Miriam Edna Saphira née Gibson CNZM is a New Zealand lesbian activist, poet, artist and psychologist. Saphira founded New Zealand's only museum of lesbian culture, The Charlotte Museum. Saphira was awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal, and in 2022 was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Miriam Saphira | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1941 Kaimiro |
| Awards | New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Thesis | |
| Doctoral advisor | Jeff Field, John Alasdair Gribben, Guy von Sturmer |
Career
editSaphira trained as a psychologist and researched and wrote about topics including incest, the sexual abuse of children, prostitution, rape, lesbian and gay rights, and violence against women.[1] She worked with sex offenders, and supported incarcerated women.[2] In the 1970s Saphira became a member of the Broadsheet feminist magazine.[1] Her 1981 book The Sexual abuse of children became an important work for people working with either children and offenders.[1] Saphira completed a PhD titled Children's understanding of sexual orientation at the University of Auckland in 1990.[3]
Saphira founded the Charlotte Museum in 2007, New Zealand's only museum on lesbian culture.[1] The need for the museum became apparent to Saphira when she tried to donate objects to the Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand which they could not accept.[4] The museum is named for two members of the KG Club Committee who died around the time of the museum's founding, Charlotte Prime and Charlotte Smith.[5][6] The museum held a pop-up exhibition dedicated to Saphira in April 2024 when she retired for health reasons from her positions as Secretary of the Board and Trustee.[7] Saphira was a founding trustee of the New Zealand Aids Foundation (now the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa) and Joint Secretary General of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.[1]
Honours and awards
editSaphira was awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal in 1990 and a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993.[8][1]
In the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours, Saphira was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the LGBTQIA+ community.[9]
Selected works
edit- Saphira, Miriam (1978). I ask of you. M. Jackson. OCLC 153846438.
- Saphira, Miriam (1992). Stopping child abuse: how do we bring up New Zealand children to be non-offenders?. Auckland N. Z.: Penguin. ISBN 0140166971.
- Marno, Fran; Saphira, Miriam (1996). Beyond the straight and narrow: prints and paintings by Miriam Saphira. Auckland, N.Z.: Papers Inc.
- Saphira, Miriam (1997). A man's man: a daughter's story (1st ed.). Auckland, N.Z.: Papers Inc.
- Saphira, Miriam (1981). The sexual abuse of children. Auckland, N.Z.: Mental Health Foundation.
- Miriam Saphira; Marewa Glover (2000). "New Zealand National Lesbian Health Survey". Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. 4 (2): 49–56. doi:10.1023/A:1009565607435. ISSN 1090-7173. Wikidata Q57830805.
- Miriam Saphira; Marewa Glover (January 2001). "The Effects of Coming Out on Relationships and Health". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 5 (1–2): 183–194. doi:10.1300/J155V05N01_12. ISSN 1089-4160. PMID 24807574. Wikidata Q57830801.
- Miriam Saphira (August 2001). "No Funds for Dirty Washing". Feminism & Psychology. 11 (3): 429–432. doi:10.1177/0959353501011003015. ISSN 0959-3535. Wikidata Q130370351.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "The Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours List 2022 - Citations for Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Hope, Sharnae (6 June 2022). "Lesbian icon receives Order of Merit for staunch advocacy to NZ rainbow community". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Saphira, Miriam Edna (1990). Children's understanding of sexual orientation (PhD thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland.
- ^ Saphira, Miriam (23 August 2015). "Why not a lesbian museum? Miriam Saphira reflects". The Charlotte Museum. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "About | The Charlotte Museum Trust | Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland". The Charlotte Museum. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ Perry Wilton (17 June 2023). "New Zealand's only lesbian museum reopens at new location". Newshub. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Miriam Saphira: the last "One Night Stand"". The Charlotte Museum. 26 April 2024.
- ^ "The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 - Register of recipients | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ "The Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours List 2022 | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
External links
edit- PrideNZ podcast interviewing Miriam Saphira about the establishment of The Charlotte Museum Trust, 5 March 2012