ACON
UNAPOLOGETIC
ACON is NSW's leading LGBTQ health organisation, providing community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders. In 2024, their goal was to generate awareness and conversation around alcohol - specifically, the cancer risks it poses.
For LGBTQ+ communities, enjoying a few drinks often feels like a natural part of the scene. Alcohol can seem woven into the very fabric of our rainbow communities. It’s easy to slip into a pattern of overconsumption. LGBTQ+ people tend to drink more alcohol than the rest of the population, equating to greater risk of alcohol-related cancers and other health issues. Drinking within the alcohol guidelines can limit your risk of developing alcohol-related cancer to approximately 3%. The lower your level of drinking, the lower your risk.
Our goals: to acknowledge the role that alcohol plays within the community and the reasons that inform drinking habits. To create a conversation that stresses the importance of drinking within the healthy norm, rather than to quit drinking altogether (unless they want to, of course!). And to do so in a way that doesn’t fear-monger or create shame. So we put focus on the opposite of shame. We made it a choice to be proud of.
CONTENT
CONTENT
With the help of LGBTQ+ community members Benjamin Law, Kelly Lovemonster, Kirsty Webeck, and Rudy Jean Rigg, we captured what it means to live unapologetically— to embrace your own choices, and the value they hold. In their unapologetic style, they speak about making bold choices to lower alcohol consumption. These messages are about being comfortable in your skin, making healthy choices, and celebrating authenticity.
