The Importance Of Pride Month: Promoting Inclusivity In Our Co-ops
5 June 2023 Happy Pride Month!
CHF BC is proud to support our 2SLGBTQIA+ community this month, and throughout the year. Pride Month is a time for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and allies to come together to celebrate the resilience of the Pride movement.
Pride month celebrates the resilience, creativity, and spirit of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. It also honours those no longer with us due to homophobia, transphobia, hate crimes, riots and the AIDS epidemic.
2SLGBTQIA+ is an acronym for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual. The + represents other ways individuals express their gender and sexuality outside heteronormativity and the gender binary.
This photograph – the only known photo of the riots – appeared on the front page of The New York Daily News on Sunday, June 29, 1969. Here the “street kids” who were the first to fight back against the police are seen.
People around the world celebrate Pride Month in June. This month marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York. It is where 2SLGBTQIA+ New Yorkers fought back against police raids on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and community hub.
There is Still Work to Do
Pride Month is also a time to advocate for a more considerate and more inclusive Canada. Thanks to B.C. trailblazers like Jim Egan, Svend Robertson, and Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium there is a lot of history to be proud of. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of work to do.
Little Sister’s Founders Bruce Smyth (left) and Jim Deva (right) with Janine Fuller, former long-time store manager / Image via dailyxtra.com
Anti-trans hate in B.C. and across Canada has always been rampant and it continues to severely impact trans folks today. This kind of hate include public acts such as violent acts towards trans folks and protests at drag events. It also includes political acts such as banning educational books in schools, policies against gender affirming care, and calls against raising the Pride flag or painting Pride sidewalks.
Actions like these severely affect the most vulnerable members of our 2SLGBTQIA+ community. These members include Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, people with disabilities, and especially our young people.
Belonging in Co-ops
CHF BC members participating in the 2002 Vancouver Pride Parade
The co-operative housing movement strives to make sure all co-op members feel safe, welcome, and empowered.. CHF BC is committed to ensuring that the federation—and our member housing co-operatives—are safe spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and their allies.
We want all our members to be able to be their true selves while feeling welcome and included. To this end, we are committed to listening, learning, and changing. We also commit to amplifying the voices of our members, friends, and partners so that inclusivity becomes the norm in our communities.
What You Can Do
This month, we encourage everyone to connect with the 2SLGBTQIA+ people in your life, particularly youth and seniors. Take some time to learn about their lived-experiences and perspectives. We also encourage you to support 2SLGBTQIA+ owned co-ops and other businesses in your communities.
To learn more about the 2SLGBTQIA+ community we encourage you to read one of these fiction ord non-fiction books by Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+authors. If you are more the musical type, here is a Spotify playlist of over 60 Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ performers.
