The recent Olympian sized serving of cisgenderism and sexism on the menu from Paris Olympics merits a break down. I mean just what are the ingredients coming into our social feed? The main course , of course, is all about that hugely popular sport we all have been following for years – women’s boxing (I […]
Author: thekeyhole
The Poppy Whorer Picture Show Lyrics
by Key Paul Straughan LATE GREAT MOVIES DOUBLE FEATURE (Opening in the style of Science Fiction /Double Feature) In the subterranean cellars all across cis suberbia, ( b-movie sci-fi, horror and camp, oh my) There were weirdos peering for a glimpse of queering across screens of the TV ah ( b-movie sci-fi, horror and camp, […]
How do you solve a problem like misgendering?
To illustrate the daily erasure trans folx face in a world privileging cisgender norms, I offer my experience at the supposedly trans-positive Compass Community Clinic. Trans people are notoriously underserviced in healthcare care, with known disparities in trans and gender minorities’ ability to access healthcare (Scheim et al., 2017). Perceived discrimination in healthcare settings contributes […]
Social Justice Urnings in the United Church
Dear Right Reverend Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, I am writing to you as moderator and as the primary spokesperson and representative of the United Church to return two memorial urns I supposedly stole from a United Church in the Horseshoe Falls Regional Council. I am not sure if you will have use for these damaged items […]
Are you a trans?
Erasure of gender minority people is a defining characteristic cisgender systems operate, as they assume anyone outside the binary is impossible (Namaste, 2000). Since gender minorities are erased, when one turns up in real life, say at a doctor’s office, a social emergency occurs, usually resulting in a cascade of microaggressions to letting you know […]
ETFO: Transphobia is in the eye of the beholder
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) needs Jesus; more specifically, they need to heed the savior’s story concerning kicking up dust about the speck in the other person’s eye, all the while having a plank in your own (Matthew 7:3-5). I had a come to Jesus moment when ETFO was supposedly addressing workplace transphobia, […]
Bad Pride Vibes with Shopper’s Drug Mart
I am regularly misgendered at Shopper’s Drug Mart, but I recently posted a particularity bad experience… I often resort to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (HRTO) as a way of being an activist and advancing gender minority rights. I recently spoke about this on The Experimantal Leader Podcast. Unfortunately, I had to take Shopper’s to […]
Shopper’s Drug Mart is not my non-binary bag!
You’d think that Shopper’s Drug Mart, that self defines as “Canada’s leading pharmacy retailer,” would have inclusive customer service practices towards the Two Spirit and LGBTQIA clients. Shopper’s Drug Mart has made efforts to support the 2SLGBTQIA community, like sponsoring Toronto Pflag in 2022 and was a grand prize partner for Canada’s Drag Race. So […]
Counselling Two-Spirit Clients in Canada
Introduction Two-Spirit persons form a small minority in the larger whole of the Canadian Indigenous minority group, often overlooked by counsellors or assimilated into the LGBTQ2SIA acronym. By ignoring and thereby rendering Two Spirit realities invisible, counsellors inadvertently participate in the ongoing colonization of Indigenous people in Canada. An essential part of the colonial project […]
Two transgender teachers too many to many?
To Whom it May Concern, I’m writing this open letter to thank you for allowing me ten minutes to delegate about my lived experience as trans person, my whistleblowing activities and the subsequent retaliatory investigation and actions by my employer for having done so. Trans and gender-diverse voices are not often heard or are usually […]