BY ANDREA HOUSTON – It’s time for us to listen.
On Wednesday (Jan 11) at 6:30 pm, Xtra is hosting a panel
featuring some of Toronto’s most prominent and influential trans activists.
The panel will focus on trans representation in the media.
What is being done right? What is being done wrong? How can publications like
Xtra lead the way in respectfully and accurately telling trans people’s
stories?
We hope to touch on specific ways to integrate and
accommodate trans perspectives into our reporting, as well as into our upcoming style guide that will provide a consistent set of guidelines for the language
that we use. With questions
ranging from general etiquette to particular pronouns, we would like to educate
ourselves and others on how to be good trans allies.
We’ll be streaming the panel online at xtra.ca beginning at
6:30pm, and we anticipate wrapping up by 8.
The Panel
Bear Bergman, author, poet, playwright and theatre artist
Susan Gapka, chair of the Trans Lobby Group
Davina Hader, activist with Queer Ontario
Rupert Raj, mental health counsellor at the Sherbourne
Health Centre and active member of the Trans Lobby Group
Morgan Page, trans program coordinator at the 519 Church
St Community Centre
TK, Pride Toronto’s arts and culture manager
Lexi Tronic, trans and sex worker activist
Nicki Ward, trans activist and artist. Last year, Ward was a
member of the Community Advisory Panel and is now working to push for Bill
C-389 at the federal level.
Lucas
Silveira, musician with Toronto band The Cliks