Elizabeth Kerekere
Elizabeth Kerekere (Ngāti Oneone, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Whānau a Kai, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri)[1] (born 1966)[2] is the Founder/Chair of Tīwhanawhana Trust (2000),[3] a scholar and an activist within the LGBTQ+ community in New Zealand.[1] She identifies as takatāpui and produced the first major research on mental health and the culture of on the takatāpui whānau.[4] Kerekere is also an artist, having graduated from EIT with a Bachelor in Māori Visual Arts (Te Toi o Ngā Rangi).[2]
Dr Elizabeth Kerekere | |
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Born | 1966 (age 53–54) Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, New Zealand |
Notable work | The Emergence of Takatāpui Identity – He Whariki Takatāpui, Takatāpui: Part of the Whānau, Growing Up Takatāpui: Whānau Journeys 2016 |
Awards | Winner of the Takatapui Award for 2018 – New Zealand LGBTI Awards |
Education
Throughout her studies at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Kerekere focussed on mana tupuna (ancestors), mana wahine (women) and mana takatapui (the right to live and love regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity) and was the only degree graduate to have a solo exhibition.[2] After graduating from EIT, Kerekere spent the following five years researching the development of takatapui identity in the 21st century at Victoria University of Wellington,[2] arguing that pre-colonial Māori were sexually experimental people who openly accepted gender and sexual fluidity.[5]
Politics
Kerekere stood in the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in the 2017 New Zealand general election. She placed third of three candidates with 1,924 votes.[6] Kerekere will be running for the Green Party again in 2020, again for the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate, and is ninth on their party list.[7]
References
- "Dr Elizabeth Kerekere". Māori Television. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- "Life for multi-media artist Elizabeth Kerekere is very much a planned affair". EIT Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- Kerekere, Elizabeth (2015). "Takatapui" (PDF). Mental Health NZ.
- "Takātapui". New Zealand LGBTI Awards. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- Harris, Sarah (2 October 2017). "Elizabeth Kerekere speaks on Maori LGBTQ term takatāpui". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- "Official Count Results – Ikaroa-Rawhiti". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- Manhire, Toby (25 May 2020). "Green Party list ranking revealed: can this group lift them over the threshold?". The Spinoff. Retrieved 25 May 2020.