In the s, the city of Melbourne was a magnet for young lesbian women making their way from sleepy outback towns and quiet suburbs to the big smoke. Inner city Melbourne was the place to find lovers and friends, and it was a thriving community of musical, artistic, and curious women. It all feels like a lost Golden Age now—because in , the Administrative Appeals Tribunal declared women-only events illegal, overturning an earlier exemption request from the Lesbian Action Group to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
So how has this happened? Gender identity means the gender-related identity, appearance or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of a person. Following amendments to the SDA, Australian lesbians experienced a persistent pattern of complaints and threats of legal action whenever and wherever they held women-only events. Trans rights activists, led by a few highly motivated individuals demanded inclusion. And over time the risks and costs of legal action forced the lesbian community back into the closet.
A once-flourishing community of the s had disappeared by the early s. Sex reality is further undermined by a pick-n-mix cornucopia of identities that are invisible, subjective and may even change over time. Genderists deny same-sex attraction and use social exclusion and shame to silence anyone who protests. The other 25 percent are men who identify as women and are there primarily to hook up with the lesbians. Some lesbians who are sex realists have lost their jobs, been outed on social media and been excluded at university.
Single sex spaces for homosexuals have a particularly high value. We are a minority. There are very few places we can go where everyone is like us. The first visit to a gay bar is an experience most lesbians and gays can tell you about because it mattered. There is of course room for lesbian-only events alongside public events for the wider LGBTQi group - many lesbians would attend both.
By refusing lesbians and gay men the right to freedom of association the AHRC is little more than an enforcer for the LGBTQi lobby in rolling back the rights that were hard-won in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Genderists now dictate every aspect of how the gay community organises, socialises and mobilises. Gender-critical women are vilified, taken to court, shamed and run the risk of losing their jobs. In other words, lesbians must not deny men access to their bodies, spaces and even language.
