The Rainbow Optimist Club – Southwestern Ontario Dedicated to bettering the lives of rural LGBT2Q+ youth, their families and communities.
In partnership with the Rainbow Optimist Club and the “Queens” from the Haus of Drag, libraries will offer Drag Queen Story Time : Saturday, May 25 11:00am, Parkhill Library, Parkhill Saturday, June 8 11:00am, Dorchester Library, Dorchester Saturday, June 22 11:00am, Lucan Library, Lucan Tuesday, August 20 10:30am, Belmont Pubic Library, Belmont Saturday, June 1 11:00am, Strathroy Library, Strathroy Saturday, June 15 11:00am Glencoe Library, Glencoe Saturday, August 10 10:00am, St. Thomas Public Library, St. Thomas Also in the Fall, the libraries want to offer a speaker panel series which depict people in the community who LGBT2Q+ teens can relate to. Examples include but are not limited to, a transgender man, a transgender woman, the former Police Chief of Strathroy who was the first openly lesbian Police Chief in Canada and the first openly gay Chair for a School Board of Trustees. The program will be designed for LGBT2Q+ teens but will be available for all members of the community. The libraries want the teens to be able to bring their friends and families. The goals are to open doors, give support to rural LGBT2Q+ youth, educate the community, and to create opportunities for everyone to participate and be included in the community. Follow the Rainbow Optimist on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ RainbowOptimist. It is estimated that 0.05% - 1.7% of the population is born with Intersex traits. That is similar to the number of people born with red hair. Along with hosting educational events like this one, Intersex London will be doing outreach at this year’s Pride London Festival and will look to raise the Intersex flag at London City Hall for the first time on Intersex Awareness Day (October 26). A step Kearney thinks will have a much larger effect. “I think raising the flag will bring visibility to the Intersex community locally, but also through social media, I think it will show that Canada is stepping up to finally talk about Intersex issues.” For more information about Intersex London and to see the entire Intersex 101 presentation, visit: Facebook.com/IntersexLondon.ON.CA
On the eve of Optimist International’s 100 Anniversary, The Rainbow Optimist Club – Southern Ontario was formed and received its charter on September 10, 2018. It is the first of its kind to join Optimist International family. Yes, that means the world. TheRainbowOptimists have beenworkingwith the libraries in Elgin County, Middlesex County and St. Thomas to create a safer space for rural LGBT2Q+ youth in the rural libraries. A safe space is “a place or environment in which a person can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.” The goal is to “create a space where people can find themselves represented and reflected, and where they understand that all people are treated with respect and dignity.” The libraries will be creating a space that is positive and safe, where the staff have been trained to understand LGBT2Q+ issues and needs, where the LGBT2Q+ youth can come and meet their friends and learn, and that understand the challenges and stigma faced by families.
Intersex 101
As we learn and develop a greater understanding of all the identities that fall under the Pride umbrella, locally Intersex London Founder & Activist Piper Kearney is working to provide education around an often-misunderstood topic. Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of bodily variations, and Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. On Monday, March 18th, Kearney organized an information event called Intersex 101: Learn about the Intersex Community at Reimagine Co., in Downtown London. The event was designed to give some historical context around Intersex, to debunk myths and to provide information to the larger community about ways they can support Intersex people. “An event like this is important because there is a lack of visibility and people need to be educated about it and to see that this community is here.”says Kearney.
Piper Kearney – Founder, Intersex London; Jay Caldwell – Guest Speaker, Intersex 101; Faith Connor – Co-Organizer, Intersex 101
PRIDE Villager
Issue 2 • Spring 2019 Page 14 To advertise here, please contact Barb@VillagerPublications.com
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