Twenty10 – making a difference

When Twenty10’s educator Terence talks to people about our community and Mardi Gras, he uses the analogy of an alien arriving on Earth on Christmas Day when the behaviour of millions is somewhat altered.

He uses this analogy because most of the people who come to Twenty10 courses have only seen our community through the imagery of the Sydney Mardi Gras season.

Sequined jockstraps and topless bike-riders on the streets every day? Oh my!

The other side of that equation ties into a conversation I had about when you get to the place of being comfortable in your own skin.

To be comfortable enough to pick up the openly gay paper, or to seek out the latest copy of some queer publication that speaks to your likes — and to recognise that this very act means you have come to a place where you accept that the skin you have been given fits.

Mardi Gras is a wonderfully crazy, amazing and turbulent time which has me going weak at the knees as our doorbell and the phone here at Twenty10 just keep on ringing.

It’s the direct result of a whole heap of people being given glimpses of a world they wouldn’t otherwise have access to and asking, is there a place in that community for the type of person I want to be?

Over the next few weeks, if you choose to step into the community for the Mardi Gras season, or even if you stay on the sidelines as an observer, I too ask you to ‘Say Something’.

It doesn’t have to be a verbal something. It can be as simple as resting your hand in the small of your partner’s back as you shop for groceries at your local supermarket.

But even the smallest of gestures lets someone out there know there is also a place for them in this community.

And that might make a very big difference.

info: Visit www.twenty10.org.au

By REBECCA REYNOLDS