2021 Van Pride Magazine by Drink & Culture Magazines

Presenting Sponsor:

#ChooseYourPride 2021 INSIDE: Plan Your Pride: VanPrideFest Pride Events Schedule Pride Art Walk Van Pride Classroom Series

RABBIT RICHARDS: #CHOOSEACCESSIBLEPRIDE p. 34 Divya Kaur Nanray photo

#ChooseYourPride 2021

BE LOUD. BE PROUD.

Lots to Celebrate. More to do.

HAPPY PRIDE 2021! —Hedy Dr. Hedy Fry, MP Vancouver Centre (604) 666-0135 hedy.fry@parl.gc.ca HedyFry.com

COVID-19 support information at: Canada.ca/Coronavirus 2

#ChooseYourPride 2021

Love is Love Peter Julian, MP

Jagmeet Singh, MP

Jenny Kwan, MP

Don Davies, MP

New Westminster—Burnaby 110-888 Carnarvon St, New Westminster, BC V3M 0C6  604-775-5707  Peter.Julian.c1@parl.gc.ca

Burnaby South 4940 Kingsway, BC V5H 2E2  604-291-8863  Jagmeet.Singh@parl.gc.ca

Vancouver East 2572 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V5K 1Z3  604-775-5800  Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca

Vancouver Kingsway 2951 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5R 5J4  604-775-6263  Don.Davies@parl.gc.ca

#ChooseYourPride 2021

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Contents Indigenous Welcomes ....................08 Message from the Board of Directors............................10 Message from the Mayor .............10 Commitments to QTBIPOC Communities ....................................... 12 What to Wear to Pride ..................14 VanPrideFest...................................... 20 Pride Art Walk ..................................22 Pride Cause Campaigns ...............23 Nice People Take Drugs.................24 Pride Event Schedule ..................... 26 Accessibility ....................................... 26

SPECIAL SECTION

#ChooseAccessiblePride Curated by Rabbit Richards

Publisher: Gail Nugent

Curatorial Note ........................... 35

Design, Layout & Sales Support: Tara Rafiq

Masculine//Moribund .............. 35

Graphics and Illustrations: Nadine Hajjaj and Mary Elise Elam

And Then, And Now, And Then Again ................................... 36

Sales: Kristina Mameli and Glenn Stensrud Published by Glacier Media Group

checked in..................................... 38

Many folks do not see the long hours, hard work and dedication that goes into creating Pride events year round. In 2020 our team reinvented Pride and successfully delivered a virtual season. This year, as restrictions have slowly eased up, they have once again risen to the challenge of creating a hybrid selection of events while learning brand new skills on the fly. Vancouver Pride deeply appreciates the staff who work year-round to create events and advocate for 2SLGBTQAI+ communities, regardless of what form they are delivered in.

eugenics! up yours!................... 38

Gender Repeal................................... 40

Kids Lit for Pride 365 .................... 48

Fluid .........................................................41

Our Partners .....................................50

2021 Pride Merchandise! Vancouver Pride Society is excited to launch 2021 Pride Merchandise! All proceeds support 2021/2022 VPS bursaries and community support. Shop at lowercaseltd.com/vancouver-pride-society LEFT: Vancouver based artist Pearl Low created "Precious Fruit" for the 2020 Pride Art Walk. Proceeds from this shirt support QTBIPOC event bursaries.

Editor's letter

Photograhy: Divya Kaur Nanray and Lung Liu

What's In A Name?.................. 37

Weaponry for the Five-Day Workweek ...........................................44

ast Side Pride. Bride of Pride. Trans March. Dyke March. Unicorn Born and Babes on Babes. Gaymers, Queerprov, Level Up, Denim Vest. Queers&Beers. Backyard BBQs, Wreck Beach, ditching crowds to camp. Pride Parade, disco nap, sex parties, and after hours. Working because you don’t care. Working because you can’t get time off. The 2021 Vancouver Pride theme is #ChooseYourPride, but hasn’t this always been the case? Community organizers have presented a fantastic array of novel on- and oﬄine events to choose from over the last two summers (which I hope are here to stay—we know accessible events are possible!) Pandemic Pride hybrid options aside, we have always chosen how,

Editor: Kaschelle Thiessen

Pride Redacted ........................... 34

Rumble...................................................32

2021 VanPride Magazine

where, what, and with whom we would celebrate. Bakhitar (p. 14) shares What to Wear to Pride, while Ashley (p. 48) offers queer kids’ lit for year-round reading. #ChooseAccessiblePride (p. 34), curated by Rabbit Richards, critiques, subverts, celebrates, and invites us to explore delicious possibilities. Thomas (p. 44) finds Pride in the work day battle against professionalism, while Vasundhara (p. 40) explores Pride in xyr intersecting cultural and queer identities. This year’s Van Pride Magazine features 12 talented trans and queer authors who choose to celebrate Pride their way. My hope is that however you choose to observe, celebrate, protest, or reject “Pride,” you find something within these pages that resonates, moves, or inspires you. —Kaschelle Thiessen, Editor

Executive Director: Andrea Arnot Operations Manager: Renita Manj Event Manager: Madison Holding Exhibitor Services Coordinator: Josephine Gray Community & QTBIPOC Outreach Coordinator: Serene Carter Talent Coordinator: Jade Weekes Communications Manager: Ben Lange Communications Coordinator: Ivy Edad Partnerships Coordinator: Glenn Stensrud

ABOUT OUR COVER ARTIST DIVYA KAUR is a queer disabled Punjabi artist, writer, and anti-oppression worker living in diaspora on stolen Coast Salish territories including those of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh nations. In her photography, she specializes in surreal double exposure work performed in camera on 35mm film.She can be booked through her instagram @soft.kaur.

#ChooseYourPride 2021

Sonia Furstenau Leader, BC Green Party MLA, Cowichan Valley

Adam Olsen MLA, Saanich North & the Islands

HAPPY PRIDE, VANCOUVER! FROM YOUR BC GREEN MLAs

WHICH COLOUR ARE YOU?

#ChooseYourPride 2021

Indigenous Welcomes si:é nə siyéə ʔəi ce:p kʷətxʷiləm ʔi ʔə tə a šxʷməθkʷəəmaʔɬ təməxʷ, tə šxʷʔaəts tə shəəmiəqən ʔiʔ sqʷχʷaməx ʔiʔ səl̕ ilwətaʔɬ. ʔə tə šxʷqʷeləwən ct. seə ct ʔəw iyətalə Honoured friends and relatives Welcome to the ancestral territory of the həəmiə speaking Musqueam people and also Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh. It brings us great joy to be part of the 43rd Annual Vancouver Pride Parade, and to join the celebration and honouring of our respected Two Spirit relatives, and our LGBTQIA+ friends and allies. We raise our hands to the organizers of these important events, and look forward to sharing the Pride and Love with you again this year. MUSQUEAM NATION

The Squamish Nation, on behalf of our people, welcomes you to the shared territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples where Vancouver now exists. We join our LGBTQAI2S+ community and family to celebrate our love for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. This month, and every month, we stand together with the millions of people who work to make this world a safer and more digniﬁed place for all LGBTQAI2S+ people.

