Alex, a grade 8 student in Hamilton, expressed that teachers are constantly messing up their gender and using their former names. When students make these mistakes, they get punished; however, teachers seem to be by Sophia Liu (804) & Elaine Xu (802) let off when they make a mistake. Alex believes that being misgendered or April 13th marks International Day of called the wrong name seriously imPink 2022. If you’re wondering, no, this pacts their mental health. They said, day is not the same as Pink Shirt Day “It made me not like school and not (Anti-Bullying Day). While the two days want to go there.” Without naming both focus on getting rid of bullying, the school, it is located only 5.5km the International Day of Pink is more away from HSC. specifically aimed toward anti2SLGBTQIA+ bullying, especially within Although we’re unable to fully underschools. This day utilizes the colour stand or relate to the injustices and pink to go against homophobia, disdiscrimination they may face, we can crimination, transphobia and transstill attempt to educate ourselves and misogyny; everybody globally is welothers about this important issue. come to help celebrate diversity by These are some statements from stuwearing a pink shirt on April 13th. dents who are part of HSC’s Middle School Inclusivity+ Club: The origin story of this celebration is
The International Day of Pink
quite similar to Pink Shirt Day. On an ordinary day in 2007, two Canadian high school students witnessed a fellow gay student being teased for wearing a pink shirt due to the association of pink with feminine things. The two students, David Shepard and Travis Price, then each purchased dozens of pink shirts, distributed them to their classmates and wore them to school the next day. The word got out online and hundreds of students showed up to school dressed in pink to stand against bullying. These acts of allyship then led to the creation of the Canadian Centre of Gender and Sexual Diversity. The International Day of Pink is significant, especially in recent times. Many transgender students in Hamilton have stated that they aren’t getting enough support from their schools and that they feel unsafe. There are thousands of 2SLGBTQIA+ students in our city, some out and not out, who don’t have any support with their decisions.
Sources: Transgender student says teachers keep using wrong pronouns and name, and wants more done about it | CBC News Transgender students say Hamilton schools need to do more to protect and support them | CBC News International Day of Pink (April 13th, 2022) Today is the International Day of Pink
“Pink shirt day was an awesome way to bring awareness to 2SLGBTQIA+ issues. I am glad that we are being represented more, and that the school is making an effort to show us that we matter and belong. We still have a long way to go, but progress should be celebrated.” “Pink shirt day is a great and easy way you can show your support for people who are under the LGBTQIA2S+ umbrella. It's different from the pink shirt day most of us are used to because it's specifically for anti-LGBTQ+ bullying, but it's just as easy to take part in!” You may be unsure about how you can help, so here are some ideas to get you started. You can ask people for their pronouns, try to educate yourself about this topic, wear a pink shirt on April 13th, show some empathy, and be an upstander if you see any bullying/discrimination. Don’t worry if you accidentally use the wrong pronouns. Just apologize and aim not to make the same mistake next time. @theHelm ~ page 5
Rosy Sunset photos by Isuri Fernando, 804
