Transgender Celebration

SooNews Staff for SooNews.ca

The Sault Ste Marie Gay-Straight Alliance and Proud Algoma, the campus club for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered & two-spirited (LGBT) students at Algoma University are collaborating on a week of events celebrating and commemorating queer culture and people, and promoting the participation of all people in the struggle for the rights and dignity of LGBT people and community.

Throughout the week, students can pledge to be allies of the LGBT community by signing cards that outline three steps to support LGBT friends and family.

1) Refusing to use anti-LGBT language or slurs

2) Intervening in situations where other are using anti-LGBT language or harassing other students

3) Actively supporting efforts to make the school a safer place.

Pledge cards are available in every student lounge and will be distributed by volunteers.

Friday evening the groups will host a movie night and pot luck supper in the Shingwauk Hall room 407. The first movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch will be screened at 5pm. The movie a cult favourite is a rock opera about a trans-woman leading her band on a cross country shadow tour of her former pupil & lover who hits it big after stealing her songs.

Following the pot luck dinner the second movie ‘Before Night Falls’ will be screened at 7:30pm. The movie stars Javier Bardem as Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas who was imprisoned for two years in Cuba for his homosexuality and his writing.

The screenings are free and popcorn will be available by donation.

The 1989 stabbing murder of Rita Hester a transsexual woman in Boston sparked the inception of the National Transgender Day of Remembrance. To commemorate Rita and others lost to anti-transgender violence candlelight vigils are held in dozens of cities around the world in November. For the first time in Sault Ste Marie members of LGBT will join those other cities and participate in a candlelight vigil at 7pm on Saturday November 22nd in front of the Sault Ste Marie courthouse.

As a celebration of the accomplishments, struggles and spirit of LGBT people and their allies a dance party will be held on Saturday evening beginning at 10pm at Bottom’s Up Lounge. All over the age of 19 are welcome.

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