Welcome to the unceded traditional territory of the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam and Squamish people. We are honoured and proud to celebrate the 43rd Anniversary of Vancouver Pride with all of you. We have good feelings in our hearts to join and uplift our two-spirit and LGBTQIA+ friends and relatives. Our nation is happy to participate and celebrate with the City of Vancouver and the Pride community.

Chet kw’enmantúmiyap (We thank you all). Happy Pride!

We join our relatives in raising our hands with gratitude to all those involved in making this event possible. We hope you enjoy your visit on our beautiful shared territory.

SQUAMISH NATION

TSLEIL-WAUTUTH NATION COUNCIL

Down Ceremony by the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society at East Side Pride, 2019. Ale Fragoso photo. At past Pride events, members of the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society, a non-profit TwoSpirit community organization, have presented the Down Ceremony. The Down Ceremony is a sacred ceremony used by many coastal First Nations, and gives us an opportunity to cleanse the grounds on which Pride events will be held.

The operations of the Vancouver Pride Society take place on the occupied, ancestral, and unceeded territories of the (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish),and /Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh). We encourage settlers to think about the lands you are living and celebrating on during Pride.

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Proudly serving Vancouver’s GLBT Community for more than 20 years.

Educate and celebrate. HAPPY PRIDE 2021 To our LGBTQIA2S+ educators, students, and community organizations who continue to help Langara learn and develop a safe, healthy, and inclusive campus, we celebrate you.

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Learn more. langara.ca/pride2021

BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

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PRIDE COMES IN EVERY COLOUR Whatever flag you fly, fly it with Pride.

#ConnectToAccept

#ChooseYourPride 2021

A message from the Board of Directors

or a second year in a row, the way we celebrate Pride and the ways we show up for each other will be different. We think that ‘different’ really just means we need to get creative. That is why we landed on the theme ‘Choose Your Pride’. We will celebrate and take up space in new and innovative ways. Whether you host a BBQ in your local park, tune into a virtual event, have a mini parade down your street, or a little bit of all of the above, you are invited to Choose Your Pride. Whether it’s same-sex marriage, apologies from governments, or the enshrinement of trans rights, there have been great victories that deserve to be celebrated. Yet these celebrations can make it easy for those who have won rights to become complacent. In British Columbia we have mostly contained the COVID-19 pandemic through public health measures and vaccination, while

the virus rages in areas of the world with less access to vaccines.Throughout the pandemic, marginalized people have and continue to face disproportionate impacts from COVID-19. The pandemic is in many ways reflective of human rights globally and at home. While we hope that some level of normalcy returns to our lives as we approach the end of 2021, we know that it will be quite some time until the same can be said for those most affected. Resilience is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but we don’t talk about why people must be resilient.The role that colonization plays in harming Two-Spirit and QTBIPOC communities has been left out of the dominant conversation. As we approach Vancouver Pride 2021, Vancouver Pride will centre these voices, and create opportunities for showing allyship through action, solidarity, and love. We encourage everyone in Vancouver to do your homework, listen, and advocate

Vancouver Pride Board and Staff at 2021 board meeting.

while amplifying the voices of activists so we can create a world where no one has to be so resilient just for existing. Only together can we make change. Happy Pride! ●

A message from the Mayor

n behalf of the residents of Vancouver, City of Vancouver staff, and my colleagues on City Council, I want to extend my heartfelt greetings to the entire Pride Community as we kick off Pride 2021 here in Vancouver. Once again, we find ourselves celebrating Pride in new and novel ways. What is typically a vibrant celebration, rooted in a powerful history of resistance and resilience, has been forced to adapt. From the decentralized Pride Parade to virtual events to VanPrideFest, this year's celebrations are all the more important—to connect at a time of physical disconnection.

In the past year, we have all experienced rapid and dramatic changes, with the pandemic changing every single part of our lives. This has been challenging to say the least, and with that has come the rise of other issues that have impacted our communities on multiple levels. The rise of racism, xenophobia, and hate has forced us as a society to face the fact that our long-standing history of oppression and colonization remains with us to this day. The ripples of this can be felt throughout the 2SLGBTQ+ community and beyond. I know this community has not always felt safe—and there have been direct incidents of violence and hate targeted towards 2SLGBTQ+ residents. I know the community is feeling anxious—and as Mayor I’m working to address these concerns, to drive out the hate, to ensure

Vancouver is inclusive and safe for all. The call has been made for allies to stand with our marginalized communities, we have a responsibility to show up and stand up. I commit to work with the community, to listen, and to use my voice. During this year’s Pride, we reflect on the intersectionality of all of these issues, and recognize the power of community-led activism and the importance of community support. We are reminded of the celebration of love and the collective power this community has to fight for justice and equity. Thank you, on behalf of our city, for continuing to fight for better.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart #ChooseYourPride 2021

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Commitments to QTBIPOC communities and continue to ask tough questions. While working at Pride has its challenges, it is always an honour to work alongside communities that care deeply about their people. This work is not just about VPS, but rather how the spirit of Pride is embodied by trans and queer people everywhere. To all of our QTBIPOC community members, organizers, performers, and attendees, thank-you. Your work is an act of love and a reclamation of power. We are honoured you have chosen to share your talent, time, and passion with us. To all the 2SLGBTQAI+ folks that make up our communities—I encourage you to #ChooseYourPride and celebrate with the people that mean the most to you.

Serene and MangoSweet setting up for Virtual Hot Fruit 2020. K. Ho photo

n 2019, I was offered a job as the Community Partnerships Coordinator for Vancouver Pride Society. I was hesitant to accept the offer—Pride organizations across North America, including in Vancouver, have been exclusionary to people of colour, trans people, and disabled people. I questioned if accepting the job would make me a part of this problem. I ultimately took the job and now, in 2021, I believe VPS is on the right track. Last year Vancouver Pride, like many other organizations, heard the call to not just do better, but to be accountable to Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities. On June 10, 2020, VPS made seven commitments to redesign programming, change funding priorities, and reform internal policies. We have spent the last year working to fulfill each of these commitments. Our staff and board took part in an anti-racism audit and two decolonizing workshops led by external facilitators with lived experience. The learning we took from this process resulted in new hiring practices, policy change, and updated organizational values which will guide our strategic planning in Fall 2021 and beyond. Some of these commitments include:

• No police in Pride • A free and public annual anti-oppression and anti-racism workshop series led primarily by racialized facilitators • Prioritizing QTBIPOC talent as headliners and performers at all events • Creating a Black Queer Organizer bursary fund for Black spaces organized by and for Black folks during Pride • Committing funding towards an annual Two-Spirit event led by and for Two-Spirit community members and organizations One of my personal highlights last year was working with Jeffrey McNeil Seymour to support a Two-Spirit event in the spring. When I was invited to attend the end of the event, and saw how thoughtfully curated this community space was, and how appreciative participants were for the closed Two-Spirit space, it showed me how the community outreach we were doing was worth it. As we see opportunities to gather in person once again, I look forward to more events like this. As I think about this last year and our team’s ongoing journey to reform VPS, I am grateful for all the people, organizations, and activists who have held us accountable, pushed us to learn,

Serene Carter, QTBIPOC Outreach Coordinator Learn more at: vancouverpride.ca/about-us/qtbipoc

