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Take this thing on, uh, homosexuality.
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00:00:19,896 --> 00:00:21,896
I think the view we take here
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00:00:21,965 --> 00:00:24,793
is that there's
no place for the state
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in the bedrooms of the nation.
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I think for those of us
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who grew up in the '50s and
'60s,
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it's hard to communicate
what it was like
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00:00:43,724 --> 00:00:45,103
to begin to suspect
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that you might be part
of this category of subhumans
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that was really
the most shameful,
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disgusting kind of thing
that anybody could possibly be.
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We were invisible.
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The straight world
wanted us to be invisible.
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Being gay was an abomination.
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It was a sin.
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It was a form
of spiritual corruption.
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We paraded in secret.
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And then we were paraded...
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through prison corridors
and the courts.
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Homosexuality was
essentially illegal.
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You could get 8 years in
prison or a mental institution.
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Fascists!
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We have crucial moments
where the state would attack us.
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Gay rights now! Gay rights now!
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We were forced to respond.
There was no choice.
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Shame! Shame! Shame!
Shame! Shame! Shame!
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As young activists,
we had a vision.
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We wanted a world that
was free of homophobia.
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It's just
a really beautiful thing
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to think about the idea
of all of the people
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who have stepped off of
the sidewalk and into the road.
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This is that genealogy of
resistance.
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I worked really hard
at not recognizing
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that I was attracted
to people of my same sex
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for a long, long time,
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even though at a certain level,
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I think I knew it.
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I remember the
song Downtown.
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And hearing that in Beaverton.
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And, like,
Beaverton had a downtown.
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It was the IGA, the post office
and the drugstore, right?
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That was the downtown.
45
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But this idea that there
might be this place
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where you could go downtown
where you could be different.
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I wanted to go downtown
but didn't know why.
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♪ When you're alone
and life is making you lonely ♪
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♪ You can always go downtown ♪
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Toronto is a very gay city.
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Yonge Street just seemed to be
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one of the gayest streets
in the world.
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♪ Downtown ♪
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♪ Just listen to the music,
all the traffic in the city ♪
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♪ Linger on the sidewalk ♪
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♪ All the neon signs
are pretty ♪
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00:04:03,965 --> 00:04:05,896
Going back to the 1950s,
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00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,724
bars in Toronto hosted these
drag balls for Halloween.
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00:04:09,862 --> 00:04:12,793
So on Halloween night,
they would host these events,
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these pageants where
drag queens would show up.
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They would be judged.
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They would win
awards and prizes.
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And it was just sort of this
celebratory kind of atmosphere.
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One of the big reasons
is because it was the only day
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that, legally,
you could get dressed up.
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Halloween.
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So we would...
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That's when we really pushed it.
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The hot spot was
St. Charles Tavern.
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00:04:41,241 --> 00:04:42,793
By the 1970s,
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00:04:42,896 --> 00:04:46,310
the drag balls
attracted a more hostile crowd.
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Holy mackerel!
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Look at that!
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00:04:50,137 --> 00:04:52,034
It was a very
brave thing to do.
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You know, drag queens were at
the sharp end, even back then.
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But there was a kind of
great defiance and bravery.
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They didn't care.
You know, ink, egg, spit...
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The woman came running up
to me as I'm going in,
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spit on me like a truck driver.
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"Fucking faggot!"
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And the police would
stand there: "Get that one!
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You missed that one!"
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Laughing.
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It's comforting to know
that there were people before.
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Yeah, they paved the way
for people like me,
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as Michelle Ross did and others.
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"Who's that
amazing woman on stage?"
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And of course,
it was a drag queen.
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But impeccable
and flawless.
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00:06:01,103 --> 00:06:02,965
And this was
Michelle Ross.
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00:06:03,034 --> 00:06:04,931
Michelle Ross,
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00:06:05,034 --> 00:06:10,517
a legendary Black queer
Canadian of Jamaican heritage.
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When you walked into
a club on Yonge Street
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00:06:13,172 --> 00:06:15,206
where Michelle was performing,
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you knew that a particular
kind of Black life
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was being made present.
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The majesty of her gowns.
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I feel grateful
when I see those photographs,
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and I also feel like those
people
need to be honoured and
remembered
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because they were trailblazers.
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We made a point.
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"We're here, we're queer.
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We're in your face."
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My name is Jeanine Maes.
I'm 83 years old.
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I am one of the last women
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that was locked up
in a psychiatric hospital
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for lesbianism.
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It happened in
Saint-Jean-de-Dieu
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in Montréal 1962.
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The door closed behind me.
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I saw the bars on the windows.
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My husband and my psychiatrist
decided they were going to cure
me.
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Because at that time,
being homosexual wasn't just
illegal,
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it was considered a mental
illness.
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They didn't have a lesbian wing,
so they sent me to the
schizophrenic wing.
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And that's when the nightmare
began.
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Every day, except on weekends,
I had to see my psychiatrist.
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He was looking for the problem
in my head.
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But that's not all.
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The gynecologists were looking
for the problem in my vagina.
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They were both looking for what
was wrong, but
nothing was wrong.
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I was very comfortable
in my skin.
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I had discovered I was a
lesbian,
that I liked women.
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I didn't understand their
attitude at all.
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And that was the second blow:
she never came back.
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He stole my daughter
and gave her to his mother,
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because for him, she was his
child.
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He didn't want her
to be raised by lesbians.
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So he gave her to his mother in
France.
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I told him I wouldn't let that
happen,
I'd take him to court.
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She was my child.
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I went to see three different
lawyers.
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They all said the same thing:
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Don't try it, it'll cost a
fortune,
and it won't work.
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You won't get her back.
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Because you're a lesbian,
and she's a girl.
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The view we take here is that
there's no place for the state
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in the bedrooms
of the nation.
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And I think that,
you know,
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what's done in private
between adults
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doesn't concern
the criminal code.
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When it becomes public,
this is a different matter.
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In December 1967,
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00:09:38,724 --> 00:09:43,172
Pierre Elliot Trudeau's
government introduced this bill
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that has been labelled
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the decriminalization
of homosexuality in Canada.
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What it actually did
was to say that
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if two people,
both of whom were over 21,
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had sex...
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in private and nobody saw it,
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then the police
wouldn't arrest you
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and you wouldn't go to jail.
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You won't be
charged criminally
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for gross indecency
or buggery
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as long as
there's only two of you
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and it's in
private, right?
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Well, I was 17, and so
I would have been a criminal.
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It didn't deal with
any kind of civil rights.
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00:10:21,931 --> 00:10:24,482
I mean, you could still be
fired from your job,
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thrown out of your apartment,
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refused service in a restaurant
if you wanted
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if they thought
that you looked gay, right?
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00:10:38,689 --> 00:10:41,482
But I think that Bill C-150
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actually dramatically
changed the conversation.
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From something that was the love
that dare not speak its name,
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it suddenly became something
everybody had to talk about.
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It was on television.
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At first it was very hard for
me.
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Because so many people were
against me.
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I developed a guilt complex.
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They told me I was bestial.
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That two women having sex was
disgusting.
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Heterosexuals would often
insult me loudly, to my face, in
public.
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00:11:23,482 --> 00:11:24,965
It was really awful.
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At that point, I got depressed.
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I was the first who dared say,
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00:11:32,482 --> 00:11:35,482
officially and on television,
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that I was a lesbian
and why I was a lesbian.
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Are you abnormal?
180
00:11:43,413 --> 00:11:47,413
I don't consider myself
abnormal,
not at all. Not at all.
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I am like everyone else.
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Of course, I wasn't cured.
I hadn't changed.
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Rather, I was absolutely
convinced
that this was the life I wanted
to lead.
