Pride Month: In Conversation with Artists Robert Baxter and Tom Nethersole
Pride Month is a time to acknowledge and celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, to reflect on the progress made and the progress still needed in advancing towards true inclusivity, visibility, and equality.
Inclusivity and allyship are values we hold dear, so in honour of Pride Month, we wanted to give this platform and spotlight to two talented queer artists, advocates, and friends of Medley: musician, model and creator, Robert Baxter, and musician, model and creator Tom Nethersole. Both artists are fresh from launching new music and playing some high-profile club and festival events, and we’re excited to see their careers take off.
We spoke to Robert and Tom about their art, inspirations, why Pride Month is important to them, and the ways in which we can all support the LGBTQIA+ community.
During the entirety of Pride Month 2024 (June 1 – 30), we’re also donating an additional $1 from every Medley sale to ACON, an Australian charity dedicated to being a global leader in community health and inclusivity, supporting people of diverse sexualities and genders.
Medley: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
Robert: I’m Robert Baxter, a musician and model who switched from making beats in my bedroom to playing festivals around Naarm/Melbourne, walking Melbourne Fashion Week, and recently releasing my debut EP ‘you wouldn’t expect cupid to cry’. I create fun content that uplifts my community, and produce and write pop/dance music that has received love from the likes of Triple J, Rage, Arts Centre Melbourne, FBi Radio, SYN Media, and Demure Mag. I aim to be the most visible version of myself for other young queer POCs.
Medley: What does Pride Month mean to you, and how do you celebrate it?
Robert: Pride is so important to me. In a homophobic and transphobic world, some people don’t have the option of being both visible and safe. Pride is a fight for all of my queer and trans siblings to know that we are precious, and we deserve better. I want to highlight that we wouldn’t have pride without trans people, and there is no pride without trans pride. I celebrate pride by uplifting my community, and buying tickets to events led by queer and especially trans artists.
Medley: Can you discuss the importance of representation and visibility of LGBTQIA+ individuals in media and society?
Robert: Seeing yourself in the media you intake is a privilege not everyone has. Young queer people should be able to see queer stories and people, and know that they can be themselves and still deserve love, be successful, be happy, and be safe. Another positive aspect of visibility is that cis straight people would have the idea of queer people normalized through media, which would lead to more educated conversations and less violence.
Medley: Who inspires you?
Robert:To list just a couple of people would be a disservice to all of the incredible people who have led me to where I am and the comfortability I have around my community. I’m inspired by the beautiful and strong trans people throughout history who pioneered the fight for queer rights, and inspired by the safe spaces they create like the ballroom scene.
Medley: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
Tom: My name is Tom Nethersole and I'm a 20-year-old queer pop artist based in Naarm/Melbourne who makes music that ranges from soft, intimate confessions to upbeat, expressive bangers. Drawing on my experience growing up in regional Victoria, my music explores themes of loss, confidence, and identity, highlighting the brutal, the exciting and the vulnerable moments of our lives. Outside of music, I'm also known for my engaging Tik Toks and my social media presence.
Medley: What does Pride Month mean to you, and how do you celebrate it?
Tom: For me, Pride Month can be a time when queer art and queer experiences are rightfully given the spotlight. However, in my own experience, Pride Month can also be the backdrop in which people's prejudices are voiced, further harming people within the community. In the past I've celebrated by establishing a Pride Day at my highschool where queer education and expression was truly shared for the first time since I'd been there. However, celebrations like that unfortunately don't often happen without the backlash of people who don't support the community. In times like that, I'm reminded that a lot of queer celebration is its own form of protest and its own statement against conservative-minded individuals. So much of Pride Month is recognising the fight that people before us have fought for us to have the rights we have, and continuing the progress towards queer expression that isn't challenged or invalidated.
Medley: Can you discuss the importance of representation and visibility of LGBTQIA+ individuals in media and society?
Tom: Growing up, even as a cis white male, I didn't see a range of queer representation and the representation I did see was arguably more damaging than proactive; with queer people being the butt of the joke or being dismissed for the queer guy's flamboyant nature. I think being able to find people within media and within my community who I could see myself in was so important because it provides that sense of optimism and faith in the future at a time when your identity and your future seem so unclear. As a result, I remember deciding as a little bisexual 13-year-old boy that I wasn't going to just adhere to these expectations and was going to try and be the queer person that other people might see themselves in.
Medley: Who inspires you?
Tom: Honestly, my friends and family are a big inspiration to me. Whether it's their unconditional support or their ambition in their own field, there's some quality in all of them that serve as constant reminders of the qualities I want to embody. Outside of the people around me though, artists like Billie Eilish, Rich, RAYE & Noah Kahan continue to inspire me with their music and promotion.
ACON Donation
As proud LGBTQIA+ allies, we are donating an additional $1 from all orders this month to ACON, an organisation devoted to community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders.