2021 Van Pride Classroom Series Virtual | Free | ASL and Zoom Captioning Provided Out In Schools presents: YOU on Screen July 19, 6 p.m. Becoming Accomplices for Racial Justice: Moving Beyond Anti-Racism Fundamentals July 21, 6 p.m. GS101: Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Allyship July 24, 10 a.m. Supporting Black Trans Women: A Black woman of Trans Experience’s perspective on inclusive allyship centreing POC trans and femme women July 26, 6 p.m. Queer and Trans History B.C. July 28, 6 p.m. Details at vancouverpride.ca or Facebook @VancouverPrideSociety #ChooseYourPride 2021

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What to wear to Pride

A television and film-inspired guide

by Bakhtiar Yaqub

ruth be told, choosing an outfit for Pride during a pandemic is not the easiest. We have all become accustomed to the uniform of sweatpants and a dirty t-shirt. As your style superqueero, my rainbow cape and mask are here to help! As per the responsibilities of this self-proclaimed coveted title, I have compiled a list of prominent LGBTQ+ figures from television and film that have mastered the art of expressing their true selves through fashion. Their signature looks will hopefully inspire you to build an outfit for Pride that matches your aesthetic!

ELIO – Call Me By Your Name

JULIE VU – Big Brother Canada If you plan on marching, stay true to you but also channel Julie Vu! Though her journey on Big Brother Canada was short, she left a huge mark. Not only breaking bounds by being the first transgender woman on the series, but also by being one of the best dressed contestants the show has ever seen. Her look is all about beauty and glamour which is perfect for a prideful march through your neighborhood. To capture the memory of your pride march, you can get some candid photos from the “paparazzi” to share with all of your adoring fans online (AKA your Instagram followers). 14

Prepare some sangria, a charcuterie board, and grab your Polaroid for a pride themed picnic this upcoming season (within your bubble, of course!). Reference Elio's style from Call Me by Your Name as you and your besties cut a rainbow layer cake using wine glasses, like in your favourite TikTok videos. Usually found clad in denim shorts and a polo shirt, Elio’s style has a discernible look even when straying towards button-downs or a Canadian tuxedo. For a peachy pride picnic, emulate his dress code and pretend Vancouver is Crema while dancing to The Psychedelic Furs.

Illustrations by Nadine Hajjaj #ChooseYourPride 2021

RUE AND JULES – Euphoria If you plan on participating in pride virtually this year, I recommend lounging at home and pretending you're on Euphoria! Acting as if you're Rue and Jules is a sure-fire way to ramp up the style of your online celebrations. Of course, be sure to throw on a maroon hoodie and don’t forget your glitter tears as a homage to Rue’s casual style. Or maybe wear a candy-coloured get-up and paint on clouds in white eyeliner to replicate Jules’ iconic vibe. If you emulate Euphoria, you will always be the main character, even from the comfort of your own home.

CHESTER – Genera+ion The Vancouver Pride Art Walk is where you can show off your most colourful outfit as you strut through various outdoor art exhibits. Match your apparel to your pride flag or break the norm, like when Chester from Genera+ion broke his school’s dress code by wearing a striped crop top. This effervescent queer jock’s wardrobe is akin to a curated Depop catalogue. Turn heads in the best way by pairing clashing patterns and Y2K inspired accessories at the Vancouver Pride Art Walk this coming season by channeling Chester.

THE CONTESTANTS of Drag Race Shantay, who stays? To find your inner lip sync assassin this Pride season, decorate your car and drive around your neighborhood like you’re performing at the RuPaul’s Drag Race finale! And if you don’t drive, beautify your home and have a Zoom karaoke session with your pals—the only necessity is a soundtrack full of Britney Spears (You're welcome Derrick Barry). You and your friends can embody Symone’s unapologetically Black style, Gottmik’s classic clown paint, Kandy Muse’s vivacious energy, and Rosé’s perfect vocals as you sashay through Vancity. Cue the applause! Hopefully these fashionable on-screen figures motivate you to dig through your closet for a show-stopping pride ensemble. Either way, the Fab Five and I approve of all your choices, hunny! ●

BAKHTIAR YAQUB resides on the shared, unceded traditional territory of the Katzie, Semiahmoo, Kwantlen, and other Coast Salish Peoples. He is an amateur writer that is both Pakistani and queer. If Bakhtiar was a page in a book, he would be coloured in with pencil crayons and scribbled on with invisible ink. #ChooseYourPride 2021

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my second coming out After coming out as gay at age 20, Trevor spent the next two decades struggling with addiction. Now, after completing a recovery program designed specifically for LGBTQ+ patients, he is ready to talk about coming back from the brink. DRUGS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF MY GAY ADULT LIFE

revor was a 43-year-old, living in Toronto, with a successful career at a top Canadian company. But at the same time, he was addicted to drugs for more than 20 years. “Drugs have always been a part of my gay adult life,” Trevor says, now back in his native Calgary. “It started with booze, and then straight into cocaine. So, I’ve used off and on for the past 25 years.” The beginning of his story is a familiar one to the LGBTQ+ community: the sense of not belonging. He reflects on his Alberta upbringing, “Growing up in Calgary, it’s very white, very ‘cowboy,’ very conservative, very unsafe in my mind. I used to have people drive by, roll down the window, and call me faggot. That kind of stuff.” And like many before and after him,

Trevor sought out the safety and kinship of the local gay scene. “The only time I felt safe and comfortable was when I went to the gay bar. That was where I found my community,” he says. But a sense of community wasn’t always enough, and like any bar, drugs and alcohol were de rigueur. “I don’t know if I’ve been in a gay bar around the world where drugs haven’t been available. It’s just another way to let go, to belong, to feel great, to escape.”

I COULDN’T GET ENOUGH OF IT Trevor made the move from Calgary to Toronto to begin his career, and alcohol, then cocaine, became a regular part of his life, but a stressful job and an unhappy relationship marked a turning point. He explains, “Two years ago, my life became super unmanageable. I got

reintroduced to cocaine. I hadn’t used it for about six years. But they say when you stop using and then start again, the addiction picks right back up where you left off. “I did it at a party…and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was using every day for two years, a mixture of booze, cocaine, and marijuana, because the cocaine wasn’t working anymore.” Trevor described how desperate his situation became, saying “The escapism wasn’t there anymore, but at that point I just needed to have it. It was the ritual; it became my best friend.”

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH As was the case for many others like him, the pandemic and stay-home orders only intensified his drug use. Trevor explains, “When COVID hit, it made it even easier for me to do. I didn’t have to have my camera on #ChooseYourPride 2021

SPONSORED CONTENT for work. I stopped drinking, and I just started doing cocaine all the time. I would sit there with heart palpitations and think ‘This is it. This is it.’ and as soon as they went down, I would shovel in more cocaine.” With his addiction getting worse, he knew he had to do something, but his initial attempts to get help or even decrease his usage didn’t work: “I tried to reach out to my employer through the Employee Assistance Program. And they failed me miserably. I moved in with my best friend, thinking I wouldn’t do it if was with him, because he doesn’t do it. That didn’t work. In October, I came back to Calgary and I stayed with my parents, because I thought I wouldn’t use around them. That didn’t work. And finally, by January, I had the courage to say I couldn’t manage my own life anymore. It was a matter of life and death at that point.”

IT DID FEEL LIKE COMING OUT AGAIN Coming out as LGBTQ+ is never easy, and that same stigma exists for those coming out to reveal struggles with addiction or mental health. Trevor felt that same trepidation. “Nobody in my entire circle knew at all that I was using,” he says. “I told one friend who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. She said ‘I’m going to tell your parents.’ So I sat my parents down, just like I did when I came out to them. It did feel like coming out again, but different because I wasn’t worried about losing them. I didn’t have any shame, like I did when I came out as gay.” But luckily for him, he was met with only understanding and a desire to help from his father and stepmother: “They were nothing but supportive; they had a little self-blame. Like maybe they could’ve seen me struggling or looking for help.”

IT’S HARD TO TRUST SOMEONE WHO HASN’T WALKED IN YOUR SHOES Trevor knew his next step was an inpatient program, but being surrounded by fellow patients who #ChooseYourPride 2021

could understand where he was coming from was essential to him. “I just wanted to be comfortable,” he says. “To know the struggles of being a gay man growing up, not being accepted, abuse, trauma. If there’s an edge where I can feel more comfortable, then all the better—to be able to be my authentic self right away. “I did a lot of research and Edgewood [in Nanaimo, BC] kept coming up as the best option. I remember there being a rainbow flag on the website. That was super important to me—the acknowledgment that addicts are the same but there are different struggles within different groups.” Edgewood, part of the EHN Canada network, offers the ALLIANCE program just for LGBTQ+ people in recovery. The goal is to help them feel comfortable sharing their experiences with staff who are themselves part of the community or allies, along with other LGBTQ+ patients in group settings. “It’s really hard to trust someone who hasn’t walked in your shoes,” Trevor says. “Some of the people in treatment with me are now my best recovery friends, and we talk to each other on a daily basis. It felt really good to belong.”

I FEEL AMAZING “January 29th was my clean date,” Trevor proudly states after 8 weeks of treatment. “I feel amazing. It is really rewarding to wake up and have something to look forward to for a change. Edgewood gave that back to me.” Now Trevor is facing perhaps an equally daunting challenge: the dating scene. “I have to go on a date without having a martini!?” he jokes. “It’s scary.” Facing a re-entry into social life with sobriety is new to Trevor, but he isn’t alone. More and more members of the LGBTQ+ community are working to change their relationships with drugs and alcohol. Across Canada, Pride events, once solely the domain of beer and vodka sponsors, now often include dry events and safe spaces for those in recovery.

LEARN MORE

In June, EHN Canada hosted a webinar with Canada’s Drag Race alum, Juiceboxx. She talked candidly and engagingly about her own struggles with alcohol and how sobriety has helped her regain a focus on her craft. You can watch the webinar at player.vimeo.com/ video/560115183 And you can find out more about ALLIANCE, Edgewood’s LGBTQ+ program, at www.ehncanada.com/lgbtq

Rumble by SB Thorne

he asphalt radiates heat. It’s warm for early Spring. One foot in front of another, pushing ahead. Careful smooth gliding motion. My wheels rumble beneath me. At the track again today. Skating round and round. The gyms, pools, and yoga studios are closed. I'll take pandemic for 2020, Alex. What is novel coronavirus? Fitted out in her roller derby attire, complete with knee high socks, my girlfriend looks adorable. My skates though are cheap roller blades hastily purchased. The shelves were quite bare, everyone panicked and bought all the toilet paper. Exercise equipment was in short supply too. Escape the house. Quiet the gnawing anxiety of a once in a lifetime event. Turn off the news, stop obsessing about infection rates, and asymptomatic carriers. Let the sun and fresh air clear the mind. Muscle memory. I used to skate when I was a kid, decades ago. The street behind our house had freshly laid asphalt, smooth and glorious to skate on. My fear used to be of being found out that I was queer. Now I’m out but there’s nowhere to go. We skate at the school track. Walkers, joggers, little kids on their bikes, and the occasional skater are regulars here too. One speed skater, her body small and tight, laps us easily. We give her as much space as possible. Her movements are a coordinated orchestra to my jerky jazz. Her short shaved haircut matches my own and we give each other a grin of recognition. I have forgotten how to flirt. My belly’s round and soft. Covid curve, an extra 10 pounds of sourdough bread and daily cocktails. 12 months into 14 days to flatten the curve. Is today Tuesday or Friday? Days spread to weeks to months. Ignore the rumble in my belly as it complains that it's empty.

“Now I’m out but there’s nowhere to go.” 32

Illustration by Mary Elise Elam

I'm not hungry for food though, but for different experiences. Remember places, remember people. Stay six feet apart, wash your hands, wear your mask. Stay home. The year that wasn’t. Cancelled plans, cancelled concerts. A socially distant picnic in the park, now the highlight on one’s social calendar. Cancelled potlucks. Don’t touch each other’s tongs, don’t touch your face. Zoom parties. Everyone's face in a box pretending it's the real thing. Dance like no one's watching because no one is. I miss the smell of sweat and cologne, of leather and latex, the crush of bodies up against my own. I even miss the bathroom lineup. Compliment some girl on her lipstick. I don't wear lipstick anymore. We have become epidemiologists. Figuring out dates and play partners is more than just a shared Google calendar. Getting a covid test seems selfish because you want to join someone else’s bang bubble. Sex seems so risky when now even hugging is banned. Round and round we skate. Talking about the world or bits of gossip filtered down through our friends, or our dreams

and plans. Workplace and home life become interchangeable. Send an email at 3 a.m., wear pajamas all day, and teach your child long division. I fear for my family, for my child that sobs with anxiety that her grandparents will die, for my partner’s derailed career. I fear that I won’t ever see my family abroad. I fear that fear will rumble constantly in my heart and mind. But as I skate round and round, one foot in front the other, I feel the sun’s heat on my skin. I hold my girlfriend’s hand. I let hope in and quiet the rumble. ●

SB THORNE is a queer artist who lives with her partners and family in the unceded territory known as Vancouver. Originally from Australia she spends her time crafting, brewing mead and watching the moon. #ChooseYourPride 2021

Teachers are everywhere... We’re part of the community too! The Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association, representing elementary teachers and adult educators in Vancouver, is proud to advocate for transgender, lesbian, gay, biseual, two-spirit, intersex, queer and questioning teachers and students in our public schools. Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association • 2915 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC • 604-873-8378 • vesta.ca

THE TASTE YOU CAN ENJOY

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#ChooseYourPride 2021

#ChooseAccessiblePride Pride Redacted: Episode I

Pride Redacted: Episode II

Surrey RCMP officer disheartened BY NEWS 1130 STAFF Posted Jun 11, 2020 1:30pm PD

redact verb [T]. formal to remove words or information from a text before it is printed or made available to the public: • Officers' names are routinely redacted from any publicly released reports. • Some parts of secret files are available to the public, but heavily redacted. Cambridge English Dictionary

is disappointed with the decision by the Vancouver Pride Society to ban police from this year’s festivities. an LGBTQ2+ officer who often speaks on she’s dishearted by the move.

behalf of the detachment said

their institutions.

law enforcement officers take part in Pride to stand with problems within their own

What if we speak the redacted truths of Pride™?