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00:11:57,931 --> 00:12:03,413
I think I was
queer from birth,
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in that, you know,
like, I was a sissy.
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I loved dressing up
in my mom's clothes.
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In fact,
one of my earliest memories
188
00:12:13,862 --> 00:12:15,724
is wearing
my cousin's wedding dress.
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00:12:15,827 --> 00:12:17,344
My father worked all the time.
190
00:12:17,448 --> 00:12:18,551
In the evening,
191
00:12:18,655 --> 00:12:20,793
he would come home and
go and sit on the back porch,
192
00:12:20,896 --> 00:12:22,241
and it was my duty to bring him
193
00:12:22,379 --> 00:12:23,758
what was called
"the evening news,"
194
00:12:23,862 --> 00:12:25,482
which was the evening paper.
195
00:12:25,586 --> 00:12:29,551
And I remember reading about
gay activists in 1969
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00:12:29,689 --> 00:12:31,689
and the Stonewall riots then,
197
00:12:31,827 --> 00:12:34,517
and thinking somehow,
that was me.
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00:12:34,586 --> 00:12:36,931
Gay, gay all the way!
199
00:12:38,931 --> 00:12:42,758
Think of those early
organizations
were called Gay Liberation
Fronts.
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00:12:42,862 --> 00:12:44,206
That was named after
201
00:12:44,310 --> 00:12:46,379
the National Liberation Front
in Vietnam.
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00:12:46,482 --> 00:12:48,482
We had women's liberation,
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00:12:48,551 --> 00:12:51,724
Black liberation,
Chicano liberation.
204
00:12:52,758 --> 00:12:56,689
And we saw ourselves part
of a much broader movement
205
00:12:56,793 --> 00:13:00,827
for deep social change.
206
00:13:10,551 --> 00:13:15,655
We were overwhelmingly male,
overwhelmingly white.
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00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,586
So it was kind of
a working class or middle class
208
00:13:21,689 --> 00:13:25,241
upwardly mobile group
of young white men
209
00:13:25,344 --> 00:13:29,034
who felt that we were
going to change the world.
210
00:13:36,724 --> 00:13:40,931
Gay liberation, for me,
was the place where
211
00:13:41,034 --> 00:13:46,620
I could express the truth
about my sexuality.
212
00:13:47,724 --> 00:13:50,551
Discrimination became
more a reality
213
00:13:50,620 --> 00:13:55,413
as gay people emerged from
the closet in larger numbers.
214
00:13:56,896 --> 00:14:01,310
And we wanted to organize people
215
00:14:01,413 --> 00:14:04,724
in opposition
to that discrimination,
216
00:14:04,827 --> 00:14:08,344
in part to bring them out
in even greater numbers,
217
00:14:08,482 --> 00:14:10,896
knowing that that was
a necessary precondition
218
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,000
for the creation
of the gay community.
219
00:14:17,827 --> 00:14:22,965
In 1971,
Toronto Gay Action decided
220
00:14:23,034 --> 00:14:28,551
to organize the first national
protest march in Ottawa...
221
00:14:29,586 --> 00:14:34,000
and to, as the
substance of the march,
222
00:14:34,068 --> 00:14:38,310
to write a document listing
all of our grievances
223
00:14:38,413 --> 00:14:40,758
against the federal government.
224
00:14:42,827 --> 00:14:47,586
When you're attempting
to build a political movement,
225
00:14:47,689 --> 00:14:50,448
you have to
get your act together
226
00:14:50,551 --> 00:14:52,655
and spell everything out.
227
00:14:52,758 --> 00:14:56,689
One of the beauties of
the We Demand document
228
00:14:56,793 --> 00:15:00,310
is that we saw it as
so incredibly utopian.
229
00:15:00,413 --> 00:15:02,724
We didn't think
we had a hope in hell
230
00:15:02,827 --> 00:15:05,137
of ever winning
any of those demands.
231
00:15:17,413 --> 00:15:20,724
I made a lot of
the signs, you know.
232
00:15:20,793 --> 00:15:25,482
But we didn't know much
about making protest signs
233
00:15:25,586 --> 00:15:28,586
that would survive rainstorms.
234
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,551
So I think about 50% of them
disintegrated almost instantly.
235
00:15:39,103 --> 00:15:44,586
I mean, I was running around
trying to take photos,
236
00:15:44,689 --> 00:15:49,068
because I realized they would be
of historical importance.
237
00:15:50,965 --> 00:15:53,827
Canadian homosexuals
are having their careers ruined,
238
00:15:53,896 --> 00:15:55,724
being kicked out
of their churches,
239
00:15:55,793 --> 00:15:57,724
having their children
taken away from them
240
00:15:57,793 --> 00:16:00,758
and being assaulted in
the streets of our own city.
241
00:16:00,862 --> 00:16:03,172
What have we done
to deserve this?
242
00:16:03,310 --> 00:16:05,620
Love, that's all we have done.
243
00:16:05,689 --> 00:16:08,586
All we want to do is
love persons of the same sex
244
00:16:08,689 --> 00:16:11,655
and live our lives
we decide for ourselves.
245
00:16:11,758 --> 00:16:15,586
They were basically
civil-rights-style demands.
246
00:16:15,655 --> 00:16:17,827
They were forcefully made,
247
00:16:17,931 --> 00:16:20,586
and it really set an agenda
248
00:16:20,655 --> 00:16:25,206
that put this whole question
of gay sexuality on the map.
249
00:16:28,793 --> 00:16:31,931
"Today marks a turning
point in our history.
250
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,103
"No longer are we
going to petition others
251
00:16:34,206 --> 00:16:35,827
"to give us our
rights as gifts.
252
00:16:35,931 --> 00:16:38,448
"We're here to demand
them as equal citizens
253
00:16:38,586 --> 00:16:39,689
"on our own terms.
254
00:16:41,241 --> 00:16:43,724
"Homosexual women and men
in Canada
255
00:16:43,827 --> 00:16:47,931
"are fed up with being the butt
of other people's jokes.
256
00:16:49,137 --> 00:16:52,103
"We are fed up with
the lack of basic respect
257
00:16:52,172 --> 00:16:53,793
"due to all human beings.
258
00:16:56,931 --> 00:17:00,241
"We're fed up with having to
hide to preserve our jobs.
259
00:17:03,137 --> 00:17:05,068
"We're fed up
with having to hide
260
00:17:05,172 --> 00:17:06,758
"to preserve our own freedom.
261
00:17:09,103 --> 00:17:11,758
"We're fed up
with the genocide of gays,
262
00:17:11,862 --> 00:17:13,586
"fostered by psychiatrists,
263
00:17:13,689 --> 00:17:15,896
"using medieval tortures
to destroy us.
264
00:17:18,172 --> 00:17:21,482
"We're fed up with
being discriminated against
265
00:17:21,586 --> 00:17:23,931
"in employment,
housing and the courts.
266
00:17:26,172 --> 00:17:29,137
"We're fed up with being
arrested and harassed
267
00:17:29,206 --> 00:17:32,000
"by police forces
paid for by our own taxes.
268
00:17:33,931 --> 00:17:35,655
"In fact, we're fed up
269
00:17:35,758 --> 00:17:38,793
with paying the price
of other people's hangups."
270
00:17:43,793 --> 00:17:46,724
"There's no homosexual
problem in Canada.
271
00:17:46,827 --> 00:17:48,551
"There's a heterosexual problem.
272
00:17:50,931 --> 00:17:54,034
"Two million homosexual
men and women in Canada
273
00:17:54,137 --> 00:17:55,103
"are watching us.
274
00:17:55,206 --> 00:17:57,586
"We're going to show them
that it can be done.
