Fully decked out in his Swans guernsey and scarf, complete with a veritable menagerie of player badges, Shane Pascoe sits with us in one of the exhibition spaces of Qtopia Sydney, the largest dedicated centre for queer history and culture in the world.

Behind him, a life-size cardboard cutout of his drag persona, Joyce Maynge, reclines on a bed, along with a mural of cartoon furniture and decorations designed to imitate the caravan living arrangements of her origin story. All around the room, iterations of this flamboyant character in a plethora of extravagant costumes leap out from decals documenting an incredible 25-year drag career.

Joyce Maynge has been a prolific performer, across live events, theatre, film and online media, but today we get a rare opportunity to sit down with her creator and performer to talk to Shane, as Shane, about culture, pride and football.

“It was about 25 years ago was when I got completely and utterly hooked with the Swans. It only took one win and I was completely, completely had.”

“It's just been the most incredible journey for me. Just being a member of the Swans is the highlight of my week. You ride the highs and the lows and when it's a great game, you get there to sing the chant at the end. And when it's low, that's all right, because there's always the next week. So it's always an amazing journey.”

Shane’s passion for the Swans was ignited years before, but it wasn’t until 2019 that his alter ego joined the fray. Joyce Maynge was invited to collaborate with the Rainbow Swans in creating and performing the Chant for Pride and has since been featured at Pride Games for the AFL, AFLW and in the Sydney Swans entry in the Mardi Gras parade.

“It's been an amazing journey and what started off as being just a song and a performance in the stands has built into something really special.”

When you get Shane talking about footy, it’s immediately obvious that he is incredibly proud to be a part of the Sydney Swans community, especially where it intersects with Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community.

“I think the reason that the Sydney Swans resonates with me is it really feels like an inclusive family. It really feels that they've reached out to the queer community and really made everyone feel like they belong.”

“I've been a supporter for a very long time, but now for having the Pride Round, it's really, really special that they're going that extra distance.”

Long before the introduction of the Pride Game, this story was already unfolding. When South Melbourne relocated to Sydney in 1982, the LGBTQIA+ scene was a thriving mix of identity-affirming celebration and intense political activism. September 1982 also saw the first official diagnosis of AIDS in Australia at Sydney’s St Vincent Hospital, and the following years became defining ones for grassroots activism and solidarity in the community in the face of devastating adversity.

Qtopia Sydney is located in the former Darlinghurst Police Station which was known as a place of arrest, persecution and injustice for LGBTQIA+ people during this period.

“This used to be the old gaol. And this has a lot of history, and there's a lot of trauma and it's quite a challenging space to be inside.”

“I'm completely honoured to have a very small part in the queer community, and to be honoured by this exhibit.”

“It has incredible history. It’s beautifully curated, there's amazing spaces that honour all the people who've been here before, from the 78ers, who've championed the way to progress and to make things a lot safer and inclusive for all of us.”

LGBTQIA+ culture at the football is not a new concept, either. In the 1980s a group of footy fans known as the Swan Tits came to games at the SCG dressed in a satirical drag impersonation of the Swanette cheerleaders. In the 1990s Dennis Ridewood led an inclusive group of Swans supporters marching together in the Mardi Gras parade. 2003 saw the foundation of the Rainbow Swans, who Shane describes as “the incredible, inclusive, queer supporter group who are absolute champions.”

But the footy hasn’t historically felt like a welcoming space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I would never have really felt comfortable to even wear a rainbow scarf or a rainbow beanie at the Swans. I always kept that side of it very private and shy. But now you can go to a game and you can see couples wearing them, holding hands and everything. I think it just makes people feel a lot more brave.”

“I think all of that's really emboldened me to feel more authentic and if I feel like wearing my rainbow scarf to a game, then I will. And so many other people do. So I think that definitely that paradigm has shifted and that definitely wasn't there. It wasn't there 10 years ago.”

In 2015 the Sydney Swans played the first ever AFL Pride Game in the pre-season at Drummoyne Oval against Fremantle. The following year it became part of our regular home and away fixture and, in 2017 when we first hosted the Pride Game at the SCG, we also launched our first Diversity Action Plan which formalised meaningful commitments across disability empowerment, multicultural inclusion, the advancement of women, and LGBTQIA+ pride.

“The Swans have led the way and done an amazing job already, but I really do strongly feel that the whole AFL needs to take note of the incredible progress, incredible transformative change that a club like the Sydney Swans has already achieved in such a short period of time. And I think it is clearly time for a change, and every single club should be doing a Pride Game, so that it becomes an official Pride Round.”

“It really needs to be with everyone, because if you can get that much joy and happiness into a stadium at the SCG, then you can get that in every single stadium all around Australia.”

The first AFLW Pride Game was played at Marvel Stadium in 2018 when Carlton took on the Western Bulldogs, a tradition they repeated at Mission Whitten Oval in 2019 before it was also adopted by St Kilda and Melbourne in 2020. In 2021 the AFLW implemented a league-wide Pride Round. Reflecting on pride in women’s sport and the meaningful representation of LGBTQIA+ players, staff and supporters, Shane sees female athletes and their leagues as pioneers.

“I would say that queer women have been leading the way in AFLW for such a long time.”

“I think more lessons need to be taken from the women, and you can see - has anything changed, has it hindered or made things worse? No, it hasn't. It’s been completely fine. No-one bats an eye because they just move on and play fantastic football. So, boys, I think it's time to take a leaf. But again, that comes from structural change as well and making some decisions to say, you know what? Let's all get on board.”

As a schoolteacher by day, Shane has witnessed the impact of movements like Pride Game on the young people in his circles.

“I think as a teacher I also feel that all of these initiatives make and build to really, really strong and lasting impact. Every single initiative that is advancing progressive civil liberties is going to make a difference. Ultimately, what we find is that when students are happy, when they feel safe, when they feel supported, then educational outcomes improve.”

For the Sydney Swans, the message is simple: everyone is welcome at the football. We encourage every fan to bring their whole, authentic self to each game and strive to create a safe and welcoming environment for all. The Pride Game is an important symbolic way of visibly honouring that idea. For Shane, it’s also a message to the next generation.

“If there’s any young person out there who wanted to know whether the footy was for them, I would say, look into the stands. I would say look onto the pitch. I would say, make sure that you do not feel small. This is a massive stadium, and look at all these amazing rainbows flying around, and all these smiling faces, and I can tell you now that there is a massive place for you at the Bloods family.”