Gay.co.nz
Encyclopedia
gay.co.nz is the leading Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
personals website for New Zealand
.
It provides daily local and international news stories, monitors fundamentalist anti-gay pressure groups, and provides a safe online meeting place for New Zealand's LGBT community. It also works in association with QNA in regard to larger social and community issues within New Zealand.
(such as the use of the word 'gay' as an insult) is still common.
The gay social scene in New Zealand is small by international standards, especially outside Auckland
. However, many smaller centres have LGBT organisations and social networks that cater to their community.
The internet is heavily used by gay men in New Zealand to meet others, especially in areas which lack specifically gay venues. gay.co.nz has been the most popular website for most of the last three years and is used by the LGBT New Zealand
population to connect with each other and learn about community issues. This has been particularly important for younger members of the gay community who still suffer bullying at school, and a safe place to meet peers has been a key need. Similarly special focus has been put on the growing LGTB Asian community within New Zealand.
Additionally the Government run Lesbian & Gay Archives of New Zealand (LAGANZ) provides an online resource of the historical and cultural records of lesbians and gay men.
In April 2005 civil unions went into effect in New Zealand, allowing LGBT couples the same rights as heterosexual couples
] which has a particular focus on "high risk" groups within New Zealand, gay.co.nz works closely to promote the message of "safe sex". More than 3000 people have been diagnosed with AIDS in New Zealand since the epidemic began, small in absolute numbers, but nonetheless of concern - particularly amongst the LGBT community. Like other major gay personals site such as gaydar in the UK "safe sex" banners and messages appear everywhere on the site.
In line with a focus on integrating minority groups within the LGBT community, gay.co.nz and the NZAF also focused specific attention on the growing Asian community within New Zealand.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
personals website for New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
It provides daily local and international news stories, monitors fundamentalist anti-gay pressure groups, and provides a safe online meeting place for New Zealand's LGBT community. It also works in association with QNA in regard to larger social and community issues within New Zealand.
Background of LGBT life in New Zealand
New Zealanders are generally accepting of gays and lesbians, although low level homophobiaHomophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
(such as the use of the word 'gay' as an insult) is still common.
The gay social scene in New Zealand is small by international standards, especially outside Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. However, many smaller centres have LGBT organisations and social networks that cater to their community.
The internet is heavily used by gay men in New Zealand to meet others, especially in areas which lack specifically gay venues. gay.co.nz has been the most popular website for most of the last three years and is used by the LGBT New Zealand
LGBT New Zealand
New Zealand society is generally fairly relaxed in acceptance of gays and lesbians. The gay-friendly environment is epitomised by the fact that there are several Members of Parliament who belong to the LGBT community, gay rights are protected by the New Zealand Human Rights Act, and same-sex...
population to connect with each other and learn about community issues. This has been particularly important for younger members of the gay community who still suffer bullying at school, and a safe place to meet peers has been a key need. Similarly special focus has been put on the growing LGTB Asian community within New Zealand.
Additionally the Government run Lesbian & Gay Archives of New Zealand (LAGANZ) provides an online resource of the historical and cultural records of lesbians and gay men.
In April 2005 civil unions went into effect in New Zealand, allowing LGBT couples the same rights as heterosexual couples
History
gay.co.nz was started in 2003 and has had three (?) major revisions. It was started as a community project by The Domain Name Company Limited, a New Zealand based internet company and has been run free for use ever since.AIDS in New Zealand
In conjunction with the http://www.nzaf.org.nz/New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF)New Zealand AIDS Foundation
The New Zealand AIDS Foundation is Aotearoa New Zealand’s national HIV prevention and healthcare organisation.In 2010, the NZAF marks its 25th anniversary. Since 1985, the NZAF has grown from the response of Aotearoa New Zealand’s gay communities to the impending HIV epidemic...
] which has a particular focus on "high risk" groups within New Zealand, gay.co.nz works closely to promote the message of "safe sex". More than 3000 people have been diagnosed with AIDS in New Zealand since the epidemic began, small in absolute numbers, but nonetheless of concern - particularly amongst the LGBT community. Like other major gay personals site such as gaydar in the UK "safe sex" banners and messages appear everywhere on the site.
In line with a focus on integrating minority groups within the LGBT community, gay.co.nz and the NZAF also focused specific attention on the growing Asian community within New Zealand.
Controversy
In 2008 the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority was contacted in regard to the news site GayNZ.com who claimed to be New Zealand's most popular LGBT website. Investigations showed this was not the case, and GayNZ.com modified their website in favour of gay.co.nz.See also
- Civil unions in New ZealandCivil unions in New ZealandCivil union has been legal in New Zealand since 26 April 2005. The Civil Union Act to establish the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed by the Parliament on 9 December 2004. The Act has been described as very similar to the Marriage Act with references to...
- Hero ParadeHero ParadeThe Hero Parade was an annual gay and lesbian Parade through the streets of Auckland, New Zealand, in the 1990s. The last Parade was in 2001. It was the showpiece of the Hero Festival in Auckland which runs to the present day...
- Homosexual Law Reform ActHomosexual Law Reform ActThe New Zealand Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 is a law that legalised consensual sex between men aged 16 and older. It removed the provisions of the Crimes Act 1961 that criminalised this behaviour.-Background:...
- LGBT New ZealandLGBT New ZealandNew Zealand society is generally fairly relaxed in acceptance of gays and lesbians. The gay-friendly environment is epitomised by the fact that there are several Members of Parliament who belong to the LGBT community, gay rights are protected by the New Zealand Human Rights Act, and same-sex...
- LGBT rights in New Zealand
- List of lesbian periodicals
- Out Takes: A Reel Queer Film FestivalOut Takes: A Reel Queer Film FestivalOut Takes: A Reel Queer Film Festival is an annual film festival screening New Zealand and international homosexual films. The festival takes place in late May/early June in three cities: Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. OutTakes used to premier in Dunedin with selected film screenings at...
- Same-sex marriage in New ZealandSame-sex marriage in New ZealandNew Zealand does not currently allow same-sex marriages, but allows civil unions that provide virtually all the rights and responsibilities of marriage...