The lives of young gay men in Aotearoa New Zealand

A Queer Existence uses photographic portraiture and oral history to document the life experiences of 27 gay men born since the passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986. Prior to that moment sex between men was technically illegal and punishable by imprisonment. Law Reform serves as a symbolic turning point at which the widespread social condemnation of homosexuality that prevailed in the earlier decades of the 20th century was gradually replaced by increasing degrees of acceptance, exemplified by the Civil Union Act in 2005 and Marriage Equality in 2013 granting legal status to same-sex relationships. 

Click here for a sample preview of the book, due to be published in September 2021 by Massey University Press. 

We're seeking financial support for the publication of A Queer Existence. Click here to go to our fundraising page.