https://www.drkatetoone.com/home daily 1.0 2026-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/eec80bf4-53e0-44a5-a95b-b73d0f4768b2/IMG_2601.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/a544b574-5c54-41ed-9ac7-f0b2ef0c48ec/TooneKate_Headshot.JPG https://www.drkatetoone.com/about-kate daily 0.75 2026-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/5ceb019c-48f9-4f06-a43d-d1aace4c35c3/websitenature.png https://www.drkatetoone.com/research daily 0.75 2026-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/82cfbd6e-a87e-46f5-855b-73f917f2e8fd/mrntre.png https://www.drkatetoone.com/therapy-content daily 0.75 2026-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/c7f507b4-29ce-41db-bec1-baa0e87b81d6/websitenature2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/1f007beb-46c8-44e1-a889-84500e8a59be/AMHSW+Fee+schedule.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/c7f507b4-29ce-41db-bec1-baa0e87b81d6/websitenature2.png https://www.drkatetoone.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-10-23 https://www.drkatetoone.com/queer-experiences-gallery daily 0.75 2026-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e927ea89-1ad7-46ce-86bc-ca4d62188aad/IMG_3958.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Cabin Couple* Escape to the forest* Had a beautiful t4t getaway near kuitpo forest, was a nice break away from the busy city without the noise and anxiety of other people. Was very peaceful knowing that we didn’t have to perform for strangers *trans guy, white australian(irish background), poor uni dropout https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/ad5f5380-28c7-45f3-84c2-0dd919cef184/IMG_8253.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Rhys* Open Mic * This is an empty stage. A mic. Pink light. Speakers. Drum kit off to the side. This is the stage at Ellipsis poetry open mic night (held at Arthur art bar). This is whete I share my queer identity, guts, tears, love poems and rage. This is not an exclusively queer space—but it has always been an affirming one. I had to learn to talk about who I was, in code, in poetry, before I could be my whole self. In some ways, this is more home than home. Community. Love and respect to the Ellipsis poetry team who do the work of curating such a space.* Pastor’s kid. Single mum of queer kids. Not desperately poor but there’s never enough. Poets are rarely rich. Queer, specifically bi girl in a same-sex relationship. Probably neurodivergent but undiagnosed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/8be69cd1-2f6b-4fba-a53e-9bb32412e42e/Participant1.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Kobe * A love letter to queer resistance * I took the photo to remember, and to remind people that even with the space gone we are all still out there, loving and fighting and revolting. I took this photo because it captured something raw and honest about queer expression in South Australia. The message on the wall felt like a small but powerful act of resistance—someone claiming space for queer, mad, sapphic voices in a place where those identities have historically been pushed to the margins. It reflects a spirit that exists within South Australia’s queer community: outspoken, political, creative, and unwilling to be erased….I didn’t want it to be erased, even if the wall came down. This location makes me think about the complexity of safety and belonging. Sometimes queer safety exists in unexpected places—like bathrooms, bars, and community spaces where people feel free enough to be themselves and to leave messages like this. Seeing it made me feel a sense of recognition and solidarity, but it also reminds me that these declarations often appear in spaces where people still feel they have to carve out belonging rather than assume it. For me, this location connects to identity through community. Messages like this show that queer spaces are built collectively—through presence, expression, and sometimes through acts of rebellion. It tells me that other people like me have passed through this space, leaving traces of anger, pride, humour, and solidarity. Places like this matter because they quietly document queer life. They show that community exists not only in organised events or institutions but also in the small, everyday moments where people assert who they are. What I want others to know about this location is that queer culture often lives in these fleeting, informal expressions. A scribbled message on a wall might seem small, but it speaks to a long history of people claiming space, finding each other, and reminding the world that queer voices are here. This wall holds more than just graffiti—it holds memories. I’ve met incredible people in this space and had some particularly good times right up against that very wall. The message reflects the unapologetic spirit of South Australia’s queer community: loud, political, playful, and full of life. Places like this create moments of safety, belonging, and connection that shape who we are and the communities we build. I miss it. * Queer, She/Her, Feminist, Labile, Spicy, Mortgage-aspiring Middle Class, Standard issues White Australian, Aries https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/5e12ac74-9143-4969-88c8-bbcd83a64a7d/participant3.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Unity Excercise* This is my preparation for a queer exercise group. I love this group as I can rock up regardless of my capacity or mood and know I can just exist in the space. I also have disabilities with fluctuating ability to engage in exercise so being socially safe makes it more possible to attend as it reduces more barriers. *I am queer, agender, disabled, neurodivergent, chronically ill, settler, clinician, educator, researcher, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/58b4d2d9-1c94-48ad-b846-43f83afdec8f/participant2.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Chloe * On the fringe * Adelaide has a very subsued Queer spirit. There isn't a lot of Queerness on display usually, though you can find pockets. Young gay and queer men have a space, but the rest of the queer community doesn't have somewhere to go anymore. The Fringe is a time where so many artists come to the state to celebrate art and performance, and there are more spaces to go and everything feels a bit more queer. * Lesbian (with panromantic history), Italian/English heritage, lower-middle class, agnostic, AuDHD and physical disability. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/daef23b3-49ca-4af4-940b-d95f044e288a/IMG_4439.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Taylor David * Raising an Inclusive Generation * This photo was captured because it reflects a quiet but powerful moment of inclusion in an early childhood education setting in Adelaide,South Australia. In this image an educator is reading The Family Book, a children’s book that celebrates diverse family structures, to a group of young children. What drew me to this moment in terms of South Australia’s queer spirit is the way inclusion is embedded into everyday learning rather than treated as something separate or special. It shows how acceptance can be normalised from the earliest years of life. This space makes me feel a strong sense of safety, belonging and inclusivity. Early childhood environments can play a critical role in shaping children’s understandings of identity, family and community. In this setting, diversity is not hidden or avoided; it is acknowledged openly and respectfully. Seeing children engage with stories about different types of families creates a sense that everyone belongs and that no child’s family structure is considered unusual or less valid. This location is meaningful to my identity and my community because it reflects values of acceptance, respect and social justice. As an early childhood educator, I see my role not just as supporting children’s learning but also as helping to build a community where differences are understood and celebrated. This place plays an important role in my life because it is part of the everyday work of shaping how children see the world and one another. The early years are formative, and experiences like this help children develop empathy, curiosity and respect for difference. What I want others to know about this location is that early childhood education spaces can be powerful sites for inclusion. Here, children are being raised to accept and celebrate people from all walks of life, especially through an understanding that families come in many forms. By introducing these ideas early, spaces like this contribute to a more inclusive and compassionate community for the future. *I am a straight 40+ year old white woman who is also an early childhood teacher. I live in the Adelaide Hills and work in Norwood. I am raising two children. One is non-binary and their experience has taught me so much about the importance of teaching acceptance and embracing difference as well as the real need to break down gender stereotypes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/548c1fb8-ab0d-427b-ab01-eb1c0d39d4f7/3F28A9BA_A52D_4C27_B4BA_D498FDB45A64.