Poser: Reflections on Navigating Identity and Belonging in Joh's Sunshine State

Abstract

This paper recounts the experiences of lesbian and gay-identified Queenslanders who recall living in a climate of fear that pervaded the socio-political landscapes of Queensland in the mid-to-late 20th century, particularly during the authoritarian regime of the JohBkelke Petersen State government (1968-1987) - the vestiges of which continue to pervade the milieu of memories and present day. The documentary transmedia "A Matter of Time Project," through the interrelation of history, place and sexuality, gave voice to lesbians who experienced living in the Bjelke-Petersen era of Queensland and who know how that socio-political history affected and continued to affect them. "Maleny IDAHOT: Six Years in Reflection," explores, through photo elicitation, the reflections of community members from the first Maleny IDAHO[T] march and celebration in 2012, to the post-same-sex marriage era in 2018. Central to both projects is the experience and expression of fear - manifested by feelings of shame, internalised homophobia and ultimately, the autonomic action of self-policing (as posited by Michel Foucault), brought on by the oppression that limited their freedom of expression as "whole being," within heteronormative spaces in Queensland. Drawing on documentary-based research projects, "A Matter of Time Project," "Maleny IDAHOT: Six Years in Reflection," and my own reflections as an insider-researcher, this paper presents a synthesis of singular experiences that affirm that even in the oppressive state of Queensland and its aftermath, it was and is possible to find a space of belonging, or more aptly, "outside belonging," as it was posited by cultural theorist, Elspeth Probyn.