Fighting homophobia since her teens not an issue for a long-time LGBTIQA+ advocate

Greek Australian Maria Bololia has been openly talking about homosexuality since the early 1980s. A difficult time for LGBTIQA+ rights. Soon after she came out, she met with late-Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Maria talked to SBS Greek

Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Maria Bololia (4th from left) in 1983 at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: SBS Greek

Maria Bololia, a proud Greek lesbian woman wanted to share her story. She was asked to write a short memoir. 

'I wanted to tell my story, a story about being an LGBTQIA+ person to help the young people in our community who are struggling to come to terms with their sexual identity.

'It is my life's work/passion to assist LGBTIQ individuals that don't feel proud, confident or are unable to live their best lives, to whom I say ‘you are who yo and who you need no excuses, walk with your heads held high'.

Childhood in the milk bar

Maria’s family comes from the Greek island of Lesbos, she was born in Melbourne and grew up in Fitzroy North, where at that time the Greek demographic was strong, cultural expectations and norms unfavorable to anything or anyone other than the heterosexual community.

Greek Australian LGBTIQA+ advocate Maria Bololia in the 1980s. Source: Supplied

From a young age, she worked at her family's milk bar and everything went smoothly as long as she was going through the motions and being a compliant good Greek girl. 

It was in the early 1980s when she started a conversation with her mother about a female friend of hers who was a lesbian, unnatural according to her mum’s views on homosexuality. 

As a deeply religious person, she told Maria that ‘God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve’. 

In response, Maria said, ‘God made us all equal’ and during the same conversation she disclosed that she was a lesbian.

’Mum slapped me and spit in my face.’ She told me that I disgusted her and that she would never accept my homosexuality as it was unnatural.

Greek Australian LGBTIQA+ advocate Maria Bololia. Source: Supplied

Shortly thereafter, Maria left home because staying there would mean that she would have to live a life that couldn't be her own: ‘Mum didn't even want to hug me.’

Accompanied by her best friend, she found a new home not far from where she grew up. 

Maria felt the need to hide fearing for her safety as her violent and abusive father had threatened to kill her with his shotgun. His reason being that Greek girls should not dare leave home before being married as that was considered shameful and would bring disrepute not only to themselves but to their families as well.

Activism and meeting with Bob Hawke

When she finished high school, Maria went to Law School but couldn’t finish it. 

‘I had financial responsibilities including paying rent and bills, despite my family being financially well off I left home without taking any of their money’.

One of her first jobs was to lobby the then-federal Prime Minister Bob Hawke who was considering cutting income support payments to unemployed people under the age of 18. We formed The Under 18 Income Campaign which was funded by the trade unions. After many convoys of 100 of young people to Canberra, we were successful in providing enough evidence to the Labour Government who decided against stopping payments to under 18's

"Living and Loving in Diversity" was launch in September 2018. Source: SBS Greek

Since then Maria has worked in thirty different jobs, including setting up her own childcare business, managing natural health centers, with many years dedicated to her Youth Development Officer role at the City of Yarra running young women's leadership and life skills programs, support groups and Gay-Straight Alliances in secondary schools, advocating on behalf of young people in the court system and has also worked with Greek (and non-Greek) community organisations. 

Currently, Maria Bololia works with not-for-profit mental health, disability, NDIS, community care, and aged care services provider and facilitates mental health workshops for first-generation Greeks.

An important book

In 2018, she was asked to write a short story about her life in a book with narratives and memoirs from LGBTIQ multicultural multi-faith individuals of their lived experience, entitled ‘Living and Loving in Diversity’. 

The title of Maria's piece is ‘I’m a Lesbian from Lesbos’. She chose that title as she wanted to celebrate the pride in her heritage and reclaim the word, lesbian. Many Greeks despise that word and think it dirty.

‘I wrote my story because I felt it an important one to share for the use of the general multicultural community that doesn't have access to many positive same-sex role models of individuals who are open and living their best lives.

In addition, I wanted a written story that could be read in the privacy of one’s home, online once again confidentially for LGBTIQ individuals struggling with who they are.

A couple kisses during the 11th Gay Pride Parade in downtown Sofia on June 9, 2018. Source: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images

At the time I was working as an LGBTIQ Project Officer in a Greek Organisation. I was fed up with the homophobic actions, double standards, lack of adherence to equal opportunity anti-discrimination policies of my workplace during my employment which was during the period of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey’, she told SBS Greek. 

‘My portfolio/brief was to start discussions with the LGBTIQA+ community and their families around diversity within Melbourne’s Greek community. However, the organization’s executive management refused to post any LGBTIQ content online or to share brochures on LGBTIQA+ issues and same-sex marriage.’ 

Maria told SBS Greek that she had been explicitly forbidden to talk about same-sex marriage at meetings and not to provide information on the subject to anyone at any time hindering her ability to carry out required tasks of the position.

Optimistic for better

‘We are much better off now than ever before. Australia now has legislation that permits people of the same sex to legally marry and/or to marry the person that we love.’

‘I see many more young people walking proudly hand in hand, you didn't see that so much before.’ 

‘My niece who struggled with her sexual identity for many years, as she felt ashamed and suffered a lot, is now engaged to be married to her same-sex partner and gave birth to two beautiful children. 

And when all was said and done, Maria Bololia's mother voted "YES" in the end and after many heated discussions for the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. 

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