We were saddened to hear that Zoe Belle took her own life last Monday night. Zoe was a member of  Trans Melbourne Gender Project and was involved in the effort to start a gender drop-in and resource centre in Melbourne. She was much loved, and will be missed by many, many people.

Zoe was passionate about trans rights, and wanted to make a  difference in the world. She was meticulous in her work and presentation, and was a valued team member and friend. She had her finger in many, many pies. In fact, she was involved in so many projects that it is almost impossible to think of a trans- or queer-related event that has taken place in Melbourne recently without her presence. She was the main organiser of Trans/Destinations, the first dedicated trans conference in Melbourne, which is about to happen as part of the Midsumma Festival. But she wasn’t just interested in one issue: Zoe saw the big picture, and was also committed to disability rights, queer rights, feminist politics and anti-violence work. For her ongoing volunteer work with Midsumma, Zoe was mentioned in the GenerationQ  list of Australian suporters of the GLBTIQ community for 2007 as an unsung hero. She was involved in Out of the Silence, a conference for tranz, women and genderqueer people. She was also about to perform onstage in the Melbourne run of The Vagina Monologues. She had worked as an electrical engineer, and had great website design skills. In fact, this year, she was going to be the TMGP website update manager.

Zoe had a wicked sense of humour, and was a trouble-maker in the best way possible. In meetings she was always very focused, but on the TMGP email list, she let her sense of fun have free range. Recently, someone had written expressing their anger that she had to listen to transphobic and homophobic comments by some popular DJs on NOVA FM at work, because her boss was a big fan of the radio station. Zoe suggested re-cutting the radio show so that Hughsey, Kate and Dave sounded like they were making pro-queer and pro-trans remarks, and playing it at work to ‘retrain’ the annoying employer. It was a very Zoe thing to say: a perfect, geeky, wicked response.

Zoe tried the best to be herself in a world that was often unsympathetic and unyielding to her needs. The space she leaves is not only painful because of the loss of a friend, colleague and co-conspirator. It’s also a reminder that the causes she fought for are doubly important to win.

Zoe, we all love you and we hope that wherever you’ve gone, you are free.