by Emma Kirke
Beyond Pride month in June, there are many opportunities to celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community throughout the year, for example, October marks2SLGBTQIA+ history month.First celebrated in 1994 in Missouri, the month serves as an opportunity to reflect on how far the 2SLGBTQIA+community has come and how far there still is to go.At the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, two participatingorganisationsin particular do important work to help educate the broader community and create safe spaces for members of the2SLGBTQIA+ community.
provides services and products to help organizations grow diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lunaria had the opportunity to partner withlocalorganisation,an organization providing free, supportive services for LGBTQ2+ children, teens and their families in the ݮƵ Region.Through the partnership, OK2BMEcurated.FurtherLunariaarticles explore the impacts ofonandthe pressure toto fit in.
helps givechildren, youth and adultsthe tools they need to create inclusive communities. This includessuch as ‘Queer and Trans Justice’as part of theirSocial Justiceseries andreflections onin response toharmful language.
We have come a significant way forward in acceptance and the rights and protections of the 2SLGBTQIA+community. However homophobic and transphobic rhetoric in public discourse remainsandneeds to be noticed and addressed.Simultaneously, wecantake pride in how far the efforts of many have brought us.For instance, this year, a teen drama about two gay high school students, was among the top watched shows on Netflix. This would have been difficult to fathom a couple of decades ago when same-sex marriage had notyetbeen legalized in Canada.
While most documented history of rainbowfolksdates back tothe 1970s, they have been a part of every community since the dawn of time.In the ݮƵ Region, thekicked off in 2011 with the goal of creating a historical record of the2SLGBTQIA+ community in the area. On campus at the University of ݮƵ, theis the oldest continually running university-based2SLGBTQIA+group in Canada. Beyond providing a safe space for members of the2SLGBTQIA+community at ݮƵ through peer support and social events, it also advocates on behalf of community members when the need arises.
In the recent municipal elections, many school trustee elections drew more attention than in the past with candidates running with platforms based on the pillars of being against gender inclusivity and anti-racism education. These candidates committed to “ending privacy policies that protect transgender students from being outed against their wishes, pulling books from libraries that deal with sexual and gender minorities”and vague calls to end the teaching of "gender ideology," a term that belittles non-binary individuals. In the ݮƵ region, suchlargely failed. In Ottawa, theon the EnglishPublic SchoolBoard soundly defeated her transphobic challenger. In other districts in the provinces “anti-woke” candidates were elected, illustrating that work needs to be done to continue to develop leadership that will help make schools inclusive places for all.
As we write the next page of history, it is important to recognize our role in the narrative we create collectively. Locally,is the ݮƵ Region’s rainbow community space. Beyond serving members of the2SLGBTQIA+ community, they also providefor allies.
As we seek out opportunities to engage in reconciliation with our Indigenousneighbours, it is also important to acknowledgeandIndigiqueerhistory in our community. Spectrum hosts a monthlyto provide an opportunity for allies to learn about the experiences of Indigenous peoples in the ݮƵ Region.
Commemorative months offer us an annual opportunity to reflect as a community and envision the path forward.’san invitationto recommittomakingour communities inclusive and welcoming of all.