Submitted by Columbia Valley Pride
Monday, May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
This day of action was started in 2004 “to draw attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people, and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.” (may17.org)
The date of May 17 was chosen as this was the day in 1990 when the World Health Organization finally declassified homosexuality as a mental health disorder. This was a game changer for LGBTQ2IA+ rights across the world. This day of action is now celebrated across 130 countries.
While Canada has made leaps and bounds in the fight for equality, many people still face discrimination and violence in our country, especially our Transgender, Non-Binary, Two-Spirit, and Intersex community members. Only in 2017 was an offence based on gender expression, Bill C-16, passed as a hate crime in the Federal Court of Law (Government of Canada). It is still, however, not recorded by Stats Canada, which means the stats of violence against Trans, Non-Binary, Two-Spirit, and Intersex community members are not available to us yet. We do know that trans women, especially trans women of colour, face a much higher rate of violence and death than other folks.
An alarming trend that we have witnessed in our local schools recently is the ‘Super Straight’ trend that started on Tik Tok. According to Urban Dictionary, the term “Super Straight” means, based on the idea of a gender binary, that a person is attracted only to the opposite gender, and excludes anyone who is transgender. Trolls on 4chan deliberately started this definition to promote further discrimination and violence towards the LGBTQ2IA+ community. Some people who claim that they are lesbian, gay, or bi, are also supporting this trend as they are transphobic. Lateral violence and transphobia are alive and well within the LGBTQ2IA+ community as well, and the trolls who started the ‘Super Straight’ term on 4chan are using it to their advantage.
Being straight/heterosexual is just part of who you are, just like being gay, pansexual, queer, asexual, etc. No one is trying to take that away. The problem with ‘Super Straight’ is that folks, especially teens, are using it as a sexual orientation and a movement that promotes discrimination against the LGBTQ2IA+ community. It’s the same mindset that is behind “Straight Pride”, where folks who feel that their heterosexuality is being discriminated against.
It’s ok to celebrate your own sexuality and gender, including if you’re straight or cisgender. The reason LGBTQ2IA+ Pride exists is because we’ve been discriminated against, outlawed, assaulted and killed since colonization in this country. Being heterosexual or cisgender has never been illegal, never used against someone to take away their job, home, children, or as a reason to be thrown into jail or a psychiatric institution. People aren’t being thrown in jail, beat up, and killed by their families, neighbours, and governments across the world because they are straight or cisgender. No heterosexual person or cisgender person has had to leave their country and seek refuge elsewhere because of their gender or sexuality. That is the reason that LGBTQ2IA+ Pride exists. We constantly have to fight for our lives and our human rights.
Parents and caregivers, the best thing you can do is help your children learn about the importance of acceptance, kindness and social justice. Home is where children learn first about who they love and who they hate. Every message of hate makes for a harder, more frightening world for another child, while every message of love makes our entire world a better place.
For more information, please visit the following resources: Egale Canada – www.egale.ca; May 17 – www.may17.org; Trans Connect – www.kootenaytransgender.com; Columbia Valley Pride – www.columbiavalleypride.org; Christian Conversation Guide – https://www.hrc.org/resources/a-christian-conversation-guide; Pflag – a support for parents and family of LGBTQIA+ family members – www.pflagcanada.ca.
Statistically trans people are one of the safest demographics. How many were killed in the last 20 years vs how many women?
Male violence doesn’t go away with a new ‘gender identity”.
Perhaps you should talk about the rates of trans women being in jail for sexual offences. 48% compared to 19% for the general male population.
Sex (not gender) IS a binary and SEXual orientation is based on a persons actual sex, not their self perception.
Super straight was NOT started on 4chan.
It was simply made to stop people (typically straight males) being called bigots for their SEXual orientation – which is NOT a choice or a preference and is in NO WAY transphobic.
Sexuality has NOTHING to do with gender ideology, which is why MANY in the LGB community are opposed to it.
Gender ideology is homophobic and misogynist at its core.
‘Cis” is not a thing.
Trans make up less than 1% of the population. The other 99% don’t need a prefix.
I am not a subset of my own sex class.
Cis is an offensive and inaccurate term.
Do not conflate sex with gender roles.
Being feminine does not make a person female. Only their biology does.
A man in ‘women’s clothing’ is not a woman.