It’s been a long time coming and a true passion project that I’m excited to explore with you all, whether you love it or hate it. Either way, I’m selfishly in love.
The current situation that the entire globe is going through seems somewhat unreal – a mind fuck / total reset button that I feel far too many people didn’t know we actually needed.
I’m Sandy, a queer in my late 20s from Sydney, Australia. I work in reality television (sue me), and jump from show to show with 50% excitement and 50% anxiety, as I’m actually able to be present and 100% myself in an environment that also seems unreal and a total mind fuck at times.
80% of the shows I work on seem to focus exclusively on heteronormative BS. This subject matter is at odds with the people behind the cameras, most of them powerful women and beautiful members of the LGBT+ community. (Of course, the head honchos are typically – yawn – middle-aged straight yt men.) As I sit in the control room or run around on set doing 20 things at once, I can't help but think: Why are we making TV shows for everyone but ourselves?
“It comes down to what Australian audiences feel comfortable viewing at a 7:30pm time slot during the week”, is the inevitable response. I understand that my world isn’t everyone’s world. To be quite honest, I’m thankful that I’m able to escape the straight mainstream and return to my inner western Sydney queer bubble to take a moment to re-centre. But really, none of us should have to escape. We should be safe no matter where we are. Now more than ever, it feels so important to bring the queer community to the forefront – especially Black and Indigenous Trans women, who still face so much violence – and create content that highlights the many queer experiences that are often overlooked or oppressed. This is what Queerful aims to do: represent the diversity of queerness and normalise our experiences without editing them for mainstream, white, hetero audiences. I hope that, in turn, this will create a safer environment for us, so we can step out in our best thigh high boot, with our lovely concealed face, and serve that attitude that gives you both "don't fuck with me" and "aren't I the cutest!".
I may sound like the fourth runner up for Miss Australia at the moment, but I genuinely feel that this time isn’t to have a seat at the table, but rather to rebuild the table with a loud as hell microphone built in that gives minorities the opportunity to have, dare I say, the final word.
If the discrimination I’ve experienced has taught me anything, it is to keep my gorgeous head up and continue to put my cutest step forward. We too will get the opportunity to be on that 7:30pm time slot if we so wish, because quite frankly I’m not going to take “Australia isn’t ready yet” as an excuse any longer.
Queerful is a home for everyone, whether you’re Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Polyamorous, kinky or Straight. I want to be able to collaborate in all forms with artists from around the world, discuss different topics and allow all of us a seat AND a microphone to make our world a more inclusive and safer place.
So please: sit back, relax, react and speak up, because that’s what this home is all about.
Thank you,
Sandy McIntyre ❤
