Kimberley queen Dwesmond Wiggan-Dann’s emotional call for ‘exploitation’ of Mardi Gras and Pride to end

The judges’ choice for Kimberley Queen at this year’s Broome Mardi Gras says the global event has become so focused on money it has lost its roots in supporting the LGBTQI+ community. Dwesmond Wiggan-Dann took to Facebook in a public post on Wednesday to share his thoughts about seeing the Mardi Gras and Pride increasingly “glamorise” the LGBTQI community while not addressing underlying issues such as mental health and homelessness. The young Kimberley Aboriginal man and recent Amazing Race contestant said he had embraced Mardi Gras and Pride in his teens, but was coming to realise the event was not as supportive as once thought. “I travelled extensively across this Great Country, attending celebration which I believed back then, genuinely celebrated the original intent and purpose of what Pride and Mardi Gras meant to our community,” he said. “It has only been in the last couple of years I began to view Pride and Mardi Gras through a different lens. “I began to see Pride and Mardi Gras become exploited in some way by mainstream, as a mechanism to attract tourism, by taking advantage of the pink dollar, and in some cases for personal gain.” The post attracted immediate support with several friends sharing similar sentiment and urging Wiggan-Dann to make changing the festivities a national movement. Wiggan-Dann said Mardi Gras and Pride should be a beacon for closing the “them and us” gap to create an inclusive society. “Personally I don’t believe in exploiting Pride or Mardi Gras for mainstream Financial Investment, or Self-gain, and I feel this should never be tolerated by our community,” he said. “If we are going to take advantage of Pride and Mardi Gras’ pink dollars, at least reinvest the funds back into the community in a meaningful way, by actually supporting LGBTQI+ initiatives that address the high rates of self-harming tendencies, suicide, homelessness, mental health and unemployment. “Let’s all work together to create a supportive environment, where we as LGBTQI+ can all feel accepted, and can openly celebrate our individuality with pride in our communities.”