Rainbow Youth members Rainbow Youth is proposing opening up membership to straight youth, a move designed to boost community unity as it follows a Queer-Straight Alliance styled approach. Currently the Auckland-based group’s constitution says Rainbow Youth membership is open to anyone under 27 who is “non-heteronormative identifying or does not identify themselves as straight”. It’s proposed changing that to anyone under 27 “who fully supports the purposes and aims of the society”. The justification for the change is that the current clause is not clear, due to the “vaguely defined term ‘heteronormative’.” It says: “Simplification of overall clause to include all young people supporting Rainbow Youth more encapsulates our current QSA (Queer Straight Alliance)-esque approach to community unity.” It’s also proposing to add a specific takataapui rep, rather than just ensuring the Board has at least one Maori member. Rainbow Youth already has a specific trans rep position on the Board. It says the changes will mean those reps do not actually have to be Maori or trans, as “after discussion it was concluded that these representative roles need not be undertaken by someone who personally identified with those labels, but rather anyone who is able to effectively advocate for takataapui and trans rights respectively”. The proposed changes is will be discussed at Rainbow Youth’s AGM, which will be held at its support group’s K’ Rd drop-in centre on 29 June at 12PM. Rainbow Youth’s current Board says the AGM is GLBTI youths’ chance to have a say about how it runs. It’s urging anyone who thinks they have what it takes to be a board member to submit an online form here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 14th June 2013 - 12:09pm