“Even though I’m LGBT, I’m wearing the uniform of the enemy, and that’s very passionate ” she said. as a lesbian police officer

Uncover

erasures,

pinkwashing of She says having members of institutions like the RCMP participate in Pride can break down

absences,

settler colonialism,

queer film festials reframing the brutal occupation of as a conflict When did between

our own institutions

apartheid become a conflict parties with equal power?

What does it mean to coopt insurgent

It allows me to show other people

roots?

From Stonewall to Pride™ REDACT: Black and Latinx transcestors throwing bricks at RETAIN: Imperial trifecta of Canadian Services Agency, Canadian Forces and Vancouver Department marching behind queer and trans refugees terrified

righteous anger, brutality against people of colour, as well as transgender people, sex workers, the disabled, and homeless.

Merely redacting uniforms will not redact

police and corrections officers are stepping up restrictions

anguished sweat breaching glittered bodies rainbow flags shrouding trembling hands

police reform and

hearts tachycardic, pumping fight or flight countless

criticism.

and

lives

by the police

truths bringing down the positive vibes™

“I think there can be a natural inclination to be defensive, but that’s what we need right now,” she said.

RETAIN: Pride™ = "love is love" skies, Ru Paul anthems, a beautiful sense of unity

Out on Patrol, a newly formed organization representing marginalized LGBTQ2S+ officers in B.C., said

Racers start your engines. may the most diverse killing machine win

remain faithfully in service

, our members will . enforcement

AMAL RANA is a queer Muslim Jewish poet based out of unceded Musqueam territories. Their poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appears in numerous local and international journals and anthologies. Amal collaborates with multiple communities to manifest decolonial futures through the arts. rosewaterpoet.com

#ChooseYourPride 2021

#ChooseAccessiblePride curated by Rabbit Richards

ride was never for me. I would take note of the parade for the inconvenience to traffic, internally scoff at and simultaneously nurture curiosity about gays who could celebrate their identity in the street. Who could afford to take off work, who were socially acceptable in little to no clothing in the middle of the afternoon, who were sufficiently assured of community support to march on a route with a police escort. What an insufficient freedom, to be Palatable. I have grown some, and understand more of the politics at play. Some of them still grate. Others are constructive discomfort for the stand they represent, the bravery and passing-forward of a cleared path. I have learned that I am queer enough and trans enough whether or not rainbows ultimately upset my synaesthesia. That being fat and Black and disabled and autistic mean that I have even more history to learn, and that my voice is needed and my presence important. And that I will always be a dangerous, disturbing, upsetting presence, even in my prettiest dress and with my softest smile. With this collection of pieces, it is my hope as a curator to make it possible for other marginalized queers to see themselves reflected. The spirit of Pride may be joyous, but some of us will always be a riot. My crip friends will be smoking in the alley behind the house, because we cannot dance on a concrete floor up two flights of stairs. We are angry, and we are fierce. We are not interested in anything the bank wants to sell you. And we know where the good food is (because we cooked it). Join us. rabbit richards east van Spring, 2021

RABBIT RICHARDS was born in occupied Lenni Lenape territory (known as Brooklyn, NY) and incubated in Tiotia:ke (Montreal, QC), and refuses to choose between bagels, asserting that they come from two different lineages and should be treated as two 'separate but equal' cultural products. They now live on the unceded Coast Salish territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations, among others, who have protected the area colonially called Vancouver, BC. Relentlessly compassionate with fierce integrity, Rabbit focuses on anti-oppression and disability justice work, and is deeply invested in the conversations that are provoked by their art. #ChooseYourPride 2021

Masculine // Moribund

by kit tempo

’m in the mood to die for a pretty girl. Get between her and the wrong man, put fists up like a promise. Defense is the best offense is the best kind of care; when the words can’t rely on themselves to say it plain, the bruises, instead, blossom into cartoon hearts until my blood stops beating any rhythm, a loss I commit to fighting for. She would know, within at least the confines of my last metallic breath, she was loved. Unplanned martyrdom, or, my defining trait, or just romanticizing death. I learned from the best boys how to love in the worst ways: light a bonfire at the end of the world and burn pictures of yourself. Fuck the future. Especially if it’s yours. Be reckless. But not out loud. Hold on too tight to the people you love and never tell them why. This is where I found myself, before I knew what I was: in the stories of men, filtered through fiction. So unattainable even I could reach for them without asking why. Projection as echolocation, relating to their traits until they became my own. Boasted outlandish antics and subtle ruggedness. Only as tough as their stage makeup wounds and as sweet as the words in their scripts, I hand picked an assortment. Moody, loyal, misunderstood; and often, dead. I filled the gaps in narrative left by their corpses; the closeted stoner, the sacrificied hero. The consistent tragedy that marked their face a kind of masculine I could wear convincingly. Clench my jaw until it squared, stretch til 5’7” was a convincing lie; baggy shirts and badly rolled blunts, flood the void of fictional boys like “look what I can do, look what I can make of boys who never existed.” I became a forgery better than fiction, smoke my cigarette like him, hold my girlfriend like him, give back-talk with a disinterested devil’s tongue. Sit with my legs splayed on the counter and wait for my martyr moment. They left his funeral out of the script. No way to know what his absence looked like. I made the empty space malleable enough to fit like I needed it to. Warped the boy until he sat in my not-boy almost comfortably. He’s still there, for now, buried under my skin, breathing, bruising graveyard for all the parts of me fiction couldn’t save. That’s the benefit of basing myself in a story. I knew how this would end. He told me from the start. All the best boys die before they become real. ●

KIT TEMPO is a poet, singer, and unreformed emo kid. they are a biracial, nonbinary lesbian who resides as a settler on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ peoples. Published in West49, Literary Mag and Van Pride, they were a finalist in the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam 2020, and have self-published three poetry chapbooks, most recently Give ‘Em Hell, Kid (2020). An unreformed 2006 emo kid, kit is hot shit, full of feelings, and good at it. 35

#ChooseAccessiblePride

And Then, And Now, And Then Again by Siling Zhang

Divya Kaur photo

hinese language has no verb tenses. To eat is to eat is to eat, to be is to be is to be. Any confusion in my past is confusion in my present is confusion for my future. To live (or to love) is excavation; hindsight myth making piecemeal, memory loss or history lost or obfuscation international. The Revolution then sends us stumbling three generations forward to the ra ra of yet another revolution to come. 我是中国人, 我不知道这个 “Chinese”/“Canadian.” Wǒ shì zhōngguó rén, Wǒ bù zhīdào zhège “Chinese"/"Canadian." There is loss in translation. Suddenly, everything is a different name. I go by Linda for six years before someone tells me Linda is an old white lady name. If I am not named in white language, I am still named to teach white language the shape of my tongue. Chinese Canadian. Siling, Si(ll)-ling, close enough. White girl asks what I'm doing at the lesbian party, in my straight girl sundress, I guess. My first kiss disappears into a crowd at pride, and with her my memory

