March 26 to April 1 will be Gender Diversity Week in the city.
At its regular council meeting March 13, Council heard a presentation by Laura Budd, education coordinator for the Saskatchewan Pride Network.
In a world obsessed with upholding strict gender lines, a world where often parts equate to your assigned place in society and right to hold space, celebrating diversity and acknowledging all ways to identify, all ways to be human, can be life giving and even life saving,” she said.
Budd, who grew up and spent most of her adult life as Brice in small-town Saskatchewan, knows all too well how that apartness feels.
“To someone in a small community, or even small urban centre challenging those expectations placed upon the individual by the ‘m’ or ‘f’ on your birth certificate is often difficult if not deadly,” she continued, noting that in the past finding a safe place meant surviving until adulthood so you could move to a place like San Francisco, Vancouver or Toronto. Later, she said, smaller centres such as Regina and Saskatoon became more we welcoming and now, with the efforts of Moose Jaw Pride and its creation of a provincial network of support, she hopes to spread acceptance far and wide and usher in an era “where in the smallest of city, town or village you may find community where you are celebrated for your difference, not in spite of it.”
Budd asked Council to proclaim the week Gender Diversity Week, the question was asked by the mayor, and passed unanimously by council.
The week has been proclaimed for the past five years by the provincial legislature, but this is the first year for the City of Yorkton.
An event is planned for Yorkton. On March 27 at 7 p.m. St. Andrew’s United Church will host “Minute to Win It – Gender Games” billed as a chance to “compete with new friends in a series of deceptively simple games” and “win awesome prizes!”
Admission is free and all ages are welcome.
