Residents of Nakusp got an education on gender identity and the LGBT2QIA+ community on April 12 at the Bonnington Arts Centre.
Christopher Moore — a transgender man who runs TransConnect which supports trans and non-binary people in the East and West Kootenays — gave a workshop on the matter.
Moore did the presentation in partnership with Carlee Hughes of Arrow and Slocan Lakes Community Services.
About 30 people showed up for the event, and they ranged in age from high school students to seniors.
The workshop started off with everyone in attendance saying their name and what pronouns they prefer, such as she/her, he/his, they/their.
After introductions three brief films were shown on what it’s like being a transgender teenager.
One part that stood out for some was when one teenager described the lack of understanding some trans teens face when first coming out, saying “They try to tell us they know us better than we do.”
Some came to the event for the opportunity to speak to other people in the transgender community.
“I was with my therapist, and she had shown it to me and I thought it would be cool to come and see this because I don’t really hear much about that, and especially not with trans men,” said Matt Warren. “It’s usually trans women or non-binary, so I thought it would be extra cool to come and see somebody and talk to somebody who was a bit more like me.”
Warren is a young transgender man who graduated from school four years ago. For him, school was always a bit weird, but it got a little different once he started figuring out who he was.
“When I came out as bisexual it was fine, nobody had a problem with that, but when I was transgender I did not come out at all,” he said. “It was such a completely different thing, and I was not comfortable with it, especially because I knew what a lot of the people in my class were like, a lot of pretty redneck types.”
More than anything, the aim of the event was to be a dialogue.
After the documentaries were presented, group discussions were started, ranging in topics from how sex and gender are different to what can be done to improve things for LGBT2QIA+ teenagers, in schools and communities. Teens in the LGBT2QIA+ community have the highest risk of suicide among their peers. Within this community transgender teens have the highest risk of all.
During the dialogues, residents shared their stories about being part of the LGBT2QIA+ community, working with allied groups such as Parents and Family members of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and what they would like to see happen to improve things for LGBT2QIA+ members.
One person told his story of being in a relationship with someone for two years. He uses both she and he pronouns, but on days he felt more male than female he would actually distance himself from his partner because they weren’t comfortable with him. On several occasions their partner would grab them sexually in public, as if to prove he had the right body parts.
Moore thinks that bringing workshops like this to communities across the province is incredibly important.
“In communities all over LGBT folks are not being treated well,” he said. “We are invisible sometimes in our communities, and communities haven’t had education around this. There is huge fear for students and youth to come out in their communities, or to be outed. Youth are being kicked out of their homes at 12 years old, youth are threatened by their families and sometimes kicked out all over the province, it doesn’t matter what community.”
Moore hopes the event will help bring about more education on the LGBT2QIA+ community, with this education helping to make the village more welcoming to those in the community.