The organiser of Aotearoa’s first Gay Liberation march remembers it was a dangerous time to be gay.
Ngahuia Te Awekotuku formed the country’s first gay liberation group at Auckland University in 1972 after being denied a visa to study gay liberation and Red Power in the United States because of so-called sexual deviancy.
The academic and activist says being gay in the 70s carried the risk of being beaten, losing your job, being thrown out of your flat and even tossed out of your whānau.
With the Auckland PRIDE festival now on, she says it’s important to reflect on how far the movement has come.
“In 1972, it was illegal. It was not festive. It was not fabulous. It was illegal and the guys were at risk and that’s what I want the people to know”, she says.
This year’s Auckland PRIDE includes its first Māori-focused festival, Te Tīmatanga, with online events through February.
