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For this post, the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia and for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (May 17), I thought it would be relevant and important to talk about the rainbow crossing that was in Sydney.
Once upon a time, someone had the brilliant idea to put down a rainbow street crossing on Oxford Street, Sydney, for the 35th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. The crossing went down in February, 2013, and was an instant hit.
Photo: Sydney Morning Herald.
The council laid down the new street crossing, in all its bright, beautiful glory, and all was well. It gave a lot of people pleasure and it supported the GBLT community. For the 35th Mardi Gras, which also saw for the first time, members of the Australian Defence Forces permitted to march in full uniform, it was the colourful symbol of GBLT rights. The rainbow flag, in such a prominent, public location in one of Australia's most visited cities, was a wonderful addition.
Photo: David Gray/Reuters, The Guardian UK.
After the Mardi Gras was over, people would stop and take photos, and basically simply enjoy the crossing. The GBLT community were proud of it, most of the locals were proud of it, and then, in a twist of fate, the council decided to remove it. A petition to stop this removal was ignored and finally, when the deed came to be done, it was done late at night and the crossing wasn't just washed off the road or painted over—it was completely dug up.
Photo: Bill Hearne, The Daily Telegraph.
Passersby who witnessed the removal stood and booed as it was done, and a lot of the residents and the GBLT community were angry and sad to see that it had been removed.
From SBS, an article reads in part, "The walkway, painted in the lead up to this year's Mardi Gras, was supposed to be a temporary feature, but Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the gay community campaigned to keep it.
However the government insisted the painted rainbow had to go because there was a safety risk as pedestrians sat or lay down on the crossing to have their photos taken."
However, in response to the removal of the crossing, James Brechy, a social media activist, launched DIY Rainbow Crossing. He chalked a colourful crossing onto his own street, tweeted it, and soon, all over Australia, chalked rainbow crossings were popping up. It wasn't long before this spread, and soon, there were chalked rainbow crossings appearing all over the world, from as far away places as Nairobi, Africa and China, to Belgium, the UK and the USA.
There is a Twitter and a Facebook for the DIY Rainbow Crossing project, both of which have heaps of amazing and wonderful photographs from all around Australia and the world. It has received media attention from the likes of Al Jazeera, The Guardian, and here in Australia, from The Northern Star. There are lots more news articles, videos and reports about this, as the rainbow crossings are chalked on roads, rocks and sidewalks all over the world, in a heartwarming show of solidarity and support for the GBLT community internationally.
There are too many awesome photos to post them all, so I've selected some of the ones I personally like the best. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size; it opens in a new window/tab.
Left to right: Salay, Thailand; Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia; China (unknown location); Fiji; Papase'ea Sliding Rocks, Samoa; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Shanghai, China; Soho, London, England; Surry Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia; Parliament House, Canberra, capital of Australia; Zurich, Switzerland. Photos from Gay News Network Australia and the DIY Rainbow Crossings Facebook page, where there are MANY more.
Click on the image to go to the Blog Hop home and see all the other awesome posts that are part of the hop.
And, leave a comment here to go in the draw to win a pdf copy of my latest ebook release, "The Body on The Beach." There are no rainbow crossings in this story, but there is a m/m romance and a murder mystery set in Australia in 1920.
Blurb: In 1920, a body is found on Brighton Beach, Adelaide. Billy Liang has been living a respectable life as the representative of Adelaide’s Chinese community—with his lover, lawyer Tom Williams, discreetly at his side. When evidence seems to implicate the people Billy represents, he steps up to help solve the murder. He and Tom deal with illegal opium dens, fantan games and gambling, racism, and being shot at. Though Billy’s family accepts the love he and Tom share, Australia’s laws against sodomy and homosexuality pose a constant danger. Now, the body on the beach brings a whole new threat to Billy and Tom’s life in Adelaide.
Part of the Under the Southern Cross anthology.
Once upon a time, someone had the brilliant idea to put down a rainbow street crossing on Oxford Street, Sydney, for the 35th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. The crossing went down in February, 2013, and was an instant hit.
Photo: Sydney Morning Herald.
The council laid down the new street crossing, in all its bright, beautiful glory, and all was well. It gave a lot of people pleasure and it supported the GBLT community. For the 35th Mardi Gras, which also saw for the first time, members of the Australian Defence Forces permitted to march in full uniform, it was the colourful symbol of GBLT rights. The rainbow flag, in such a prominent, public location in one of Australia's most visited cities, was a wonderful addition.
Photo: David Gray/Reuters, The Guardian UK.
After the Mardi Gras was over, people would stop and take photos, and basically simply enjoy the crossing. The GBLT community were proud of it, most of the locals were proud of it, and then, in a twist of fate, the council decided to remove it. A petition to stop this removal was ignored and finally, when the deed came to be done, it was done late at night and the crossing wasn't just washed off the road or painted over—it was completely dug up.
Photo: Bill Hearne, The Daily Telegraph.
Passersby who witnessed the removal stood and booed as it was done, and a lot of the residents and the GBLT community were angry and sad to see that it had been removed.
From SBS, an article reads in part, "The walkway, painted in the lead up to this year's Mardi Gras, was supposed to be a temporary feature, but Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the gay community campaigned to keep it.
However the government insisted the painted rainbow had to go because there was a safety risk as pedestrians sat or lay down on the crossing to have their photos taken."
However, in response to the removal of the crossing, James Brechy, a social media activist, launched DIY Rainbow Crossing. He chalked a colourful crossing onto his own street, tweeted it, and soon, all over Australia, chalked rainbow crossings were popping up. It wasn't long before this spread, and soon, there were chalked rainbow crossings appearing all over the world, from as far away places as Nairobi, Africa and China, to Belgium, the UK and the USA.
There is a Twitter and a Facebook for the DIY Rainbow Crossing project, both of which have heaps of amazing and wonderful photographs from all around Australia and the world. It has received media attention from the likes of Al Jazeera, The Guardian, and here in Australia, from The Northern Star. There are lots more news articles, videos and reports about this, as the rainbow crossings are chalked on roads, rocks and sidewalks all over the world, in a heartwarming show of solidarity and support for the GBLT community internationally.
There are too many awesome photos to post them all, so I've selected some of the ones I personally like the best. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size; it opens in a new window/tab.
Left to right: Salay, Thailand; Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia; China (unknown location); Fiji; Papase'ea Sliding Rocks, Samoa; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Shanghai, China; Soho, London, England; Surry Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia; Parliament House, Canberra, capital of Australia; Zurich, Switzerland. Photos from Gay News Network Australia and the DIY Rainbow Crossings Facebook page, where there are MANY more.
Click on the image to go to the Blog Hop home and see all the other awesome posts that are part of the hop. And, leave a comment here to go in the draw to win a pdf copy of my latest ebook release, "The Body on The Beach." There are no rainbow crossings in this story, but there is a m/m romance and a murder mystery set in Australia in 1920.
Blurb: In 1920, a body is found on Brighton Beach, Adelaide. Billy Liang has been living a respectable life as the representative of Adelaide’s Chinese community—with his lover, lawyer Tom Williams, discreetly at his side. When evidence seems to implicate the people Billy represents, he steps up to help solve the murder. He and Tom deal with illegal opium dens, fantan games and gambling, racism, and being shot at. Though Billy’s family accepts the love he and Tom share, Australia’s laws against sodomy and homosexuality pose a constant danger. Now, the body on the beach brings a whole new threat to Billy and Tom’s life in Adelaide.Part of the Under the Southern Cross anthology.
