2SLGBTQI+ Allies: It’s Time to Step Up Again!
National Family Week just passed and my heart is heavy. Across Turtle Island / Canada, we are seeing thousands of people from diverse backgrounds protesting things like inclusive sex and gender education in schools, the right of children to self-identify with respect to their gender, and the right for children and families to seek information and gender-affirming care.
Here in Tiohtià:ke / Montreal, hundreds of protestors recently showed up, many of whom pulled their kids out of school to scream at our communities. There was a solid showing of counter-protestors, but the numbers were skewed in their favour.
I started to feel that hate, the proddling, judgmental, exclusionary discourse when I was a gender non-confirming kid in the 80s in rural Okanagan. I dealt with bullying in school. I survived coming out in the early nineties, and having my “community” for a whole year be made up of five other out queer people in my town. At that time, I also had to deal with being read as a man, and then when “discovered” to be a woman, met with the hostile wrath of having “confused” someone. I’ve worked for 27 years alongside my 2SLGBTQI+ friends and colleagues, fighting homophobia and transphobia in all its forms, building bridges, educating professionals and providing front-line support to our community.
But I’m calling you to action now, knowing that many of our readers aren’t necessarily part of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
My message to you: don’t sit this out. We need you to step up right now.
We need to contribute to creating a virtual rainbow shield to protect each other, and to protect our kids and youth from that hate. I want you to join hands and form human chains to protect people who are 2SLGBTQI+ INCLUDING kids and youth who are exploring their gender and sexual orientation, people who are migrants, people who are sex workers, people who are unhoused, people who are disabled, who are food insecure and those who are using drugs to name a few communities who are often excluded from larger-scale social movements.
There are so many of us who are in vulnerable situations and guess what…we ARE showing up at your organizations, especially if you are already OUT as an ally.
This is where you, as a non-profit leader, come in.
If you’ve ever paused and stopped yourself from sticking that rainbow sticker on the front door of your organization, or caught yourself or a team member misgendering someone and chose not to intervene, or gave up when parents, partners or administrators were pushing back against your “too radical approach”...it’s time to step up. We need all community leaders to be visible and vocal right now, and we need you to use your platforms to rally support to our side. Lives are at stake. We won’t want to turn back the clock on the hard-fought rights that we’ve won over the years.
Some local resources that can help you and your team empower each other and the participants in your programs are below. This isn’t an all or nothing approach. This is a “every little bit counts” kind of battle. Pick up what you can, when you can and where you can. Reach out to the organizations below and offer support. Donate. But don’t stay silent. We’re counting on your support.
In solidarity,
Marlo Turner Ritchie
Cisgender, white, settler, queer woman, mother, activist, social entreprener
Let All Kids Thrive!
Saturday, October 21st, 10am
All youth deserve safe schools, where they can grow and flourish. However, for some of them, even this foundational principle cannot be taken for granted.Right now, a reactionary, conservative movement is trying to take away protections afforded to 2SLGBTQ+ youth, stripping them of their fundamental rights to serve their political agenda. The same anti-trans groups behind the 1 Million March are trying, once again, to deprive students of a comprehensive education which is inclusive of themselves and the world.Let's remind them that inclusive education, and safer schools for all, saves lives. Join us on the streets, at 600 rue Fullum, on October 21, 2023 starting 10am: let’s fight for a better future for us all!!600 rue Fullum is at 10 minutes from Papineau station, and 13 minutes from Frontenac station.
Concerns raised about who will make up Quebec's new committee to study gender identity issues
Have you heard of the new “committee of advisors” that Legault is setting up to “study and advise” on the question of gender diversity initiatives in schools?
Some Quebec health professionals and researchers are worried about the creation of a new government committee to weigh in on gender identity issues, raising concerns about who will make up the committee and whether they will be able to adequately represent the interests of trans and non-binary people.
2SLGBTQI+ Resources / Ressources
Do you have these posted anywhere? How can you share them with your participants and communities? Do your staff know about these resources?
EN Resources
More resources listed here
Trainings / campaigns / advocacy / resources
Coalition des familles LGBT+ (inventaire des ateliers de formation et de sensibilisation au CQ)
Crisis
See also youth category below
Youth specific
Trans-specific (by and for)
Specific communities & needs
Indigenous - Indigiqueer
Le Réseau des lesbiennes du Québec
AGIR (Montreal)
(see campus-based 2SLBBTQ+) groups too
National / other provinces:
Rainbow Refugee (Vancouver), Rainbow Railroad (Toronto), Capital Rainbow Refugee (Ottawa)
