The party and the passion

The very first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras(opens in a new tab) took place on June 24, 1978. Inspired by a global movement of LGBTQIA protest and expression, a few hundred Queer Australians and their allies marched up Oxford Street as a truck played celebratory music. 

The parade was met with heavy-handed police violence. Over fifty people were arrested and many were beaten in their cells. The Sydney Morning Herald published a complete list of names of those arrested, ensuring many were outed to a hostile public.

Forty years later, Sydney's LGBTQIA community is still marching, only now it’s drawing crowds of 300,000(opens in a new tab). Through the "gay hate(opens in a new tab)" of the ‘80s, through the AIDS epidemic, through advertisers' thirst for the "pink dollar" and through the country's refusal to allow marriage equality, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has thrived.

No one has captured the passion, the politics and the partying of the annual event quite like artist William Yang(opens in a new tab). 

In its early years, the iconic photographer captured the Queer activist culture of Mardi Gras from the inside out.

Faithfully documenting the people, places and events of Queer Sydney, it seems Yang was well aware of Mardi Gras' role in helping to shape a whole nation’s consciousness when it came to sexuality. Without Mardi Gras, there would be no Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Probably no Dame Edna. And definitely no Sydney as we know it today.

While Mardi Gras has been easily incorporated into the city’s tourism campaigns and top 10 to-do lists, Yang’s images are incredibly familiar. They could have just as easily been taken this year. 

The Queer community still loses people under tragic circumstances. It still faces ignorance head on, every day. Whatever the contemporary LGBTQIA community thinks of Mardi Gras (and naturally, opinions are mixed) there's no denying the power of Yang's body of work when it comes to documenting these struggles.

For many, Mardi Gras is about standing on the shoulders of the brave marchers (of all genders) and finding strength in their stories. 

Participants may be just holding a placard, covered in glitter, dancing to Gaga. But they're part of a much bigger story, because there are so many reasons to keep marching. So much more to push against and party for.