Photo: (left to right) Dr. Nancy Tathan, Emma Monti, Jack Babulic and David Vaz at the QueerMed Pride event on May 8.
June is the start of Pride season across Canada, a time to celebrate 2SLGBTQ+ people and honour the contributions they’ve made in advancing human rights, equality and inclusion across all aspects of society. Pride events are happening across the country throughout June and the summer months (in Kingston, the Pride Parade is taking place downtown on June 15).
QueerMed got a head-start on Pride by holding its event earlier in May, before students headed into exams. QueerMed is a student-run association of the School of Medicine focused on advocating for and promoting 2SLGBTQ+ topics in medicine and health care. Students, faculty and staff joined together to hear from speakers, celebrate and honour 2SLGBTQ+ people and their accomplishments and enjoy time together as a community.
The keynote speaker at the event was Dr. Nancy Tatham (Artsci’86 & Artsci’00), who shared her experiences as a queer activist and advocate, and as a student at Queen’s in the 80s, and later as a family medicine resident. At that time, only a very small number of students were publicly out and those that were faced discrimination, unjust treatment and a lack of inclusion. She says that it’s important that the environment has changed because with growing awareness comes safer spaces with greater protections (legislative and social) for 2SLGBTQ+ people. “The safer we are, the more of us are able to come out as queer or as allies,” says Dr. Tatham.
Pride also recognizes that the fight for true equality and social justice continues. Emma Monti is a 3rd-year medical student and co-leader of QueerMed who helped coordinate the event. She said the group wanted to create a space for community and connection to recognize queer and trans excellence in medicine, and honour the ongoing struggles many still face.
“Recognizing the deeply political and intersectional origins of Pride is essential; this aspect of Pride can sometimes become lost,” says Monti. “I encourage everyone to engage with the politics of Pride, look at the origins of this celebration, speak to queer and trans members of your community and recognize the ongoing challenges that the 2SLGBTQ+ community faces,” she adds.
With over 500 anti-2SLGBTQ+ bills introduced across the United States in the past year, and introduction of new anti-trans health laws in Alberta and elsewhere across the country, Monti says that support for queer and trans people is more important than ever before.
“We and our issues are in the public realm in a way never seen. And that greater focus draws the many voices raised against us—voices and actions against inclusion, against true diversity. That threat is aimed at all of us,” says Dr. Tatham. “It was trans women of colour who were out in front at the Stonewall Riots, bearing the brunt of the violence… we’re standing on their shoulders, [Today] we need all of us to find our different ways to share the work to ensure all of us are moving forward.”
To read more about Dr. Tatham's experience at Queen's and how things have changed, check out this retrospective from Queen's Alumni News.