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Lark* Queer Joy * I didn’t take the photo but it was taken at My Lover Cindi, during a reunion of the queer nightclub/bar in Adelaide. MLC is the only place I’ve ever felt truly safe as a queer, disabled, AuDHD person to be who I truly am in all my weird, awkward, messy glory. A place where I can be with other queerdo’s experiencing authentic, safe community in all its forms. MLC was accessible to me both physically and emotionally in that I knew there would always be people who had my back, who went out of their way to ensure safety and who were creative in making their space accessible and always willing to learn amd do better. I feel incredibly fortunate to have known and experienced such a special place *I’m a genderqueer person who usually falls in love with femme presenting people. I’m chronically ill and physically disabled as well as autistic and I have ADHD, OCD, GAD, panic disorder and C-PTSD. I grew up in a poor family who lived a privileged, mostly middle class lifestyle- I was a scholarship student at private schools and my mother’s family is upper middle class. I finished year 12 but haven’t completed any tertiary education but I am the only person in my immediate family not to do so. I’m in recovery from drug addiction, self harm, suicidal ideation and developmental trauma as well as sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse. I grew up in an extremely fundamentalist Christian cult. I now describe myself as an atheist. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/a26a6924-e414-48fc-ab34-ae01c3dda096/2003.05.03_Darling_House__5__Library.JPG Queer Experiences gallery Jezebel * Darling house library office * This is the view from the desk in the Darling House Community Library in 2003. The library was a joint library of the AIDS Council of South Australia and the Gay and Lesbian Counseling Service of SA. I volunteered there with Ian Purcell and his husband Stephen after completing my Grad Dip in Library and Info Studies at Uni SA and 'transitioning' in 1993. It gave me a safe place to be me, to learn about the PLWHA community and to develop my library management skills.* I am white, Aotearoa born Australian. I identify as a Trans woman and a lesbian. I have been with my lover, Anthea for thirty years. I suppose I am middle class but often it felt harder than that. I completed a Associate Diploma in Photography at SACAE in 1983, a B.A. (History and Politics) at Adelaide in 1992 and a Grad Dip Library and Info Management at Uni SA in 1993. I have no religion although I can see how many people get a lot from it. After working 30 years in archives at State Records and State Library, I resigned from the State Records Council last year, I am now retired but helping out where I can to preserve South Australia's LGBTIQA+ archival memory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/3ec0311d-bf59-440d-b742-a2e4868f001f/582764305_1223318826305841_3705129897687573210_n.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Tarsis * If it's not sugarcoated then it must be true* his was in a bar which is not specifically pitched as a LGBTIQA+ bar but is definitely an inclusive place. I have never felt that I can't be there because I am queer or neurodivergent although sometimes I am worried that being older and not "cool" is a burden to the place (they don't put that on me, that's my own baggage). It's an inclusive place. A lot of people there appear queer and trans (even when it's people I don't know they look like community), it's a friendly place with a leftist vibe and not too cosy with the police. We need our places to not be policed. I have heard anecdotal evidence that someone got kicked out for being a racist or homophobic jerk, even though I don't know the details to me that is confidence inspiring. The toilets are full of grafitti. I ABSOLUTELY judge a place by the quality of the grafitti, no grafitti is a bad sign for a start but to be fair one of the toilets in this place has art instead of grafitti and that is fine with me. I was very drunk when I saw this written on the wall and I found it encouraging. It wasn't positive enough for me to dismiss it, it was just down to earth accepting. Oh also there is vegan food in this place late at night and there are non-alcoholic drinks available (I like drinking but I like not having to drink as well). I feel like this space is safe for me to be in and when my child (over 18) initially started going into town and drinking I was relieved he and his friends went to this place where there is a bit of a community care vibe and the likelihood of meeting people who are all about making the world better (artists, musicians, poets, activists, but also anyone other than nazis/cops pretty much). I imagine a world where instead of subjecting these community gathering places to the ravages of the capitalist market, there would be a collective or publically funded way to have these spaces. Yes there is drinking and sex or sex-adjacent stuff in these places (ooh hotbeds of vice LOL) but they are kind of secular churches in that we all need to connect with the community and the divine/sublime, we need to heal our wounded spirits and be accepted for who we are. We need places to meet and organise or places to encounter the other and not overthink it and just DANCE. There was another place that had queer burlesque which I think is also a community need. We NEED to celebrate the queer, abject body. We need to worship the right to exist as a fat or disabled being. We need to determinedly tread all over narrow gendered ideals of how a body should be. We need ways of having safe group sex...did I go too far? Maybe it's not group sex per se. We also need bookshops/libraries, gardens, and beaches. What we DON'T need is more fucking coalmines or arms dealers.* I'm a middle-aged neurodivergent, fat, non-binary, demisexual lesbian who doesn't easily feel at home or safe anywhere. I come from a non-English speaking (European) background and I am probably middle class these days (ie overeducated) although I am still poor as dirt. I mix with people richer and poorer than me. I have invisible disability which I don't want to elaborate on. I have trans family...I mean I am trans in a modest way too but I have proper trans people also in my inner circle. Feel free to leave out whatever you want from that if you use my demographic information. Yes!!!! I wanted to give you 15 photos of a little egg I found that someone had hatched out of, and my favourite book shop (which is LGBTQIA+ friendly) and a random pub overseas, and a bunch of little clitorises (sweet peas), and a froglet that ambushed me, and a pro-Palestine protest (social justice in intrinsically queer), and a rainbow that just came to sit on my leg one day ...and I can't remember what else. Being queer you always have to think "am I safe here?...am I not safe here?...am I about to have a random people yell at me or punch me (this happened walking down the street one time)?...Ok I am grudgingly tolerated but am I allowed to talk about queer? Am I allowed to enact queer? Am I actually welcome? Oh I am welcome well now I am talking too much that won't do......etc" So you develop a relationship with all spaces based on "I am a queer person trying to shrink" or "I am safe here and people welcome me". You think about it thousands of times a day and silly things like rainbow flags should not make a difference but they do...because you are always scanning the environment for allies just in case. And seeing cops, especially when they have those oversized big machine guns gives you the opposite feeling of safety. I hate when people say that having more cops will make a place safer (or that I shouldve gone to the cops when I got punched). NO. NO WE DON'T NEED MORE POLICING. We need communities of mutuality and care. