At 14, Dani Wright was swept up in the LGBT lifestyle of a same-sex attracted family.
It wouldn’t be Wright herself that would come out just yet, but her mum.
14 years on and Wright now champions the LGBT youth of Perth as the Freedom Centre Coordinator which is why she has been chosen as Pride Patron for 2010.
Wright’s position in the community is a pivotal but often underappreciated one.
The Freedom Centre (FC) is the cornerstone of Perth’s LGBT youth community; an escape from the pressures of young adulthood and a sanctuary promoting a freedom of expression.
Wright spent her teenage years at Churchlands High School or frequenting op-shops and flea markets as what she termed ‘a freak’.
She donned her own style with her posse, a mixture of vintage and hippy attire contrasted to her taste in ‘angry, chick music’.
‘I was one of the freaks at high school and I used to make and dye my own clothes with all my friends,’ she said.
‘Now in the freedom centre, we talk about whether freak is a good or a bad thing as it became quite an affirmative thing for me and my friends.
‘It started out as a taunt but then we actually thought “yeah we’re freaks but we are too cool for you.‒
Through those formative years, gay was another label that others attached to Wright and her merry band of outsiders.
‘Our freak group used to be called lesbians even though only one of the four of us had actually kissed a girl at the time,’ she said.
Having a same-sex attracted mum was also a defining point for Wright back then, driving her to further extremes of the ‘freak’ statement she was expressing.
‘I don’t think I was teased for having a gay mum, by the time I came out about her everyone just thought “as long as she’s happy,‒ said Wright.
Like some young people she helps at FC, Wright lived with mental illness during her adolescent years along with approximately 45 per cent of Australians.
‘I never had any mental health diagnoses but I definitely think I suffered from depression,’ said Wright.
Wright has delivered invaluable assistance to young people throughout her time at FC; her strong conviction a significant facet.
In conversation with Wright, it becomes abundantly clear how passionate she is about the issues facing future generations and really comes into her own when discussing these still shadowy topics.
This year marks her fifth year at FC, the past three as coordinator and the prior two as a volunteer.
For 16 years FC has been providing a service that doesn’t have a numerical value but a qualitative impact on the community’s wellbeing; a priceless resource.
One of Wright’s favourite stories highlighted how contrasting FC’s influence can be.
‘One of the guys was a volunteer when I was a volunteer and he had come back to FC because it had helped him so much. When we asked him how it had helped, he said he had only come once.’
Wright questioned how it had been so helpful to which he replied ‘it’s just so good that I came; there’s people here just like me, I’m okay, that’s all I needed.’
‘And that’s what it represented for him and that’s really all he needed.’
As Pride Patron, Wright hopes she can shed some light on both the old and new problems facing today’s youth.
‘Pride is recognising the important role the younger community is actually playing in the queer community and that can’t be underestimated,’ she said.
‘I don’t know if I am the best person to represent all of the community but I think it’s certainly part of why they’ve chosen me (as Pride Patron) because of my role in the younger community.
‘There is so much to it. Even some of the non-youth specific organisations like Gay and Lesbian Equality (GALE) and All Things Queer have really been driven by young people in the past few years.
Perhaps the best way to define why Dani Wright has been chosen as Pride Patron 2010 is summed up by a message inked on her skin.
On one forearm, Wright has ‘I change the World’ tattooed in script while on the other forearm, it neatly reads ‘with my own two hands’.
The Last 9 Pride Patrons
2010 – Dani Wright
2009 – Mark Reid
2008 – Aram Hosie
2007 – Kelly and Sam Pilgrim-Byrne
2006 – Jim Morrison
2005 – Suzanne Covich
2004 – Dr Christopher Kendall
2003 – Louise Pratt
2002 – Ivan King
Benn Dorrington
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