Queer is the Mother of Invention

“queer as not being about who you’re having sex with - that can be a dimension of it - but queer as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and has to invent and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live.” - bell hooks, 2014 lecture

June is here and the LGBTQ2S+ community celebrates Pride - a reminder of and a reaction by a community at odds with everything around it - to insist on recognition and as a show of resilience and flourishment. Pride marks the root of rebellion and the spirit of self-love, as it navigates rainbow capitalism, police interference, and trans-exclusion. 

On our campus, as elsewhere, the hard work of social justice for queer and trans communities continues. Lucas Crawford has been named the Canada Research Chair in Transgender Creativity and Mental Health. CHEW Project OUTPost campaigns to address the wellness crisis of 2SLGBTQ+ youth. iSMSS hosted a discussion about the fight for equity with Stonewall riot/uprising activist Martin Boyce at the panel for the International Day of Pink. IG welcomed Mandy Penney for a conversation about Drag Race pedagogy. Librarians Jessica Thorlakson and Céline Gareau-Brennan have created guidelines for how best to search for queer academic resources. Canada Research Chair in Disability and Movement Cultures Danielle Peers has published about sports access and equity, Kerry Sluchinski about Chinese third person pronouns and LGBTQ discourses and Michelle Mary Anne Lavoie about mentorship for trans and non-binary young adults as part of their PhD theses work. UAlberta will award honorary doctorates this month to Michael Phair and Doug Stollery, giants in queer rights in Edmonton and in Alberta.     

As always, IG stands in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community, letting our Pride colours fly, and we extend our gratitude to those who are making a difference in the health and social outcomes of queer and trans folks.