No sting in his coming out tale

Shane Burgess knows many people expect his tale of life as a gay man in his Aboriginal community to be one fraught with problems.

Shane is ACON’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Project Officer and is speaking at MCC on Sunday July 15 at the 10am service to mark the end of NAIDOC week.

He says his story will disappoint anyone expecting doom and gloom as that has not been his experience.

“In talking about my life as an Aboriginal gay man, it is the positives I can speak of as I have always been accepted and things have been okay for me,” he said.

“When I was first outed in a rural community, I was astonished that instead of throwing me out, I was embraced and later told off for not being upfront earlier. I was also accepted by all my family, and that was really all that mattered.

“It is important to hear this as we hear the negatives all the time, but I think it is important to show that there is a positive side too.”

While Shane said his is a tale of support and acceptance, he was well aware this is not the case for all gay Aboriginal men.

“Because of the communities I have worked with, I hear a lot of stories from clients around Australia, and some of the things they go through would shock you,” he said.

“Being murdered is one reaction, being bashed and abused and raped also happens. And these are just some of the stories I have heard.”

Glen Boyd, a director of the MCC, said the church’s celebration of NAIDOC is an opportunity to help the reconciliation process within Sydney’s GLBT community.

“I am strongly in favour of reconciliation with our indigenous sisters and brothers, and believe because our federal government does bugger all about it, it is then up to ordinary Australians to take charge of the process.” Boyd said.

Details about the MCC services are available online at www.mccsydney.org.au.