of what I've always been; left instead with other people's questions. Revisionism like a spectre, uncertainty as a ghost. My mother asks her mother why one man can never die. My grandmother, the doctor, says you can’t ask those questions. By 1976, it becomes moot anyways. We make do to assume, I guess. Uncertainty, the ghost, in my straight girl sundress. Things we knew, but no longer know, and are discouraged from knowing again. Assimilation hungers for my difference to subsume: my queer, my madness, my asian glow. Tasty morsels, certainly. My grandmother swallows patriarchy that my mother spits out. My mother swallows meritocracy that I can't keep down. No, we don't chastise the need to eat. Though we

lightly badger the picky eater (that's me!). I know who has fed me in my lifetime. I pick onions out of my food, as if in a trance. This is not ingratitude, it’s nourishment with adjustments. Care, and imperfect conversation. I fall apart with a full fridge in ways I’ve never seen my family do. Maybe it’s the full fridge. You can’t ask those questions chases us across an ocean, looming in different forms. You can’t fail, can’t drop out, can’t be this freakin’ sad, or you’ll die. You can’t deviate, fall behind, or be anything less than twice as good or you’ll die. But I have, and I am, and I live. I always question. My mom used to, all the time, complain about being born a girl. Something we knew. Last week, she asked if I ever ask myself, “why was I born a girl?” like she does. Suddenly, I’m imagining how to explain gender theory across generation, culture, distance, and time. It's something she will always have known. What abundance of best approximate language will encourage her to know again? I'm nothing newer or braver or smarter than who has fed me. I simply stumbled through the unthinkable, did the absolute worst, and lived. If it is fear of failure that clings us to the destructive norms we know (police, colonial imperialisms, gender binary, revisionist history) then let my beating heart, picky palate, and slow survival be at least a wrench in the machine. If we don’t recoil from what might go wrong, how big can we dream of what might go right? How effortless and unbounded our Love and Imagination? Our being too immense for white language, is to dream is to dream is to dream. Across time, we can learn to be. ●

SILING ZHANG is a queer, mentally ill, Chinese immigrant poet raised on Treaty 6 and 7 land, and currently residing on the stolen territories of the Sḵwwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/ Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Her writing has been published in Oratorealis, and she is a certified SMAW/FCAW/MCAW Welder in Flat/Horizontal positions. Last year she was on fire for less than five minutes and will not shut up about it to this day. #ChooseYourPride 2021

#ChooseAccessiblePride

What’s in a name? by Marion Jane Lefevre “...that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” This was my sister’s response when I asked if our parents called me by my new name. I appreciate the deftness in the way she chose to tell me “no”; As if words from a poet could help soothe this pain And I wasn’t ready to accept their unacceptance. Part of me hoped they would have adapted since January 2017 when I first adopted Marion That they would have caught on that this wasn’t a phase or a stunt. I convinced myself that they would change their mind when the legal change went through. And I think about the process involved in legally changing a name; I don’t think most abled and neurotypical people appreciate the effort it takes; In my case I had nothing more than a Birth Certificate and a Dr. of three years; barriers I counted myself lucky for having, knowing many people start with nothing.

Divya Kaur photo

I started in January 2020 with no photo ID. My Dr. had to sign an attestation to prove I was who I said I was, (rejected by ICBC the first time because he refused to put his birthday on the form). Then I had to go to ICBC a second time with a note from the Dr. explaining why he wouldn’t put his birthday on the form, (and hope they would accept this). Then I had to wait for my photo ID with my birth name to come in the mail. Then I had to wait for a lawyer at the Catherine White Holman Wellness Centre* to notarize the name and gender change papers before mailing them off. (Then I had to wait a month longer because the papers were forgotten and not mailed off) Then I had to wait to receive my new Birth Certificate and my Certificate of name change; Despite all the hurdles, I’m happy to say the change took effect December 2020 I received my new Birth Certificate shortly thereafter and my Certificate of Name Change came four months later after it was lost twice in the mail. (Third time was the charm) Now that they’ve both arrived, I have to get a new photo ID with ICBC (more months to wait!) And I have to change my name with all the institutions (so many institutions!) But my name is legally mine now. No one can take that away, nor the profound satisfaction in accomplishing such a magnus task (for this disabled ass). No one can take away the joy I have when the people I love say “Good morning Marion” (or sometimes “Good Marion morning!”) It’s the good shoes that fit and I’m proud to strut them in my own personal parade celebration. So I guess, dear sister, my answer to “What’s in a name?” is four years of struggle. And our parents still won’t say my name; what a shame! ●

MARION JANE LEFEVRE is 32 years old, which is 16 more than she thought she could. As she occupies this unceded territory as an univited white settler, she is working towards knowing her role in decolonizing her community. She would not be here if not for the grace and loving support of her chosen family, and hopes to emulate such radical love for others in need of a friend. #ChooseYourPride 2021

#ChooseAccessiblePride

checked in by sb. smith what does home feel like to you? tourism hell, glistening shamblescondos, ambulances, dead water. dead-dead like belly-up fish in sour-smelling spume billows. dead-dead like westcoast wildfire smoke, and no-snow winters every year. where do you feel home in your body? The cedar stump in my throat, clearcut anaphylaxis, decade-expired Winter Olympics tears, my lungs breathing apocalypse for days, algae stench in my nostrils, these leaky condo scaffolding bones, this chronic pulp mill bronchitis, smoke stack-haze on my chest xray, fasciitis of my rental market ribs. what needs to happen for you to feel lighter? tourists go like renovicted chest pains my house has my name tattooed on its collarbone we all get some more room, a sip of water and a full breath

SB. is a sick-disabled bisexual of chronically-ill and poor/ working class Scottish-Irish heritage living on the territory of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. They were the editor of Disabled Voices Anthology (2020) and her work has been published in Arc Poetry, The Quilliad, anti-lang., Maclean's, Sad Girl Review, and more.

2010 Vancouver Riots. Lung Liu photo

eugenics! up yours! by sb. smith a good death in Canada is a third reich wetdream. Poison me, daddy, I’m a public hazard. I’m a million-dollar baby and you’re behind on your payments like calculated genocide. come one, come all of us freaks, cripples. crazies singing loud mourning songs in the gallows: dignity with dyinga bottomless hashtag of private funding. advocates shovel their wet soil into our gaping wounds of days without pain meds, electricity zaps our skulls and with their final blow, with their final shot to our veins, we are ghosts in hospital rooms, empty gallows. our undesirable shit and piss-soaked lives unworthy of life are on the hands that force feed glossed-over eugenics to CTV viewers. they forget we aren’t seeds or blood to our progenies, our ghosts become them. we will always be here. ●

#ChooseYourPride 2021

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Gender repeal by Vasundhara Gautam

ike many folks, I found an opportunity to confront my relationship with gender during the pandemic and engage in gender fuckery. It took nearly a year, but I finally came out as agender. I came out as pansexual five years ago, so I am already intimately familiar with the ongoing, lifelong process of coming out. Coming out, Part 2371. But who’s counting? “I will be deprecating my she/her pronouns,” I said to my co-workers. We work in tech, so I have been using metaphors to explain this to my co-workers. People need to, “upgrade their systems to use xe/ xem instead,” I said, “or they will receive warnings or error messages when they use she/her pronouns.” I wish I had a way of explaining the same things to my grandmother in Chennai. Even if I could get my grandmother to use xe or they for me in English, what options would I offer her for our other shared languages—Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi? As a linguist, I’m uniquely positioned to ask these questions and come up with answers, but I have felt isolated. I don’t know how to bring up these questions in the predominately white, monolingual, English-speaking, North American queer spaces I’m a part of. It has felt isolating to know so few Indian queer folks to discuss this with. I don’t have access to the kind of comprehensive resources about these things as I do in English. And I have been apprehensive about coming out in Indian spaces, never entirely sure how my queerness would be received, as queerness is sometimes perceived as Western or a white thing. The pandemic changed this for me. Having in-person connections drastically limited made me value my online connections highly and now I have several Indian queer friends. Twitter is conducive to navel-gazing and an incredible way to find queer community and, especially, Indian-origin queer folks.