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/d8ae2fd3-972a-4d89-ba51-826475fe8f1b/651913212_2391622941264517_6246992188021288475_n.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Andy * Yuletide Gays * This was during a gift exchange at uni, friends and acquaintances, queer and ally, sharing relief at surviving a year of study and laughing at bad jokes in christmas crackers or chowing down on food. The location of the photo is the kitchen of the specialty lounges at AU, the specialty lounges are home to the Disability Inclusion group, Mature Students Association, Dr Duncan (Pride) lounge (aka pride room), and the Womens Collective. Minorities that are active and right there but are typically dismissed in community, this space is for safety and good vibes.* I'm demiaroace, bisexual, and nonbinary (transmasculine and on T). I grew up in Tassie and relocated to SA in 2024 for studies, I've been told by other neurodiverse people i may be in there somewhere buut doctors haven't wanted to discuss that with me. In the past i've had a difficult relationship with religion which unfortunately has been stretched more since moving due to people shouting in the streets about how if I don't follow Jesus or am queer I'm living in sin and deserve hell essentially- "shockingly" this hasn't helped with mental health stuff. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/53587bcb-5ee0-4cb7-801c-d20f86686d40/a722d2a6_5f64_407e_974d_0116cf596e99.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Loz * Soul on Fire * This was a time I felt very isolated and alone as I'm sure a lot of people feel in the LGBTQ community. Everyone around me appeared to "have it all together" the families, the jobs and I had lost everything- feeling stagnant, lost , staring into a sunset unsure to where my compass was pointing. So I decide to lose myself in nature, seeking solitude and peace. Nature is wild and wavering but above all free. This moment in time set my soul on fire. I began to dream again, feel less lonely, be proud of who I am and when life starts to feel disjointed I will chase another sunset feeling acceptance and belonging. Nature is a work of art, just like me.* I was brought up in religion, though some of it was beneficial on my belief system a lot of it didn't seem to fit my identity. It wasn't till my mid 20s that I started to realise I didn't fit the heteronormative mould and came out as a Lesbian. When I did- I lost friends, was judged, was made to feel afraid of my identity and in turn felt completely isolated. This created a fear of myself which meant I hid my sexuality. I began to disappear into sunsets providing space and time to think, reflect but ultimately gave me the inspiration and courage to live my truth, to which I stand by each day! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/b39b822b-2592-497c-857c-e0843ca53079/att.8iUi-SdJ7HW2uSGb-kC2aSjX0Bd4mD3eEniqPXW_zCo.JPG Queer Experiences gallery Frankie* I took this photo during a Pride event hosted by Ramble Arts (previously Riverland Youth Theatre), which is a community space that connects young people with each other and art. There’s a program called The Judy’s that specifically connects queer adults with each other and offers monthly workshops where we might paint/do mosaics/pottery/go for a walk etc. It’s a way to find and stay within community, and it’s brilliant. When I moved to the Riverland from Adelaide three years ago, I was afraid I wouldn’t find queer friends and community the way I had back home. Seeing queerness can be harder in regional places, and I noticed that queer people weren’t as immediately visible as they seemed to be in the city. I also noticed a dominant type of masculinity that felt pretty restrictive and oppressive. Heteronormativity is very strong here. I’m a transgender man and was just starting to figure out how to express my masculinity when I moved, and RYT helped to show me there isn’t just one way to do that. I find immense safety and a sense of belonging through this community, this magical third space where everyone can meet each other where they’re at without any judgment. It’s what has made me feel at home in a new town.* I am a transgender bisexual/queer man. I guess pansexual is more accurate but I’m a millennial so bi is the word for me! I’m half Greek, half Italian and was raised by immigrants. I have ADHD. I have two University degrees. I am a very spiritual person although I don’t prescribe to any one religion or ideology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/8d095f1f-1ba1-4b9e-83dd-dd40630bd65d/IMG_0177.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Rā* Transcendent * The ocean is the only place I’ve ever felt truly at ease in my queerness. It’s watched me evolve in my own over decades, in all versions of myself, and welcomed me in every iteration. The juxtaposition of play and whimsy with its tenacity are parallels I feel within other embodied queer spaces. To me, the ocean is safety, which is a privilege I appreciate is not afforded to many bodies. But even that acknowledgement of intersectionality is a nod to the queerness of the ocean. Nevermind the biological sexual diversity of its inhabitants. Christie’s beach is particularly special because I have felt more comfortable as a visibly queer person there than many more urban spaces- the locals don’t care, they don’t judge. They ask you about your dog and get on with their lives. The ocean is mystery, power, diversity, strength, evolving and utterly wholeheartedly itself. I have felt such queer liberation playing annd partying and resting and reading and strolling and beckoning on Adelaide’s beaches.* Middle class / white Australian / Masc gender diverse AFAB https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e1ecbd2a-689f-4a49-9c1c-df8a076d5c22/IMG_2603.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Rae * Floor time * When I thought about what makes me feel safe, the first thing I thought of was the living room in my friends’ house. It’s hard to precisely articulate the feelings I associate with this space around belonging, acceptance and safety, as it all feels very abstract. For me, I think it’s about the connections and community that come with this space, and how clear it is to me how much effort my friends have put into making it this way. This space, whilst of course being super comfy and welcoming, is realistically more reflective of the care and effort my friends put into building and maintaining a safe space for community and connection to occur. I can show up on a bad day and lay on the floor and just be miserable. Or, I can show up on a good day when they’re on the floor feeling miserable. We can even all sometimes be miserable (both on and off the floor), and feel less alone whilst doing so. I associate this welcoming space with authentic social safety, knowing I can just exist without fear of judgement. It’s a space where we safely discuss and explore our feelings, experiences, ideas, and struggles with understanding, empathy, and curiosity. And even when we aren’t feeling up to talking, we can just sit in comfortable silence and watch cool movies. I’ve spent a lot of time in my life feeling disconnected or like I don’t belong. This photo, for me, represents the feeling of safety and belonging I’ve found after a long period of not having these things. It also serves as a celebration of the profound value my friends bring to the world and their communities, and as a symbol of hope that we might all find ‘our people’ eventually.* I am non-binary, pansexual person with autism and ADHD. I was raised by my single mother who is also a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I am working class, and whilst I am not studying, I didn’t finish high school. