VIDEO: Xtra town hall asks how racy candidates can be

Parties need to support sex-positive candidates, says Trish Kelly


Inspired by Trish Kelly’s clipped electoral run for Vancouver’s parks board, Xtra hosted a town hall Sept 9 to ask how openly sexual political candidates can be without compromising their electability.
Is there a “queer line” that candidates can’t cross — a line that reminds voters, and the political parties that rely on their support, too much of the sexual side of our sexual orientation?
Here’s what the panellists had to say.

Inspired by Trish Kelly’s clipped electoral run for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in July, Xtra hosted a town hall Sept 9 to ask how openly sexual political candidates can be without compromising their electability.

Is there a “queer line” — a line that reminds voters, and the political parties that rely on their support, too much of our sexual orientation — that candidates can’t cross?

In addition to Kelly, Xtra invited three more panellists and the community to consider these questions together at the Fountainhead Pub.

Kelly, a food policy specialist, is a performance artist and community activist and has co-edited lesbian erotica. Joining her on the panel were Councillor Tim Stevenson, BC’s first openly gay MLA; Jim Deva, Little Sister’s co-owner, who has spent a career fighting the censorship of our community’s stories and sexuality; and Romi Chandra Herbert, PeerNetBC co-executive director, who founded BC’s first gay-straight alliance in 1997 in Maple Ridge and has been helping queer youth find a voice ever since. An activist in his own right, Chandra Herbert is married to Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert.

“I think it was a really gutless and stupid decision that somebody made that somehow Trish was not going to be a viable candidate in the city of Vancouver,” Deva told the town hall.

“Masturbation is a really healthy thing to talk about,” Deva continued, referring to Kelly’s video on single life and self-loving that led to her withdrawal from Vision Vancouver’s slate. “Society would be a lot better and a lot more healthy if it actually talked about sexual issues. We have to be sexually honest with each other, and with society.”

Watch the video above to find out what else the panellists had to say.

Video shot for Xtra by Danny Berish and Katie Weldon, and edited by Berish.

 

Read More About:
Politics, Video, Power, News, Vancouver, Canada, Sex

Keep Reading

Canadian judge halts deportation of non-binary American

The ruling could set a massive precedent for trans and non-binary Americans seeking refuge in Canada amidst Trump’s wave of anti-trans attacks

Canada reportedly considered advisory for trans travellers to the U.S.

A new report from Reuters shows that Canadian officials struggled to advise travellers on Trump’s trans policies following his January executive order
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson testifies in Washington, DC.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission takes aim at gender-affirming care

ANALYSIS: The U.S. government agency hosted an event about the “dangers” of gender-affirming care for minors. But that’s not what the FTC does at all.

What does Moms For Liberty have to do with Alberta’s new school library standards?

ANALYSIS: A new report found Alberta officials referenced a book rating website with ties to the controversial advocacy group