The Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC is the NSW Leader of the Government in the Legislative CouncilMinister for Climate Change, Minister for EnergyMinister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage.
I utilized to believe being a lesbian was among the least intriguing features of me (my fixation with roller derby and love of an argument being even more on brand name).
18 years on, as the very first female chosen to the NSW Parliament to confess to being a lesbian, I understand it is far more complex than that. Exposure truly does matter.
When I initially got in parliament, what I thought about typical held fascination for conservative media outlets. This reporting resulted in some beautiful horrible hate mail and some invasive media demands.
At the exact same time, I had individuals stating to me, congratulations, however make certain you do not end up being the ‘gay’ political leader.
With time I understood the advantage of being a happy lesbian living life honestly and easily was not something that everybody might take pleasure in. In a parliament of extremely couple of honestly queer political leaders, I understood my opportunity brought with it an obligation to be prepared to stand and speak up on LGBTIQ+ concerns understanding there were lots of who might not.
As soon as I felt comfy, I discovered myself getting in touch with numerous LGBTIQ+ folks and their households. Individuals who discovered somebody to whom they might link their own experiences and wished to see those experiences shown in the development of our laws.
Marital relationship equality, adult acknowledgment, the prohibiting of conversion practices, elimination of the restriction on same-sex couples embracing, erasing the ‘gay’ panic defense and the work either done or under factor to consider to much better safeguard trans and gender-diverse folks discovered a method to magnify their voice with honestly queer MPs like me and the numerous others I have actually dealt with.
Showing up likewise suggests I am lucky that individuals have actually connected to trust me with their stories. The personnel at parliament who have actually pulled me aside to speak about their kid, the youths moving into my DM’s to share they wish to come out to their moms and dads, the kids being bullied for having 2 mums, the trans ladies throughout the Pacific who are informing their neighborhoods about HIV, the instructor wishing to produce a safe class for a gender-diverse young adult, the young queer firebrand wishing to discover a path into parliament.
I naively believed being a lesbian in a public function would not matter to anybody, however I have actually discovered it does matter to numerous. And for that I state thanks to all those who have actually preceded, and I commemorate the charming noticeable lesbians all over.
In 2024, Lesbian Visibility Week is commemorated from Mon, 22 Apr– Sun, 28 April.