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/0386db04-dbe9-4f19-a277-a39cdd35f0d1/IMG_2635_9__exhibition_.png Queer Experiences gallery Jew * Almost Alone * In am a Jewish Lesbian I am almost certain that most people will judge me negatively about this image in the exhibition. I don't speak about my thoughts/beliefs on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict with almost anyone. I don't feel that I will be understood, that I will need to explain myself and my opinions. I don't expect understanding. I feel an outsider. I don't expect to be anything else. This is ok. I'm used to it. This isn't to do with my sexuaity or gender it is to do with being a Jew. * I'm being part of this project as an obligation to be out about this part of who I am. If anyone who sees this exhibition wants to talk to me I will also be obliged and I probably won't talk to you. It's too much for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/60fd1251-16f5-4313-9f22-27d813054760/IMG_3251.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Buttercup * My Loves * I’ve always loved the beach and for most of my life it’s been a source of comfort. The time where it hasn’t been was when I was struggling with my gender identity and not feeling safe to express myself. I took this photo after an afternoon at the beach, with people I love who I can be myself with. Trans, queer, loved. The sun setting, enjoying peoples company and not thinking about anything else but that.* Non binary, bisexual, latine https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/9a2e2171-7c5a-44d0-9dcc-0024b2239681/IMG_3423.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Maelstrom Rider * Rage and joy amongst the peace * Look at this place. Transphobes can get fucked. The Adnyamathanha (Rock People) have lived here for tens of thousands of years, my transgender soul felt accepted, amazed and peaceful looking at these amazing mountains. I cried for the next 30 minutes. I felt so incredibly lucky to be there.* I am a retired transgender woman, quite a late transitioner as it turns out. I worked as a union organiser for 2 decades and would describe myself as financially comfortable but more radical than ever. I am not religious yet this view and place on Bunyeroo Road, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park had a profound impact on me. This picture probably doesn't fit the research brief but I like it and the experience it reminds me of. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/038db917-93bc-4665-a26e-3949c0ad73a2/IMG_3956.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery T * River Torrens * I like the torrens (karra wirra) because I come here often with my friends. They have good bird turnouts here, and it is nice and quiet in comparison to the rest of the city. I just like that it is quiet and a good place for me to meet with others. The rest of the city, especially during gather round, i don’t feel very safe in. The Torrens is out of the way and generally peaceful later at night. I generally feel unsafe in enclosed buildings/spaces, especially when I am alone. Its the only place in the city where I don’t feel suffocated in.* Bi-greyromantic, asexual, gender apathetic, ‘Australian’, agnostic atheist, in tertiary education https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e5f50fdf-f94f-4e39-8494-9542ac80bbcd/IMG_5807.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Nostos * Pergola at Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens * Some friends and I were out enjoying the lovely weather at the Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens, and we ended up at this pergola where I took this photo. I’ve been a few times before, across different seasons, and I always love it! In my experience, many queer outings I’ve attended, either organised or casual, occur in settings close to or in nature. This can be places like parks, gardens, conversation areas, wildlife reserves, etc., either in the cbd or out of it. This is likely because they’re just the public spaces available for events, but it’s also nice to get in touch with nature and take up space where we can.* I identify as queer, aromantic, and asexual. I’ve grown up in Adelaide, though was born overseas and my parents and I are immigrants. I’m privileged to be in a position that I have enough free time, funds and physical ability to go to the Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens when I want to. I’m currently in uni and finding it very fulfilling. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/f7100ced-086d-4702-ab37-2af397cb7845/IMG_6116.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Frankie * Wetland and Meadow * I find a deep sense of peace when I’m in nature. Nature doesn’t judge who or how I am. I can see myself reflected back to me within the preserved wild spaces I work in. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but for me a big part of my queerness is my connection to nature, and I feel the wetlands I work in are inherently queer spaces too. Nothing is linear here, everything is connected and changing all the time. Wetlands are liminal spaces, sometimes wet, sometimes dry, always something in between. I feel my queerness represented in this, in the way the birds chatter, and the frogs call through the night, and the plants grow, blossom and then die over and over again. I can sit in the water and know I am exactly right. I think we can often take nature for granted, and minimise the positive impact it has on our wellbeing. This specific location is not publicly accessible, but there are so many pockets of earth/beach/river/forest/park/garden dotted around us that can offer the same feeling of support. I want people to tend to nature and be delighted to discover that it allows them to tend to themselves, too.* I am a transgender bisexual/queer man. I guess pansexual is more accurate but I’m a millennial so bi is the word for me! I’m half Greek, half Italian and was raised by immigrants. I have ADHD. I have two University degrees. I am a very spiritual person although I don’t prescribe to any one religion or ideology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/ebf9edf0-f56c-4f69-b278-8bbcd4c9f998/IMG_8146.jpeg Queer Experiences gallery Ki * PLUR * Not the specific location, but raves in general. They’re all about Peace, Love, Unity & Respect. You never feel like someone’s judging you & most of the community supports one another if needed!* Transfemme, Lesbian The only non-person picture I had was in Melbourne, but the scene in Adelaide is equally as supportive! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/d8515840-d6b6-45ba-903b-be6b1d9e220a/IMG_9398.JPG Queer Experiences gallery SheShe* Girl Meet Girl Sapphic Social Picnics Kaurna* This photo was taken at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens during an event called Girl Meet Girl Social Sapphic Picnic, which is held every three months in the Gardens. The photo was taken to capture a snap shot of a bright, inclusive and accessible space in nature at the Gardens where we gather and make connections with other queer sapphic folk. This location offers a regular and consistent large open air space for sapphic folk to join the picnics with community, where we can be our authentic selves with our Pride Flags and Picnic rugs connecting to country.* Pronouns She/her, Queer, Bi, Pan, Demi, Australian I was born in NSW Wiradjuri Mudgee, lived in Eora Nation Sydney for 25 years and have resided here on Kaurna Land for 7.5 years. Middle class, non religious, neurodivergent. Girl Meet Girl is a vibrant community for 18 + sapphic folk to meet new people in real life, in a supportive, safe inclusive space, make new friends, build community connections, have fun adventures together! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/5fb50e52-105e-4b07-b857-d7596c624a24/IMG_20260302_201508999.