Salon78: Trans Life and History Project
Sun
22
Sun 22 Feb 2:00 PM
The Loading Dock Theatre
Wheelchair
Accessible Toilet
General Admission
All Ages
60 Mins February
Salon 78 at the Loading Dock in Qtopia
301 Forbes St., Darlinghurst
Sunday 22 February 2026, 2.00pm
Trans people have been the subject of huge media, political and online attention in the last 10 years.
Much of this has been hostile, ill-informed and stereotyped. In this session at Qtopia Sydney we will work to correct the stereotypes. The highlight of our session is a conversation with Raewyn Connell, about her new book, published in February 2026 called Trans Lives: Social Realities Across the Globe.
Raewyn is Australia's most influential sociologist, known internationally for her work on gender including masculinities. Trans Lives brings together research (mostly by trans scholars) from all continents. The book discusses the nature of gender and the practical character of gender transitions, trans medicine and trans health, the institutions that affect trans lives, the anti-trans surge of recent years and its sources, and the range and creativity of trans organizing.
The Qtopia Sydney session on 22 February also includes an outline of the coming trans history exhibition, planned for June 2027. It is guided by the exceptional skills of Sam Cooling. Jet Hodgson will show some materials found by the Trans History committee and invite contributions of ideas and new materials for the exhibition. Qtopia’s Trans Exhibition will tell the story of trans presence in Australia, especially in Sydney, from the drag shows of World War II, the showgirls of Les Girls and the street workers of Kings Cross, to the activism of the 90s, the struggles for legal change and social recognition, and the current era of backlash.
About the Speakers:
Raewyn Connell is a trans woman and sociologist who has produced 24 books on subjects such as gender, class, education, and Southern Theory, and hundreds of academic papers and reports including several articles on trans people and related issues. While head of sociology at Macquarie University in 1983, Raewyn launched Roberta Perkins’ pioneering study; The Drag Queen Scene: Transsexuals in Kings’ Cross. Her book Trans Lives, launched on February 19th, 2026, is the product of many years of research and lived experience.
Darby Carr is a transman, oral historian and educator. He has worked with Sydney Living Museums, Government House, the State Library of New South Wales, ACON, NUAA Safe Schools, and Twenty10. His work recording oral histories of TGD people is represented in the State Library of NSW and the National Library of Australia where he is leading the first Trans led Oral History Project of its kind in Australia.
Jet Hodgson (they/them) is a young social impact practitioner with a strong focus on LGBTQIA+ rights and online misogyny. They are the LGBTQIA+ Project Officer for the Centre for Social Justice and inclusion (CJSI) at UTS. They work with All Together Now on a project focused on online misogyny that leads to extremism.
Jess Hooley is a transwoman activist with a who produced a PhD and survey research on trans people. She was a law reform lobbyist in the 1990s and more recently in 2023-2025. Presently she volunteers for the Gender Centre, 78ers. She is part of the Trans History Committee for 2027 along with Jet Hodgson, Delilah Slack-Smith and the group’s guiding hand, Sam Cooling of SLNSW.
301 Forbes St., Darlinghurst
Sunday 22 February 2026, 2.00pm
Trans people have been the subject of huge media, political and online attention in the last 10 years.
Much of this has been hostile, ill-informed and stereotyped. In this session at Qtopia Sydney we will work to correct the stereotypes. The highlight of our session is a conversation with Raewyn Connell, about her new book, published in February 2026 called Trans Lives: Social Realities Across the Globe.
Raewyn is Australia's most influential sociologist, known internationally for her work on gender including masculinities. Trans Lives brings together research (mostly by trans scholars) from all continents. The book discusses the nature of gender and the practical character of gender transitions, trans medicine and trans health, the institutions that affect trans lives, the anti-trans surge of recent years and its sources, and the range and creativity of trans organizing.
The Qtopia Sydney session on 22 February also includes an outline of the coming trans history exhibition, planned for June 2027. It is guided by the exceptional skills of Sam Cooling. Jet Hodgson will show some materials found by the Trans History committee and invite contributions of ideas and new materials for the exhibition. Qtopia’s Trans Exhibition will tell the story of trans presence in Australia, especially in Sydney, from the drag shows of World War II, the showgirls of Les Girls and the street workers of Kings Cross, to the activism of the 90s, the struggles for legal change and social recognition, and the current era of backlash.
About the Speakers:
Raewyn Connell is a trans woman and sociologist who has produced 24 books on subjects such as gender, class, education, and Southern Theory, and hundreds of academic papers and reports including several articles on trans people and related issues. While head of sociology at Macquarie University in 1983, Raewyn launched Roberta Perkins’ pioneering study; The Drag Queen Scene: Transsexuals in Kings’ Cross. Her book Trans Lives, launched on February 19th, 2026, is the product of many years of research and lived experience.
Darby Carr is a transman, oral historian and educator. He has worked with Sydney Living Museums, Government House, the State Library of New South Wales, ACON, NUAA Safe Schools, and Twenty10. His work recording oral histories of TGD people is represented in the State Library of NSW and the National Library of Australia where he is leading the first Trans led Oral History Project of its kind in Australia.
Jet Hodgson (they/them) is a young social impact practitioner with a strong focus on LGBTQIA+ rights and online misogyny. They are the LGBTQIA+ Project Officer for the Centre for Social Justice and inclusion (CJSI) at UTS. They work with All Together Now on a project focused on online misogyny that leads to extremism.
Jess Hooley is a transwoman activist with a who produced a PhD and survey research on trans people. She was a law reform lobbyist in the 1990s and more recently in 2023-2025. Presently she volunteers for the Gender Centre, 78ers. She is part of the Trans History Committee for 2027 along with Jet Hodgson, Delilah Slack-Smith and the group’s guiding hand, Sam Cooling of SLNSW.
