Our collective journey is a wonderful and oftentimes hard path of possibilities and choices that ultimately allow us to be ourselves. There are so many people in the community who have paved the way for an open discussion about who we are. This is a tribute to those who have inspired a generation:

MERCEDES RIGBY
SHE/HER

“I grew up in a very open family. I had a lot of gay people in my family and gay family friends who I looked up to. There are so many influences: my dance teacher, who was gay and made every single one of us feel so comfortable within ourselves; my mum’s two best friends, who have known me  since I was born; my dad, who grew up in  Kings Cross in the 1990s and had so many queer and gay friends; and my queer,  non-binary, lesbian, gay and bi friends and community. I didn’t realise that I was queer or gay until I was around these people,  and I felt so comfortable [that I came out].  I always knew I would be proud because I had people around me to say, ‘We’ve got you. We love you. We will always be there for you.’ And that’s the best thing ever.”

HONOR MUNRO
SHE/HER

“When I first moved to Sydney, I met the performance artist Sarah Jessica Carpark.  I knew absolutely no-one and she had a really big impact on me. She helped me find my feet as a young queer person in Sydney and encouraged all those peculiarities  that I think, when you move to a big city, you try and shove down so you’ll fit in  and feel accepted. She introduced me to so many people on the scene and took me to performance art evenings at The Red Rattler with Betty Grumble. I was thrown into this whirlwind friendship romance that lasts  to this day – she’s still one of my biggest inspirations and supporters.”

PEACE CHATTIYA
THEY/THEM

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“I grew up not seeing anyone like me represented, so it really helped when I came across Rev angel Kyodo williams and Ocean Vuong. They embodied being able to hold the duality of seemingly different identities in one. Ocean Vuong is a queer poet and writer; they are Vietnamese-American and  a really beautiful wordsmith. Rev Angel Kyodo williams is a black queer activist  and an ordained Zen priest. I love their writing and philosophy on the world  – it’s really like, ‘If you want to change the world, change yourself.’”

TRAVIS LOO
HE/HIM

“My earliest memories are from film, mostly animation. Disney characters like Scar and Jafar were always so confident, and I think I drew a lot of inspiration  from that because growing up, we are  told – either directly or indirectly by our  family or culture – that being different is unacceptable. Even though these characters were intended to be evil, they are now regarded as iconic parts of the films and  are inspirational in some way. That was  our first access to queerness, from a young age, and it still resonates with me. There’s something to be said about the way we interpret things, so I feel like I owe a lot of my individuality and fearlessness to film.”

ATOUG DENG
SHE/HER

“Nina Simone and Teyana Taylor affect me as they were and are so open with their sexuality and not afraid to be themselves. They give me a liberated woman energy and don’t feel the need to conform to a standard that’s expected of them. I feel  that too because I perceive myself as a woman, but most people don’t really consider me a woman. My whole life I’ve always been seen as a masculine figure  and called a boy. Nina Simone had so much outside noise but it didn’t stop her; she could’ve given in but she didn’t. I feel like that’s how I have been able to pursue the life that I want to live, to be more open with myself and my sexuality, and just do me.”

ALEX RENDELL
HE/HIM

“There have been a lot of people in my  life who have inspired me to be open and confident, but there is one person who stands out. I had a friend who was going through her gender identity journey and trying to figure that out, and when we walked down the street she’d have such  a commanding energy – eyes from across the street would watch the confidence she had in just existing. It was amazing and gave me permission to be confident. It was such a great friendship we had; it taught  me a lot of things and was the beginning of my growth and journey.”

From 10 Men Australia Issue 19, HEALING BALANCE FUTURE, out now.

Photographer JOE BRENNAN
Fashion Editor MERCEDES RIGBY
Hair FERNANDO MIRANDA using Kevin Murphy
Models MERCEDES RIGBY at FiveTwenty, ATOUG DENG, TRAVIS LOO, ALEX RENDELL at Kult, HONOR MUNRO and PEACE CHATTIYA at Stone Street
Fashion assistant MILLIE SYKES
Creative production and interviews REBECCA KHOURY

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