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Sally * Two beacons * There are two zones of semi-consistent safety for queer people to experience nightlife in Adelaide. Each a scattered collection of venues in the East and West Ends. Sometimes, the place you thought was safe just isn't one night—the venue booked a band that only attracts douchebags, an obnoxious person is wearing a MAGA hat and nobody seems to cares but you, some misgenders you for the wrongth time today and you can't take anymore—so you decide to make the cross-town trek. Everyone I know has done this. But not everyone likes to. They either don't feel safe or can't afford the uber. I, however, loooooove it. I'm bigger than most cis men, have resting trust-me face, and I'm witty enough to talk my way out of (or into if someone else needs help) confrontations. Critically, I've navigated corporate Australia for decades and as a result, generally behave like I belong wherever I am. I'm also presumed healthy, housed, and white. Because of all this, I feel it's my responsibility to keep walking through the city I love broadcasting some kinda there's-nothing-for-me-to-fear-here vibe until it feels this way for every last one of us.* Lesbian, trans woman, single parent and domestic violence victim/survivor. Descendant of Scottish and English immigrants and settlers, working class, agnostic, AuDHD, chronically ill, tertiary educated. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/93488832-a82c-4c8c-a52f-4c4b2b77c45f/IMG20260408194356.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Soundie * IRL concert * The Northern sound system is an incredibly inclusive workplace and I always enjoy mixing gigs there!* Bisexual migrant arts industry worker https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/592edf25-96ab-45c6-b670-d02530eb32dc/inbound4946548491771543438.jpg Queer Experiences gallery p$ * My loves, my life* My partner and I are in a hetero-normative presenting relationship, but we still feel threatened or fearful in public spaces. I feel safest in his arms, with our fur babies, and amongst are chosen family. This photo was taken on holiday -as the sun dipped and the light faded, we blurred into silhouettes to become... just like everyone else. In that moment, there was belonging, freedom, and safety.* I am a cisgender woman who identifies as pansexual, and I am both neurodivergent and living with a disability. My partner has transitioned from female to male. We are both immigrants and have come to embrace Australia as our permanent home. The last time we returned to our country of birth, we felt unsafe due to being LGBTIQA+and the political climate. We have not been back since. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/76a9f444-2e5c-43ec-9199-d4115c6bfb56/inbound7639047851681476331.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Babs * Nestled * This was the place i watched two dear friends share their vows through incredibly unique and personal ritual - it was vulnerable and fun, and perfectly "them" The location felt like a haven, far above the city, but still apart of it It was a place where I witnessed a textured challenge to the status quo - a defiance about what marriage looks like, on the surface or on paper, a reminder to look beneath, to take control of these moments and write them how you want. I felt so deeply honoured to be one of the small few invited to this ceremony. I felt so safe, safer than I ever had in such a potentially traditional circumstances. I'll remember this day, and this view, forever. * transfemme lesbian from working class, atheist background - I live with an invisible disability and have completed no tertiary education https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/0858f888-d689-4dd2-b1ba-e390669ed87e/inbound8576283278708316880.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Emily * Billy Buttons after the rain * I spend hours here with my small children, getting muddy, planting, digging, birdwatching, and chatting to people walking by. Our garden is a mess of natives and mulch, and is an amusing contrast to next door's beautiful, manicured cottage garden (you can immediately tell where the lesbians live, and where the gay guys live). We've been here for nearly ten years now, so it feels deeply familiar, even though I didn't grow up here. But it feels particularly safe because we know all the neighbours. Close by are two other queer couples, one with their beautiful dog, who moved in around the same time we did. It's a tiny street, but somehow full of people who have things in common with us - which has been such a happy surprise to find in the outer suburbs, where I thought I'd never live. It's also taught me about how community is actually made. I had to awkwardly introduce myself to passers-by while sweating in the garden in my Crocs, remember names, make a Whatsapp group, and find room in my tiny backyard for a neighbours get together. But now we know people, and in many emergencies we have had help and generosity right in our street, and given it to others too. Recently, one of my neighbours was the target of a homophobic hate crime, right on his front porch by some young adults who should have known better. It was surreal. But they messed with the wrong gay. My neighbour found them (it's a small street), and at the invitation of their parents, he lectured them about the impact of homophobia until they nearly cried. He didn't think twice about going down to talk to them. I was struck by his courage, but also felt immensely grateful to have someone so proud and unafraid right next door. I was also impressed that he knew where everyone lived! I don't ever feel unsafe at home or worry about my kids, or question whether I should be raising them in a more progressive suburb. I know we can always ring the neighbours. * Lesbian, white settler, raised in very low socio-economic area, now middle class I guess? with postgrad education https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/1793503328873-JJCDFIPZLRUBTDE85PSC/Screenshot_2025_09_29_21_55_05_27_99c04817c0de5652397fc8b56c3b3817.jpg Queer Experiences gallery Dusty Queer* My home among the gumtrees* I took this photo while at The Mallee Fowl Restaurant to perform a poem I wrote for an event named P.O.T Luck. P.O.T Luck is an event that was created by a queer friend of mine in our small community. This one was at The Mallee Fowl restaurant, a dusty, hot, outdoor restaurant full of mismatched chairs and beautiful smiles. The Mallee Fowl is just off of the highway in a small town named Monash, it's mostly farms, dirt and Gumtrees which pretty perfectly sums up the Riverland. This night was one I will never forget, it was hot, I was bare foot, with all of my beautiful queer friends sharing poetry, drag performances and songs. * I am a non binary lesbian, engaged to a non binary lesbian. We live in a small Riverland town and am raising my 17 year old brother. https://www.drkatetoone.com/queer-sworkers-gallery daily 0.75 2026-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e45b9b8a-75ea-4d9e-8b6b-d07e55bdb97e/Alexa1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Alexa Alexa became distressed discussing a recent relationship breakdown with a man who had broken it off after she revealed her online camming work. Alexa was very young and appeared to have the least conviction to her sex work, trying to balance this with other work and study. At other times, Alexa seemed secure in her identity as a sex worker, speaking of it as a neutral inevitability for her life path. At times, though, when reflecting on the consequences of working in the sex industry, she seemed regretful. Alexa on the difference between her two identities as visualised through the dolls: But then, honestly, … It’s just like, just take the jeans and the hoodie off and then there’s her… (laughs) It’s the same person! She’s just … happens to be wearing matching underwear that day (laughs). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/295e6137-5f42-4228-a569-5f9d6e14c8e3/Alexa2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Alexa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/6897cdef-7850-477b-be7a-a3f5455db863/Amy1.jpg Queer Sworkers gallery Amy Amy started with BDSM work in her mid-twenties, then moved on to full-service brothel work, but now mainly relied on private bookings. Amy was currently working in the sex industry (pre-COVID- 19) part-time around other interests and had a girlfriend, but also identified as polyamorous and was open to bisexuality, although the majority of her adult relationships were with women. Amy had been working for around seven years and was in her early thirties. Amy on the difference between the Sydney scene compared to the queerness present in her experience of Melbourne brothels: The culture there was very like het, like it was funny. I think in Melbourne all anyone wanted was a double you know, oh like “oh we will get to do a double together, it’ll be so hot” and in Sydney I’d be like “oh I don’t do doubles cos I’m not like that” cos you didn’t want anyone else thinking you were. