"To me, Pride means..."

CHEO’s SOGIE (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression) Advisory Committee works year-round to create safe, inclusive and supportive environments for the many 2SLGBTQ+ members in our CHEO community. 

“I identify as queer and have at different points of my life identified as straight, lesbian, and bisexual. This attests to the fact that sexual orientation can be fluid, as can our experiences as queer people.

I have just passed my one-year anniversary at CHEO. Before I joined this great institution, I was  pleased to learn about the SOGIE Committee and the amazing work it does to connect queer and gender diverse employees and allies to advance equitable health services and inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ peoples.

I engaged in queer activism mostly in Toronto and Vancouver, in Pride parades and the first Dyke March in Toronto in the 1990’s. I used participatory theatre techniques to engage queer youth and provide a safe space to talk about their concerns. I continue to mentor young queer women of colour. I was also very involved in Desh Pardesh- a South Asian Intra-cultural festival that celebrated feminist, queer, anti-imperialist, and working-class cultures. My alter-ego drag act, Jimmy Susheel, debuted at this festival. I also create fiction, plays, and videos that feature queer perspectives and experiences – co-winning the Akua Award for best lesbian short at the Inside Out LGBTQ Film and Video Festival in 2000 for my video, Unmapping Desire. 

To me, Pride is about celebrating and making visible queer identity. Pride is also about valuing diversity as reflected in the rainbow flag. It’s about acknowledging discrimination and challenging heterosexism, homophobia and transphobia which is how Pride came about in the first place with the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. While locally we are celebrating Capital Pride, we are reminded that Pride is an international movement and in many countries homosexuality is criminalized, and queer people are persecuted. In Canada we are not strangers to discrimination and continue grow resilience and solutions to address regressive polices, prejudice and hate. We cannot take things for granted but need to keep advocating for equality and human rights for all 2SLGBTQ+ peoples. 

To mark Pride Month and Capital Pride Week, I will march in the Pride parade, celebrate with friends but mostly spend time with my kids — intentionally commemorating Pride by watching films and reading queer stories. My favorite queer authors are Dionne Brand, Shyam Selvadurai, James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. We also take time to  talk about issues at school. One of my sons is exploring their gender identity so we are very engaged as a family.” 

“I identify as a queer gay man. I identify at the intersectionality of a first generation east Asian immigrant and a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. As a medical provider, I have a keen interest in 2SLGBTQ+ health and health inequities. I have previously been involved in leading groups on 2SLGBTQ+ health in medical school and 2SLGBTQ+ youth groups in the Kingston community.

I currently serve as a board member for LGBT Youthline and have previously worked with them as a staff member. I’ve also worked as a regional assistant for the Provincial Youth Ambassador Project (PYAP), working closely with youth ambassadors to develop projects for their local communities to increase 2SLGBTQ+ programming and build networks amongst youth. I have previous experience working in pediatrics and as a Pediatric Resident at CHEO. Here, my academic interest is in barriers to trans healthcare. 

To me, pride means celebrating all identities. It means enjoying and being proud of the spaces and communities we thrive in, while acknowledging the historical context of pride and queer identity. It means to pay homage to those who have sacrificed and advocated for our acceptance. This is a unique time to engage in collective daydreaming about what our community wants the future to look like. 

I enjoy gathering friends, allies and community members to collectively celebrate and foster relationships with other queer folks. Now is the time to prioritize connecting with other queer organizations to gain awareness and knowledge, to skill share and share recreational spaces in ways we may overlook in everyday life. The way to celebrate is unique to each individual and so is how they want to express their queerness and who they choose to share that with. 

I am grateful for the 2SLGBTQ+ representation within CHEO at all levels of leadership and for the work the SOGIE Advisory Committee does to create inclusive spaces for queer staff, medical staff and youth.” 

"The SOGIE committee started at a time when Trans & queer hate was escalating. As a longtime queer parent married to a queer woman with a couple of queer kids, I could not not take part. We experienced so many broken systems and barriers to services like name and gender marker changes with our oldest, and I was motivated to become part of the solution. Our middle youth Ashe identifies as non-binary and has been partial to dresses and heels since they could walk. 

Ashe's story is likely not unique but after some particularly rough bullying at school, they turned into a sad and angry kid full of hate and suicidal ideation. They went to school happily in a dress that day, but came home in tears with a broken nose. No one called, no one noticed, no one cared. When asked why they didn’t tell anyone, they replied “I have no trust in any of them.” Ashe was 6 at the time. 

We're so grateful to CHEO, where Ashe has accessed many services and has always been treated with dignity and respect. CHEO is a pillar of hope in a cruel world, and I am privileged to share my thoughts and time as a volunteer here. 

Things are better for Ashe these days. After attending Kemptville Pride, I asked them to rate their experience on a scale of 1-10. Their response was: "My happiness breaks the happiness scale.” They even confidently wore a trans flag to Gananoque Pride last month! 

Ashe has also been advocating at school, making Pride buttons and sharing them with classmates and teachers alike to help create safer, more inclusive spaces!

The most meaningful thing about Pride for us is seeing Ashe (and other queer kids) be able to be themselves. It's clear that they try hard to hide a bit at school or in public spaces, but the happiness we see when they attend Pride is palpable.”