275
00:17:57,689 --> 00:17:59,965
"We can go anywhere we choose
as homosexuals
276
00:18:00,068 --> 00:18:03,068
"and as Canadian citizens
with full civil rights.
277
00:18:03,172 --> 00:18:05,689
"Gay is proud and gay is good.
278
00:18:05,758 --> 00:18:08,137
Let's say it wherever we go."
279
00:18:12,827 --> 00:18:15,931
I suggested the most
important thing we could do
280
00:18:16,068 --> 00:18:18,724
to build the movement
and build community
281
00:18:18,793 --> 00:18:21,000
was to start
a newspaper of our own.
282
00:18:24,068 --> 00:18:26,724
There was silence
in the media,
283
00:18:26,793 --> 00:18:28,206
the mainstream media,
284
00:18:28,275 --> 00:18:30,965
around homosexuality in general.
285
00:18:31,068 --> 00:18:33,620
So I think the conclusion was:
286
00:18:33,724 --> 00:18:35,620
"We need to have
our own newspaper
287
00:18:35,724 --> 00:18:38,206
where we can write
what we want to write."
288
00:18:54,896 --> 00:18:56,965
And I think that became
an important thing
289
00:18:57,103 --> 00:18:58,275
that there really was a place
290
00:18:58,379 --> 00:19:00,793
where you could
actually look at something
291
00:19:00,862 --> 00:19:01,896
written by queer people.
292
00:19:06,896 --> 00:19:08,655
For a Canadian publication,
293
00:19:08,758 --> 00:19:11,068
the Body Politic
was pretty unique
294
00:19:11,172 --> 00:19:16,034
because it had achieved
a reputation internationally...
295
00:19:17,103 --> 00:19:22,000
which very few Canadian
periodicals have done.
296
00:19:23,103 --> 00:19:25,172
Chris Bearchell
was the only woman
297
00:19:25,275 --> 00:19:28,137
on the editorial collective
of the Body Politic.
298
00:19:28,241 --> 00:19:31,689
She was this
feisty little dyke
299
00:19:31,827 --> 00:19:34,827
who made sure that feminism
was on the agenda
300
00:19:34,965 --> 00:19:37,896
and made sure
that gay liberation
301
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,931
was on the agenda for feminists.
302
00:19:47,862 --> 00:19:49,827
All of us
on the initial collective,
303
00:19:49,896 --> 00:19:52,000
we would sell the newspaper
on the street.
304
00:19:52,103 --> 00:19:55,379
I mean, I can remember going out
with a bundle of 100 papers
305
00:19:55,517 --> 00:19:57,000
and selling them all.
306
00:19:57,103 --> 00:19:59,655
Yeah, there was lots of
reaction.
307
00:19:59,724 --> 00:20:02,000
I mean, I have to say I was
pretty cute.
308
00:20:02,068 --> 00:20:05,068
You know, I was 21 and wearing
a gay pride T-shirt and so on.
309
00:20:05,172 --> 00:20:07,793
And they'd all say, "Oh,
I don't want your paper,
310
00:20:07,896 --> 00:20:08,724
but I'll take you,"
311
00:20:08,827 --> 00:20:10,034
and all this kind of stuff.
312
00:20:10,172 --> 00:20:12,689
You know, lots of
cruisy stuff going on.
313
00:20:12,793 --> 00:20:14,068
I'd say: "Oh yeah, well, you
know,
314
00:20:14,172 --> 00:20:15,827
I cost more
than 25 cents, ha-ha."
315
00:20:23,206 --> 00:20:25,000
The Body Politic, you
know,
316
00:20:25,103 --> 00:20:27,034
had to decide
what kind of covers,
317
00:20:27,137 --> 00:20:30,275
what kind of art on the covers
would be used.
318
00:20:31,793 --> 00:20:34,758
We began to cover
stories we'd heard
319
00:20:34,862 --> 00:20:38,034
of people being arrested in
washrooms,
320
00:20:38,137 --> 00:20:41,206
you know, people being
thrown out of apartments
321
00:20:41,344 --> 00:20:43,310
because they were queer.
322
00:20:44,517 --> 00:20:47,172
One of them would be Douglas
Wilson,
323
00:20:47,275 --> 00:20:49,310
who was a teacher
in Saskatchewan.
324
00:20:49,413 --> 00:20:52,103
He was fired because
he was openly gay.
325
00:20:53,379 --> 00:20:55,137
Really at the time,
326
00:20:55,241 --> 00:20:57,931
the Body Politic
was globally recognized
327
00:20:58,068 --> 00:21:02,275
as being one of the leaders
in terms of debates, discourses,
328
00:21:02,413 --> 00:21:04,724
fights, theories,
329
00:21:04,793 --> 00:21:09,206
development of a rigorous
queer liberation theory.
330
00:21:09,310 --> 00:21:10,310
There was this sense of:
331
00:21:10,413 --> 00:21:14,137
"I'm getting this amazing
immersion and education
332
00:21:14,275 --> 00:21:17,137
in what gay liberation
can look like."
333
00:21:21,310 --> 00:21:24,068
People growing up
in small towns and so on
334
00:21:24,172 --> 00:21:26,965
say that they saw
the Body Politic in the library,
335
00:21:27,068 --> 00:21:28,241
and they couldn't believe it.
336
00:21:28,344 --> 00:21:31,344
You know, they couldn't believe
that such a thing existed.
337
00:21:31,448 --> 00:21:33,137
I found the Body Politic.
338
00:21:33,241 --> 00:21:35,137
Who knew the Cedarbrae
Public Library
339
00:21:35,275 --> 00:21:37,137
was so progressive
to have all of this.
340
00:21:37,275 --> 00:21:39,793
That where I was there
feeling isolated,
341
00:21:39,896 --> 00:21:42,379
it gave me a space
to sort of find myself.
342
00:21:42,482 --> 00:21:44,275
And so, the Body Politic
343
00:21:44,413 --> 00:21:49,344
actually located queerness
and gayness in Toronto.
344
00:21:49,448 --> 00:21:51,413
So I knew, you know,
345
00:21:51,482 --> 00:21:56,413
not far from where I was sitting
in Cedarbrae Public Library,
346
00:21:56,482 --> 00:21:59,000
that there was a whole
community.
347
00:22:09,206 --> 00:22:12,551
I started buying
the Body Politic on the sly,
348
00:22:12,655 --> 00:22:15,068
and I started reading the paper
349
00:22:15,206 --> 00:22:19,413
and found that there was going
to be this Gay Pride march.
350
00:22:36,344 --> 00:22:37,448
It started at Allan Gardens.
351
00:22:37,517 --> 00:22:40,000
And I remember hiding
sort of behind the bushes
352
00:22:40,068 --> 00:22:42,517
and kind of watching
these people as they formed up.
353
00:22:42,620 --> 00:22:44,862
Then as they began to
pick up things to go,
354
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,310
I thought: "This is the moment."
355
00:22:46,379 --> 00:22:48,793
And so I walked over
and picked up a sign that said,
356
00:22:48,862 --> 00:22:51,000
you know, "Gay Liberation Now,"
or something.
357
00:22:53,448 --> 00:22:56,137
I had a bullhorn
at the front of the parade
358
00:22:56,206 --> 00:22:57,827
and was calling out the chants.
359
00:22:57,965 --> 00:23:01,413
We were all pumped
and excited and chanting:
360
00:23:01,517 --> 00:23:03,034
"Two, four, six, eight,
361
00:23:03,103 --> 00:23:04,965
gay is just as good as
straight."
