CUQSC is over now. I'm absolutely exhausted from a really crazy busy weekend.

I'd say the biggest thing I got out of the weekend was the connections with LGBTQ students from across Canada. It was really, really cool to talk to so many interesting, unique and engaged activists for queer rights.

Many people were really interested in what SCM has to offer - our unique location in fighting religiously based homophobia, as well as our units on many local campuses where LGBTQ centres are also active.

I also get the feeling people are wanting to talk about spirituality, though, like many in SCM, are uncomfortable and suspicious of organized religion and its history of oppression.

That said, it's clear that people are also wanting to talk about soul-issues and values and a vision of more-than-just material changes. Which I think are at the core of what SCM is really about.

Anyway, the workshop I attended today was "LGBT Leadership Skills," and we talked about everything from the problems with "tolerance" and "acceptance" of queer people (ie. allowing them to live in the dominant society without changing) when in fact we should be embracing diversity, celebrating, and totally transforming our entire system.

We got thrown candies for our contributions.

If you were at the conference and met me there (or didn't get a chance to) it was FABULOUS to meet you all and I hope we can keep in touch.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions, are looking for resources or book titles, or need a speaker... we want to help you serve the community in the best way possible and know we have something important to offer.

Over and out.

It seems fitting here to post a link to SCM’s Anti-Oppression Covenant as an example of how our community has struggled with the interdependence of oppression.

Any comments? Is it adequate?

Okay, to be perfectly honest, it’s ACTUALLY Day 3 and I’m writing about Day 2 but my writing would have honestly been atrocious last night…

I had to miss Saturday morning because of a confirmation retreat at my church (yes, I am getting re-confirmed Anglican tonight… by a bishop. Valid reason to miss part of a queer conference? You tell me). I did make it to the conference, however, for an incredible workshop on ‘Two-Spirited People.’

‘Two-spirit’ is a word being claimed by LGBT Indigenous peoples to show the sacredness of their dignity in society. It is a modern term which encompasses a variety of roles, gender identities and sexual behaviors, including:

• Aboriginal people who are gay or lesbian
• Aboriginal alternative genders
• Traditions of gender variance and alternative sexualities accepted in Aboriginal cultures
• Trans-identified people
• Drag queens and butches

(from Lang 1998 and Tietz 1996)

Basically, two-spirited is an indigenous term, expressing both the gender/sexual diversity of LGBT people, but also the unique culture and history of First Nations. In some traditional societies, ‘two-spirits’ were considered to be somehow closer to the spiritual world, between worlds if you will, and were believed to contain both the spirits of man and woman.

The presenter was Albert McLeod, from Two Spirited People of Manitoba. What I found really interesting was not the historical information about how two-spirits were accepted in their societies (and that was all fascinating, too).

Albert always prefaced his information by talking about colonization - how it has harmed two-spirited Indigenous people because it imposed a European gender system through force and manipulation. Residential schools, for instance, hammered the male-female binary into the students.

In a survey of two-spirited Aboriginal men (2001), the following negative influence were identified:

• 1 Unemployment (by 76% of two-spirit men)
• 2 Poor housing (45%)
• 3 Racism (44%)
• 4 Poverty (40%)
• 5 Homophobia (38%)
• 6 Suicide (32%)

…

• 10 Gay Bashing (31%)

Clearly, the oppressions of our economic and colonial system have a more primary impact on queer Indigenous people. One cannot talk about homophobia and heteresexism without addressing colonization, which Albert called the “rape of the land and the rape of our culture” because it was based on stealing resources and wiping out the population from the land.

I wondered, during this, why our LGBT service groups on campus, for instance, seem to devote most of their energy to things like “Coming Out Week” and “Homohop Dances” when the issue of white/settler privilege and our class system are oppressing our two-spirited sisters/brothers/others.

It reminds me of the LGBT activists in the Philippines, who declaim political assassinations of unionists, church workers and human rights activists by government/death squads - saying things like, “This is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on our community and we will resist it with our allies.”

There is an identification between different struggles. No one is working on their ‘own’ issue alone, because they are all connected (racism, homophobia, classism, sexism, ablism, etc) and impacted and driven by imperialism and a devastating economic system which puts life before profit.

I can only hope there will be a surge in our queer activism to identify across issues while working on our own - in particular around the colonization of indigenous people in Canada. A national radical queer movement?

The night ended with an amazing dinner and concert, and a kickin’ party in the “Antelope Room” of the Holiday Inn (where everyone else is staying)… or was it “Wildebeast Room”? Whatever.

Can I start by saying it is f***ing 40 degrees BELOW FREEZING in Winnipeg? There, I did.

Okay, I’m just going to write here quickly. We just started this conference and I can tell it’s going to be fabulous. I’m excited and proud to be wearing the SCM badge, though I’m sometimes (often) nervous when people glance down at it and see the word ‘Christian’.

But it’s important that we’re represented, that we get the word out about our Queer & Christian campaign. So yeah, I feel a responsibility to network as much as I can, and tell you all what I learned.

Tonight was a keynote or opening speech by the chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, Amanda Aziz - who I somehow know from somewhere I can’t place. I recognized a few faces from the West Coast as well.

We had a great dinner, with candlelight and everything. I was sitting with some folk from Carleton and Winnipeg.

Anyway, what did I learn? I guess Amanda connected the upcoming Feb 7 day of action for access to education… talking about homophobia and heterosexism as barriers to higher education. We heard some success stories, and I have a feeling everyone’s going to take something away with them — new connections, new ‘success stories’ to learn from, and at very least, some cool conference swag.

Off to the gay bar now. Yay. Dancing. Over and out (ha).

Feel free to chip in if you want, ask questions, even ask me to track down people from your campus (or make a connection for you!) - that’s what I’m here for.

Ciao.