LGBT in New Zealand


society is generally accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender peoples. The LGBT-friendly environment is epitomised by the fact that there are several members of Parliament who belong to the LGBT community, LGBT rights are protected by the New Zealand Human Rights Act, and same-sex couples are able to marry as of 2013. Sex between men was decriminalised in 1986. New Zealand has an active LGBT community, with well-attended annual gay pride festivals in most cities.
The 2016 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study recorded that 2.6 percent identified as gay or lesbian, 1.8 percent bisexual, 0.6 percent bicurious, 0.5 percent pansexual and 0.3 percent asexual.

History

Pre-colonial

Homosexuality and same-sex relationships have been documented in New Zealand for centuries. Same-sex relationships and activities appear to have been acceptable amongst pre-colonial Māori. Some stories, for example that of Tutanekai and Tiki, centre on same-sex couples. A British missionary, Richard Davis, found homosexual relationships between men to be a familiar part of Māori life, and although homosexual relationships between women have not been well documented, they were certainly not condemned. The Māori language word takatāpui had historically referred to devoted relationships between people of the same sex, but in modern terminology encompasses LGBT identity and sexuality. The word whakawāhine describes those who were assigned male at birth but act, dress and behave as female, while the term tangata ira tāne has the opposite meaning, that being a person assigned female at birth but behaves as male.
Some of the earliest European settlers in New Zealand were Christian missionaries who arrived in the early nineteenth century and eventually converted most of the Māori population to Christianity. They brought with them the Christian doctrine that homosexuality was sinful. Despite this, one missionary, William Yate, was sent back to England in disgrace after being caught engaging in sex with young Māori men.

Criminalisation and underground culture

When New Zealand became a British colony in 1840, British law was adopted in its entirety, making "buggery" illegal and a capital offence. In 1893, all kinds of sexual activity between men was criminalised, with penalties including imprisonment, hard labour, and flogging. Sexual acts between women were never criminalised.
Despite discriminatory laws, a small gay subculture developed. Pākehā settlers on the goldfields or in rural areas were mostly male, and some had sexual relationships with each other. However, as settlers began to move to cities the numbers of convictions for same-sex activities increased.
A number of gay men were involved in New Zealand's literary subculture, including Frank Sargeson. However even in these circles, homosexuality was not always accepted.
Lesbian subcultures are more difficult to detect, but in late 1971, the KG club for lesbians was formed in Auckland.

Activism and law reform

In 1962, the Dorian Society was founded in Wellington. One year later, it established a legal subcommittee – the Wolfenden Association – out of which the Homosexual Law Reform Society emerged. Attempts to change the law included a petition presented to Parliament by the Homosexual Law Reform Society in 1968.
Violence against gays and lesbians was often condoned. In 1964, Charles Aberhart was beaten to death in Christchurch's Hagley Park by a group of men who claimed he had propositioned them. They were tried for murder but found not guilty. As in many countries, homosexuals were often committed to mental institutions and given 'treatment' for what was rendered a mental illness.
In 1972, academic Ngahuia Te Awekotuku was denied a visitors permit to the United States on the grounds that she was a homosexual. Publicity around the incident was a catalyst in the formation of gay liberation groups in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. The 1970s saw the growth of the modern feminist and gay movements in New Zealand. The Sisters for Homophile Equality, a lesbian feminist collective, formed in Wellington in 1973. In December of that year, SHE began to publish Circle, later renamed Lesbian Feminist Circle; the magazine continued to publish until 1986.
After several attempts, the Homosexual Law Reform Act was passed in 1986, decriminalising sexual activity between men over the age of 16. In 1993, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was outlawed. In 2004 New Zealand instituted civil union, and in 2013 same-sex marriage was legalised.
New Zealand was unique in passing homosexual law reform in the midst of the AIDS crisis. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation was established in 1985. Supporters of reform argued that removing the stigma from homosexuality would help prevent the spread and aid the treatment of disease. AIDS has primarily affected the gay male community in New Zealand, and gay men are prominent in AIDS fundraising and in running organisations such as the AIDS Foundation.

LGBT Pride

New Zealand's first gay pride week was founded in the 1970s in the wake of the Stonewall riots in New York of 1969, the symbolic start of the modern Gay Rights Movement. In 1991, New Zealand's most prominent gay pride event, the Hero Parade, was founded in Auckland. This developed into a festival that became burdened by financial problems, leading to the last Hero Parade being held in 2001. However, the parade returned as the Auckland Pride Parade in 2012, then transitioned to become the Auckland Pride March in 2019. Starting in 1986, Wellington hosted an "Out in the Park" fair, which later evolved into the annual Wellington Pride Festival. The festival ties in with the Pride Parade which started in 2017, following on from several pride parades held in the 1990s.