Vasundhara Gautam photo

The conversations I’ve had with my Indian queer friends mean the world to me. Discussing options for gender-neutral pronouns and words for family members in Indian languages with people who get it is liberating. Especially when talking about nonbinary identity. There’s a persistent and pernicious stereotype about nonbinary bodies being white, skinny, and androgynous. My body type is nothing like that, and a big part of that is my genes! Talking about this breed of dysphoria with folks who have bodies like mine makes me feel seen.

Ember, Moss, Steel. Another trope about nonbinary people is the tendency to adopt noun names. Part of the desire to conform to this stereotype is rooted in a desire to be seen as valid, accepted as legitimate. My name is Vasundhara, a Sanskrit noun that means earth—in one way, I conform to this stereotype. But Sanskrit is a language with grammatical gender and

“Giving up my name for an English noun would be a huge loss.” #ChooseYourPride 2021

“Every time I make people pronounce my name properly, it is a gigantic Fuck You to colonialism.” Vasundhara is feminine. Other Sanskrit options limit me in the same way. Yet as much as I want to discard my femininity, my name means so much more than that. Every time I make people pronounce my name properly, it is a gigantic Fuck You to colonialism. Giving up my name for an English noun would be a huge loss—a loss other Indian enbies understand. The loss of community. Coming out to cishet Indian folks, first as bi/pan, now as agender, has produced a range of reactions from welcome and requests for more information, to mild apprehension, to subtle jabs and even outright disgust. “Your life will be easier if you choose not to be gay, or downplay it,” is a common refrain heard by queer immigrants. We also feel the loss of our queer history. Queer immigrant history is often not deemed worthy of preservation. I think a lot about what queer history means to me—not just in the context of not wanting to repeat the mistakes of our past, but also to understand where I come from, and to feel grounded by a connection to my ancestors and my history as a queer person. Pride has been a time for me to contemplate my queerness. In 2019, I went on a queer history walk where I learned local queer history and was thrilled that our guide had taken care to pay attention to the lives of trans, Indigenous, and immigrant stories in particular. I think about that and wish there were more accessible opportunities to learn these stories. Pride has also been a time for me to celebrate being queer! The year I was in the parade, I wore a giant bisexual pride flag like a cape and danced in the sun for three hours straight. A teen wearing a pansexual pride flag and watching the parade hugged me and they almost cried. I was hugged by folks in “Free Mom Hugs” t-shirts and saw older queers, gorgeous drag queens, pups in hoods, and my beautiful queer friends. It was a beautiful, happy day. I was so, so proud. #ChooseYourPride 2021

Coming out as agender has made me feel like something within me has settled. The last time I felt like this, I was desperate for a change to get outside and tell everyone, “I am a pansexual woman!” Pride fulfilled that need. Now that I have figured out I’m not a woman, I’m agender, I want to shout it from the rooftops. And hey—yelling it from my roof is more pandemic-safe than hugging strangers. Although Pride in its traditional form is not possible this year, I hope to hug my close friends and celebrate our flaming homosexuality in person, perhaps with a mini-parade! And I’ll certainly do a number of virtual things—including the Pride So-

ciety’s Queer History Panel, lots of Zoom dates with queer friends, and maybe even a gender repeal party in gather.town! ● VASUNDHARA is a queer, agender Indian Canadian (by way of Singapore) who is very gay and very tired. Xe gets excited about language, code, and birds. You can find xem on Twitter @VasundharaNLP or on the web at vasundharagautam.com.

Fluid by Danny McLaren my gender changes with the phases of the moon with tides, with the direction of the wind. spins, dizzying, a needle in a broken compass a weathervane or a stop sign in a hurricane, erratic. as quickly as a storm blows in or as slowly as day turns to night turns to day. she flickers; a candle, changing channels. he moves in rhythm: a dancer, the bass from a car radio. in the time it takes me to make breakfast, wait for the kettle to boil, I’ve been four different-gendered mes. and in the long, languid days of summer, I’m a boy for two weeks straight until the air around me shifts and I’m something else entirely: a gender-yet-to-be, undiscovered, uncovered only for a moment before it slips through my fingers like sand. like the rest. gone in a blink, into someone different by the time eyes open again. DANNY MCLAREN is a queer, trans, non-binary writer.They write about trans existence and resistance, or video games, or both, if they can pull it off. You can find their poetry collection Two-Way Town with Ethel Press or keep up with them on twitter @dannymclrn.

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Season 2

Host Justin Ling investigates the cases of Alloura Wells and Cassandra Do, two transgender women of colour whose deaths expose the systems that failed them.

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Weaponry for the Five-Day Workweek by Thomas Quirk

s a child, I adored watching my sisters paint their nails. I would perch on their beds and study them as they coated each fingertip in bubble gum, raspberry, and teal. On special occasions, I would be allowed to select one nail of my own to be decorated. A thumb, an index finger, a tiny pinkie. Each of them, badges of honour. Until the day arrived when I convinced my eldest sister to paint all ten. I marvelled at the translucent varnish flecked with glitter adorning my fingertips. At school the next day, my nails were the talk of the class. I remember how euphoric I was. I felt seen. Proud. At least, until I was called to the principal’s office, interrogated, and sent home. My Pride dissolving into shame. Fast forward two decades. I’m replaying this moment over and over as I stare at my computer screen. My index finger hovers over the backspace key. With a familiar twitch of regret in the corner of my mouth, I erase my pronouns from my email signature and hit send. This habit has become so regular that it’s second nature. Routine, almost. Just another part of my workday. Like smiling politely at a colleague in the hallway or making small talk at the water cooler. My eight-hour day is full of moments like this. Changing outfit after outfit so I pass as binary (bonus points if I recognize the person in the mirror staring back at me). Omitting my partner’s gender during office chat. Or choosing to ignore it when asked if I’m a fan of an openly transphobic comedian. My workday is one long series of trying-to-fit-ins. An exercise in trying to make it through the day. So that I can arrive home, peel off the layers of shame, and wonder when I’d lost that kid with the painted glitter nails. I learned to be this way. It's been a lifelong process of trial and error. Entering the workforce was an experiment in how to hold myself, monitor my cadence, and learn what not to say. Until one day it all 44

The truth is that “don’t ask, don’t tell” never died. clicked and — congratulations! You got the job! Now keep up the charade! Don’t put a toe out of line. Work harder, longer, and faster than all your colleagues and do it all for less money. Reserve your true self for the weekends only. The truth is “don’t ask, don't tell” never died. Today it just wears a disguise. Now it’s dressed up in Company Policy, Employee Handbooks, and Performance Reviews. Systems designed to Danny Ramadan photo make sure we maintain our place on the organizational chart. The only A series of small protests, each more condition is that you leave your true self potent than the next. Like demanding at the door when you punch in. Day in and respect whilst wearing a dress. Or keeping day out, we perform this invisible dance. your pronouns in your email signature. Or A constant choreography that is unendtaking Pride when applying pink shellac to ing and exhausting. The dance they call your fingernails on Sunday evening. Weap“professionalism”. onry for the five-day workweek. But there is another dance we can Every moment we defy white-collar choose to learn. A dance we perform for ourselves. A dance that refuses to assume conventions and choose to exist visibly is a true success. A new personal best. A a different identity when the clock strikes protest. Pride. ● nine. A dance that takes courage. A dance called “Pride”. And rather than a sequence of steps, this dance is an improvisation.

