A Queer Existence is a major documentary project that uses photographic portraiture
and oral history to record the life experiences of a group of 27 gay men born
since the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986. In New Zealand,
discrimination in work was outlawed in 1993, same-sex relationships were granted
legal recognition in 2005, and marriage equality followed in 2013. In 2018 Parliament
apologised to those whose lives had been blighted by criminal prosecution for
expressing their sexuality.
As a result, these men have life experiences very different to earlier generations
of gay New Zealand men. Even so, gay men growing up today may continue to feel
stigmatised, and for many coming out is still a major hurdle. Candid, powerful and
affecting, the first-person narratives of A Queer Existence form a valuable and
unique insight into how gay men continue to have to step out of the main stream
and face their own challenges as they forge their queer identities.
and oral history to record the life experiences of a group of 27 gay men born
since the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986. In New Zealand,
discrimination in work was outlawed in 1993, same-sex relationships were granted
legal recognition in 2005, and marriage equality followed in 2013. In 2018 Parliament
apologised to those whose lives had been blighted by criminal prosecution for
expressing their sexuality.
As a result, these men have life experiences very different to earlier generations
of gay New Zealand men. Even so, gay men growing up today may continue to feel
stigmatised, and for many coming out is still a major hurdle. Candid, powerful and
affecting, the first-person narratives of A Queer Existence form a valuable and
unique insight into how gay men continue to have to step out of the main stream
and face their own challenges as they forge their queer identities.
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