This year the aim of the Levi’s Pride collection is to bring awareness to, and educate others on, pronouns. We asked a few of our friends to try out the Pride collection and help us all understand a little more about the importance of identity. Here we chatted to former NRL player, Casey Conway (He / Him).
As part of your outreach work, can you tell us from firsthand experience how important it is for someone to be accepted for who they are, and addressed as such?
“People being able to live as their authentic self and not have to conceal parts of their identity has a direct impact on their health, particularly mental health. Respecting the way someone identifies and treating them how they want to be treated, especially using the pronoun they identify with, means that person feels valued, respected and a part of a family, friendship group and the community. Often people that don’t feel this struggle to exist in spaces that many of us take for granted, such as schools, workplaces, health services, banks and the list goes on. Respect should be the foundation of all interactions we have as humans.”
Have you had any situations where you haven’t fitted into someone’s perceived idea of gender?
“I’m a very emotional person. I happy cry and sad cry in equal parts. If someone close to me cries, I cry. When I’m hurt, I cry. A touching moment in a movie, I cry. Weddings, meeting babies, puppies, cry, cry, cry.
"Growing up in a small country town with four brothers, then attending an all boys boarding school, I was led to believe that showing emotions, particularly crying, was a weakness. “Boys don’t cry” is something I heard regularly so it was very confusing for me and hard to reconcile because it made me feel so different to other boys.”
How did you deal with that?
“It took a long time for me to be comfortable with showing my emotions and now I see this trait as a strength rather than weakness. I learnt to communicate how I was feeling so that those around me could better understand how I was feeling. This in turn helped me create and understand my identity without having to subscribe to what others expected and I stopped comparing myself to other boys and men around me.”
What does it mean for you to be a gay Indigenous person?
“It can be challenging at times as a lot of people view and treat culture and sexuality as separate identities rather than intersecting or intertwined. I can’t be one without the other and I’m very comfortable and happy with this identity.
“My bloodlines have run through this continent for 60,000+ years and I’m very proud of my cultural heritage. Being gay wasn’t something I chose, so once I was able to navigate the challenges of accepting my sexuality and coming out (when I was 19) I simply made this an extension of my cultural identity and pride.
“I’m passionate about being a positive role model for other young queer Indigenous kids as I know it can be very challenging to find your place in a world where homophobia, transphobia and racism still exist.”
Many players have come “out” after their sporting career, what changes from fans and players could make a safer and more inclusive sporting community?
“Sport, and other spaces dedicated to physical health and exercise, can be a very daunting place for the LGBTQ community. Often LGBTQ people conceal their identity or don’t participate at all. A lot of research indicates that most LGBTQ people have experienced or witnessed homophobia and transphobia. Derogatory language is the primary driver of these experiences so we must educate all participants, officials and administrators on the importance of calling out and addressing this issue. It’s important that sporting organisations promote this through strong codes of conducts and policies that protect people from all forms of discrimination and vilification.”
What has been your proudest moment?
“My proudest moments are those when I’ve played a small part in educating people about the challenges that people from under-represented and marginalised communities face when living their life authenticity, by teaching people about the devastating affects of discrimination, vilification and exclusionary language and behavours. Assisting people on their journey of sexual and/or gender identity is also a huge privilege.”
What should someone do if they slip up and use the wrong pronoun for someone?
“If you’re unsure of how to address someone, you should respectfully ask what their pronoun is. An easy way to do this is let them know what your pronoun is before you ask. Despite best efforts, it can take time to get used to pronouns that we may not be familiar with so don’t freak out if you slip up. You should immediately apologise and correct yourself.”
What do you hope for the future?
“We should always respect a person’s gender identity and how they express themselves. I hope that we learn to understand that gender and pronouns are not always binary and we should not assume a person’s gender identity. I hope that we start to better provide people with more ways to select their gender identity on official forms and documents. I love that we are starting to see more representation of people with pronouns outside of the binary represented in the media but we need to continue to elevate them.”
Shop the collection here and read each of the stories in the related articles below.
For Australia-wide LGBTQIA+ support, webchat or call QLIFE on 1800 184 527 between 3pm and 12am AEST.
For Australia-wide ally support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 22 46 36.
