Humboldt have made amazing strides in proclaiming their first Pride Week.
Especially in rural Saskatchewan, it is hard to be different so any support we can offer to those of the LGBT+ community is great.
Now, I am what people would call an ally, I do not identify on the LGBT+ spectrum but I do support the LGBT+ community.
I remember Grade 12 in Annaheim and discussing homosexuality.
This was in the hayday of the “gay marriage” debate and I do not remember the finer points of what were discussed.
What I do remember is a poll of students who thought gay marriage should be legal.
I’d say about half of the students put up their hands.
Next question: who thinks gays should be able to adopt children?
I was the lone person to raise their hand.
I know things have gotten better but this experience still defines small town LGBT+ attitudes for me.
For those people who disagree with Pride, that’s okay.
The many different combinations of sexuality and gender, which are two very separate things, can be confusing and some people do not identify with the way they look.
My rule of thumb when having a conversation with someone, if they correct you on their pronoun, i.e. someone who looks male but identifies as female, it is simple to apologize and move on with the conversation.
I know this means that for some people this is a drastic change of thinking but that does not mean that the LGBT+ community does not deserve respect.
Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, persons who are LGBT+ are protected under Section 15 of the Charter:
“Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, any crime that is motivated by “a characteristic of the victim that identifies the victim as a member of some group towards which the offender feels some animosity.”
In Canada in 2013, 186 hate crimes were committed where people were targeted for their sexual orientation. These crimes against persons who are LGBT+ were also more likely to be violent compared to hate crimes against other groups; the most recent example is a man in Saskatoon who was beaten severely.
Now I have heard it before where people think this is just “political correctness” gone over board or that things were better back 50 years ago.
Back before it was respectful not to use disrespectful terms to discribe the LGBT+ community, which are terms I do not want to publish in here but I am sure people can image the terms I mean, homosexual men were advertised as sexual deviants and pedophiles.
One notable Public Service Announcement still remains on YouTube which warned parents and boys of these men in the 1950s.
For women who identify as lesbians, corrective rape still exists, including in the 79 countries that still prohibit homosexuality.
A Marie Claire article from Jul. 12 of this year, details a women in Jamaica who was lured by a lesbian chat room where a man tried to “cure” her of her homosexuality.
We have not even gotten into what Trans people have to go through when it comes to violence, stigma, and abuse.
I don’t care who you are or what you believe, if your beliefs include the rape of women and assault on men because they don’t believe the same thing as you, you are on the wrong side of history.
Joe Wickenhauser, Executive Director for Moose Jaw Pride attended the Saskatchewan Pride Network at Streetfest 2016 and heard what people in Humboldt believe, the good and the bad.
He wrote in an article called 26 Signs Your Small Community Is Ready for Inclusion for the Moose Jaw Pride website:
“8. An older white man walks up and is surprised that Pride is in Humboldt. He laughs and takes a pamphlet to show his friends. He tells you that no one in his family is LGBT+ because if they were, he would kick them out of his family.
14. Teachers come and get Pride buttons and tell you about the relentless homophobic bullying in their schools.
22. Your neighbouring booths are friendly and supportive, treating you like any other vendor.”
Wickenhauser says even the negative experiences gave them a sense of how important their work is going to be in the coming months.
Sharing the work of Moose Jaw Pride has been a positive experience for us at the Journal with many people interesting in our Facebook posts about Pride.
Especially with the types of events that went on for Pride Week, the Rainbow Coffee with PARTNERS Family Services, meetings at local churches, it is all about discussion and support.
This is not the work of “gay propoganda” or a “gay agenda”. This is just people who want to be themselves.
In Canada, marriage has been legal for the LGBT+ community since 2005.
We need to progress forward to make sure that no one is harmed or discriminated against for who they love.
Humboldt is now on board and I could not be prouder.
What is LGBT+ courtesy of OutSaskatoon:
Lesbian – a gender specific term that refers to women who have relationships (mental, emotional, physical & spiritual) with other women.
Gay – even though gay is a non-gender specific term, gay is typically defined as men who have relationships (mental, emotional, physical & spiritual) with other men.
Bisexual – an individual who has or can have relationships (mental, emotional, physical & spiritual) with men and women.
Transgender – often used as an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity and gender expression/behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.
Terms cont’d on page 8
(outsaskatoon.ca/whowe_are)
