sexuality, Demisexual? Yeah, we haven't used this one for a while. What is demisexual? Um it's basically the grey area in between sexuality and asexuality where you're not sexually attracted to somebody until you're connected with them on a really emotional level. So, um, you're AEX. What is your romantic, then? Are you pan romantic, Lesbian or romantic? Gay, romantic, Straight romantic. Uh, pan romantic. Really? Yeah. So even though I can still be sexually attracted to somebody, it takes a long time for that to really kick in. Ok, um, how do you, um, when did you realise? Oh, I or the label? I really only probably found out about last year. I think I went from bisexual to pansexual, but pansexual was really on the fence about because it wasn't quite right as well. Asexuals real was it was a bit too extreme as well, until you found out until I until I heard about Demi sexuality and I researched it and talked to people. And that's what Yeah, that sounded perfect. It was a nice little discovery, Really. It's like, um, it's like the three little Bears. Oh, no, This is too big. Too small, too, too hard. Oh, that's just right. It's a good cheer for me. Yeah, Exactly. That's pretty much it. So, um, how old were you when you, um, realised that then, uh, 17. Just 18. I think when I figured out about the Dimi sexuality thing, Although I'd been struggling with my own sexuality, probably 12 or 13, I started getting a bit on the fence about it. How are we feeling? You, uh, kind of confused in some ways, Um, some other people at school were coming out as being, you know, bisexual. A lot of the girls did it, but that freaked me out a lot, so I didn't say anything. Um, a lot of the girls that said they were bisexual back then actually aren't at all a phase phase or yeah, or a label or just to see different. And it scared the shit out of me. So I didn't say a word at all through the entirety of high school. And to worry about my final year, I'd make jokes about it. But I never actually admit at all because, you know, the rumours went around pretty fast. Exactly. Yeah. You tell one person the whole school knows the half day. Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't even I don't even think I told anybody. Somebody just said it once. He was. Oh, Money's a lesbian. And I'm like, Oh, OK, here we go. Here we go. Yeah, but yeah, they only lasted a couple of months before they died down again. So it wasn't too bad. So not too bad. It wasn't too bad. Yeah. So, um, when are you out? Yeah, Yeah, Fully out. Screaming out. Kind of Probably not screaming out. Like, if somebody else I'll be like, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm not too bothered. Um, you just you don't bring out a big collection of flags. Yeah. No, I don't. I don't parade it. But if someone's curious, the rain flag goes up and that you start singing born this way. Yeah, Pretty much sometimes. Sometimes our national anthem. Exactly. So, um, who did you come up to first? Oh, actually, my boyfriend at the time. I'm dating my best friend right now. Um but I wasn't with him. Then, um, I'd been thinking of like, oh, how to explain. I had friends that had been with me throughout the entire figuring out process, but when it came to actually discovering the little demisexuality term, it was actually my best. My best friend. He was sitting next to me and I said something like, Oh, so I'm thinking about coming out to my mum as Demisexual. And he went, 00, OK. He had no idea that I was even questioning anyway. So, yeah, he was the first person ever. Yeah, my best friend. I think my mom, she ended up being the last person I told. But that's usually the case. From what I've heard from other people, What is the, um what were the main reactions that you got when you told them, uh, parents or friends friends were really supportive? They didn't really care at all, Or most of them said, and you were ready, or they could have guessed. Um, parents? Well, my mom only live with her. She was really negative at first, Very negative. She said she supported me, but she was really negative about it. For a while because I just told her I was bisexual. Because it's so much easier for her to understand because you told her I was. You were demisexual. She'll be like, Hey, yeah, And then I'd have to explain it, and then she'd get confused. Oh, I can't be bothered. You had to bring out the like, the old white board. Explain that. It all falls under different. My mom is too old for that. So I just said bisexual. Um, I think the first time I told her she was really she was supportive about it. And then probably about two days later, she exploded. Uh, one of my favourite quotes was I can't believe my daughter is a liquidy split. I Yeah, that wasn't that wasn't very good at all. That was pretty bad. The new one. Yeah, I I've never heard that term myself either. Um, yeah. Mum was quite negative at first. She's still a bit weird about it. She's kind of obsessed with it, actually, she brings it up a lot. Um, like my boyfriend, My boyfriend, Um, people were like, Oh, so how is it like for you, for your girlfriend? What's with your girlfriend? liking girls too. He thinks it's awesome. Um, obviously, But, um yeah, my mom was like, Oh, you know, don't Don't tell him that you you know that you're bisexual, but who? He's the first one. That you? Yeah, he's the first one that you like. Stop it. Oh, well, yeah, she's quite She's OK with it Now. We