362
00:23:15,344 --> 00:23:17,379
And the advantage
of having so few people
363
00:23:17,448 --> 00:23:20,275
was that I was recognized
as a new face in the crowd,
364
00:23:20,379 --> 00:23:22,068
picked up, taken home,
had sex with,
365
00:23:22,206 --> 00:23:24,034
given a stack
of gay liberation literature
366
00:23:24,103 --> 00:23:26,413
and told to come back for more
when I finished reading.
367
00:23:26,551 --> 00:23:28,310
And I read.
368
00:23:31,482 --> 00:23:36,620
I saw this very masculine,
handsome young guy on the side
there.
369
00:23:36,724 --> 00:23:39,137
And so I asked him
if I could hold his hand.
370
00:23:40,448 --> 00:23:43,551
To pull him
into the march, really.
371
00:23:43,655 --> 00:23:48,068
So we held hands,
and then we became...
372
00:23:50,103 --> 00:23:52,068
very close for a year.
373
00:23:52,137 --> 00:23:54,275
And that was very lovely.
374
00:23:54,413 --> 00:23:58,586
And that helped Tim
evolve into...
375
00:23:59,620 --> 00:24:03,586
perhaps the most important
single gay activist in Canada.
376
00:24:03,655 --> 00:24:05,689
That's how I see it.
377
00:24:05,827 --> 00:24:09,379
So in that way,
if I played a positive role,
378
00:24:09,482 --> 00:24:11,068
I'm proud of that.
379
00:24:20,379 --> 00:24:24,517
Jearld Moldenhauer
provides an invaluable record
380
00:24:24,655 --> 00:24:26,310
of those early days,
381
00:24:26,379 --> 00:24:30,000
both in photographs
and in the Super 8 footage.
382
00:24:31,620 --> 00:24:34,068
Jearld is a remarkable
archivist.
383
00:24:39,724 --> 00:24:42,310
Why it's important
to document history?
384
00:24:42,413 --> 00:24:45,586
It shows real live human beings
in their situation
385
00:24:45,689 --> 00:24:47,620
trying to change their society.
386
00:24:47,724 --> 00:24:51,620
When people see that, you know,
especially as time goes by,
387
00:24:51,689 --> 00:24:55,310
and they look back and they see
what those people did,
388
00:24:55,379 --> 00:24:59,206
that they took a stand,
they participated,
389
00:24:59,344 --> 00:25:01,724
and that's how change occurs.
390
00:25:07,517 --> 00:25:11,068
This was a joyous,
in-your-face,
profoundly political event
391
00:25:11,206 --> 00:25:14,413
because it was not OK
to be out back then.
392
00:25:21,551 --> 00:25:26,413
We were very young and committed
to resisting, rebellion
393
00:25:26,517 --> 00:25:30,206
and being out to everyone.
394
00:25:30,310 --> 00:25:31,586
That was new.
395
00:26:07,344 --> 00:26:10,448
Do you understand,
those of you who are not gay,
396
00:26:10,551 --> 00:26:13,586
how we have been violated since
the very beginning of time?
397
00:26:13,655 --> 00:26:16,758
Do you understand that they
violated us during the
Inquisition
398
00:26:16,862 --> 00:26:19,482
by burning millions of us
as witches at the stake
399
00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:22,034
because we were interested
in herbal medicine
400
00:26:22,137 --> 00:26:23,758
or that we spoke out with the
truth?
401
00:26:23,827 --> 00:26:26,310
Do you know how men
got the name "faggot,"
402
00:26:26,413 --> 00:26:28,758
for any of you guys that still
use the word "faggot"?
403
00:26:28,827 --> 00:26:31,310
Because they were
tied to the witches,
404
00:26:31,413 --> 00:26:33,137
doused with gasoline
and lit on fire.
405
00:26:33,241 --> 00:26:35,103
And that's how they
got the name "faggot".
406
00:26:35,172 --> 00:26:37,448
They were used as a wood
to burn the women.
407
00:26:37,517 --> 00:26:39,413
My name is Robin Tyler.
408
00:26:39,517 --> 00:26:42,310
And I knew I was born a lesbian
when my mother delivered me
409
00:26:42,413 --> 00:26:44,310
and the doctor hit me,
and I hit him back.
410
00:26:44,413 --> 00:26:48,655
I was the first out
gay or lesbian comic.
411
00:26:48,758 --> 00:26:51,206
I've also been an activist
all of my life,
412
00:26:51,310 --> 00:26:52,655
including here in Winnipeg.
413
00:26:55,689 --> 00:26:57,620
I never came out of the closet.
414
00:26:57,724 --> 00:26:59,517
I was never in the closet.
415
00:26:59,655 --> 00:27:02,862
I remember falling in love
with Sheri Bernstein
416
00:27:02,965 --> 00:27:05,827
at the Banff School
of Fine Arts, you know,
417
00:27:05,896 --> 00:27:08,310
and picking up a book
called The Ladder.
418
00:27:08,379 --> 00:27:10,689
And it was: "If you're a woman,
you love another woman,
419
00:27:10,827 --> 00:27:11,827
"what you are is a lesbian.
420
00:27:11,931 --> 00:27:14,379
If it feels right to you,
it is right."
421
00:27:18,413 --> 00:27:20,793
I ran down the Banff School
of Fine Arts screaming:
422
00:27:20,896 --> 00:27:22,586
"I'm a lesbian,
I'm a lesbian, hooray!"
423
00:27:22,724 --> 00:27:25,586
And my teacher, who was just
like this Maggie Smith
424
00:27:25,689 --> 00:27:26,965
in The Prime of Jean Brodie,
425
00:27:27,034 --> 00:27:28,137
came out and said:
426
00:27:28,241 --> 00:27:30,448
"There, there, dear,
we're all thespians.
427
00:27:30,551 --> 00:27:32,103
That's why we're here, right?"
428
00:27:32,206 --> 00:27:33,793
So I couldn't even come out
when I came out.
429
00:27:33,896 --> 00:27:36,655
I remember being
on a work crew with a woman
430
00:27:36,724 --> 00:27:41,620
that, um, wore blue jeans,
and she had an army jacket,
431
00:27:41,689 --> 00:27:43,758
and she was a poet,
432
00:27:43,862 --> 00:27:45,448
and she was yummy.
433
00:27:45,551 --> 00:27:49,517
And I said to her:
"Can I kiss you? I must kiss
you."
434
00:27:49,620 --> 00:27:50,724
And she said yes.
435
00:27:50,827 --> 00:27:52,310
I remember thinking,
436
00:27:52,413 --> 00:27:55,379
as we were in bed having
wild sex for the first time,
437
00:27:55,448 --> 00:27:59,896
it's like: "OK, I'm a nice
Catholic girl
from, you know, northern
prairies,
438
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,413
and this is worth
going to hell for."
439
00:28:08,137 --> 00:28:10,862
I come from
a very repressed family
440
00:28:10,965 --> 00:28:14,862
in a small town
in British Columbia, in Kelowna.
441
00:28:14,931 --> 00:28:16,517
It was very tiny.
442
00:28:16,586 --> 00:28:18,551
It was very conservative.
443
00:28:19,758 --> 00:28:22,344
I used to have
these reoccurring nightmares
444
00:28:22,448 --> 00:28:25,448
that these beautiful women
turned into witches
445
00:28:25,551 --> 00:28:26,827
and they were trying to get me.
446
00:28:26,931 --> 00:28:28,689
And I would run
and run, and I would panic,
447
00:28:28,758 --> 00:28:30,137
and I would wake up.
448
00:28:30,275 --> 00:28:32,586
And it was kind of like
this terror nightmare.
449
00:28:32,655 --> 00:28:35,034
And I thought: "Oh my God,
lesbians are witches.
450
00:28:35,137 --> 00:28:36,965
"Clearly, like, it's bad.
451
00:28:37,103 --> 00:28:39,620
It's a bad thing
that I'm feeling this."
