Guest opinion: Participating in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade is an affirming joy that should be enjoyed by all LGBTIQA+ people. It is a time to put aside differences and come together as a community with love and acceptance despite our differences – to be visible together and to demonstrate unity.
I transitioned in 1990, when I was 18 years old. At the time, transgender people were still largely hidden – from public life, from television, from workplaces, and sometimes even from our own community spaces. I was often the first trans woman someone had ever met.
Back then, being visible meant being vulnerable. It meant risking your safety just to exist. But I believed, even then, that visibility was the key to changing hearts and minds. That belief has never left me.
That's why Mardi Gras matters.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras gave me something I didn't yet have in the world: a sense of being seen, celebrated, and embraced. When I first saw the parade, I felt joy – but also a deep hope. That if we could fill a street with glitter and pride and music and love, then perhaps one day we could also fill workplaces and homes and boardrooms and parliament chambers with acceptance too.
And we did. Slowly, through persistence and courage, we did.
I know Mardi Gras changes lives. And I know it still saves lives – because I hear from young people, from parents, from newcomers to Australia who say: "That moment, that parade, helped me believe I belonged."
But that power only exists when Mardi Gras remains open, inclusive, and strong.
Over the last few years, I've watched with concern as some voices have tried to narrow who belongs in the parade. Who is "allowed" to be visible. Who is "pure" enough to be part of our movement. None of us are perfect. But that's never been the standard. We don’t win people over by pushing them away.
I've spent 30 years trying to bring people in. Whether you are right or left, at Mardi Gras we are welcoming because we know that to protect our human rights and dignity we have to build power by bringing people in.
As a transgender woman of colour, I know what it feels like to be on the margins. To be dismissed, misunderstood, even within our own community. It's why I speak at schools, train workplaces, and consult with governments. Because once upon a time, someone welcomed me in.
And the ripple effect of that welcome is enormous.
We need to remember something else too: Mardi Gras doesn't just matter in Sydney. It's a global symbol. It sends a message to every queer person watching from the closet or from the shadows that the world can change. That there is light.
I was born in Fiji – a beautiful country where it is still not safe for many LGBTQIA+ people to live openly. When I became the first transgender person to legally change my name in Fiji in the 1990s, I did it under a military government. I did it without legal protections. And I did it with courage that came, in part, from watching Mardi Gras.
That is the power of visibility.
Right now, when queer people around the world are under increasing attack, we cannot afford to be divided. We cannot afford to let a few loud voices turn Mardi Gras into something small and exclusionary.
We need more light, not less. More unity, not less. More glitter, not gatekeeping.
I urge you to help protect Mardi Gras. Join. Rejoin. Vote. Keep it inclusive. Keep it strong. Keep it shining for those still waiting to be seen.
Katherine Wolfgramme
Katherine Wolfgramme is a gender diversity consultant, trans awareness trainer, diversity speaker, trans advocate and backer of the "Protect Mardi Gras" campaign. She is also a former board member of Wear It Purple and Qtopia, and a former board associate at Mardi Gras.
