A Queer Existence: The lives of young gay men in Aotearoa New Zealand - Softcover

Mark Beehre (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0995146578 ISBN 13: 9780995146570

Publisher: Massey University Press, 2021

Synopsis

A Queer Existence is a major documentary project that uses photographic portraiture and oral history to record the life experiences of a group of 27 gay men born since the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986. In New Zealand, discrimination in work was outlawed in 1993, same-sex relationships were granted legal recognition in 2005, and marriage equality followed in 2013. In 2018 Parliament apologised to those whose lives had been blighted by criminal prosecution for expressing their sexuality. As a result, these men have life experiences very different to earlier generations of gay New Zealand men. Even so, gay men growing up today may continue to feel stigmatised, and for many coming out is still a major hurdle. Candid, powerful and affecting, the first-person narratives of A Queer Existence form a valuable and unique insight into how gay men continue to have to step out of the main stream and face their own challenges as they forge their queer identities.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Beehre initially trained as a specialist physician and worked for several years in medical practice before studying photography at the Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland and Massey University in Wellington. He graduated with a BFA in 2004 and went on to complete an MFA in 2014. Mark’s work sits at the intersection of documentary, portraiture and social history and is concerned with questions of identity, belonging and the lifelong quest for intimacy. His photographs have been exhibited in New Zealand and overseas. A Queer Existence is in many ways a sequel to his earlier book, Men Alone ― Men Together, which explored the lives and relationships of an older generation of gay men who grew up in the pre-Law Reform era. Mark lives in Wellington with his partner Ross and a small collection of antique cameras and typewriters. On Friday evenings they have but a short walk down the hill to the Garage Project’s taproom on Aro Street. He shot most of the photographs in this book on a Rolleiflex 3.5F dating from the early 1970s.

Edition details

• Publisher: Massey University Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0995146578
• ISBN 13: 9780995146570
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344