KDocsFF Presents My Name Was

KDocsFF Presents My Name Was January:

Honouring January Marie Lapuz and all Trans, Non-Binary, and Two-Spirit people on the Transgender Day of Remembrance

BY TARA LYONS | Kwantlen Polytechnic University

January Marie Lapuz was murdered in her home in New Westminster, British Columbia on September 30, 2012. She was 26 years old. On November 20, 2020, to mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance, Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) held a screening of My Name Was January, a documentary celebrating the life of January, a beloved trans woman. Originally developed as an in-person Pride event, “KDocsFF Presents: My Name Was January” was recommissioned as a virtual event co-hosted by KDocsFF, the Kwantlen Faculty Association’s LGBTQ2S+ Committee, and the Kwantlen Student Association’s Queer Initiative due to COVID-19 restrictions. Over 100 participants, including students, faculty, and members of LGBTQ2S+ communities, virtually attended the event (Fig. 1).

My Name Was January was directed by Elina Gress and Lenée Son. Lenée Son is a Khmer Krom settler who grew up in Surrey on unceded Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, and Kwikwetlem territories. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism with a minor in Sociology from KPU. Her work as a freelance multimedia journalist has appeared in publications such as rabble.ca, Multimedia Photojournale, The Volcano, Westcoast Food, and Inside Vancouver. Elina Gress is a freelance multimedia journalist, primarily photojournalist, with a Bachelor of Journalism from KPU. With a keen eye and mind full of creativity, she strives to tell stories that enlighten and encourage change. My Name Was January was produced by the Sher Vancouver LGBTQ Friends Society (Sher Vancouver), specifically Alex Sangha, founder, and Ash Brar, president.

The virtual event began with a keynote address from Alex Sangha. In addition to Alex’s work as a film producer, he is a social worker who holds a Master in Public Administration and Public Policy degree from the London School of Economics and a Master of Social Work degree from Dalhousie University. During his keynote address, Alex highlighted how the documentary serves to celebrate January’s life and the lives of all trans women of colour. The objective of My Name Was January is to remember the impact January had on others’ lives and to uplift the narratives of trans women of colour. Despite a “shoestring budget of less than $25,000,” Alex noted how the documentary has garnered incredible success on the film festival circuit, with 63 official selections and 14 international awards.

After the keynote address and a screening of the documentary, there was a panel discussion featuring Lenée Son and Alex Sangha alongside Velvet Steele and Jack Kennedy. Velvet Steele defines herself as a woman with a transsexual medical history. She is an activist for trans and sex worker rights, a sensitivity facilitator, and a fetish service provider who educates folks on the world of sex toys. Jack Kennedy is a non-binary student activist and writer. Their main mediums of storytelling are mainly fiction and

Fig. 1 | The poster for KDocsFF Presents: My Name Was January.

Fig. 2 | Velvet Steele speaking during the My Name Was January panel discussion, 2020.

screenplays. They are currently enrolled at KPU, working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing with a minor in Anthropology. I was invited to moderate the panel discussion in my role as KPU faculty and as an ally to trans communities.

We started the panel discussion by sharing stories of January, similar to how friends and families in the documentary share their own memories of January. Alex and Velvet talked about how January could turn a gloomy day bright with her laughter and quick wit. They talked about her great love of people, her loyalty as a friend, and how wonderful it was to be in her light. January was central to Sher Vancouver and the community more broadly, known for her smile, great dance skills, and kindness. She is greatly missed.

The panel discussion focused on the Transgender Day of Remembrance and, in particular, how we can all work toward stopping the oppression and violence against trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people. The panel recognized the inordinate violence that trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit face in Canada and elsewhere (Lyons et al. 182; Wirtz et al. 234). A recent Canadian survey found trans and non-binary individuals were significantly more likely to report experiencing physical or sexual violence from the age of 15 (58.9%) than cisgender respondents (37.1%) (Jaffray 25). Further, the same survey found trans and non-binary people experienced over double the rates of unwanted sexual harassment in public (57.6%) compared to cisgender people (22.7%) in the previous 12 months (Jaffray 26). These statistics reflect the experiences Velvet shared during the panel. She stated, “I never know what is going to happen when I walk out the door” and discussed her expectation of some kind of verbal, physical, or emotional assault on a day-to-day basis. Her hope is for trans people, herself included, to be able to live life without fear of being assaulted (Fig. 2). The panelists also highlighted the intersecting oppressive systems that result in higher rates of victimization and murder of trans people, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and women of colour (Lenning et al. 164). January’s murder is a devastating reminder of the violence trans women of colour face in their daily lives.

The panelists also connected the Transgender Day of Remembrance to the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (December 17). Transphobia, combined with poverty, racism, colonialism, and the criminalization of sex work, continues to harm trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirt people who work in the sex industry, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour (Lyons et al. 185). Velvet and Alex spoke about how the laws prohibiting sex work in Canada continue to harm trans sex workers. In Canada, sex work

Fig. 3 | Lenée Son speaking during the My Name Was January panel, 2020.

continues to be criminalized through the end-demand legislation The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) that criminalizes a variety of activities related to sex work, including buying sexual services. Research has demonstrated that PCEPA has continued to harm sex workers and violate their constitutional rights (Machat et al. 583; McBride 263). Velvet expressed that trans sex workers’ experiences are unique and not validated or accepted in some communities. Therefore, it is vital that their voices are included in sex work advocacy. She emphasized that trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit sex workers need to be meaningfully included at all tables where decisions are made.

There was great interest from audience members concerning how they could be better allies to trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people and to sex workers. When panelists were asked for recommendations for how to confront transphobia, Lenée emphasized the importance of allies doing the work and not relying on the labour of trans, non-binary, and people of colour. There were suggestions to get involved by writing to Members of Parliament to support the decriminalization of sex work. Jack emphasized the cost and bureaucratic barriers to changing identification (e.g., names, gender markers). There are often opportunities for allies to work towards changing bureaucratic and institutional processes that harm and erase trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people (Bauer et al. 354). Lenée urged us all to work towards undoing transphobia and transmisogyny, specifically to get uncomfortable and push past feelings of guilt to take action in order to protect, prioritize, and amplify trans voices, particularly the voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (Fig. 3). The panel discussion wrapped up with these calls to action, and attendees left with some suggestions of concrete ways to push back against transphobia in their communities. The event closed with a call to action from Lenée: “Today and every day, honour those lives who have been lost and taken from us. Honour by fighting for trans liberation and sex worker liberation.” 

WORKS CITED

Bauer, Greta R., et al. “‘I Don’t Think This is Theoretical;

This is Our Lives’: How Erasure Impacts Health Care for Transgender People.” Journal of the Association of

Nurses in AIDS Care, vol. 20, no. 5, 2009, pp. 348-61. doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2009.07.004. Accessed 30

May 2021. Jaffray, Brianna. Experiences of Violent Victimization and

Unwanted Sexual Behaviours among Gay, Lesbian,

Bisexual and Other Sexual Minority People, and the

Transgender Population, in Canada, 2018. Statistics

Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community

Safety Statistics, 2019. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/ pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00009-eng.htm.

Accessed 30 May 2021. Lenning, Emily, et al. “The Trifecta of Violence: A Socio-

Historical Comparison of Lynching and Violence

Against Transgender Women.” Critical Criminology, vol. 29, 2021, pp.151–72. doi.org/10.1007/s10612020-09539-9. Accessed 30 May 2021. Lyons, Tara, et al. “Negotiating Violence in the Context of

Transphobia and Criminalization: The Experiences of

Trans Sex Workers in Vancouver, Canada.” Qualitative

Health Research, vol. 27, no. 2, 2017, pp. 182–90, doi: 10.1177/1049732315613311. Accessed 30 May 2021. Machat, Sylvia, et al. “Sex Workers’ Experiences and

Occupational Conditions Post-Implementation of

End-Demand Criminalization in Metro Vancouver,

Canada.” Canadian Journal of Public Health, vol. 110, no. 5. 2019, pp. 575-83. link.springer.com/article/10.17269/s41997-019-00226-z. Accessed 30 May 2021. McBride, Bronwyn, et al. “Underreporting of Violence to Police Among Women Sex Workers in Canada:

Amplified Inequities for Im/Migrant and In-Call

Workers Prior to and Following End-Demand

Legislation.” Health and Human Rights, vol. 22, no .2, 2020, pp. 257-70. www.hhrjournal.org/2020/12/ underreporting-of-violence-to-police-among-women-sex-workers-in-canada-amplified-inequities-forim-migrant-and-in-call-workers-prior-to-and-following-end-demand-legislation/. Accessed 30 May 2021. Wirtz, Andrea L., et al. “Gender-Based Violence Against

Transgender People in the United States: A Call for Research and Programming.” Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, vol. 21, no. 2, 2020, pp. 227–41, doi: 10.1177/1524838018757749. Accessed 30 May 2021.