Bye Bye Boobies / Ka Kite Cock, A Transgender Extravaganza is a trans-agenda variety fundraising show, to raise money towards the cost of gender affirming surgeries. On Saturday 22 February, the extravaganza boasts a line-up of Pо̄neke-based queer, trans, and adjacent acts. With music, drag, stand up, and poetry, the fundraiser is a hub for queer and trans joy.

It's just one of a number of shows performed by trans artists around Aotearoa right now - running concurrently with the NZ Fringe Festival (also in Wellington) and of course, at Auckland Pride.

So many different approaches to art - all with a commonality through their creativity. 

The arts provide a vital space for self-expression

Kahurangi Douglas (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Hikairo) is a visual artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, and one of the recipients of the fundraiser. 

For them, toi Māori, waiata, and kōrero tuku iho are ways they can connect to their cultural identity, and their own artistic practice is a way to express themselves for the community to enjoy. Trans people and their experiences are underrepresented in visual arts, so Douglas brings together their Māori and trans identities in a way they can contribute that feels comfortable.

For the extravaganza, Douglas has created hand-printed merch, and leather art. Pictured is their block print art of tāne te irawhiti. In the traditional telling tāne (who has many identities or alternates like tāne mahuta, tāne te waiora, tāne te wānanga) separates Ranginui and Papatūānuku to access te ao mārama. Douglas has depicted tāne te irawhiti (tāne the trans) doing the same thing to create space and bring light to takatāpui and trans people.

Jade Musther, the other recipient for the fundraiser, shares that she used to do community theatre pre-transition and laughs “I should have known [I was trans] earlier.” 

As she took time away from performing, she felt a sense of loss, missing a place of self-expression. She shares that “creativity is vital” and now, each day she aims to draw and be connected to creative expression.

Hayes (Miles O'Chaos), a drag performer in the extravaganza line-up, started drag a few years ago. Since then, he’s found “a place to both feel my emotions around gender, reject societal expectations, and perform transformation. Exploring that and performing that on stage has opened up in my mind what I can do for myself and how I can care for myself and my community.”

Unmasking and authentic expression

Evangelina Telfar, a gender queer playwright involved in the show Compromise this Fringe, shares that through writing, they’ve explored gender a lot. 

They share “I think in the first time in my life I’m finally not performing gender in a way that I don’t want to. And that’s really exciting and liberating and not feeling like I have to mask the way I am.” 

Telfar has co-written a 15 minute play in Compromise with Nuanzhi Zheng where they placed no genders on the characters. They aimed to avoid gendered language as much as possible and enabled the performers to really play with their own gender expression.

Similar to Telfar, Siân Feehan - a musician, dancer, and performer - rejoices that since her transition, performance “is no longer a mask of creativity, it’s a place of authenticity.” 

Having attended an all boys school, Feehan was always looking for a way “to escape from masculinity,” Now, since transitioning, she feels like she’s “performing in my own skin.”  In performance, Feehan enjoys being able to bring more of their gender expression into play and finds it’s a great place to bring the _they _ to the forefront, to draw from the in-between, the feminine and the masculine. 

Feehan (Warm Toucan) is a musician in the Fringe Festival show **The TRANSformative Experiences** - she shares she’s excited to be part of a queer show, and wants to continue to give back and continue to create more safe spaces for trans people.

Lily Catastrophe, is an award-winning international cabaret, involved in TRANSformative Experiences, also relates to the experience of attending an all boys school. She thrived in the theatre being able to play the female roles and the female costumes were a way for her to express her femininity. 

Now in performance, Catastrophe finds burlesque to be a place for her to play with the expression of femininity and the idea of what it means to be a woman. Catastrophe has another upcoming show, Bottom Surgery where she discusses her bottom surgery, the joys of healthcare, and early onset menopause. Her show is a love letter to trans people, the queer community, allies, and the incredible communities of people who come together to uplift trans voices.

Hayes reflects, “I love being the representation I want to see, showing off trans excellence and serving it to everyone, cause trans joy and representation are important, and let’s be real, trans art is a league in itself.”

Barriers to performance

Liv Ward, the 2024 RAW Comedy Quest Wellington champion, is performing a comedy solo show EPIC WAY! I’m gay? Oui Oui faguette I LOVE KIM HILL (1999 version). 

They want their show to be a place for people to have fun and bring people back down to earth to hit them with the facts. Gender-affirming surgery is 10-13 years away. Ward, although driven to performance, shares “I never feel that comfortable on stage because I still have boobs and want to get rid of them. I think that’s something that cis people might not be aware of - that it can be a barrier for trans people to get on stage and perform.”

The importance of a supportive community

“Community is so important for queer joy,” Ward shares. This is a theme that is repeated throughout the interviews with each performer. 

