Gay & Lbian Kgdom of the Coral Sea Islands - Worldcnch

Contents:

• QUEER SOVEREIGNTY: THE GAY & LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS
• GAY & LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS
• ATRALIA’S LGBT-ONLY ISLANDPARADISE FOUNDMARRIAGE EQUALY DISCRIMATN LED A GROUP OF ATRALIAN ACTIVISTS TO SET THEIR RABOW FLAG ON CATO ISLAND. THIS ‘HOMELAND’ EVEN HAS A GLORIA GAYNOR ANTHEM.NA STROCHLICUPDATED OCT. 11, 2019 3:47PM EDT / PUBLISHED APR. 18, 2015 6:45AM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY SARAH ROGERS/THE DAILY BEASTWHEN ATRALIA REFED TO ALLOW S GAY CIZENS EQUAL RIGHTS TO MARRIAGE, A GROUP OF ACTIVISTS SERTED THE UNTRY, SAILED 200 NTIL TO AN ISLAND OFF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF AND HOISTED A RABOW FLAG THE HIGHT SPOT THEY ULD FD.THEY CLARED THE GAY AND LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS.THE IMPET ME 2004 DURG THE BRISBANE GAY PRI FTIVAL, WHEN A LLECTIVE OF IENDS CID THAT WHOUT BEG GRANTED LEGAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS THEY WOULD LEAVE AND START THEIR OWN MORE CLIVE UNTRY.NA STROCHLIC
• THE GAY AND LBIAN KGDOM
• GAY AND LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS

QUEER SOVEREIGNTY: THE GAY & LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS

What n the spectacle of gay natnalism tell about the realy of our smopolan dream? The Gay & Lbian Kgdom (GLK) seced om Atralia 2004.

A set of stamps om the Gay & Lbian Kgdom of the Coral Sea IslandsWikimedia. Gay & Lbian Kgdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

GAY & LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS

Pete troIn 2004, a group of gay rights activists om Atralia tablished the micronatn as a symbolic polil prott, after the ernment of Atralia's refal to regnize same-sex marriag. It was loted Atralia's external overseas terrory of the Coral Sea Islands, unhabed islets east of the Great Barrier iaMatthew Briggs me up wh the iative to tablish the "gay kgdom" durg Brisbane Gay and Lbian Pri Ftival 2003. On June 14, 2004, the activists arrived at Cato island on the Gayflower ship, raised the rabow pri flag and clared the Coral Sea Islands an pennt gay and lbian state.

The Kgdom was dissolved November 2017 after Atralia legalized gay marriage.

ATRALIA’S LGBT-ONLY ISLANDPARADISE FOUNDMARRIAGE EQUALY DISCRIMATN LED A GROUP OF ATRALIAN ACTIVISTS TO SET THEIR RABOW FLAG ON CATO ISLAND. THIS ‘HOMELAND’ EVEN HAS A GLORIA GAYNOR ANTHEM.NA STROCHLICUPDATED OCT. 11, 2019 3:47PM EDT / PUBLISHED APR. 18, 2015 6:45AM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY SARAH ROGERS/THE DAILY BEASTWHEN ATRALIA REFED TO ALLOW S GAY CIZENS EQUAL RIGHTS TO MARRIAGE, A GROUP OF ACTIVISTS SERTED THE UNTRY, SAILED 200 NTIL TO AN ISLAND OFF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF AND HOISTED A RABOW FLAG THE HIGHT SPOT THEY ULD FD.THEY CLARED THE GAY AND LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS.THE IMPET ME 2004 DURG THE BRISBANE GAY PRI FTIVAL, WHEN A LLECTIVE OF IENDS CID THAT WHOUT BEG GRANTED LEGAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS THEY WOULD LEAVE AND START THEIR OWN MORE CLIVE UNTRY.NA STROCHLIC

As other Wtern mocraci creasgly legalize gay marriage, Atralia still languish due to polil foot-draggg, spe of pollg that dit more than 60 percent of Atralian voters support marriage equaly. An outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, Abetz suggted that the flags of anti-gay groups like the Marriage Alliance should also hang alongsi the rabow flag, which he scribed as an activist symbol of a "polil mpaign. "By way of some slight humor on this issue, this particular flag, you will realize, is the flag of the Gay and Lbian Kgdom of the Coral Sea Islands, " said Abetz, smirkg as he shuffled a stack of papers.

"The senator was referrg to a ragtag troupe of radil gay activists who, June 2004, claimed an archipelago of ty unhabed islands as their newly formed kgdom—a vast, 300, 000-square-e external terrory of Atralia that's jt off the ast of by their emperor, Dale Parker Anrson, they set out on a ship dubbed the "Gayflower" and sailed for 200 ntil to the Coral Sea Islands Terrory. Upon landfall, Anrson and his ras planted the rabow flag, their chosen natnal emblem, on ty Cato Island, where they set up a post office, erected a monument and selected Gloria Gaynor's "I Am What I Am" as the natnal anthem. Even so, the Gay and Lbian Kgdom may fact reprent the first terrorial claim of sovereignty by an LGBTQ group for an pennt gay 'd be easy to wre this seemgly absurd pennce movement off as a creative brand of direct-actn prott—a silly stunt to garner prs for the e.

THE GAY AND LBIAN KGDOM

But when taken out of the ntext of Atralian polics, the Gay and Lbian Kgdom stands as one quirky example of what some have termed "queer natnalism. Yet 's a le of thought that has existed LGBTQ liberatn sce s earlit days, maniftg everythg om a radil proposal to take over a California unty to lbian-only mun to ltle-known groups prently lobbyg for an pennt gay as longstandg tensn wh the LGBTQ muny between social assiatn and separatism—that is, the bate over whether queer people should try to blend wh the rt of society or reject society outright—ntu to churn, the roots and history of queer natnalism seem as relevant as of the rnerstone exampl of a queer natnalist state is known rmally as Stonewall Natn, a 1970 plan to tablish a separatist gay muny Alpe County, a mountao and ral rner of northern California, which, at the time, had 384 registered voters. Activist Don Jackson argued that 'd only take 400 gays and lbians relotg to nstute an electoral majory, eventually leadg to gay ntrol of every elected office lol ernment.

"I image a place where gay people n be ee, " Jackson said at a 1969 gay liberatn nference Berkeley.

GAY AND LBIAN KGDOM OF THE CORAL SEA ISLANDS

"It would mean a gay ernment, a gay civil service, a unty welfare partment which ma public assistance payments to the refuge of persecutn and prejudice. Historian Lillian Farman, thor of the prehensive gay liberatn overview The Gay Revolutn, told me that some supporters genuely yearned for a sort of gay natn wh a natn; others saw as a prs ploy to monstrate that the gay and lbian movement had teeth. "Straight people the 1970s were very upset about the notn that gay people uld take over a town and jt tablish their own ernment there, " Farmen told me.

"After the Los Angel chapter of the Gay Liberatn Front, a radil queer prott group, released their tailed plan to take over Alpe County a prs release, newspapers across the US ran the story. The ia also garnered ltle support wh the LGBTQ muny Jackson never realized a gay-majory Alpe, his plan shar a separatist logic wh other radil LGBTQ projects that have proceed .