On stage, a group of classical musicians dressed in formal evening wear hold their string, brass, and woodwind instruments. Making their final preparations before playing, they check their tuning, adjust their seats, and arrange sheet music on the stands in front of them. A pianist sits to one side, and a drummer near the back. […] More »

Former politician Cheri DiNovo was raised an agnostic atheist and, from an early age, thought religion was silly. “I didn’t understand why people were religious,” she says. “I always wanted to have that conversation, but was embarrassed to ask because I saw that some of the Christians I knew were very smart people who did […] More »

As a queer young woman fresh out of university entering the workforce, Jeanette Stock had several challenges to navigate. “The biggest barriers were my own about me being queer. I had never been schooled in workplace 101 on being queer,” says Stock. Challenges included coming out at work and getting comfortable with speaking about her […] More »

In a city known for cowboys and conservatism, a new initiative aims to commemorate its lesser-known history with a physical monument. Launched in 2017, the YYC Legacy Project sprang from Calgary city councillor Evan Woolley’s interest in ongoing endeavours, like Kevin Allen’s Calgary Gay History project. “I’m a fourth-generation Calgarian, I’m very proud of my […] More »

“Hey hey, ho ho, corporate Pride has got to go!” “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re fabulous, don’t fuck with us!” The chants pierced the hot night air of June 24, 2013, accompanied by tambourines and drums—including a makeshift drum, made from a red frying pan with a wooden spoon for a drumstick. A crowd of […] More »

  On February 4, members of Toronto’s LGBTQ communities gathered at the Metropolitan Community Church, in the city’s LGBTQ Village, in search of solace and comfort. Just a month prior, police made public their arrest of Bruce McArthur, the 66-year-old alleged serial killer who has been charged with eight counts of first-degree murder. The news came […] More »

Like the protagonist in his book, The Clothesline Swing, Ahmad Danny Ramadan is a hakawati, a storyteller, at heart. He has listened to countless tales of hardship and love, and has carefully crafted his own novel—and life—around them. From his house in war-torn Damascus to the pride parade in Vancouver, he has dedicated much of his […] More »

It’s 1:30 a.m., and I’m in my family’s living room giggling and staring at my laptop screen. I’ve been online for 10 hours in a chatroom with a rotating cast of friends. We have members from every time zone, scattered across the globe; the Australians are just coming online while some of the Americans are logging off. […] More »

A Queer Love Story, a new release from UBC Press, chronicles 15 years of correspondence between gay novelist Jane Rule and The Body Politic editor Rick Bébout. Below is an excerpt from the book, a back-and-forth between Jane and Rick as the pair work on an essay for The Body Politic as the HIV/AIDS crisis was bubbling in Toronto. […] More »

Growing up in an Ismaili Muslim community in Toronto, there was no explicit acceptance of queer folks, says Thawer. “I simply did not know where to look to find other people like myself.” At the age of 23, Thawer finally found his people at Salaam Canada, a social network and support group for those who […] More »

MAY 1969 “There’s no place for the State in the bedrooms of the Nation.” Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s Bill C-150 is passed, amending the Criminal Code to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults (but only in private, mind you). AUGUST 1, 1971 Toronto holds its first Pride celebration with a picnic on the Toronto Islands. The […] More »