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'I marked the day in my adolescent diary with a single blank page.
The mantle of “queer migrant” compelled me to keep going – to go further.
I never “came out” to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.
All I heard from the pulpit were grim hints.
I became acutely aware of the parts of myself that were unpalatable to queers who grew up in the city.
I was thirty-eight and figured it was time to come out to her.
That’s when I know it’s not going anywhere – the gay.
I felt like I had been dunked into an episode of The L Word and I wasn’t given the script.
No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.
My queerness was born in a hot dry land that was never ceded.
I finally admitted what my feelings for Dirty Dancing–era Patrick Swayze had clearly been indicating for some time.
Even now, I sometimes think that I don’t know my own desire.
'Compiled by celebrated author and journalist Benjamin Law, Growing Up Queer in Australia assembles voices from across the spectrum of LGBTIQA+ identity. Spanning diverse places, eras, genders, ethnicities and experiences, these are the stories of growing up queer in Australia.
'For better or worse, sooner or later, life conspires to reveal you to yourself, and this is growing up.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
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Notes
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Content indexing in process.
Contents
- Introduction, single work autobiography (p. ix-xii)
- Freedom of Heart, single work autobiography (p. 1-5)
- Shame and Forgiveness, single work essay (p. 6-9)
- How to Be Both, single work autobiography (p. 10-15)
- Rob, and Queer Family, single work autobiography (p. 16-21)
- Caritas, single work autobiography (p. 22-32)
- St Louis, single work autobiography (p. 33-39)
- Boobs, Rags and Judy Blume, single work autobiography (p. 40-45)
- From Dreams to Living, single work autobiography (p. 46-50)
- The Most Natural of Things, single work autobiography (p. 51-56)
- Binary School, single work autobiography (p. 57-62)
- Why I've Stopped Coming Out to My Mum, single work autobiography (p. 63-69)
- Training to Be Me, single work autobiography (p. 70-79)
- The Watering Hole, single work autobiography (p. 80-83)
- Car Windows, single work autobiography (p. 84-90)
- Bent Man Running, single work autobiography (p. 91-95)
- The Bent Bits are the Best Bits, single work autobiography (p. 96-103)
- Reunion, single work autobiography (p. 104-108)
- You Can Take the Queer Out of the Country, single work autobiography (p. 109-113)
- The Risk, single work autobiography (p. 114-126)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Dyslexic edition.
Works about this Work
-
Life Writing When the World Is Burning: The Year in
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Biography , vol. 43 no. 1 2020; (p. 1-8) 'It is no surprise that in Australia this year a great deal of life writing has continued to emerge in conjunction with pressing social and political issues. The ongoing national crises of refugee and asylum seeker policy, gendered abuse, and racial discrimination continue to surface in both political and literary arenas, while unprecedented bushfires have decimated the country, bringing climate change back onto the public agenda with new fury. The right of individuals to live with dignity, in safety, and free from fear—and the ongoing challenges to these rights suffered in public and domestic domains—is a connecting thread across the year’s life writing and a theme the genre is uniquely equipped to amplify.' (Introduction) -
We Must Begin
2020
single work
short story
— Appears in: Peril : An Asian-Australian Journal , no. 42 2020; -
Unrequited Love : Diary of an Accidental Activist; Growing Up Queer in Australia
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 44 no. 1 2020; (p. 130-132)'Both Dennis Altman’s autobiographic Unrequited Love: Diary of an Accidental Activist and the edited anthology Growing up Queer in Australia are engaging books rich in insights into queer life and politics in Australia.' (Introduction)
-
August in Nonfiction
2019
single work
column
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , August 2019;
— Review of #MeToo : Stories from the Australian Movement 2019 anthology poetry essay autobiography ; Yellow City 2019 selected work essay ; Growing Up Queer in Australia 2019 anthology autobiography -
Benjamin Law (ed.) Growing Up Queer in Australia.
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2019;
— Review of Growing Up Queer in Australia 2019 anthology autobiography'These personal essays in Growing Up Queer in Australia are full of insight and self-reflection. The queer community can take great pride in the quality of the stories and the voices that represent it.' (Introduction)
-
Books Roundup : It Sounded Better in My Head, Growing Up Queer in Australia, From Here On, Monsters
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , August 2019;
— Review of It Sounded Better in My Head 2019 single work novel ; Growing Up Queer in Australia 2019 anthology autobiography ; From Here On, Monsters 2019 single work novel -
Benjamin Law (ed.) Growing Up Queer in Australia.
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , September 2019;
— Review of Growing Up Queer in Australia 2019 anthology autobiography'These personal essays in Growing Up Queer in Australia are full of insight and self-reflection. The queer community can take great pride in the quality of the stories and the voices that represent it.' (Introduction)
-
August in Nonfiction
2019
single work
column
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , August 2019;
— Review of #MeToo : Stories from the Australian Movement 2019 anthology poetry essay autobiography ; Yellow City 2019 selected work essay ; Growing Up Queer in Australia 2019 anthology autobiography -
Unrequited Love : Diary of an Accidental Activist; Growing Up Queer in Australia
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 44 no. 1 2020; (p. 130-132)'Both Dennis Altman’s autobiographic Unrequited Love: Diary of an Accidental Activist and the edited anthology Growing up Queer in Australia are engaging books rich in insights into queer life and politics in Australia.' (Introduction)
-
We Must Begin
2020
single work
short story
— Appears in: Peril : An Asian-Australian Journal , no. 42 2020; -
Life Writing When the World Is Burning: The Year in
2020
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Biography , vol. 43 no. 1 2020; (p. 1-8) 'It is no surprise that in Australia this year a great deal of life writing has continued to emerge in conjunction with pressing social and political issues. The ongoing national crises of refugee and asylum seeker policy, gendered abuse, and racial discrimination continue to surface in both political and literary arenas, while unprecedented bushfires have decimated the country, bringing climate change back onto the public agenda with new fury. The right of individuals to live with dignity, in safety, and free from fear—and the ongoing challenges to these rights suffered in public and domestic domains—is a connecting thread across the year’s life writing and a theme the genre is uniquely equipped to amplify.' (Introduction)