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/35a391cf-fad0-47cf-a588-6bf72aa5b7f4/Amy2.jpg Queer Sworkers gallery Amy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/af301afc-7c80-4b55-8995-d804c8bd29dd/April1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery April April worked mostly with her partner V, doing online camming on OnlyFans, private and party strip shows, and topless waitressing. She positioned herself as a businesswoman and it was clear that she was committed to marketing and making the most money possible, while still having fun and enjoying her job. April had a day job in finance, was covered in tattoos, and had been working in sex work for about five years. April on how dating within the sex industry is easier than dating a civ: I couldn’t imagine dating someone that wasn’t in the industry, it would be, harder a lot harder. Cos we can just be like oh we both understand the point of view that its work, we are not interested in it. On how she doesn’t actively seek out friendships within the queer community: I find that I don’t identify with it as much cos I’m a bit more relaxed about everything, like I’m not I don’t give a shit about going out and doing all these marches and whatever, like cos I am from a position of privilege I guess as well, which you know is probably something I need to self-reflect on … but yeh, I just find that a lot of the stuff doesn’t resonate with me as much as it does with people in the queer community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/9d127e9c-45de-4aa6-9e1a-ba3621d4080d/April2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery April https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/5cb7c7a0-b70d-4022-8cd2-ae21baf8aa42/Ava1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Ava Ava had worked in brothels in Western Australia and Victoria, and had begun as a private worker doing doubles with her then girlfriend. Ava now works in social supports for sex workers after finishing her five-year sex work career. Ava explained her sexuality as queer in that she wouldn’t have a relationship with a man but would have sex with one if the right opportunity presented itself. Ava talked about the value in finding peers, even after she finished working in the sex industry, as a way to understand her experiences. On how her sex work impacted her attraction to men: I didn’t have the luxury of finding one of those really queer friendly or queer dominant brothels that everyone talks about now where like pit hair is cool … that wasn’t the scene that I was in… I was one of the only queer women and I was always fascinated by the women I’d work with who would go home to their cis male partners at the end of the night, and I’m like … how can you even look at another dick? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/f0f9f0eb-ee8c-4305-a54b-fd6d5dc57f5a/Ava2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Ava https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/89656f52-6704-4b74-83f2-38d957bed4d9/Cassie1.jpg Queer Sworkers gallery Cassie Cassie identified herself as a “dancer” and had only ever worked in no-contact strip clubs. She started stripping to earn money as a student wanting to travel, and ended up staying in the industry much longer than she anticipated. Cassie was not working at the time of the interview and kept her private life and stripping history very separate. Cassie appeared confident, highly educated, and well spoken. Cassie was introduced to her current partner M, when M came into her workplace with mutual friends, and they have been together ever since. On how the level of body work she undertook decreased in her day-to-day life when she was working in the strip club: When I was at uni, I used to wear like, like I’d do my makeup for forty minutes to go to a lecture! And that was just out the window. I think in a way Cassie, or my dance persona, helped me refine myself more. I know who I am more, [to] be less apologetic for who I am. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/78729f1e-fef6-43d4-bf20-b726dab606da/Cassie2.jpg Queer Sworkers gallery Cassie https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/bf592e3d-2b2f-4093-96cb-2967fcf48dc0/Charlie1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Charlie Charlie’s career in sex work began when she was 18, and a university student, and had started doing sex party hosting with a boyfriend of the time. Charlie seemed to have really found her niche doing escorting, providing a girlfriend experience rather than more paid-by-the-hour type work. Now 23, Charlie was questioning whether this was a long-term career option for her. Charlie on facing whorephobia from inside the queer community: There’s pockets in the queer community [where] I’ve got some really good friends who are super accepting of what I do for work and have seen me through lots of different stuff, and talked about it with me, and are interested because it’s my work and its’ my life, but not interested in the … same way that people are interested in the, you know, bad stuff… But then there’s also these pockets who are just like just like “well you can’t be a true queer, if you’re doing this then”…I think there’s a lot of judgement there still, and I think people try really hard to say that the queer community is accepting, and of course it is, it’s so accepting, but there’s still so much toxic behaviour in that sense and … sex workers are already fighting for so much. Like we shouldn’t be having to fight for ourselves in a community that is all about acceptance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/3d5a1e6d-5453-410a-9536-856350dc5fbb/Charlie2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Charlie https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/6b3b8e03-dd92-45e6-a299-39086392e3cb/Chloe1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Chloe Chloe had only been working for about four or five months at the time of interview, after running into financial trouble. Chloe was in her mid-thirties and had dated men exclusively until coming out as queer in her late twenties. She was known to me before the research, and the interview, held at her house in the company of her cats, was relaxed, reflective, and insightful. Chloe had had an overall positive experience working at a massage parlour which included good relationships with her predominantly straight work colleagues and management. She had not done full-service sex work. Chloe was out as a sex worker to people that she was dating, and had a few sex working friends, but was largely not out to her wider friendship circle or Italian family. Chloe on how her lesbian friends gave her insider information when she was considering sex work as an option: I approached some friends, a lesbian couple who are escorts, and basically said to them like, “run me down, I’ll pay you … for your time and for your, for disclosing this information you know. I appreciate you’ve worked hard to get where you are and I don’t want to take advantage of that in any way”. So, and they were super lovely, they were like, “come over,” … “happy to help you”. So, I went over and literally we sat down and one of them gave me like a pad of paper and a pen and was like, “right, ok”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e10b031e-3f04-4857-ad1d-50044d0de9ab/Chloe2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Chloe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/4ebfbf18-0570-4042-b2c7-b3879c3def05/E1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery E E was 21 at the time of the interview and had been doing sex work in Adelaide out of her private residences since she was 16. E used sex work to supplement her welfare income and did not know any other sex workers, having always worked alone. She didn’t identify with having a queer community but identified as queer because she rarely dated men. E presented as quite socially isolated and relished the chance to speak to someone about shared experiences through the interview. E on how she managed to work with men as a lesbian: I mean there’s vegetarian chefs that cook meat so… So, it’s just a job, yeh (laughs). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/da4893ca-4617-45da-b215-fffbd0a76f90/E2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery E https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/ab12a9b8-6dde-4922-895a-1d22872130aa/Elyse1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Elyse Elyse had previously done full-service parlour work for about 10 years and she had just returned to the industry after a long break, hoping to find a better balance between work and her lifestyle. Elyse had worked in Queensland, Sydney, and Melbourne. She spoke about how class intersected with her identity as a non-heterosexual woman and her sex work career to make her feel most comfortable describing her identity as “femme”. Elyse spoke about living as a lesbian separatist in the past, and showed a firm understanding of lesbian history, class politics, and anti-establishment sentiment. Elyse on the way some parlours seek to solidify their high-class identity by providing grooming packs for their clientele: It’s all hocking your hole, like it doesn’t matter where you’re going. On how she relates to younger sex workers who inhabit a more gentrified section of the industry: I come from somewhere much more rural … than a lot of people, and I didn’t move to a big city, and I didn’t move as soon as I was eighteen. Huge mistake. So, I think if I had’ve gotten there, where everyone else is now, a bit sooner, I wouldn’t feel like, you know, like such a big pouty outsider. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/93d6bc4b-14c9-4e31-a672-896f411f311d/Elyse2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Elyse https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/415c5032-272b-44ac-bd25-aef61916a052/Erin1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Erin Erin began survival work when she was kicked out of home at 15 years old in her regional hometown. She was in her late twenties, and she had worked both before her gender transition presenting as male, and after transition in a trans-specific brothel setting. At the time of the interview, Erin only engaged with one regular private client to provide a fetish service. With an undergraduate degree in sociology “hanging in her toilet”, Erin loved the craft project, seemed at 87 ease speaking about sex work in a peer setting, and identified the queer community, along with being a trade unionist, as very important to her sense of self. Erin had a girlfriend and many lesbian and queer sex worker friends. Our matching political tattoos created a space of political alignment, familiarity, and trust between us. Erin on the progression of her understanding of her own trans identity and how it correlated with her sex work; It sort of took another bout of like being a rent boy, in like in brothel circumstances, for me to go “oh that’s what I hate about men” … I fucking hate like, like I hate their bodies, I hate the way they smell, I hate that my body looks like a man’s body, I hate all of these things, I hate everything that intersects. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/04b13e6f-3f58-4174-840f-387452ad581e/Erin2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Erin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e9a6f771-fb7f-4e29-8ad2-ae87cd01c272/Frankie1.png Queer Sworkers gallery Frankie Frankie, a visual artist, was very clear about her work only being BDSM dominatrix, non-sexual contact. She was softly spoken, covered in tattoos, and spoke openly about her relationship and sexuality, chronic health conditions, and trauma. Frankie reflected a lot about her challenges in 85 finding community when her identity has shifted over the years. She currently identified as grey- asexual. Frankie on why foot-fetish work is her favourite aspect of the industry: Some people hate their feet being touched… I couldn’t care less … If someone wants to sniff my feet and give me money, then like go for gold you know! On what motivates her style choices outside of work There’s a part of me that wants people to be like, “she’s not wearing make up!” you know, and want people to feel uncomfortable and questioned, you know, by my fatness in public, by my underarm hair, by my shaved hair, and lack of makeup. Like, I want people to be like, “hmmm I’m uncomfortable,” and then sort of think, “why am I uncomfortable?” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/fb31b47e-b38e-45a0-a044-dab3f196dec7/Frankie2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Frankie https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/6c3171aa-2531-44df-9869-a8e3779a7a90/GG1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery GG GG was voluptuous with a husky voice and a self-assured presence. Now in her mid-twenties, she had worked for seven years, predominantly full-service in brothels. GG spoke about wanting to leave the industry but not having a clear financial exit plan in place. She had worked in health care and had encountered violent men in both industries which had led to a mistrust and hatred of men in general. GG was open with friends and lovers about her work, and felt that disclosing her sex worker status was a good way of weeding judgemental people out of her personal orbit. On how she finds the sex industry to be accepting of her queerness: When you’re already marginalised, I think it can be easier and it’s like it is, like things have definitely changed like significantly and … we are living in a very lucky time to be queer. But it can still be difficult in everyday workplace and stuff, and I feel like the sex industry is a very accepting thing and it can be, it’s an easier place to be just who you are because there’s a huge amount of diversity and everyone’s there for their own reasons, and I dunno, there’s less judgement?’ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/fa71876d-3ac9-486a-8f3f-1b39535cf446/GG2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery GG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/1793519505477-OP7YKKX820M0Q8IZUJ6N/Lola1.jpg Queer Sworkers gallery Lola Lola started stripping to support herself as a rural university student whose parents could not afford to supplement her study. She had danced in Canberra, and Sydney where she now resides. Lola was bubbly, politically self-aware, and humble about her privilege in relation to the whorearchy. Lola was in her early twenties and was only just coming to terms with her sexuality which she described as “gay”, after dating men exclusively in the past. She had successfully surrounded herself with queer women and stated that these platonic friendships currently fulfilled her intimacy needs. Lola spoke about disclosing her stripper status on her dating profile when she was only looking for sexual experimentation, but removing it now that she is considering relationships with women: 90 I just thought like some people … would see that on my profile as it is now and immediately like think that I’m like, really promiscuous, or like not really gay. …I definitely have had people say to me like, oh well you’re not really gay cos like you’re a stripper and you interact with men, and it’s like, mm, no, (laughs) I’m pretty sure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/1793519527591-D5RL01Z80YKYXLYZWQWM/Lola2.jpg Queer Sworkers gallery Lola https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/1f7f188d-be66-472f-9008-9299d27671ab/Lucia1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Lucia Lucia had begun stripping in New Zealand and was currently working in Melbourne (pre-COVID-19) in the same club she had worked at for four and a half years. Lucia was the only online interviewee who chose not to have her camera on, which aligned with her being probably the most secretive of all participants about her sex work in her life. Lucia was born and raised in Peru and her conservative Catholic family does not know about her lesbian sexuality – they believe queerness to be a mental illness requiring treatment – let alone her time in the sex industry. Lucia much preferred her time working in non-touching strip clubs. Lucia on her general experience of stripping: I mean I have bad days, as I told you before, but I, I could deal with it and I like the industry. I mean at the end it’s like any other job. You always have your upside downs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/d9db8f88-5154-4908-8504-9d54cb0f0278/Lucia2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Lucia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/649a844a-e87d-40aa-994b-e8fb3539c435/Lucia3.