Free to Be: Celebrating Sexuality and Gender Diversity
March 2025
Hey there Caddyshackers,
There are so many ways we can celebrate sexuality and gender diversity as community and as allies. Advocacy can look like buying queer art, reading queer literature and educating ourselves on diversity.
Educating ourselves and knowing what services and resources are out there is important, whether for ourselves or as recommendations to our friends, family or peers.
We thought we would tie together some thoughts, services and resources supporting sexuality and gender diversity in a blog. Consider it as a start to your “toolbox” of education, services and support.
There are so many great services and resources out there. We would love you to jump on our Instagram and let us know your thoughts.
What queer services do you recommend? What are you reading, watching or listening to?
Mardi Gras 2025 "Free to Be”
Before we get into our recommendations for services and resources, we couldn’t go without talking about Mardi Gras. Since to us, March means Mardi Gras.
By the time you are reading this, the glitter would have settled, and the planning for 2026 will already be underway.
But you know what? We are going to continue celebrating and living through the 30 health care workers who paraded up Oxford Street on a NSW Health float.
Such a great opportunity for our colleagues to participate and celebrate!!
Mardi Gras festival 2025 ran from February 14th – March 2nd. From Fair Day to theatre productions, to the world-famous Sydney Mardi Gras parade, it was a festival full of life and love.
The 2025 festival theme “Free to Be”, is a celebration that strides towards true LBGTQIA+ equity while acting as a global reminder that the fight is far from over. We are not truly free until we are all “Free to Be”.
Festival CEO Gil Beckwith stated
“Our theme is about making a statement to embrace and rejoice in our unique individuality as well as our collective identity. It is about the bravery to rise for each other in the darkest of times and protect the progress we’ve made, using it as a springboard toward the progress we deserve”.
To recap on the full program of festival events, festival highlights and to get ahead with next year’s planning visit Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
What do our followers and colleagues say?
We had been reflecting on the 2025 theme and took the opportunity to reach out to some of our followers and colleagues and ask what “Free to Be” meant to them.
“To me, Free to Be means being unapologetically myself and to be in love with whoever I choose”.
“Free to Be is powerful and liberating. I feel I can be myself safely, whilst being accepted and not having to hide who I am or how I feel”.
“I am so proud of who I am, what I have been through and how strong I am. But I'm also soft and sensitive and how I feel and identify changes often (sometimes daily) and that’s totally ok!”
“To me Free To Be is the dream. As a pansexual/ queer, cis-woman, during Mardi Gras season I find that I feel lighter and more excited to be open about who I am and how I express my sexuality. You feel it across your queer networks, people are a little bubblier, in the mood to celebrate, their shiniest selves. That's what inclusion feels like. A little bit lighter, a little bit more free to just be as we are and not need to be assessing where we filter or dull these parts of ourselves to be safe in the community”.
“Free to Be for me means being able to now live so authentically as me that I am able to give my two daughters the opportunity and freedom to shine as brightly as themselves without having to doubt their worth or to wonder where they belong”.
“Free to Be for me means working to create a future where our sexuality or identity form part of who we are, they don't define us, or change the way we experience the world. Where we can move through the world without fear of discrimination or consequence and where this is reflected in LGBTIQ+ people's opportunities and rights”.
“Free to Be for me means that we live in a place where our differences do not matter and we all belong; where we all have the same opportunities and freedoms to be ourselves in any situation”.
“Free to Be means to me: ‘ I want to be able to move in the world celebrating who I am, where I come from, who I love and loves me without judgment, prejudice and discrimination... I just want to be me!”.
Thank you to those who so graciously shared their thoughts and feelings with us.
Our hearts are fuller having read these statements, and it reminds us of our “why?” in all our work.
Who else was at Mardi Gras?
Blak and Deadly
During the 2025 festival, Blak and Deadly: The First Nations Gala returned, showcasing and honouring First Nations culture and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual + Sistergirl and Brotherboy (LGBTIQA+SB) identities.
BlaQ
BlaQ is the peak organisation for Aboriginal LGBTQ+SB Peoples and Communities in NSW.
