People with Disability Australia will be 'Proud and Free to be Me' at the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade
Friday 28 February
People with Disability Australia (PWDA) is proud to be participating once again in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday 1 March 2025. A contingent of 80 PWDA members will march, wheel, and roll down Oxford Street, under the theme: "Proud and Free to be Me."
As Australia's national peak body for LGBTQIA+ people with disability, PWDA is committed to advocating for the rights and inclusion of this diverse and vibrant community. The theme chosen by PWDA members is a call for change so we can be:
- Proud of our bodies, identities and sexuality
- Exist freely in spaces that have historically excluded us.
- Live without societal-imposed limitations.
"In a year where our rights are under attack, we are marching as a powerful and public reminder that LGBTQIA+ people with disability exist and have the right to be proud, free, live and love without limitations. Too often, our identities and experiences are erased, but we are here and visible to show that we must be included in every space and every part of life with no exceptions," said PWDA President Trinity Ford.
The marching group includes LGBTQIA+ people with all kinds of disability showcasing the diversity within the disability community. Participants will wear white PWDA branded t-shirts bearing "PROUD, FREE TO BE ME" on the front and "We Are PWDA" on the back, complemented by rainbow-themed accessories, capes and light-up wings. Each member's attire will reflect their personal interpretation of being "Free to Be."
PWDA's placards will proudly call for LGBTIQA+ people with disability's full inclusion and self-determination, with slogans such as:
- "I Get Horny Too."
- "Nothing About Us Without Us!"
- "Accessibility for All"
- "Disability Rights Are Human Rights"
- "Free to Exist Without Limitations"
- "My Body, My Choice"
- "Love Every Body"
PWDA member Caitlin Blanch will be proudly marching with PWDA for the second year in a row.
"Being surrounded by queer people with disability, who understand without needing to say anything, is a magical and transformative experience. It makes me feel proud and free to be me," she said.
She is looking forward to standing with her community and making non-LGBTIQA+ people without disability stop and think.
"People with disability have been regulated by people without for too long. Last year I marched holding a sign that read 'Sexual Rights for All Bodies,' it empowered me with confidence and agency. It made me think more critically about the structures that say people with disability 'can't. So, I wanted to march again this year to say 'I see you' to our community and to call for a world that recognises 'we can' and reflects the pride we continually share for each other," Ms Blanch said.
PWDA CEO Sebastian Zagarella says PWDA's presence reminds LGBTIQA+ people with disability of our right to unapologetically be our full selves and society to take action to recognise and realise this right.
"Being queer, being HIV+, and having a disability are all a part of me. I've learned to love every part of who I am, and speaking openly about my experiences has helped others do the same. But I still find myself fighting for basic human rights and wondering why, once we gain them, we must defend them all over again. That's why visibility matters. Mardi Gras is our moment to be seen, to take up space, and to remind the world that we are here-and we're not going anywhere," Mr Zagarella said.
PWDA invites the broader LGBTQIA+ community, allies, and society to stand with LGBTQIA+ people with disability and recognise their right to exist, love, and live without limitations, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
