The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Board have temporarily stood down Board Directors Damien Nguyen and Luna Choo.
In a statement sent to members on Friday morning, the Board said the motion was passed in a meeting on 12 March with a two-thirds majority of the directors present, with Choo and Nguyen – who are affiliated with Pride in Protest (PiP) – being stood down as directors for a period of 28 days, effective from 4 March.
Yikes. So Mardi Gras is both pro-genocide and transphobic? Gross.
Yes.
This sounded bizarre to me before reading the article, so I’ll highlight a few snippets for anyone who just read the title:
On 2 February, Choo and Nguyen were formally censured for affirming their personal support of a PiP trans rights campaign using SGLMG company emails. Choo, the only trans woman on the board, was repeatedly misgendered in the process.
This is not the first time Pride in Protest-affiliated Board Directors have been stood down. In 2021, Charlie Murphy and Alex Bouchet were stood down, with Pride in Protest alleging the move was a punishment for their role in organising a protest march on Oxford Street on March 6. At the time, Murphy was the only openly trans woman and out sex worker on the Board.
The Co-Chairs of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have moved to censure two directors, only days after they accused the organisation of transphobia.
The motion moved against Choo on Sunday also misgendered her, which Choo said was “incredibly demeaning”.
“Having been on the board for less than 2 months, I have been called a man, locked out of my emails, chastised for communicating to members on the issue of transgender rights, and now threats of being censured,” she said.
What letting the likes of Salesforce participate in Mardi Gras does to an MF