don't talk about it, though. Yeah. How about talking about with your partner? Uh oh, no, he loves it. He thinks it's hilarious. Um, I tell we talk about birds all the time. I think we found a, um a neutral spot. Yeah. Yeah. We found a video on the, um, somewhere of this video. I was like, Hang on. I probably should have went of a weight lifting chick. Um, I don't know where she's from. I know, I know. Like even then, that doesn't sound very good, But she was She wasn't but like when I was telling him like, Oh, I need to show you this video of this weight lifting chick. He was like, 00, weight lift. I'm like No, no, no. She's like, super lightweight. She thinks she did about 50 KGS this tiny, tiny She was so hot as well. And I was like, You need to see how hot this chick is. And he thought that was so cool. We got really excited that we were talking about this hot chick together. Um, I think he almost died When I said she had a cute butt, he couldn't get over there. I thought that was so cool. So yeah, he thinks it's great. He doesn't mind at all. It's like you could watch porn together. Exactly. Yeah, he thinks it's great. I was dating a girl before I started dating him. And he likes to tell himself that he turned a gay girl straight, which he didn't but helps him sleep at night or something. I don't know. He loves it. At least he can tell his there. Yeah, exactly. So, um, you've had a bit of support apart from your mother? Yeah. Yeah, Mom does support me, though. I think it's the The Age Group, like her generation makes it difficult for her to fully get through like, um and because I'm an only child. She says that's a bit of a hard one as well, because she wants grandchildren and all that even though I can, I still like men. She seems to be obsessed with the female part of it. But shrug even though I would have liked full support, I don't mind that the It's it was a bit touchy in the middle. I wasn't surprised it happened at all because of the generation age gap. So that's fine. Yeah. So how did you feel about the reactions that were given that they were good? Oh, not really that surprised because a lot of my friends that I've met through the years ended up actually being gay in some way or her voice that they were completely fine with it, even though it took me ages to tell them I always knew that they were OK with it anyway, so it was all quite fine for me. I didn't have that much trouble. So, um, you're in a relationship currently And you've been in relationships before that Just a few. Not a lot. Not a lot like the sexuality thing. Kind of puts a bit of a When was your first relationship? 14, actually with, um, a friend of mine. She was great. She was really cool. We're actually still really good friends now. Um, but that was when I was still really questioning. And I told my mom about one of the other girls at school who said that she was bisexual, and mom was like, Oh, no, it's a phase. It's a phase it doesn't exist. And I was like, Oh, shit. Oops. I'm screwing around. You know, I'm obviously in the phase, so I actually broke up with my friend, which I kind of still regret. Now she knows that we both regret it, actually, but yeah, 14. Yeah, that was the first one that went for, like, three months. But I've probably only been in about yeah, four relationships my entire life, which is fine. That even seems like a lot to me. But apparently it isn't. So is it like two girls, two boys or something? Yeah, exactly. That. Yeah. Nice and even. And even So, how long have you been with your current partner? Uh, two months next week, but we've been best friends for a ridiculous amount of time. Is he open to sexuality? Yeah. Yeah, he, um he's straight himself. Um, I make gay jokes at him all the time. Um but he's not bothered by it at all. If someone you know, teasing about being gay, he doesn't understand why that's a bad thing, which is really cool. That's actually great. Yeah, I know. He doesn't understand. Like, why are you teasing about why would I be, you know, upset if he thought I was gay, which is really cool. I tease him about all the time he got, um, glandular fever a few months ago. And the doctor asked him if he had been kissing a lot, and he cracked up laughing. And the doctor asked him if he'd been kissing boys or girls, which was probably the funniest thing I've ever. I don't understand why gender would matter, but yeah, but he was fine with it. He thought it was funny when mostly I think guys would probably get a bit shitty about asking if they'd been, you know, swapping spit with other boys. But he didn't mind at all. Um, so do you express yourself as a feminine or masculine type way or any other way? Bit of both. Um, I did have a bit of gender identity problems a few years ago that went on for quite a while. Um, every now and again, they still they still flare up a little bit. Um, probably on the more masculine side of feminine. I dress really girly when I have to, but most of the time, the voice is low. The you know the threat. Pretty much I get I can get pretty up like upper. Sounds horrible. Pretty mouthy. Yeah, I can get pretty mouthy if a boy starts being a bit of a dick. I'm not shy to throw a fist at all, so yeah. Is your boyfriend Metro? No. Surprisingly no, he isn't. And I like, Hey, I'm straight. No. How are you today? He actually does take the person, but he is, um he is actually a pretty shy, very introverted little dude. We're really makes it worse. Yeah, I know. It makes it even worse. He's really quiet and he'll sit there and he's really polite, and if he's ever going to be mean, he's passive aggressive, So you can't even tell that he's being mean. He just seems really modest. It's hilarious and really different in that way. I'm quite loud and I move around a lot, but he's quite happy just to sit and be quiet. So, yeah, he could be He could come across as Metro, I think if you let him, But he tries his best not to. He goes out like, Oh, my God. Those jeans do not. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He'll be like, Oh, those those Those look a bit off and they will sort of, like, click his tongue or something. So he could He's, like, trying not to like. Like, he's slowly starting to explode. That malfunction I wanted exactly he could, I think, if he's almost there not quite. Not enough to be called Metro, But I think he wouldn't have to try hard to be able to pass on Metro. Yeah, now that I think about it, just wait till there's a JJ S in. Yeah, exactly. And then he'll be all over it. He'll be working there. Probably manage it. So, um, how do you meet other people in the community? In the gay community? Yeah. Oh, here we go. This is the video gaming thing again. This is horrible. Horrible. A lot of my friends are a big, you know, horrible video gamer, but I try to keep that out of fast and quiet. Um, but that's how you get introduced. Yeah, that's how I meet them. Like who knew the community love video games? Oh, yeah. There's quite a few of them, Um, a lot of us. Real geeky people. You know, that Armageddon thing? I go to that every year, just mainly to hang with my friends. I went there when I was first. I was for about 14 with my friend at the time, my girlfriend at the time. And, um, we met heaps of people there. And now it's just where we go to because they're all around the North Island. I think it's mainly because if people like to dress up yeah, yeah, that's Yeah. There's a lot of people that do that there as well. Um, I don't, but I know my friends do, and, um, you'd actually I wouldn't be surprised if you've interviewed some of them. Um, I met them through there, actually. And then through their friends that are gay, we've all sort of collectively come together. Um, I went to, like through my high school, a lot of people. It's quite a close place, So people usually come out after they finish high school. And when us gays like when we figure out that someone else that went there was gay, we always like I'm friends with heaps of people that I honestly wouldn't have even talked to there at the time. Because we're gay. Like we just connected through that way and through, um, closet space as well. Yeah. When I found out about this place, I was like, Yes, that was so good. I know that you had the whole two bands. Oh, yeah. What? What are they? The black one says, Love your condom on it. Um, and this one is actually, um, one of my friend little sister's name on it. She has leukaemia, and so we all wear one of em. Charlotte Watson. She, um all of us wear one. Yeah, which is really cool about for about six or seven of us that have one of these and never take it off. I shower and everything. I'm the same, but yeah, and then I come out before. Yeah, I got the love of the condom. Skinny, um, green party. And in the dark, if it glows in the dark, it's fantastic. Yeah, Something wrong? with my voice. Not my voice. Pronunciation of coming out with words. Um, So what is your definition of virginity? Oh, I've actually had this conversation quite a bit. When you brought it up in the other room, I was like, Wow it talking about it. Oh, no. When you were in there before and you mentioned it, um, I had this conversation all the time. I think it's a personal thing. Um, yeah, definitely. A more personal thing. Depending. Especially with, like, the religious backgrounds. Like some people say that, you know, um, like, um thing. He said, you know, once the Cherries popped, which is some, but, like literally, I think that can happen just by riding a bike. So I wish I was kidding, But it's true. And so yeah, it depends on I think it's a personal, a personal thing. I honestly don't even know myself myself. I haven't thought about it that much, but yeah, I think it's a personal thing. Well, thank you for the interview. That's fine. Thank you very much. Not a problem. The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 2010s ; Aotearoa New Zealand ; Australia ; God ; Green Party ; Holland ; Lady Gaga ; People ; Q12 (series) ; Stuff ; Whanganui ; advice ; artist ; arts ; bisexual ; class ; coming out ; community ; conversation ; culture ; dating ; demisexual ; discovery ; dress up ; emotional ; face ; family ; friends ; fun ; gay ; gender ; gender identity ; grandchildren ; identity ; kissing ; legs ; lesbian ; love ; march ; masculine ; other ; painting ; panromantic ; parents ; passive ; podcast ; questioning ; rainbow ; relationships ; romantic ; school ; sex ; sexuality ; shoes ; sleep ; sport ; straight ; support ; survival ; time ; triggers ; video ; video games ; virginity ; visual arts ; voice. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/q12_mahs.html. The master recording is also archived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.  For more details visit their website https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1089311. Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.