Premium Content:

Boola Bardip WA Museum to host discussion sparked by glory hole door

Boola Bardip WA Museum is set to host a panel discussion sparked by one of the more interesting artifacts in their collection – a public toilet door with a glory hole.

- Advertisement -

The acquisition of the door from a public toilet in Gosnells raised some eyebrows back in 2018 when the Museum added it to their collection of objects that capture parts of our Western Australian lives.

The door was donated to the museum by local activist group The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The door was originally located in public toilets near the Gosnells train station. When the building was demolished in 1997 it was ‘rescued’ by Neil Buckley, who is also known as Mother Greta when in habit.

Back before social media apps, and before homosexuality was legal in Western Australia, gay men would meet up at ‘beats’, spots known for cruising and sexual beahviour. Public bathrooms, parks and secluded spaces were often well know by the queer community.

When the door was first donated the Shadow Minister for the Arts said it was “too tacky to display”. The public outcry led to a art exhibition the following year that explored the themes of sexualised spaces.

On 9th March the Museum will present a panel discussion the challenges of displaying unusual items and to discuss the extent to which queer identity has been desexualised to be made palatable in the dominant culture, and what work needs to be done to recalibrate public collections so that they equitably represent the breadth of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

No speakers have been announced for the event yet, but tickets are on sale now.

OIP Staff


You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.

Latest

On This Gay Day | Britain repealed the controversial 'Section 28' laws

The laws were brought in by the Thatcher government in 1988.

Government urged to consider combatting LGBTIQA+ hate in school curriculum

Education Minister Jason Clare is tackling antisemitism, but what about homophobia?

On This Gay Day | Neil Tennant is celebrating his birthday

See what else happened on this day in history.

Julia Zemiro to host ABC’s new true-crime panel show ‘Crime Night!’

"Anyone who loves bingeing the latest true crime podcast, or playing detective in the group chat, this is the show for you."

Newsletter

Don't miss

On This Gay Day | Britain repealed the controversial 'Section 28' laws

The laws were brought in by the Thatcher government in 1988.

Government urged to consider combatting LGBTIQA+ hate in school curriculum

Education Minister Jason Clare is tackling antisemitism, but what about homophobia?

On This Gay Day | Neil Tennant is celebrating his birthday

See what else happened on this day in history.

Julia Zemiro to host ABC’s new true-crime panel show ‘Crime Night!’

"Anyone who loves bingeing the latest true crime podcast, or playing detective in the group chat, this is the show for you."

Paola Pivi exhibition brings explosion of colour to AGWA

The Italian-born artist is known for playfully blurring the line between fantasy and reality, incorporating animals and everyday objects in surreal scenarios.

On This Gay Day | Britain repealed the controversial 'Section 28' laws

The laws were brought in by the Thatcher government in 1988.

Government urged to consider combatting LGBTIQA+ hate in school curriculum

Education Minister Jason Clare is tackling antisemitism, but what about homophobia?

On This Gay Day | Neil Tennant is celebrating his birthday

See what else happened on this day in history.