QUEER PARRAMATTA
starobserver.com.auAfter my parents divorced, my mother moved into housing commission on the other side of Parramatta Park. I harboured a lot of shame growing up within the lower socio-economic parts of the Parramatta LGA.
And I definitely was not proud of being a queer Korean from the Western Suburbs.However, there is an unspoken code out here in the West: “if you are from here, you will always be one of us.” Over time, this strangely helped me accept who I was, and I began to really love living in Parramatta (where I am still living today).It took me some time, but I eventually found my Westie pride.With the enormous developments and billions of dollars being pumped into the “West”, a strong aspiring spirit is swirling within the city.
This, of course, has its pros and cons because urban development is definitely a double-edged sword.So, where do queer locals in Parramatta fit in all this?And what are the opportunities for us queer folk to forge an identity here?Parramatta is complex, rich in diversity and a new frontier in many aspects, which is precisely why I love it.