452
00:28:39,724 --> 00:28:43,793
And I guess one day, I actually
analyzed it differently.
453
00:28:43,896 --> 00:28:45,448
And I thought: "It's just...
454
00:28:45,551 --> 00:28:47,413
"It's what I'm afraid of,
455
00:28:47,482 --> 00:28:49,448
because it's going
to change my life."
456
00:28:49,551 --> 00:28:52,310
♪ My fear has turned to anger ♪
457
00:28:52,448 --> 00:28:55,413
♪ As my anger's
turned into rage ♪
458
00:28:55,517 --> 00:28:57,862
♪ And I won't live
my life in a cage ♪
459
00:28:57,965 --> 00:29:00,310
♪ So we're gonna fight back ♪
460
00:29:00,448 --> 00:29:01,655
♪ In large numbers ♪
461
00:29:01,793 --> 00:29:03,482
♪ Fight back ♪
462
00:29:03,620 --> 00:29:05,310
♪ I can't make it alone ♪
463
00:29:05,448 --> 00:29:07,379
♪ Fight back ♪
464
00:29:07,517 --> 00:29:08,689
♪ In large numbers ♪
465
00:29:08,827 --> 00:29:11,275
♪ Together we can
make a safe home ♪
466
00:29:11,517 --> 00:29:14,448
♪ Together we can make
a safe home ♪
467
00:29:14,551 --> 00:29:17,103
Two, four, six, eight,
468
00:29:17,206 --> 00:29:19,551
lesbians are really great!
469
00:29:20,793 --> 00:29:24,689
Lesbian organizations were
popping up all over the country.
470
00:29:24,793 --> 00:29:28,655
And it really was a time when we
needed to separate from gay men.
471
00:29:28,758 --> 00:29:31,000
Because what
we were fighting for
472
00:29:31,103 --> 00:29:34,896
felt very different as women
and as feminists.
473
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:36,482
♪♪ Angry young woman ♪
474
00:29:36,551 --> 00:29:38,344
♪ I've been around ♪
475
00:29:38,482 --> 00:29:39,551
♪ Angry young woman ♪
476
00:29:39,655 --> 00:29:41,000
♪ I'll bust up the town ♪
477
00:29:41,137 --> 00:29:42,827
♪ Angry young woman ♪
478
00:29:42,931 --> 00:29:44,620
♪ They call me a dyke ♪
479
00:29:44,724 --> 00:29:46,000
♪ I don't know much about it ♪
480
00:29:46,206 --> 00:29:49,551
♪ I just know what I like ♪
481
00:29:49,689 --> 00:29:53,413
This is a time that requires
that we be on the street.
482
00:29:53,517 --> 00:29:56,793
This is a time that
requires us to be visible.
483
00:29:56,896 --> 00:30:00,862
This is a time that
requires us to take up space.
484
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,793
And we did.
485
00:30:02,896 --> 00:30:06,034
♪ A motorbike with whistles ♪
486
00:30:06,172 --> 00:30:08,000
♪ Hey, you want a ride? ♪
487
00:30:08,068 --> 00:30:11,482
♪ You don't understand
when I say no, it's no ♪
488
00:30:11,586 --> 00:30:15,896
I believe that
we began to build in 1977.
489
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,137
Now, originally, when we
were trying to figure out
490
00:30:19,206 --> 00:30:21,586
what to call
ourselves, actually,
491
00:30:21,689 --> 00:30:24,448
the first idea was the Toronto
Organization of Lesbians.
492
00:30:24,517 --> 00:30:27,793
But we didn't like the
acronym, which was TOOL.
493
00:30:27,862 --> 00:30:30,551
So we flipped it
494
00:30:30,655 --> 00:30:33,827
and decided it would be the
Lesbian Organization
of Toronto,
495
00:30:33,931 --> 00:30:35,793
LOOT.
496
00:30:38,862 --> 00:30:40,344
And we found this house.
497
00:30:40,448 --> 00:30:43,965
It was a little ramshackle,
but that was OK.
498
00:30:44,068 --> 00:30:45,758
Women started coming in,
499
00:30:45,862 --> 00:30:50,000
and we started seeing
that we weren't alone.
500
00:30:52,862 --> 00:30:56,000
Just the notion
that we could be out there,
501
00:30:56,103 --> 00:31:00,862
we could be together,
we could celebrate,
502
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,586
we could flirt, we could,
you know, find a new lover,
503
00:31:05,689 --> 00:31:08,413
we could find a new friend,
504
00:31:08,551 --> 00:31:10,379
we could go out afterwards,
505
00:31:10,448 --> 00:31:13,379
we could go home afterwards
with somebody.
506
00:31:13,482 --> 00:31:17,517
All of that was just, uh,
oh, it was so luscious.
507
00:31:17,620 --> 00:31:20,896
♪ I just know what I like ♪
508
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:23,551
I knew what a lesbian was.
509
00:31:23,620 --> 00:31:28,068
That still wasn't really
what I felt comfortable with.
510
00:31:28,172 --> 00:31:32,586
And after going there for
about, I guess, 3 or 4 days,
511
00:31:32,689 --> 00:31:35,827
I heard the word "dyke,"
and I asked what that meant.
512
00:31:35,931 --> 00:31:37,103
And they said:
513
00:31:37,206 --> 00:31:40,413
"Oh, you know, "that's somebody
who is politically active,
514
00:31:40,551 --> 00:31:41,931
and they like to kick ass."
515
00:31:42,068 --> 00:31:43,620
And I said: "Well, that's me."
516
00:31:49,137 --> 00:31:52,103
When it was my shift
on the phone lines
517
00:31:52,241 --> 00:31:54,413
and young women would call up,
518
00:31:54,551 --> 00:31:57,793
and they would hear my accent,
my Trini accent,
519
00:31:57,931 --> 00:32:01,000
they would say: "Oh,
you sound like my mother,"
520
00:32:01,137 --> 00:32:04,517
or, "You sound like my aunt,
but I was born here.
521
00:32:04,655 --> 00:32:06,172
Can I come down and meet you?"
522
00:32:06,310 --> 00:32:07,965
I don't know
how I ended up there.
523
00:32:08,068 --> 00:32:09,482
Somebody took me there,
524
00:32:09,620 --> 00:32:13,137
but I ended up playing some
of my first gigs at LOOT.
525
00:32:13,241 --> 00:32:15,034
And I was so bad.
526
00:32:15,137 --> 00:32:16,827
Oh my God,
I was so bad.
527
00:32:16,931 --> 00:32:20,620
But they were so supportive,
and it gave me...
528
00:32:20,689 --> 00:32:24,137
Just watching these women
talking together,
529
00:32:24,275 --> 00:32:25,655
you know, I was a little...
530
00:32:25,758 --> 00:32:28,068
I was a little baby dyke
at that point, right?
531
00:32:28,172 --> 00:32:30,931
I was still fresh
and new in this world,
532
00:32:31,034 --> 00:32:33,620
and I didn't know...
533
00:32:35,586 --> 00:32:37,620
how I was going to evolve.
534
00:32:37,689 --> 00:32:42,000
But I knew that these women
were going to be a piece of it.
535
00:32:57,827 --> 00:33:02,103
I have been blacklisted for
exercising the right of a mother
536
00:33:02,206 --> 00:33:04,724
to defend her children
and all children
537
00:33:04,827 --> 00:33:07,862
against their being recruited
by homosexuals.
538
00:33:07,965 --> 00:33:10,724
Anita Bryant
was coming to town.
539
00:33:10,827 --> 00:33:12,551
And we knew she was dangerous.
540
00:33:12,655 --> 00:33:14,103
We knew she was
having an impact,
541
00:33:14,206 --> 00:33:15,896
especially in the United States.
