Sisters for Homophile Equality (SHE) was the first national lesbian organisation in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. They published '' The Circle'', the first national lesbian magazine. Through this they were able to circulate overseas magazines and introduce New Zealanders to international ideas on lesbian feminism.

History

SHE was founded in 1973 in by six

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

women. The group was formed to include both women's liberation and gay politics, two groups which were felt to inadequately address the issues of lesbians. The Christchurch branch of SHE was jointly responsible for the establishment of the first Women's Refuge in New Zealand, along with the groups 'Radical Feminist' and 'University Feminists.' A

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

branch was soon formed which produced ''The Circle magazine'', which allowed for the circulation of national and international news on lesbian activism. The Wellington branch was also responsible for beginning Club 41 in 1974, the first lesbian club in Wellington. In 1974, the first National Lesbian Conference was held in Wellington. this led to the development of the Palmerston North SHE branch. SHE actively campaigned against the Wall Amendment during the Homosexual Law Reform, The Crime Amendment Act. The proposed amendment was to ban any positive representation of homosexuality to anyone under the age of twenty. They engaged in further campaigning in 1977, making submissions for the Human Rights Commission for it to become illegal to discriminate against someone based on 'sexual orientation.' The organization eventually drew to a close in 1977 as the many demographics within the organizations fell into conflict over what the main purpose of the organization should be. Groups that came out of this separated into ones that focused on activism, socializing, and education respectively.

References

{{LGBT in New Zealand 1973 establishments in New Zealand Lesbian culture in New Zealand Defunct lesbian organizations LGBTQ history in New Zealand Organisations based in Christchurch Organisations based in Wellington Organizations established in 1973 Women in New Zealand Organizations disestablished in 1977 1977 disestablishments in New Zealand