It’s Trans Awareness Week! This year, we’d like to share with you the stories of trans & gender diverse icons we find inspiring stories of resistance, resilience, and dreams. On this sixth day of the Trans Week of Awareness, we’d like to introduce Roberta, a relentless activist for transgender and sex worker rights. Roberta’s commitment to community was pivotal for trans rights and services in Australia. She worked as a member and leader of the Australian Transsexual Association, which hosted Australia’s first trans rights rally in Manly, and a support group with Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross. As a sociologist, Roberta advocated through her research, raising issues with the NSW Government, institutions, and across civil society. Notably, her groundbreaking research ‘The Drag Queen Scene’ was picked up by the then State Minister for Youth and Community Services. This led to the establishment of Australia’s-first trans community support service Tiresias House in 1983, later renamed the Gender Centre in 1993. Today, the Gender Centre continues to deliver essential services to trans people of all genders across NSW. Image from Wikipedia. Text adapted from TransHub’s Trans Culture Gallery. Want to know more about trans history? Head to the link to discover our Trans Culture Gallery, and Noah Riseman’s book, ‘Transgender Australia’: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gm_RCtSk ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gHBMin3x
