Here Are Five Extraordinary Gender Diverse Aussie Artists Making Some Serious Waves

March 31 marks Trans Day of Visibility - a day dedicated to shining the focus on the beauty, joy and power residing in the pride of gender diversity, while rejoicing the voices who are illuminating the vast multitudes of the trans experience.

Today, we want to spotlight five talented trans, gender diverse and non-binary Aussie artists lending their platform to representation and empowerment.

Alter Boy

Alter Boy is a self-described queerlectro pop six-piece hailing from Perth whose breath-taking performances are changing the game in a celebration of trans and disabled bodies. Comprising of three deaf/hard-of-hearing members, Alter Boy interweaves Auslan as a central vessel of their art and storytelling. 

Their haunting, immersive soundscapes strip back the traditional perception of pop music while challenging the ways in which we view the diverse relationships of music enjoyment across hearing and deaf/hard-of-hearing communities. If you’ve never had the chance to witness one of Alter Boy’s spectacular sets, you’ve got some serious YouTubing to do.

Mo'Ju

A proud Wiradjuri, Filipino and queer artist, Mo’Ju has built a prolific, genre-transcending discography over their decade long career since the release of their debut album in 2012. The ARIA Award-nominated musician, renowned for their profound 2018 album Native Tongue, was congratulated in 2019 with the record's title track taking out the AIR Award for Best Independent Single. Still going strong after releasing a new album last year, Mo’Ju’s goosebump-inducing lyricism and soulful grooves have rooted their place firmly in Australia’s contemporary music landscape.

imbi

If you haven’t yet heard of imbi, today is your lucky day. Imbi - aka imbi the girl - is a Sydney born-and-raised singer-songwriter, rapper and poet whose latest single Mannish Boy, oozing with Amy Winehouse vocal prowess, bends the 1977 Muddy Waters hit to illustrate their own journey with gender identity. 

Imbi, who uses both they/them and he/him pronouns, has received a string of acclaim throughout their musical career, being nominated for Live Voice of the Year (NSW) at the National Live Music Awards and jet setting to London after being chosen by APRA AMCOS to participate in the international songwriting conference, Songhubs. Also, how could we forget their features at Groovin The Moo, BIGSOUND, Laneway, as well as supporting the likes of Sampa The Great, FKJ, Odette and more.

G Flip

In June last year, the beloved pop-rock drum god G Flip took to Instagram in a coming-out post, announcing to the world that they are non-binary and sharing that they have "always felt like a gender smoothie". The multi-platinum artist was soon followed by a showering of support from their fans and the Aussie music community, not to mention hosting the sickest looking non-binary “gender reveal” party in existence.

The loveable larrikin, who has recently wrapped up touring in the US with rising pop icon FLETCHER, has long advocated their platform at every opportunity to shed light on queer issues and injustices, as well as often addressing crucial conversations surrounding mental health.

Jamaica Moana

Jamaica Moana is a Sydney-based artist, rapper, creative director and songwriter of Māori (Ngāpuhi/Tainui) and Samoan descent. Adored for her unapologetic confidence and fire-fuelled verses, the non-binary artist is also a resident commentator of the Australian ballroom community. A culture that was birthed in 1980s New York, ballroom has been an artistic haven for queer and gender diverse people, particularly trans people of colour. As a passionate member of Sydney’s ballroom community, Moana has recently hosted and co-founded the first ballroom event of the year - ‘The West Ball 2’. Throughout her career, Moana has performed at Sydney Festival supporting Ngaiire, and has even presented her own Ted Talk on the dissection of identity stereotypes and exclusion. Absolute legend, need we say more?