Category: Human Rights

There was another anti-trans protest in Ottawa this week. It was organized by a group whose foundational beliefs are labeled trans-exclusive radical feminism (TERFs) or “gender critical”, depending who is doing the naming. This follows an incident a week ago where a man from Vancouver who makes a living crowd-funding anti-trans actions and is affiliated…

If anyone ever wanted to study attitudes on gender nonconformity in Canada during in this period in history, I’d point them to opinion writer Barbara Kay. Her prominence is fading now that newspapers and books are losing ground to competing forms of entertainment, but not too long ago she was one of the few authoritative…

The makeup of trans and non-binary people is rapidly changing. In 2019, the median income of trans and non-binary Ontarians was approximately $30,000. While that’s still significantly short of the $50,000 that the median over 16 made in the province, it is double the 2009 figure of $15,000. We are living in a special moment;…

On September 22nd, I’ll be participating in a panel called Safe(r) cities for trans folks. From the description: Trans, gender diverse and 2SLGBTQ+ communities are subjected to experience significant violence in Ottawa and across Canada. Despite progress on 2SLGBTQ+ rights, the everyday realities of many in our communities are largely unchanged. What role can our…

Trans and non-binary people are the latest targets for those struggling with the visibility of the world’s beautiful diversity. Seeking a return to the homogeneity that only lived in the precipices of their ignorance, they’ve singled out gender diverse individuals as the wedge issue that will bring them back. I’ve been documenting transphobia for a…

Since 2019, organizations devoted to opposing rights for trans people have emerged across the world sharing these characteristics: Their name includes the words ‘female’, ‘women’, ‘gender’, ‘sex’ or ‘gay’ …but they disregard all issues faced by these groups …their messaging is instead entirely devoted to curtailing the acceptance of trans and non-binary people …they offer…

Once upon a time, I wrote about how I had habituated to the tiny decisions I made throughout the day as a gender non-conforming person to ensure my safety. I labeled what I endured as casual violence. Later on, I described how institutions like the Vancouver Public Library platforming anti-trans rhetoric contributed to making things…

A few weeks ago anti-trans messages were put up around downtown. In response, local queer activists and the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women put up posters affirming that trans rights are indeed human rights. These were repeatedly vandalized by residents of Ottawa over a number of days. I thought I’d do a gallery…

There’s a small group of people live off of harming trans people. It can be lucrative. Jordan Peterson was making at least $55,000 a month for writing things like “[non-binary pronouns] are at the vanguard of a post-modern, radical leftist ideology that I detest, and which is, in my professional opinion, frighteningly similar to the…