542
00:33:16,034 --> 00:33:18,689
And there were many of us
who really can't stand it
543
00:33:18,793 --> 00:33:20,172
when anybody
in the United States
544
00:33:20,241 --> 00:33:22,758
has any kind of influence
over our politics here.
545
00:33:22,862 --> 00:33:24,655
She was going around the US
546
00:33:24,724 --> 00:33:27,655
campaigning against
human rights for queers,
547
00:33:27,758 --> 00:33:30,931
in particular, human rights
for queer teachers.
548
00:33:31,034 --> 00:33:33,965
Would you welcome, please,
Bob and Anita Bryant-Green.
549
00:33:34,068 --> 00:33:35,551
God bless you.
550
00:33:36,793 --> 00:33:39,034
Anita Bryant
was very dangerous.
551
00:33:39,172 --> 00:33:41,172
The first thing was
her hair was very stiff.
552
00:33:41,241 --> 00:33:43,551
So if you bumped into her,
you could get wounded.
553
00:33:43,689 --> 00:33:44,896
Do you know what I mean?
554
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,689
There was so much hairspray that
it was a helmet that she wore.
555
00:33:48,793 --> 00:33:51,862
But she was also dangerous
because it wasn't her.
556
00:33:51,965 --> 00:33:54,896
It was really a huge
right-wing factory.
557
00:33:55,034 --> 00:33:57,655
The war goes on
to save our children
558
00:33:57,724 --> 00:34:00,103
because the seed
of sexual sickness
559
00:34:00,206 --> 00:34:02,275
that germinated in Dade County
560
00:34:02,379 --> 00:34:05,137
has already been transplanted
by misguided liberals
561
00:34:05,275 --> 00:34:06,896
in the US Congress.
562
00:34:06,965 --> 00:34:11,655
700 lesbians, gay men
and feminists
563
00:34:11,758 --> 00:34:15,103
went up on a very cold, cold,
564
00:34:15,206 --> 00:34:19,000
chilly, blistering-cold night
565
00:34:19,103 --> 00:34:21,965
and marched and protested
against her speaking.
566
00:34:22,068 --> 00:34:23,896
Hey, hey, ho, ho!
567
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:24,896
Anita Bryant's gotta go!
568
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,896
Hey, hey, ho, ho!
Anita Bryant's gotta go!
569
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,655
The presence
of Anita Bryant in Canada
570
00:34:31,758 --> 00:34:34,689
galvanized queer activists.
571
00:34:34,793 --> 00:34:36,137
There we were,
572
00:34:36,275 --> 00:34:41,103
furious with
this right-wing backlash.
573
00:34:41,206 --> 00:34:45,862
And it also
kind of connected us to,
574
00:34:45,965 --> 00:34:48,827
especially lesbian
feminists like myself,
575
00:34:48,965 --> 00:34:50,034
to gay liberationists
576
00:34:50,137 --> 00:34:53,000
in a way that we
hadn't been connected before.
577
00:34:53,103 --> 00:34:57,344
Gay rights now! Gay rights now!
578
00:34:57,482 --> 00:35:02,137
Gay rights now! Gay rights now!
579
00:35:02,241 --> 00:35:04,241
Gay rights now!
580
00:35:06,137 --> 00:35:08,724
Even as we were having
leaps of visibility
581
00:35:08,827 --> 00:35:11,551
and extraordinary
gains in the public sphere,
582
00:35:11,689 --> 00:35:14,206
and as a community,
were exerting ourselves
583
00:35:14,310 --> 00:35:16,724
and expressing our agency.
584
00:35:16,862 --> 00:35:19,137
And it wasn't
just through the protests
585
00:35:19,206 --> 00:35:20,931
or through the pride parades,
586
00:35:21,034 --> 00:35:24,275
but it was through all
the day-to-day changes
587
00:35:24,379 --> 00:35:25,724
that were occurring
588
00:35:25,827 --> 00:35:27,689
that was making queer visible,
589
00:35:27,827 --> 00:35:29,931
but equally making
queer vulnerable
590
00:35:30,034 --> 00:35:33,172
to that sort of backlash
or that sort of attack.
591
00:35:47,137 --> 00:35:51,344
In 1976, Montreal
hosted the Olympics.
592
00:35:53,310 --> 00:35:58,068
This was Mayor Jean Drapeau's
major event for him.
593
00:35:58,206 --> 00:36:02,206
He made sure that the city was,
quote unquote, cleaned up.
594
00:36:02,310 --> 00:36:04,068
So there were a lot of arrests.
595
00:36:04,137 --> 00:36:05,724
A lot of arrests
of gay people,
596
00:36:05,793 --> 00:36:08,793
a lot of arrests of
street workers, sex workers.
597
00:36:08,931 --> 00:36:12,034
And that continued
into 1977.
598
00:36:13,965 --> 00:36:15,310
We went to this place--
599
00:36:15,448 --> 00:36:18,068
it was relatively new--
called Truxx.
600
00:36:18,172 --> 00:36:21,241
And it was on
an upper floor.
601
00:36:21,344 --> 00:36:23,068
And it was kind of dark.
602
00:36:23,137 --> 00:36:27,103
And it was just
people sitting around,
603
00:36:27,206 --> 00:36:28,931
talking and drinking beer.
604
00:36:29,034 --> 00:36:31,241
And I remember shortly
before all hell broke loose,
605
00:36:31,344 --> 00:36:32,965
Warick saying:
606
00:36:33,068 --> 00:36:34,965
"This is really boring.
Let's go somewhere else."
607
00:36:37,896 --> 00:36:41,517
The police showed up suddenly.
608
00:36:46,275 --> 00:36:50,241
They were carrying long guns.
609
00:36:50,310 --> 00:36:55,206
They harassed us,
hitting us on the legs.
610
00:36:59,620 --> 00:37:05,310
And then they loaded us into
vans.
611
00:37:05,379 --> 00:37:07,517
I remember sitting
in this paddy wagon.
612
00:37:07,620 --> 00:37:09,000
There was a lot of distress,
613
00:37:09,103 --> 00:37:11,517
because there were people,
for instance, married men.
614
00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:13,068
There were people
who weren't out.
615
00:37:13,206 --> 00:37:15,862
There was one guy who had some
kind of immigration problem
616
00:37:15,965 --> 00:37:17,172
that he was
really worried about.
617
00:37:17,310 --> 00:37:18,482
There was a lot of anguish.
618
00:37:21,206 --> 00:37:26,482
The police forced us
into a physical inspection,
619
00:37:26,620 --> 00:37:31,448
including our sexual parts.
620
00:37:31,551 --> 00:37:35,103
This was an operation among
the 3 police forces.
621
00:37:35,172 --> 00:37:40,068
They treated it as if
this was a major crime scene,
622
00:37:40,172 --> 00:37:42,344
which of course it never was.
623
00:37:43,379 --> 00:37:47,827
In the meantime,
gay rights activists
624
00:37:47,896 --> 00:37:51,862
were planning a protest
for the next day.
625
00:37:54,620 --> 00:37:58,137
Over 2,000 people showed up.
626
00:38:10,241 --> 00:38:12,241
It was like being on
the crest of a wave.
627
00:38:12,379 --> 00:38:14,379
It wasn't like we
started the wave.
628
00:38:14,448 --> 00:38:17,517
The wave was there
and carried us with it,
629
00:38:17,586 --> 00:38:20,379
and we were
just there manifesting.
630
00:38:22,172 --> 00:38:25,620
We decided that, no more
slinking away into the night.
631
00:38:27,344 --> 00:38:30,034
The defence would be
one of identification.
632
00:38:30,137 --> 00:38:32,172
What happened would be
633
00:38:32,275 --> 00:38:36,448
that they would call a policeman
to the stand, the prosecution.
634
00:38:36,586 --> 00:38:38,586
"Can you identify the accused?"
635
00:38:38,724 --> 00:38:41,275
Well, in those days,
if I may say so,
636
00:38:41,413 --> 00:38:43,344
a lot of gay people, you know,
637
00:38:43,448 --> 00:38:46,379
were dressed
and looked very much alike.
638
00:38:47,586 --> 00:38:49,413
And so how would the policeman
639
00:38:49,551 --> 00:38:51,379
remember that
particular accused?
640
00:38:51,448 --> 00:38:53,517
Could not point them out
in the courtroom.
641
00:38:53,586 --> 00:38:56,310
And the case collapsed.
642
00:38:56,413 --> 00:38:57,724
In the meantime,
643
00:38:57,827 --> 00:39:01,137
me and my friends in the
organization
were asked to write a brief
644
00:39:01,275 --> 00:39:03,172
to the Minister of Justice.
645
00:39:03,310 --> 00:39:05,413
Well, above all, I asked them
646
00:39:05,482 --> 00:39:11,172
to include in the Charter of
Freedoms
for the Quebec population
647
00:39:11,310 --> 00:39:16,551
a clause stating
that sexual orientation
648
00:39:16,655 --> 00:39:20,137
is not grounds for
discrimination.
649
00:39:20,275 --> 00:39:22,931
It was the first
such amendment,
650
00:39:23,034 --> 00:39:26,517
first protection
at the provincial level
651
00:39:26,655 --> 00:39:29,310
or state level in North America.
652
00:39:29,413 --> 00:39:34,655
And was a major, major, major
milestone for gay civil rights.
653
00:39:34,758 --> 00:39:37,206
Quebec has become
the first province
654
00:39:37,310 --> 00:39:40,137
to make discrimination
against homosexuals illegal.
655
00:39:40,241 --> 00:39:43,586
Saskatchewan and Ontario
are considering a similar law.
656
00:39:52,586 --> 00:39:55,137
Human rights have to be
codified.
657
00:39:55,241 --> 00:39:59,344
They have to be made as broad,
as wide, as widely understood,
658
00:39:59,482 --> 00:40:02,379
as widely protected as possible
659
00:40:02,482 --> 00:40:05,241
for everyone
in our Canadian society
660
00:40:05,344 --> 00:40:08,448
and, in this case, for one of
our more beleaguered minorities,
661
00:40:08,517 --> 00:40:11,275
for the gay and lesbian people
of Canada.
662
00:40:15,275 --> 00:40:17,344
The gains of the community
663
00:40:17,448 --> 00:40:21,275
were being noticed
by our community's enemies.
664
00:40:21,379 --> 00:40:25,137
And our community's enemies,
they were galvanized,
665
00:40:25,241 --> 00:40:28,413
and they fought back
against our progress.
666
00:40:41,586 --> 00:40:44,379
There were a lot of debates
within the Body Politic.
667
00:40:44,482 --> 00:40:46,482
And one of them was the idea
668
00:40:46,586 --> 00:40:49,103
that gay men's sexuality
shouldn't be policed.
669
00:40:50,206 --> 00:40:51,413
And at the same time,
670
00:40:51,517 --> 00:40:56,551
I was very clear that I did not
want to fall into the trap
671
00:40:56,655 --> 00:41:00,137
of, uh, supporting a moralistic
view
672
00:41:00,241 --> 00:41:03,379
around sexuality
and representation.
673
00:41:05,310 --> 00:41:08,482
Gerald Hannon
was my best friend.
674
00:41:08,586 --> 00:41:11,448
Gerald, I think, became one of
the most important activists
675
00:41:11,517 --> 00:41:12,758
in the country.
676
00:41:12,862 --> 00:41:16,137
And one of the reasons is that
he was such a good writer.
677
00:41:21,206 --> 00:41:23,724
Gerald Hannon had written
a number of articles
678
00:41:23,827 --> 00:41:24,827
about youth sexuality.
679
00:41:24,896 --> 00:41:27,344
The law had been
partially changed
680
00:41:27,448 --> 00:41:31,724
to allow sex between men
in private at 21.
681
00:41:31,827 --> 00:41:33,413
So that's quite old.
682
00:41:33,551 --> 00:41:36,620
But, I mean, for heterosexuals,
it was something like 16.
683
00:41:36,724 --> 00:41:38,068
It was about,
684
00:41:38,172 --> 00:41:41,379
when do young people
have a right to sexuality?
685
00:41:41,482 --> 00:41:43,448
When can they choose to be
sexual?
686
00:41:45,586 --> 00:41:48,413
We were about to publish
another article in the series
687
00:41:48,551 --> 00:41:51,344
when the Emanuel Jaques
murder happened.
688
00:41:52,379 --> 00:41:55,034
Emanuel, the shoeshine boy.
689
00:41:55,137 --> 00:41:59,137
He was about a 12-year-old boy
and his brother.
690
00:41:59,206 --> 00:42:01,103
Everybody got to know of them.
691
00:42:01,241 --> 00:42:02,620
Like, they just loved them.
692
00:42:02,758 --> 00:42:05,310
Even if their shoes were clean,
693
00:42:05,413 --> 00:42:07,620
give the kid
a few bucks and that.
694
00:42:07,758 --> 00:42:12,137
The media decided to
sort of conflate this
695
00:42:12,275 --> 00:42:14,137
as being a gay crime.
696
00:42:14,275 --> 00:42:16,137
Clean up Yonge
Street!
697
00:42:16,241 --> 00:42:20,448
Clean up Yonge Street!
Clean up Yonge Street!
698
00:42:20,551 --> 00:42:24,586
That lit the bomb everywhere,
with the police and everything.
699
00:42:24,689 --> 00:42:29,275
Because then, we were all
murderers and pedophiles.
700
00:42:36,586 --> 00:42:39,448
Any premeditated
murders should be
701
00:42:39,551 --> 00:42:41,551
pained with the same pain!
702
00:42:49,344 --> 00:42:53,241
The decision to publish
the article Men Loving Boys
Loving Men
703
00:42:53,344 --> 00:42:54,655
was not taken lightly,
704
00:42:54,758 --> 00:42:56,482
and we all had
differing opinions.
705
00:42:56,620 --> 00:42:59,517
I was not certain that this
was the right time to do it.
706
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:03,724
There's no time is right.
707
00:43:03,827 --> 00:43:05,758
And in an introduction,
we said that.
708
00:43:05,827 --> 00:43:07,793
And we published the article.
709
00:43:07,896 --> 00:43:11,310
We had different ideas about
what sexual liberation was.
710
00:43:11,413 --> 00:43:16,482
And I understood, in particular
regarding
the article Men Loving Boys
Loving Men,
711
00:43:16,551 --> 00:43:20,551
that Gerald Hannon was
interested
in pushing boundaries.
712
00:43:20,655 --> 00:43:23,896
All these debates were very
personal and very intense.
713
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:28,344
And people came
from very different histories.
714
00:43:28,448 --> 00:43:32,379
Like, a white gay male notion
of liberation
715
00:43:32,482 --> 00:43:35,827
had a very different inflection
than a feminist.
716
00:43:35,965 --> 00:43:37,517
We had different histories.
717
00:43:37,620 --> 00:43:40,689
It was controversial, but we
felt it needed to be addressed.
718
00:43:40,793 --> 00:43:43,655
It led to the Toronto Sun
in particular, Claire Hoy,
719
00:43:43,758 --> 00:43:47,379
going on and on about, you know,
how horrible homosexuals were,
720
00:43:47,482 --> 00:43:48,586
molesting children,
721
00:43:48,689 --> 00:43:51,620
and calling for some kind of
reaction from the police.
