June is International Pride Month
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June marks International Pride Month, a time to honour lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two-Spirit, intersex and asexual (LGBTQ2IA+) members of our communities. As is our custom, we’ve pulled together a series of educational, artistic, and support resources for LGBTQ2IA+ folks, and those looking to celebrate their many contributions to our cultural fabric. Take a look below.
In certain cities in BC, you might be more familiar with celebrating Pride in August. While individual cities celebrate Pride at different times, International Pride Month is noted in June, to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969 in New York City. Canada has its own unique queer history; learn more here.
You may have seen the term “LGBTQ” used to denote queer communities, or you may have seen longer acronyms like LGBTQ2IA+. What do all those extra letters mean? What’s the difference between gender and sex? What does it mean to be Two-Spirit? What is asexuality? Brush up on your terminology here.
Where did the rainbow flag come from, and how did it come to be a symbol for LGBTQ2IA+ populations? Encylopaedia Brittanica has you covered.
If you’re an LGBTQ2IA+ person in BC who needs local resources, support and services, check out the Qmunity website. If you need Island-specific resources, Qchat has your back. Those in the Okanagan can check out Kelowna Pride and/or Kamloops Pride. And here are some more resources for those in the Interior. We weren’t able to find a centralized resource for those in Northern BC; if you know of such a resource, please contact us and we’ll list it here!
Wanna know who’s on display in our little Pride graphic up yonder? The P is the cover of 99.9%, an album by Haitian-Canadian musician Kaytranada; the R is a nifty little self-portrait by artist and storyteller Elisha Lim; the I is an image from Vivek Shraya’s graphic novel Death Threat, illustrated by Ness Lee; the D is Water Walker by Cree artist Kent Monkman; and the E is a still from queer coming-of-age film C.R.A.Z.Y.
You know we weren’t leaving you without a list of LGBTQ2IA+ artists to enjoy. Your music homework includes Owen Pallett, Tegan and Sara, and Kimmortal. Add literature from folks like Kai Cheng Thom, and Joshua Whitehead to your library. And put artists like Kama La Mackerel, Tanja Tiziana and Paul Wong on your radar.
And show some love to our cultural community organizations, including Queer Arts Festival / SUM Gallery, Out on Screen, and the frank theatre company.
While many local Pride parades have been cancelled due to social distancing protocols, there are still many excellent queer events and performances taking place online. Keep an eye on our social media channels as we circulate these events as they emerge.
As noted above, Pride takes place in June due to acts of civil disobedience initiated by members of an unfairly treated and oppressed community. As we in North America see increasing activist efforts generated by our historical and ongoing inequities, the BC Alliance stands in solidarity with members of marginalized communities.
Happy Pride from the BC Alliance!
