I grew up in a small oil-wealthy town in rural Alberta. Almost everyone was white, straight and played hockey. No one was out in high school – there were no open queer relationships. Any behaviour that didn’t fall into extremely rigid definitions of heterosexuality was ridiculed. Homophobic language was casually commonplace. Sexual education was fear-based and devoid of any acknowledgement that queer communities existed. Recognition of diverse gender identities and expressions did not occur at all.
Looking back, I am heartbroken by how narrow and confined this view of sexuality and gender was. It devastates me how my 2SLGBTQQIA+ peers likely had to minimize so much of their lives to fit into these small and limiting boxes, especially in the face of ridicule and nonexistent institutional support. And, I am also bothered by how unaware of it I was at the time. As a youth, I was voracious for any knowledge I could obtain about life outside of my town. I was fascinated by humanity’s diversity and quickly developed a passion for human rights and social justice. Yet, ashamedly, 2SLGBTQQIA+ identities and struggles were not on my radar at all. It wasn’t until years later, when I began working in the human rights field, partnering with 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations and developing friendships with queer community members, that I realized how much work was needed, individually and collectively, to correct this ignorance and advance queer liberation.
I am certain that I would have loved to learn about the first bricks thrown at Stonewall in my high school social studies class. I would have been delighted to close off the school year every June with a Pride celebration. I would been honoured to join a Gay Straight Alliance. I would have been proud to see a Pride flag waving on school grounds. The erasure of 2SLGBTQQIA+ existence not only robbed identifying individuals of opportunities to embrace and openly be their authentic selves, it deprived us all of the brilliance and vibrancy of queer perspectives and ways of being. Our lives would have been collectively enriched to learn about, celebrate and fight alongside 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities.
It warms my heart when I see children and youth embracing their gender identities and sexualities. But I know the world is still rough for them and for queer adults – despite tremendous gains, homophobia and transphobia remain rampant in our structures and institutions. Hate and violence against 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities is escalating at horrifying rates, including the rollback of critical human rights that were hard fought for.
Those of us who do not identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+ cannot stand idly by and watch this violence continue. 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals and communities are leading incredible resistance movements at all levels of society. There are entire systems to dismantle and rebuild, resources to learn from, organizations to donate to, policies to rewrite, procedures to rework, leaders to amplify, groups to join, protests to attend and much more. I will be there, offering what care and solidarity I can – will you join me?