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Lucia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/dff3a618-8fa8-43a6-8290-70456f310a03/Lucia4.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Lucia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/0698c3a1-131d-4892-99a5-6e1ac5321e8a/M1.png Queer Sworkers gallery M M was Cassie’s partner and had worked as a stripper at only one club for about four years. She was the most typically masculine of all participants, and there was a slight language barrier at times, with communication further inhibited by the interview being online. M entered the industry after seeing how much money her girlfriend made, and had never had a sexual relationship with a man outside of work. M was born and raised in a Southeast Asian country and emotionally recounted the experience of coming out to her mother as a lesbian, and the cultural barriers to acceptance she faced for her sexuality. M on the first time meeting her now partner: I get in and dress up because it’s like a Halloween day, I dress up, put the like, I dunno, paint my face. And in that time like my partner she worked there, and she on the stage and the MC, he just asked someone to get up, you know, on the stage to get a free lap dance. And my partner just point at me like that. I want that hot girl… and that was me wearing like a ghost (costume) in the club and no one wear that, only me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/855c865a-6061-45cb-91c5-4c2e894ea7d7/M2.png Queer Sworkers gallery M https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/6edb1e3f-c7e7-4549-8b63-4f9220f3bb1d/Paton1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Paton Paton and I originally met when I was a patron in her workplace (a strip club) and described my future research to her. Paton spoke of her time in the strip club (less than two years) as positive, enjoyable, and something she missed. Her interview, which occurred in her home, was high energy and, at times, she contradicted herself. She discussed the frustration of appearing “straight” and struggling to assert her lesbian identity, which she had only recently begun to unpack when she started stripping. Paton said that stripping for men gave her sexual energy which she very much enjoyed until a current female partner became uncomfortable with the job. Paton on her experience of stripping for men: At first, I was very like “ew they’re pigs and they’re disgusting” and then it kind of turned into something like a power source for me, and I really miss that to be honest. I really miss having that in my life cos I feel I don’t get that from women. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/6fdb3ece-60b3-42f1-9478-58403df77ad0/Paton2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Paton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/e83839cf-202e-42e8-af65-1a468fecc020/Sasha1.JPG Queer Sworkers gallery Sasha Sasha had worked in Adelaide as a stripper for three years, as well as being a member of dance and performance communities. Sasha had been out of the industry for a year at the time of the interview. She described her sexuality as “queer” which, for her, meant there was a possibility of attraction to anyone who was not a straight, cisgender man. Sasha said that spirituality and taking care of her mental health were important to her. Femme invisibility and the struggles of being a femme appearing lesbian was a continuous topic of our conversation. Sasha on how she explains the prevalence of women-on-women relationships in the strip club: It’s that familiarity and it’s that trust and love I feel like a lot of the girls … you know have their experience with girls who are in the industry because we understand each other. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/8caa9382-873b-4152-a756-228143a0e8ff/Sasha2.JPG Queer Sworkers gallery Sasha https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/d681914e-3302-45fd-8073-265501405bd7/Harmony1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Harmony Harmony had been working for almost three years. She currently provided full-service sex work in brothels in Adelaide but had started her journey as a private full-service worker. For Harmony, being queer meant that she only had sexual attraction to men when it was paired with emotional connection, which never occurred in her work. She lived with a housemate who also met the recruitment criteria for this research. Harmony presented as confident and a skilled actress. Harmony on her sexuality: It’s only happened a few times that I’ve actually been sexually attracted to a man like…There are just a few unicorns out there… On how she manages to work with men: I’ve always said there’s no such thing as an ugly hundred dollar note. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/f6e818e9-0e10-45b4-b178-ced0af130a8e/Harmony2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Harmony https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/4461d846-1263-4651-bd7d-0abd0ede751a/Bella1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Bella Bella began her sex work journey by engaging with sugar daddies, moved on to agency full-service work, and currently worked privately as well as managing the admin of a few other workers – the only participant to speak of managing other sex workers in any way. Bella identified herself as “heteroflexible” and polyamorous, and had a non-binary AMAB partner and a girlfriend. Bella on how polyamory interacts with her sex work: I’m glad I’m poly cos I don’t want to have to stop doing what I’m doing for work. And I think it would be unfair to be monogamous doing this kind of work, even though its different, it’s not romantic …. I just think it would be unfair… like if I was saying to them, you can only have sex with me but, oh sorry, it’s my work. I’ve gotta go fuck all these people, even though it’s not enjoyable … it’s a bit rough, you know? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/42abc9d7-2d85-47c7-94b2-6b50d9e1e2b6/Bella2.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery Bella https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6aa24fa80cc397011559a32f/43d0359c-b66d-4af6-b792-187bdc094deb/V1.jpeg Queer Sworkers gallery V V predominantly worked “independently” in Adelaide, currently doing doubles strip shows and party bookings with her partner, April. V felt that she could be her true self during these bookings, and prioritised fun and enjoyment in her work (as well as money), but this did not translate to sexual pleasure. V also held down a government job and felt that this would be in jeopardy if her employer found out about her work. She also kept sex work and her sexuality a secret from her family. V was in her mid-twenties and had done a number of informal sex work jobs over the last four or so years. She said she liked the attention. She aspired to get a strip club position as a more solid financial option. V on how authenticity is a part of her marketing strategy: I used to try and have more of a work persona where it would be like, ok I’ll just switch off like I’m not really gonna be myself. I’m just gonna, like you know, do my thing and just leave it at that. But it’s kind of hard to maintain and it’s like I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole of like pretending to be someone I’m not … I try to just be chill. I try to just have a good time and guys respond to that like they appreciate that. (V chose to do one composite image of her identities)