In 2020 over 500,000 page views were clocked on OUTinPerth.com and 1,418 stories were published, but some stood out from the crowd.
Here’s the 10 most read stories of the last year.
10. Drag queen falls asleep on Facebook Live for three hours; Twitter responds
15th April, 2020
Florida drag performer Anahi Santos became globally famous for the most unexpected reason. During a live stream the performer dozed off leaving fans watching on as she snoozed. After performing a song, Santos sat down for a chat with her viewers on Facebook Live, and then quickly drifted off to sleep. Santos remained asleep for the majority of the live stream, which is about 3 hours long.
9. Climate change protesters take to stage at official Fringe World launch
16th January, 2020
Local queer artists crashed the official Fringe World launch urging for action on climate change and protesting the festival’s partnership with Woodside. Performers Ash Traylia, Petro Vouris and Noemie Huttner-Koros took to the stage, calling for those attending to remember that they stood on the land of indigenous peoples.
8. Cricketer Kane Richardson breaks silence over Marcus Stoinis gay slur
12th January, 2020
Cricketer Kane Richardson broke his silence over an incident which saw fellow Australian cricketer Marcus Stoinis fined for using a gay slur during a game. The pair were playing against each other in different teams as part of the Big Bash League. They are known to have a healthy on-field rivalry, but Richardson said the outburst from Stoinis was unexpected.
7. Petition for Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas to stand down gains traction
6. Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas: “If you have a penis, you’re a man”
28th and 29th October, 2020
Perth’s new Lord Mayor shared his thoughts on trans, gender diverse and intersex bodies and identities, telling listeners of his radio show “If you’ve got a penis, mate, you’re a bloke. If you’ve got a vagina, you’re a woman.” The comments kicked off weeks of controversy for the newly elected Lord Mayor who repeatedly apologised for his statement. Read the story.
Within hours of OUTinPerth breaking the story there were calls for the Lord Mayor to step down and the Pride Festival to be relocated to the City of Subiaco. Read the story.
5. Indonesian bill calls for LGBTI people to report for “rehabilitation”
21st February, 2020
LGBTI rights activists have expressed alarm at a bill being considered by the Indonesian parliament. The proposal calls for LGBT people to report to authorities for rehabilitation.
A draft “family resilience” bill has been proposed by members of the House of Representatives of Indonesia. The draft law defines homosexuality as a deviance which poses a threat to families, and requires LGBTQ people to report to authorities for rehabilitation, and their families to report LGBTIQ people to agencies handling “family resilience”.
4. Fans turn on Black Panther’s Letitia Wright for sharing transphobic video
5th December, 2020
Actor Letitia Wright, best known for her involvement in the film Black Panther, faced a backlash from fans after she shared a video on social media that promoted transphobia, COVID-19 conspiracy claims, and anti-vaxer views.
3. ‘You Can’t Ask That’ explores nudism
23rd March, 2020
One episode of the fifth season of TV show You Can’t Ask That caught everyone’s attention when they focused on nudism. The episode was widely criticised by conservative commentators prior to airing who argued the topic is not suitable for a government funded broadcaster.
2. Pauline Hanson calls for young transgender children to be removed from parents
19th August , 2020
In an online interview One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said parents of young children who believe their child might be transgender should have their children taken off them.
Senator Hanson appeared on the online political discussion program Pellowe Talk to chat about the Queensland government’s recent passing of a bill that outlawed gay conversion therapy. Senator Hanson said she would never support such a ban, and the calls for outlawing the practice only came from a few people who were gay.
The politician went on to share her views on transgender youth, saying she was sick of the letters that described sexuality and gender, before calling for children who believe they are transgender to be removed from supportive parents.
1. Australian Christian Lobby says Black Lives Matter is anti-Christ
11th June, 2020
The Australian Christian Lobby voiced its opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement describing it as the opposite of what Christians stand for, while linking the movement to a long list of other issues. In the group’s latest email to its followers, ACL Managing Director Martyn Iles says he’s on a mission to expose the political movement as a front for other political beliefs including “queer-affirmation”.
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OIP Staff
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