They aim to achieve a “society that nurtures, supports, affirms and celebrates our Aboriginal and Torres Strait LGBTQ+SB community whilst promoting safety and inclusion for all”.
Check out their website for supports and resources.
Qtopia
The 2025 festival also saw an exciting collaboration with Qtopia Sydney, the world’s largest centre for queer history and culture.
A small piece of history – Qtopia is located at 301 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst. This was the site of the original Darlinghurst Police station and where our colleagues from South Eastern Sydney HIV and Related Programs unit (HARP) were located for many years. We used to attend team meetings in the front room and visit their resource cupboards downstairs in the old cells! The site also overlooks Oxford Street’s famous “Taylor Square”. It is a key point of interest during the Mardi Gras parade, as this is where the Parade turns off Oxford Street and onto Flinders Junction.
How did we celebrate Locally?
Of course, we couldn’t let Sydney have all the fun! Locally in the Illawarra, we attended pride stalls that were held across key hospital sites to show our support and engage with community. It was a great time, promoting our podcasts and distributing resources including rainbow flag badges, lip balms, pens and all the fun stuff.
The Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) is committed to supporting LGBTIQA+ staff, consumers and allies. Several passionate staff across the district developed the Pride in Diversity LGBTIQA+ Network, where individuals connect and share information, tell stories, update on the latest news, and discuss current practices of inclusion and celebration across our health district. It is also an opportunity to discuss the actions and outcomes of the NSW Health LGBTIQ+ Strategy 2022-2027
Supports and Resources
Ok as promised here are some key services and resources supporting our LGBTIQA+ communities, families and friends.
ACON
Firstly acon, a fiercely proud, holistic health and wellbeing community organisation designed by community, for community.
Established in 1985 in response to the NSW HIV/AIDS epidemic, acon remains committed to ending HIV for everyone. They achieve this through campaigns and programs to eliminate new HIV transmission, whilst supporting people living with HIV to live healthy and connected lives.
Acon has grown with the needs of the community and are proud to work with a diverse range of people to ensure their voice is heard and their health needs are meet. Check out their website for programs, resources and ways you can support their work.
QLIFE
We also support the work of Qlife. Qlife provides anonymous LGBTIQ+ peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships.
QLife is Australia’s only National LGBTIQ+ early intervention telephone and webchat peer support and referral service, addressing social isolation, discrimination, family and relationship issues, psychological distress, poor mental health and other social determinants of mental health and wellbeing. They operate from 3pm to midnight every day.
They also develop and distribute some very useful resources for services including their Qguides.
TWENTY10
Twenty10 supports people across Sydney and New South Wales who may be LGBTIQA+. Founded in 1982 by a group of passionate community volunteers in response to the increased houselessness of LGBTIQA+ young people, Twenty10 takes it’s name from the Darlinghurst postcode where the original house refuge was located.
They are committed to continuing to provide a broad range of free, accessible mental health and psychosocial support programs, creative and digital programs, events and safe spaces.
They also deliver specialist capacity building training all over NSW, contributing to building a world where LGBTIQA+ people of NSW are secure, connected and celebrated. They are well known for their work in the youth space, as well as their training and support of Qlife.
THE GENDER CENTRE
The Gender Centre is the peak state-wide multidisciplinary centre of excellence providing a broad range of specialised services that enables the exploration of gender identity and assistance with the alleviation of gender dysphoria. We support trans and gender expressive people at every stage of their journey as they explore and live their authentic sense of self. Their service is well known for its support and resources for the community and organisations wishing to assist gender diverse clients.
TRANSHUB
TransHub is ACON’s digital information and resource platform for all trans and gender diverse (TGD) people in NSW, our loved ones, allies and health providers. They are committed to creating clear and easy information about trans health care for trans and gender diverse people in NSW.
TransHub offers the information that many of us so desperately needed, but didn’t have access to as we grew up or grew toward our most authentic selves.
We are honoured to work alongside these services and promote the work, support and educational tools and resources they provide to the community and beyond.
Until next time,
Peace, Love & Protection
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