Demographics

Various surveys have recorded statistics on sexual orientation. According to the General Social Survey of, 3.5 percent of New Zealand adults identified as LGBT, with 1.9 percent identifying as bisexual and 1.1 percent as gay or lesbian. The 2016 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study found that 94.2 percent of New Zealanders identified as straight or heterosexual, 2.6 percent as gay or lesbian, 1.8 percent bisexual, 0.6 percent bicurious, 0.5 percent pansexual and 0.3 percent asexual.
Another source of sexual orientation statistics comes from the New Zealand Health Survey commissioned by the Ministry of Health. There has not been an official release of the demographics but an article using the Health Survey for years 2016 to 2017 reported that 2.4 percent of the sampled population reported being homosexual or bisexual. However, there could be some under reporting given that 7.3 percent of the sample either did not know their sexual identity or refused to answer the question.
Statistics New Zealand has collected some information on same-sex couples who share a residence, recorded in censuses since 1996. The 2013 census recorded 16,660 people living in a same-sex couple in New Zealand – 0.9 percent of all couples. Most same-sex couples did not have children. Statistics New Zealand proposed adding questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in the 2018 census; however, pre-census testing found the questions were poorly received by participants and the data collected was of sub-standard quality, so the proposal was dropped.

Youth

A 2012 government survey of secondary school students recorded that 92 percent were exclusively attracted to the opposite sex, while 4 percent were attracted to the same sex or both sexes and 4 percent were not sure or were attracted to neither sex. Asked about gender identity, about 1 percent of students reported that they were transgender, while 3 percent were unsure.

Prominent gay, lesbian and transgender New Zealanders

New Zealand has several LGBT people in parliament. Chris Carter became New Zealand's first openly gay MP when he outed himself shortly after being elected in 1993. Tim Barnett was openly gay before being elected in 1996. Even earlier Marilyn Waring, a New Zealand National Party MP in the 1970s and 1980s, was also outed as a lesbian during her term and subsequently re-elected. She refused to comment at the time but "came out" in 1985, one year after her political career had ended. Since 2005 several more openly LGBT MPs have been elected, including for both the major parties. There have also been other openly gay government ministers, such as Attorney General Chris Finlayson who was the National Party's first openly gay minister, and Labour's Grant Robertson, the first openly gay Minister of Finance.
New Zealand also elected the world's first out transgender MP. Georgina Beyer was elected to Parliament in the 1999 election for the seat of Wairarapa, and left Parliament on 14 February 2007. Before entering parliament, Beyer was the world's first out transgender mayor, of the small town of Carterton.
New Zealand is also a home for Eliana Rubashkyn, an internationally-known former LGBTI refugee, who became stateless several years in China after a severe case of discrimination due to her intersex variation, and received subsequently a universal recognition of her gender by a U.N. declaration, making her case a first in the world.
As in many other countries, there are numerous gays and lesbians involved in various branches of the arts. They include Whale Rider author Witi Ihimaera, dancers Michael Parmenter and Douglas Wright, award-winning teen book author Paula Boock and former Chief Censor Judge Bill Hastings. The creator of the Rocky Horror Show Richard O'Brien also spent most of his childhood in Hamilton.
Openly gay athletes are relatively rare in New Zealand sports. Equestrian Olympic medal winner Blyth Tait, Olympic speed skater Blake Skjellerup and footballer Hannah Wilkinson are exceptions.

Gay and lesbian life in New Zealand today

Today, New Zealanders are generally accepting of gays and lesbians, although some homophobia is present. Same-sex partners are accepted as the equivalent of heterosexual couples for immigration and most other purposes.
The gay scene in New Zealand is reasonably small by international standards. However Auckland has multiple LGBT venues and festivals, as well as being voted the 15th gayest city in the world. Outside Auckland, larger cities and some towns host one or two LGBT pubs, or clubs. Many smaller centres have LGBT organisations and social networks that cater to their community. In May 2015, PlanetRomeo, an LGBT social network, ranked New Zealand as the happiest country in Oceania for gay men.
The internet is often used by gay men in New Zealand to meet others, especially in areas which lack specifically gay venues. Since at least 2005, the most popular LGBT site in New Zealand is the not-for-profit site gay.co.nz, started as a community project by a New Zealand internet company.
A fortnightly lesbian event called 'Flirt' is held in Auckland, on the first and third Saturday of each month.
Elaborate Lesbian Ball events are held annually in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
There are a number of gay and lesbian festivals in New Zealand. Hamilton, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch and Dunedin host annual Pride Weeks, usually operated by the local UniQ, related youth-focussed organisations, or the New Zealand AIDS Foundation as a community-building initiative. The was a popular event in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and while the organisation pulled the 2008 festival due to funding issues, it returned in 2009.
Until 2008, the Hero Festival was held in Auckland each February, and included the Hero Parade, which attracted huge crowds, both gay and straight. Financial problems in 2001 led to the parade's demise, but the festival continued as a celebration of the city's LGBT citizens and comprised many events throughout February, including the popular Big Gay Out, which is still held on the Sunday closest to Valentines Day each year. Hero was wrapped up in March 2009 but the Auckland Pride Festival has been held annually since 2013, and is the largest LGBT Festival in New Zealand.
Over the Christmas and New year period, a number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people attend summer camps at Vinegar Hill, New Zealand, in the Manawatu region.

Gallery

Gay and lesbian publications