In 2018, QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) activists formed a human chain and shut down the Edmonton Pride Parade. Their protest targeted police and military presence in the parade, but also the Edmonton Pride Festival Society itself, which they argued had long resisted QTBIPOC attempts to engage in dialogue and deliberation about police and military presence at pride events. Dr. Alexa DeGagne explains that in Edmonton, just like in New York City, pride began in protest of police raids of queer and trans spaces. In 2019, the Edmonton Pride Festival Society cancelled Pride, arguing that they could not meet the demands of QTBIPOC groups. Instead of a homonormative pride parade, queer, trans, and two-spirit activists organized a rally on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, a step towards returning to pride’s origins as a protest. Learning the history of the lesbian and gay rights movement in Canada and the theoretical underpinnings of queer politics helps contextualize current debates over the future of pride.
Discussion Questions
What are the arguments against including police in LGBTQ2S spaces and events? What are arguments for police inclusion? Provide evidence from the reading by Dr. Alexa DeGagne. After you have explained arguments for and against police inclusion, explain where you stand and why. You must draw on reference the reading by Dr. DeGagne in your response. Use the author-date reference style. You can also reference the reading by Dr. Sirma Bilge. Finally, you can reference ideas from the lessons. Your entry should be about 100 to 150 words long. Of course you can also respond to the postings by other students.
References for Module 7: LGBT Rights and Queer Politics
Bilge, Sirma. 2012. “Developing Intersectional Solidarities: A Plea for Queer Intersectionality.” In Beyond the Queer Alphabet: Conversations on Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality, eds. Malinda S. Smith and Fatima Jaffer. Creative Commons.
Cohen, Cathy J. 2005. “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?” In Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology, eds. E. Patrick Johnson and Mae G. Henderson. Duke University Press.
DeGagne, Alexa. 2020. “Chapter 12: Pinkwashing Pride Parades: The Politics of Police in LGBTQ2S Spaces in Canada.” In Turbulent Times, Transformational Possibilities? Gender and Politics Today and Tomorrow. Fiona MacDonald and Alexandra Dobrowolsky, Eds. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Duggan, Lisa. 2012. “Beyond Marriage: Democracy, Equality, and Kinship for a New Century.” In A New Queer Agenda, The Scholar and Feminist Online. Barnard Centre for Research on Women. http://sfonline.barnard.edu/a-new-queer-agenda/beyond-marriage-democracy-equality-and-kinship-for-a-new-century/
Hooper, Tom, Gary Kinsman, and Karen Pearlston. 2019. “Anti-69 FAQ.” https://anti-69.ca/faq/
Lenon, Suzanne. 2011. “‘Why is our love an issue?’: Same-Sex Marriage and the Racial Politics of the Ordinary.” Social Identities 17(3): 351-72.
Smith, Miriam. 2008. “Starting Points, 1969-1980”. In Political Institutions and Lesbian and Gay Rights in the United States and Canada. New York: Routledge.
Smith, Miriam. 2008. “Identity and Opportunity: The Lesbian and Gay Rights Movement,” in Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada, ed. Miriam Smith. Toronto: Broadview.