Twenty-First Century LGBTI Activism in Australia: The Limits of Equality

Abstract

This article begins a history of twenty-first century LGBTI activism in Australia. It writes a history of the marriage equality campaign in Australia, which began in 2004 and achieved success in 2017, alongside a history of the LGBTI activism that supports asylum seekers, in particular those who seek asylum because of persecution on the basis of their sexuality. When juxtaposed to the narrative of the achievement of marriage equality, the account of the activism to support asylum seekers, a small and marginal part of the broader LGBTI movement, adds new insight into the political and discursive limits of the marriage equality movement. The article contributes to the historical literature about LGBTI politics in three ways. It writes a narrative of a little known strand of LGBTI politics, it grounds critical analysis of LGBTI politics in a historical narrative and it adds complexity to a history of the marriage equality campaign.