June 3rd 2020

Hello There Caddyshackers

Get out the glitter

Wave those rainbow flags high

Open those arms and hearts a little wider

Because this month’s blogs are all about sexual diversity.

What Matters

This year’s Sydney Mardi Gras theme was “What Matters”.

What matters to us here at Caddyshack?

Love and acceptance

As simple and complex as that.

Each one of us will embark on our own sexual journey. We are each unique (thank goodness for that, how boring if we were all the same!) and will acquire our own sexual identities as we develop and have experiences throughout our lives.

sexuality is fluid

Sexuality is fluid, that is, it can and often does change. Our sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviours are rarely constant and nor is our sexual identity.

How we identify sexually today could be different to how we identified a few years ago, and could likely change in the future.

Some of you may have heard of the Kinsey Scale. This research conducted by Dr Alfred Kinsey and colleagues was published in 1948 and it found that people rarely ever fit into the categories of exclusively heterosexual or homosexual.

While useful the Kinsey model is now considered a little outdated because it considers only behaviour, not feelings.

Many of us have sexual and erotic feelings but do not act on them. Conversely people can participate in sexual behaviours without accompanying erotic feelings.

Behaviour alone is not a good indicator of sexual orientation, especially in any one moment.

A more recent way of assessing the fluidity of sexual orientation is the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG), developed by Dr. Fritz Klein and first introduced in his 1987 book, “The Bisexual Option.” Klein thought sexual orientation was a dynamic, multi-variable process. He thought that an individual’s sexual orientation was composed of sexual and non-sexual variables that differed over time, and with age.

LGBTIQA+

Sexual diversity is often listed and known as LGBTIQ+ what do these letters stand for?

L - Lesbian

G - Gay

B - Bisexual

T - Transgender

I - Intersex

Q - Queer

+ inclusive of all terms people may refer to themselves such as non-binary or gender diverse

There is lots to be discovered about these identities, and whilst there is a wealth of information available online, we truly believe that the best way to have an understanding of someone’s experience of identity is to talk with them about it.

There is so much to be learnt from each other.

Where can I go?

QLife

If you or someone you know would like some help in this area, QLife is a great resource that provides anonymous and free LGBTI peer support and referral for people in Australia wanting to talk about sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships.

They are available daily from 3pm-midnight on 1800 184 527

ACON

ACON is a fiercely proud community organisation who create opportunities for people in our communities to live their healthiest lives.

Check out ACON for everything you need to know about community health, inclusion and HIV for people of diverse sexualities and genders.

What we are loving right now

Right now we are loving the book “Living and loving in diversity: An anthology of Australian multicultural queer adventures”.

Described as sad and funny, sexy and sensitive, angry and insightful: the deeply personal stories in this book reflect a rainbow of experiences and emotions, as diverse as the storytellers themselves.

Featuring more than sixty voices from across the spectrum of sexualities and genders, families and relationships.

Gender is not up for debate and your gender is valid and beautiful.

Until next time

Peace, Love & Protection

x