Historical Events in May
| May 1972 | Gay Liberation Front Auckland is formed Info It is later renamed Gay Liberation Auckland Inc. |
| May 1975 | Dorian Society Christchurch is formed Info |
| May 1977 | Lesbian Club ends, Wellington |
| May 1977 | Lesbians picket Parliament for the repeal of the abortion laws |
| May 1980 | Squeeze by Richard Turner - New Zealand's first gay feature film premieres Info Alt Info It was originally titled Night Moves |
| May 1980 | Gay men organise National Offenders Day march to protest at anti-gay laws in a carnival atmosphere Lesbians dykecott the march saying it fails to challenge the status quo |
| May 1985 | Street march supporting homosexual law reform, Wellington Info |
| May 1987 | Glad Rag magazine begins publication in Wellington |
| May 1994 | First National Lesbian Studies conference |
| May 1995 | Second National Lesbian Studies Conference is run by Lesbians On The Land |
| May 1997 | Patrick Clotworthy stabbs Wayne Cowan multiple times in a side street off Karangahape Road, Auckland He was sentenced to a 2 year suspended sentence, which was later increased to 3 years imprisonment |
| May 1998 | Government announces a Human Rights Amendment that will prolong the Government's exemption from the Human Rights Commission Act indefinitely |
| 1 May 1912 | Leo Bensemann (artist) is born Info Alt Info |
| 1 May 1929 | Deresley Morton (a.k.a. Peter Stratford) dies in California, USA Info NZ Truth headline: Death of Masquerader Reveals Incredible Deception |
| 2 May 1898 | Frank Haigh (lawyer, social reformer) is born Info Among other things Haigh was prominent in the cause of homosexual law reform |
| 2 May 1983 | The first international AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held in San Francisco and New York Info (there is no memorial in 1984) |
| 3 May 1929 | Charles Mackay is shot dead Info Alt Info Mackay was shot by a policeman while covering a street battle as a journalist in Berlin |
| 6 May 1933 | Nazi's attack the Institute for the Science of Sexuality, Berlin, Germany Info |
| 7 May 1997 | World's first Intersex Centre opens, Wellington |
| 10 May 1910 | Tuini Moetu Haangu Ngawai (composer) is born Info |
| 11 May 1933 | Books from the Institute for the Science of Sexuality are burned in the Opernplatz, Germany Info The burning of books is featured in a number of well-known Nazi images |
| 11 May 1964 | Six teenagers are acquitted of the manslaughter of Charles Aberhart Info Alt Info |
| 13 May 1947 | Frances Hodgkins (painter) dies Info Alt Info |
| 13 May 1989 | Young Lesbian and Gay Festival is held in Newtown School Hall, Wellington 13 and 14 May |
| 14 May 1868 | Magnus Hirschfeld (physician, sexologist) is born Info |
| 14 May 1897 | Magnus Hirschfeld founds the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, Germany Info |
| 14 May 1935 | Magnus Hirschfeld (physician, sexologist) dies Info Hirschfeld dies of a heart attack on his 67th birthday |
| 15 May 1920 | Charles Mackay shoots and wounds D'Arcy Cresswell Info Alt Info Mackay was the mayor of Wanganui at the time |
| 15 May 1988 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 15 May 1994 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 15 May 2005 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 15 May 2011 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 16 May 1993 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 16 May 1996 | Sexual Healing? a documentary about former homosexual Noel Mosen is broadcast on TV One Info Alt Info A number of people complain to the Broadcasting Standards Authority about the content |
| 16 May 1999 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 16 May 2004 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 16 May 2010 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 17 May 1987 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 17 May 1992 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 17 May 1998 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 17 May 2009 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 18 May 1859 | Amy Bock (confidence trickster) is born Info |
| 18 May 1986 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held (held annually on the third Sunday in May) |
| 18 May 1997 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 18 May 2003 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 18 May 2008 | 25th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 18 May 2008 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 19 May 1985 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held (held annually on the third Sunday in May) |
| 19 May 1991 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 19 May 1996 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 19 May 2002 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 20 May 1973 | Charles Brasch (poet, writer) dies Info |
| 20 May 1990 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 20 May 1990 | Will making workshop for lesbians is held, Wellington |
| 20 May 2001 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 20 May 2007 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 20 May 2012 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 21 May 1985 | Bigot Busters rally is held at Wellington Town Hall Info Alt Info |
| 21 May 1989 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 21 May 1990 | AIDS [candle light] memorial is held in the foyer of the Beehive, Parliament The memorial features Sir Paul Reeves - the first patron of the AIDS Foundation and MP Fran Wilde; plus 5 blocks of the NZ AIDS Memorial Quilt |
| 21 May 1995 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 21 May 2000 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 21 May 2006 | International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is held |
| 26 May 1895 | Oscar Wilde is convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years hard labour Info Alt Info |
| 26 May 1997 | Bryan James Gardner is sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering David Shore |
| 27 May 1909 | Amy Bock is convicted on two counts of false pretences and one of forgery Info Alt Info Bock, posing as Percival Redwood, married Agnes Ottaway |
| 27 May 1920 | Charles Mackay pleads guilt to the attempted murder of D'Arcy Cresswell Info Alt Info Mackay is sentenced to 15 years imprisonment |
| 30 May 1996 | The High Court rules that marriage in common law means mixed couples |
Queen of the Whole Universe portraits