Beyond Pride Month What does LGBT2Q+ mean?
• Create supportive and inclusive spaces. • Lift up LGBT2Q+ stories, and creators – especially BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) creators. • Invest in mental health resources for the LGBT2Q+ community, especially for youth. • Advocate with intersectionality. • Support political candidates and elected officials who champion LGBT2Q+ issues. • Spend your money in places that support equality, inclusion and diversity. (The LGBTQ+ Community has $3.7 Trillion In purchasing power globally.) It’s not just about raising a rainbow flag once a year. As a whole we must continue to work on this every month of the year and every day of the week, collectively and individually. The LGBT2Q community is not asking for preferential treatment. Rather, they are asking for recognition of their basic human rights—to feel safe in their own bodies and to freely navigate this world without a threat to their humanity. The LGBT2Q community is asking for solidarity because, while made great strides over the years, there is still a long way to go—but we can get there together. These recommendations are a great way to get started. Pride is year-round, ongoing and forever changing.
Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, 2 Spirit (Indigenous people who identify as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit), Queer and the + includes everyone who identifies as being part of the community as the community works towards creating an inclusive and diverse environment. In the Beginning… The Stonewall riots, June 28, 1969, (also referred to as the Stonewall uprising or the Stonewall rebellion) were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT2Q+) community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT2Q+ rights. Pride Month started in the United States to commemorate the Stonewall riots. Then in 2015/2016, Pride Toronto lobbied the Federal Government to declare June as Pride Month. It has been declared as Pride Month since June 2016. Momentum has grown since then, many organizations, towns, cities, municipalities and countries alongside large corporations around the world now recognizes June as Pride Month. Communities across Canada celebrate Pride at different times. There is something going on somewhere in Canada from the first of June until the end of September and there are many more. Did you know? • Did you know that LGBT2Q youth face approximately fourteen times the risk of suicide and substance abuse then their heterosexual peers? • Did you know that 77% of homeless youth in Ontario are transgender? • Did you know that one in four LGBT2Q people (23%) have experienced discriminatory or negative remarks against them by healthcare staff? • Did you know that LGBT2Q people are double the rick for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) then their heterosexual counterparts? • Did you know that almost one in five LGBT2Q people (18 %) have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives? • Did you know that more half of the LGBT2Q community (52%) experienced depression in the last year? • Did you know that transgender youth who had supportive families experienced a 93% reduction in suicide attempts over one year, compared to transgender youth who did not have supportive families? What can you do? • Educate yourself, your family and your community. • At work identify your pronouns, support inclusive parental policies, support and participate in employee resources groups.
Be inclusive and support your Rainbow community.
Sal Hill (He/Him, She/Her) is a two-spirited artist and speaker from Oneida Nation of the Thames, a First Nations settlement located on the outskirts of Middlesex county. His work outside of the freelance art world includes participating in several Indigenous focused panels, and speaking about Two-Spirit history. Her inspiration behind this particular piece is the contemporary Indigenous art style known as woodland that uses organic shapes, flowing lines and bold colours. The colour palette
references the Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans flags, with a medicine wheel surrounded by sweet grass placed in the center of the art work. The forms flow into each other and gently embrace one another to show the intersectionality, unity and gentleness of Indigenous peoples love and spirits. To see more of Sal’s art go to Instagram: lutolats
PRIDE Villager
Issue 7 • Fall 2021 Page 2
To advertise here, please contact Barb@VillagerPublications.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs