Located to the southeast of Australia, New Zealand consists of two large land masses--the North and South Islands--along with some smaller islands, and stretches 1600 kilometers from north to south. With a population of only approximately four million people and five major cities, the country boasts plenty of broad, open space.

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New Zealand was originally settled by Polynesians (the Maori) about one thousand years ago. During the Age of Exploration, the Dutch, French, and British all made contact with the Maori, although it was the British who would eventually fully colonize the country and develop it into a constitutional monarchy. Today, along with Australia, New Zealand is a magnet for immigrants from Asia and the Pacific Islands; the city of Auckland has the largest population of Polynesians in the world.

New Zealand has a long history of liberal social reform. For example, it gave women the vote in 1893, a quarter of a century before the United States and Great Britain did. However, glbtq activism in response to legislation criminalizing same-sex sexual activity between men (there were no laws regarding sexual activity between consenting women) did not get underway until much later.

Influenced by the Stonewall Riots and the burgeoning lesbian and gay movements in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia, New Zealand's Gay Liberation Front publicly emerged in April 1972 at the country's first gay rally.

Political activism throughout the 1970s and 1980s finally led in 1986 to the decriminalization of sexual acts between consenting males over the age of 16. After this breakthrough came other progressive legislation.

In 1993, for example, the government passed the Human Rights Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. This legislation also protects people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS from unfair practices in regards to employment, educational opportunities, treatment by doctors, dentists, and hospitals, access to accommodation, and reception of goods and services.

That liberal attitudes towards alternative genders and sexualities exist in New Zealand is also illustrated by the success of politician Georgina Beyer. Originally born George Beyer, Georgina, who is of Maori descent, reportedly became the first in the world to be elected to a national office when she was voted in as a member of Parliament in 1999.

Although she was open about her and her past as a sex-worker, Beyer received the support of New Zealand's largely white, rural, and otherwise conservative constituency. A feature-length documentary film about Beyer's life called Georgie Girl was released in 2001 (distributed by Women Make Movies). Directed by Annie Goldson and Peter Wells, it was featured in international film festivals, as well as broadcast on public television in the United States.

New Zealand's largest glbtq pride celebration is the HERO Festival, which takes place every February in Auckland. Events include film festivals, plays, cabarets, sports competitions, and parties of every sort. The culminating parade is witnessed by more than 200,000 spectators. The unique atmosphere of the HERO Festival reflects New Zealand's distinct cultural mix of Maori, Pacific Island, Asian, and European influences.

In the past two decades Australia has come to occupy a leading place in gay and lesbian literature, and New Zealand has recently produced some significant gay and lesbian texts.

"Domestic partnership" is the generic term for a variety of forms of legal and institutional recognition of same-sex couples that fall short of same-sex marriage.

Attitudes toward gay and lesbian personnel in European militaries vary widely, from the acceptance of the Dutch to the laissez-faire policy of the French to the rejection of the Greek and Turkish forces.

New Zealand is widely known for its diverse artistic production, which includes work by painters, filmmakers, dancers, and singers.

The confrontations between police and demonstrators at the Stonewall Inn in New York City the weekend of June 27-29, 1969 mark the beginning of the modern glbtq movement for equal rights.

Provocative, intellectual, and earthy, New Zealand's Marilyn Waring is both a contented goat farmer and one of the most innovative political and economic thinkers in the world.