Emma Jean, a comedian, and cis woman involved in TRANSformative Experiences, explains that it’s a lovely community, and great to have a space to build your own networks of belonging.

Alongside community, is the importance of artist space and expression for takatāpui (Māori with Rainbow identities). Utu ā Matimati, a takatāpui arts collective provides a place for takatāpui in Pōneke to connect, wānanga, share mātauranga Māori, and other artistic practices in a safe space.

Indie Vine, a comedian, also in TRANSformative Experiences shares that the kaupapa of the show exists to show the relatability of what it is to be a woman cis or trans, and the overlaps of patriarchal structures impacting things such as healthcare. Their show provides a window, an opportunity to emphasise with the community.

Being trans can uproot your life in a lot of ways, and finding some sort of stability is difficult, especially when you first transition. Vine hopes that shows like this one can be a vaccination against the rising tide of hate. 

She shares the importance of building positive narratives, and how useful positive messaging can be for the community so they can experience happiness, and not just the attack from the outside.

Positivity is a way to deliver a message. Hopefully, it’s a way for broader understanding.

Conversely, Ward urges those who run shows to consider what they’re currently doing and could improve on to include more trans people in their line-ups. Often, it can feel like you need an invite and you can’t just walk right on in - Ward shares it’s important for those producing shows to think about how they can create safe spaces especially for trans Māori.

Flyering for the fundraising show at the Island Bay fair, Musther was struck by how many older queer women shared their experiences of their queer youth with her. Moments like these are an important reminder of how small gestures can create safe spaces for people to share their stories. Outside performing arts, Musther runs Cahoots, a non-profit which supports women and queer folks in the trades and with DIY skills.

For Douglas, the fundraising show is a way to bring family closer and provide them an opportunity to support and express their support.

Hayes shares, “I hadn't known any of the cast or benefactors before the show, but I know how important gender affirming care is, and it’s through events like these, it brings our stunning queer and trans community even closer together.”

Paying it forward

In Aotearoa, publicly funded gender affirming surgeries are often described as a 'post-code lottery', with varied wait times from region to region. 

The limited public funding and lack of skilled surgeons specialising in some of these surgeries contribute to long waits. Because of this, it's common for the trans community, their friends, and whānau to fundraise for the private surgery they need to live their lives fully and comfortably. Often trans people who have received this support will share and pay it forward, as they can empathise with the struggle.

Those putting together the fundraising show thought deeply about its kaupapa and how they could extend the support they’ve received. As a result, they plan to offer their mentorship and a portion of the proceeds for another group to run the Bye Bye Boobies/Ka Kite Cock fundraising kaupapa again.

If you’d like to express your interest or learn more about the mentorship - email the team at byebyeboobies.kakitecock@gmail.com

3 ways to support the trans community

1. Donate to gender affirming care fundraisers and Rainbow charities

Gender affirming surgeries are a way to help trans people feel comfortable in their own skin - they can be life changing. You can donate to Douglas and Musther’s fundraiser with this link.

Pride Pledge lists a range of Rainbow organisations you can donate to.

2. Stay informed on New Zealand bills that impact the trans and queer community

Not every bill gains publicity. Often, public interest is created based on the tireless efforts of individuals, non-profits, and communities. Shaneel Lal is an activist who championed to ban conversion therapy in Aotearoa. 

Activism can make people vulnerable to both online and in-person attacks. Sharing and being a positive and encouraging voice, can help spread awareness and increase support.

You can also stay informed on upcoming bills in parliament where the outcomes impact queer and trans people.

3. Amplify trans voices and art

In Wellington, Hugo Grrrl and Creatif Kate have paved the way, producing and performing in line-up shows focusing on trans, queer, and neurodivergent communities, creating safe spaces to perform and opportunities that didn’t exist. 

These dedicated producers are now passing the torch on to the next wave of talent. If you have a passion for producing shows, consider the ways you can maximise the opportunities for the Rainbow community to perform safely. 

There’s also the risk of when there’s less queer producers, less people who are minorities, whether a person of colour, queer, trans, or female, are less likely to get a spot on the line up. This creates a knock-on effect of less representation, opportunities for those comics to earn money.

Additionally, there are many wonderful trans performers and writers that you can support in Aotearoa New Zealand, including but not limited to: Hugo Grrrl, Mx Well, Mog Conns, Lia Kelly, Jadwiga Green, Jthan Morgan, James Penwarden, Booth the Clown, Jak Darling, Ania Upsill, Jules Daniel, Nī Dekkers-Reihana, Stevie Hancox-Monk, essa ranapiri, Alwayys Becoming, and Olive Nuttal.

Fringe Bar, Ivy Bar, Circus Bar, and BATS Theatre have consistently hosted and supported queer and trans shows. Consider donating where you can and attending performances when possible.