MY QUEER BODY: SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND HEALING THROUGH AN INTERSECTIONAL LENS. This activist practice-led research project explores my Chinese-Australian, queer and non-binary positionality and the psychosocial impact of physical scrutinisation and the expectation to conform to beauty standards, heteronormativity, and the gender binary. The research has two distinct aspects. Firstly, through realist, honest, self-portraiture painting, it creates a space for self-love and self-care where my body is celebrated and depicted. These paintings are unapologetically authentic; they resist diet culture and the male gaze by depicting a body shaped by bodybuilding. Secondly, the research uses automatic drawing and painting and intuitive making with found objects sourced from my bedroom as a tool to process difficult emotions and express the ongoing impacts of trauma. These small sculptures, drawings and paintings tell my personal story while also providing healing through repetitive making. A recurring symbol in my work is the dragon, a Chinese mythological symbol of strength and power.