THOMAS QUIRK (by name) is a non-binary writer, thinker, drag artist, and event producer. Currently based in Montreal, Thomas has dragged across the globe, opened for Le1f and interviewed Alia Shawkat. Thomas is currently the Writer and Audio Producer for My Dad Stole My Limelight, a queer podcast about coming out. IG: @thesingulargay Twitter: Thomas_Quirk

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Kids Lit for Pride 365 by Ash Speed

s a preschool and kindergarten teacher I always struggle with special heritage months because society finds it far too easy to relegate the identities of my students, and the people they share the world with, to a brief month, ignoring their existence the rest of the year. My students are Black, or Asian, or Indigenous, or Jewish year-round. I feel the same with Pride—I am queer year-round. I exist, for the whole year, as a queer, Jewish, neurodivergent teacher, parent, and person. With that in mind, I have books representing queer families and humans all year round in my classroom. I want any person—child or parent—walking into a tour of my classroom to feel seen and their families represented. I have a few favourite books that I showcase in my classroom.

Santa’s Husband (Daniel Kibblesmith, 2017) is my favourite Christmas book of all time. The Clauses are a great example of a loving and supportive marriage, and the book follows Santa (who is Black), and his husband (who is white) and offers an excellent explanation for why Santa seems so different in other stories. Why shouldn’t queer kids get a queer Santa?

Grandad’s Camper (Harry Woodgate, 2021) is a beautiful book that follows a granddaughter and grandfather, who used to travel with his husband in their pink camper and now can’t because it’s not the same without him. His granddaughter convinces him to try to have new adventures and it ends with them going off to the beach in the pink camper.

We don’t need to wait until Pride to incorporate queer books into our lives. Queers exist every day of the year and we should honour and celebrate our communities year round too. Happy teaching, and Happy Pride! Here’s to raising good humans. ●

Prince and Knight: Tale of the Shadow King

The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish Swish Swish (Lil Miss Hot Mess, 2020) is a singalong book to the tune of the Wheels On The Bus. Drag queens are so often leaders and cheerleaders for the queer community— and children today are so lucky to have access to joyful events like drag queen storytime. 46

(Daniel Haack, 2021) is the absolutely perfect follow up to the original Prince and Knight book. It is a beautifully queer and joyful fairy tale—and queer children deserve to have fairy tales that end in happily ever after.

ASH SPEED (she/her) is an East Vancouver Montessori preschool and kindergarten teacher; and popular Montessori and book Instagrammer (@ashspeedteaches). She is Jewish, queer, non-monogamous, and neurodiverse. Her favorite thing besides teaching is spending time with her family.

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DISCOUNTHAWAIICARRENTAL.COM

Supporting older adults 55+ to live involved, healthy and fulfilling lives. www.wesn.ca • info@wesn.ca 604-669-5051 47

FREE MEMBERSHIP

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Visit evo.ca and use promo code PRIDE

Offer expires 12/31/2021 and is valid on new Evo Memberships only. Free minutes are valid 30 days from time of Membership approval.

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6/14/2021 13:21:47

Happy Pride from all our Aarm Dentists & Staff... Aarm on Beach Aarm on Beatty Aarm at BC Place Aarm on Cambie Aarm at Coal Harbour Aarm on Denman Aarm on Hornby Aarm on Main Aarm on Seymour Aarm in Yaletown

112-1000 Beach Ave. 529 Beatty St. 919 Expo Blvd. 2180 Cambie St. 1560 Coal Harbour Quay 917 Denman St. 1270 Hornby St. 2270 Main St. 993 Seymour St. 1156 Pacific Blvd.

604-683-5530 604-699-1901 604-689-0965 604-684-0224 604-688-2354 604-647-0006 604-681-8530 604-255-0060 604-688-7607 604-629-0386

# S TAY S A F E

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We are open to serve all your dental concerns... Your safety is our #1 priority. We have you covered!

#ChooseYourPride 2021

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HAPPY PRIDE!

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Congratulations to our 2021 scholarship recipients!

WHERE YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY MATTERS. #ChooseYourPride 2021

Thanks to our 2021 sponsors PRESENTING SPONSOR

SUPPORTED BY

PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION

Vancouver Pride Society thanks all of our 2021 Community Partners for the important service they provide year-round to our communities. Asexual Outreach (Vancouver Aces & Aros) AfroQueer BC Centre for Disease Control Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods FlyGirl Forbidden Vancouver Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society Health Initiative for Men JQT Vancouver

Last Door Recovery Centre For Men LevelUP YVR LOVE BC McLaren Housing Out On Screen Out On The Shelves PFLAG Pride at Work Qmunity Rainbow Refugee

Saige Community Food Bank Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence West End Seniors Network Vancouver Dyke March and Festival Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall Van Vogue Jam

If your organization is interested in becoming a Vancouver Pride Community Partner, please reach out to Serene Carter at scarter@vancouverpride.ca

Volunteer Thank You Every year, hundreds of dedicated volunteers contribute thousands of hours to making Pride happen in Vancouver. Last year, Pride looked a little different. Some events were cancelled, others moved online, and we had to postpone one of our favourite events of the season— the volunteer appreciation party. Despite all these changes, our volunteers remained an integral part of our event season. In 2020, 45 volunteers committed 1160 hours to ensure that Pride could still go on! This year, during our hybrid event season of virtual and in-person events, our volunteers continue to make sure that our events are planned, set up, and run smoothly. We deeply appreciate all the volunteers who make the magic happen year after year. Thank you to all of our past volunteers, returning volunteers, and volunteers-to-be! Your enthusiasm, hard work, and expertise is appreciated by Vancouver Pride Society and the communities we serve! To volunteer, please contact volunteercoordinator@vancouverpride.ca!

#ChooseYourPride 2021

CELEBRATE PRIDE WITH US! Serving modern Chinese-Vietnamese dishes plus all day dim sum and Chinese BBQ alongside craft cocktails and quality wines.

DINE-IN/TAKE-OUT 1193 Granville Street, Vancouver 604-423-2653 • coldtearestaurant.com

Feliz Pride! SUNDAY, AUGUST 1

DJ LOKOBOY 6pm-late

DRINK SPECIALS Reservations recommended. Required COVID-19 protocols in place.

Come Celebrate with Us!

1014 Main Street 604-565-8815 FOR RESERVATIONS: info@bodegaonmain.ca

#ChooseYourPride 2021