Lexie Matheson
Lexie Matheson | |||
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| Born | 1944-1946 | ||
| Nationality | New Zealander | ||
| Citizenship | New Zealand | ||
| Occupation |
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Alexandra Mary Raine Matheson is a New Zealand Transgender activist, entertainer, and educator.
Career
Matheson started her career in the 1960s as a teacher, and then became a principal.[1] Matheson was the director of the Maidment Theatre at the University of Auckland from 1998 to 2006.[2] Whilst at Maidment Theatre, Matheson completed a Master of Creative and Performing Arts in arts management.[3] In 2006, Matheson started as lecturer of event management at Auckland University of Technology.[4][2]
Matheson was working on her doctoral thesis, looking at the history of karate in New Zealand.[5][6]
As an entertainer, she has been involved in over 400 theatrical productions.[1] Matheson was part of the Theatre Corporate, directed by Raymond Hawthorne, from 1976 to 1979.[7] Following these, she founded two theatre companies, one based at the Four Seasons Theatre in Whanganui, and then the Troupers Live Theatrix in Christchurch, with the latter running until 1998.[7] Between 1998 and 2016 Matheson wrote over 200 theatre reviews.[8]
Activism and community work
Matheson has had a number of governance roles within the New Zealand LGBT community, including chairing the Hero Board that organised the 2002 Hero Festival, and a founding member of its successor, the Auckland Pride Festival.[1] Matheson has also been involved with Agender New Zealand Auckland and was a trustee for Transadvocates.[1]
Other areas of activism that Matheson has been involved include campaigning to include gender identity as a protected identity under the Human Rights Act 1993, and the treatment of transgender people who are incarcerated.[4][3]
Matheson has advocated for the mental health needs of older LGBT people in New Zealand.[9] In response to a government policy of mental health needs for younger LGBT people, Matheson said: “We LGBTQI oldies experience all the challenges that other older people face in any ageing community, but we have our own unique challenges as well.”[9]
Within sport, Matheson has campaigned for transgender athletes to be able to compete in all levels of sporting, and was the first transgender woman to compete in the World Gōjū-ryū Karate Federation Championships in 2017, where she placed bronze.[4][10] She has a second dan Black belt (martial arts)|black belt in Goju Ryu Karate.[10] Matheson is also the chair of Archery New Zealand.[4]
Personal life
Matheson is transgender. Matheson realised she was female when she was eight years old, but only transitioned in 1998, aged 53.[5] Matheson has been married twice, with her first marriage ending because of her transition.[5]
Honours and awards
In the 2016 Birthday Honours (New Zealand) Queen's Birthday Honours, Matheson was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to performing arts, education and LGBTIQ rights.[1]
Matheson has been nominated for Senior New Zealander of the year in 2019, 2020 and 2021.[11][4][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The Queen's 90th Birthday Honours List 2016 - Citations for Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit". The Queen's 90th Birthday Honours List 2016 - Citations for Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lexie Matheson: Bio". academics.aut.ac.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dann, Jennifer (9 February 2016). "Twelve questions: Lexie Matheson". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "2021 SENIOR NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR SEMI-FINALISTS". nzawards.org.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Queen's Birthday Honours: Honour a sweet reward in transgender campaign". NZ Herald. 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ↑ "What life is like for the gender-fluid". RNZ. 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Contributor Bio. Lexie Matheson". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year 2020 Finalists". nzawards.org.nz. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Lexie Matheson: "It's Very Easy to Forget That There Are Actually Queers Over Forty"". express Magazine. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Magazine, express (2017-09-18). "Lexie Matheson Takes Bronze at World Karate Champs". express Magazine. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ↑ "Former Auckland Pride Chair Lexie Matheson Nominated For Senior New Zealander of the Year". express Magazine. 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
External links
This article "Lexie Matheson" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.