Pre-colonial The
Māori language word had historically referred to devoted relationships between people of the same sex, but in modern terminology encompasses LGBT identity and sexuality. The word (literally 'to become a woman') describes those who were assigned male at birth but are female, while the term has the opposite meaning, that being a person assigned female at birth but is male. Same-sex relationships and activities appear to have been acceptable amongst pre-colonial
Māori. Some stories, for example that of
Tutanekai and Tiki, centre on same-sex couples. A British missionary,
Richard Davis, found homosexual relationships between men to be a familiar part of Māori life, and although homosexual relationships between women have not been well documented, they were certainly not condemned.
Colonisation and criminalisation Some of the earliest European colonists in New Zealand were Christian
missionaries who arrived in the early nineteenth century and eventually converted most of the Māori population to Christianity. They brought with them the Christian doctrine that
sodomy was sinful, meaning many Māori were forced to hide or destroy evidence of their selves. Despite this, one missionary,
William Yate, was sent back to England in disgrace after being caught engaging in sex with young Māori men. When New Zealand became a British colony in 1840, British law was adopted in its entirety, making "
buggery" illegal and a capital offence. In 1893, all kinds of sexual activity between men was criminalised, with penalties including imprisonment, hard labour, and flogging. Sexual acts between women were never criminalised.
Underground subculture Despite discriminatory laws, a small
queer subculture developed.
European settlers on the goldfields or in rural areas were mostly male, and some had sexual relationships with each other. However, as settlers began to
move to cities the numbers of convictions for same-sex activities increased. A number of gay men were involved in New Zealand's literary subculture, including
Frank Sargeson. However even in these circles, homosexuality was not always accepted. By as early as the 1930s, queer subcultures were so developed that a shared language had developed, emerging out of "elements of prison slang, pig Latin,
Polari,
gay slang, Māori and localised dialect," used primarily by male and trans women sex workers. These communities often referred to themselves as "kamp."
Carmen Rupe identified as kamp when she was living in
Auckland in the 1950s, and recalled "three aunties" who her particular kamp circle revolved around; Hinemoa and Freda, who were Māori, and Auntie Mamie, from Rarotonga. Rupe writes that all three "went to great trouble and effort preparing for their parties", which were the centre of this community.
Chrissy Witoko's "The Evergreen" was another such venue, also on Vivian Street, established in 1984. Hers was renown as a safe community hub, and was also a drop-in centre for both local gay and lesbian activist and support groups, and for sex workers, prior to the establishment of the
New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective. In late 1971, the
KG (Kamp Girls) club for lesbians was formed in Auckland.
LGBT Organisations In 1962, the
Dorian Society was founded in Wellington for gay men. In early 1972, Gay Liberation groups sprang up in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in response to the formation of the
Gay Liberation Front. In 1989, the Auckland Lesbian and Gay Youth (ALGY) group formed, later changing its name in 1995 to
RainbowYOUTH. In the 1980s,
Body Positive was formed as a peer support organisation providing care and support to LGBTQ people living with HIV/AIDS in New Zealand, as well as advocating and combat stigma surrounding HIV. They were tried for murder but found not guilty. As in many countries, homosexuals were often committed to mental institutions and given 'treatment' for what was rendered a mental illness. Led by Te Awekotuku, "Gay Day", occurred in April 1972 in Auckland, one of the first direct action protests by the newly formed Auckland Gay Liberation Front. The 1970s saw the growth of the modern
feminist and gay movements in New Zealand. Trans activism also continued to develop during this period, with pioneers like
Rupe breaking boundaries through running for Wellington Mayor in 1977, and
Laundon in that same year successfully petitioning for the right to use women's restrooms at her place of work. In 1993, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was outlawed. In 2004 New Zealand instituted
civil union (for both same-sex and opposite sex couples), and in 2013
same-sex marriage was legalised. in December 2006 New Zealand was unique in passing homosexual law reform in the midst of the
AIDS crisis. The
New Zealand AIDS Foundation was established in 1985. and gay men are prominent in AIDS fundraising and in running organisations such as the AIDS Foundation.
LGBT Pride In 1991, one of New Zealand's prominent LGBT pride events, the
Hero Parade, was founded in Auckland. This developed into a festival, the last Hero Parade held in 2001. However, the parade returned as the Auckland Pride Parade in 2012, then transitioned to become the Auckland Pride March in 2019. Starting in 1986, Wellington hosted an annual "Lesbian and Gay Fair". This was renamed as the "Out in the Park" fair when it moved to a larger park. This in turn late evolved into the annual Wellington Pride Festival. The festival ties in with the Pride Parade which started in 2017, following on from several pride parades held in the 1990s. ==Demographics==