722
00:43:51,724 --> 00:43:54,379
And it's not
the sort of thing
723
00:43:54,482 --> 00:43:56,655
that I want
the homosexual groups
724
00:43:56,793 --> 00:43:58,551
to get into
the schools,
725
00:43:58,655 --> 00:44:01,448
which is really the main area
where they want to get in,
726
00:44:01,586 --> 00:44:03,448
and they'll
tell you this themselves,
727
00:44:03,586 --> 00:44:06,344
and preach their gospel
of homosexuality
728
00:44:06,448 --> 00:44:07,655
to impressionable kids.
729
00:44:07,724 --> 00:44:09,379
I don't want that to happen.
730
00:44:09,448 --> 00:44:12,482
We had never ever
in a million years
731
00:44:12,586 --> 00:44:16,448
thought there would be,
you know, the police coming in
732
00:44:16,586 --> 00:44:20,448
and raiding the office,
and then laying charges.
733
00:44:22,586 --> 00:44:26,586
That was a very traumatic night.
734
00:44:26,724 --> 00:44:28,517
It was late.
735
00:44:28,586 --> 00:44:29,758
They just walked in the door.
736
00:44:29,862 --> 00:44:32,241
They showed us
the search warrants.
737
00:44:32,344 --> 00:44:34,827
They took the
subscription lists.
738
00:44:34,896 --> 00:44:36,551
But that's what scared us,
739
00:44:36,620 --> 00:44:38,310
was that they now
had a list,
740
00:44:38,448 --> 00:44:42,551
you know, addresses of a whole
bunch
of queer people across the
country.
741
00:44:48,862 --> 00:44:50,689
We were in an old warehouse,
742
00:44:50,793 --> 00:44:54,275
so it was like an
old industrial elevator
743
00:44:54,379 --> 00:44:56,517
that kind of slowly descended.
744
00:44:57,551 --> 00:45:02,896
And that was my image of these
boxes slowly descending.
745
00:45:07,586 --> 00:45:11,517
But that night was a pretty
seismic moment for me
746
00:45:11,620 --> 00:45:14,482
in terms of my sense of police
and what they could do.
747
00:45:14,586 --> 00:45:17,034
It seemed obvious
that the goal
748
00:45:17,137 --> 00:45:19,379
was to put it out of business
749
00:45:19,482 --> 00:45:22,586
and therefore
achieve a suppression
750
00:45:22,655 --> 00:45:24,344
of the exchange of ideas
751
00:45:24,482 --> 00:45:27,689
within the gay
and lesbian movement.
752
00:45:27,793 --> 00:45:30,586
So ultimately,
it would be instrumental
753
00:45:30,689 --> 00:45:33,034
in destroying the gay movement.
754
00:45:38,034 --> 00:45:41,517
We were charged with
the use of the mails
755
00:45:41,620 --> 00:45:45,310
to transmit immoral, indecent
and scurrilous literature.
756
00:45:45,413 --> 00:45:46,965
We were acquitted the first
time.
757
00:45:47,103 --> 00:45:49,000
It went to an appeal court,
758
00:45:49,103 --> 00:45:52,000
and we were acquitted
the second time.
759
00:45:54,068 --> 00:45:56,241
This was a censorship trial.
760
00:45:56,310 --> 00:45:59,793
We won, and I think
the message to the state
761
00:45:59,896 --> 00:46:01,724
was that we would
not be censored
762
00:46:01,827 --> 00:46:04,517
and that freedom
of the press was important.
763
00:46:29,724 --> 00:46:33,793
Operation Soap
began in August 1980
764
00:46:33,862 --> 00:46:36,724
by sending 3 undercover agents
765
00:46:36,862 --> 00:46:40,551
into the various bathhouses
across the city.
766
00:46:44,758 --> 00:46:47,724
The police were already going
into the bathhouses before then.
767
00:46:47,827 --> 00:46:52,896
They raided the Barracks
bathhouse in December 1978.
768
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:54,965
It was an ordinary night.
769
00:46:55,068 --> 00:46:56,758
All of a sudden,
770
00:46:56,862 --> 00:47:00,758
this kind of crowd that were
a little boisterous came in.
771
00:47:00,896 --> 00:47:02,758
And as soon as
I buzzed the door,
772
00:47:02,862 --> 00:47:06,862
all of a sudden, there's a whole
burst of them going through
773
00:47:06,931 --> 00:47:09,448
when they hadn't
actually been signed in.
774
00:47:14,034 --> 00:47:17,448
Operation Soap really
was a perfect storm
775
00:47:17,586 --> 00:47:19,758
that hit in the early 1980s.
776
00:47:19,862 --> 00:47:22,586
They had four bathhouses
in their targets:
777
00:47:22,689 --> 00:47:25,758
the Richmond Street Health
Emporium, the Barracks,
778
00:47:25,827 --> 00:47:30,103
the Club Baths
and the Romans Health Spa.
779
00:47:31,827 --> 00:47:34,482
Any act that would
take place in private
780
00:47:34,620 --> 00:47:36,827
would be covered
under the 1969 reform,
781
00:47:36,931 --> 00:47:39,724
and so the men
couldn't be charged.
782
00:47:39,793 --> 00:47:41,620
So, the bedrooms of the nation.
783
00:47:41,724 --> 00:47:43,655
Public is defined as any place
784
00:47:43,758 --> 00:47:46,965
where more than two people
are present or taking part.
785
00:47:47,103 --> 00:47:48,724
So the bath houses,
786
00:47:48,827 --> 00:47:51,862
because there were
lots of people around,
787
00:47:51,931 --> 00:47:53,034
and in some cases,
788
00:47:53,103 --> 00:47:55,793
men were having sex
with more than just one person,
789
00:47:55,931 --> 00:47:57,931
these places
were considered public.
790
00:48:04,344 --> 00:48:07,000
The door came off its hinges
791
00:48:07,137 --> 00:48:10,862
and flew onto the bed
where I was sleeping.
792
00:48:11,965 --> 00:48:16,862
With a policeman screaming
at me to get up and get out.
793
00:48:18,965 --> 00:48:23,379
I remember the police
insulting us,
calling us "faggots."
794
00:48:23,482 --> 00:48:26,931
And I thought to myself:
"I'm not doing anything wrong."
795
00:48:27,034 --> 00:48:31,034
Whatever officer, he put
his head in and he yelled out:
796
00:48:31,137 --> 00:48:35,172
"You're lucky there's
no gas in the showers."
797
00:48:37,655 --> 00:48:40,965
They called this investigation
Operation Soap
798
00:48:41,068 --> 00:48:43,896
because they wanted to
clean up the city.
799
00:48:44,034 --> 00:48:48,000
It was really meant
to morally judge the queers
800
00:48:48,103 --> 00:48:51,241
and to condemn that sex
as being dirty
801
00:48:51,379 --> 00:48:52,896
and somehow a threat.
802
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:58,068
You know, I was one of 36 men
who were actually found guilty
803
00:48:58,172 --> 00:49:00,931
out of 288 who were charged.
804
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:05,724
As a result of that night,
two men took their own lives.
805
00:49:08,931 --> 00:49:12,827
This was one of the largest
mass arrests
in Canadian history.
806
00:49:12,931 --> 00:49:16,172
We see this sort of trajectory
that our community was on
807
00:49:16,275 --> 00:49:17,896
toward human rights,
808
00:49:17,965 --> 00:49:20,551
but also
toward sexual liberation
809
00:49:20,655 --> 00:49:23,862
and this reaction,
this violent reaction
810
00:49:23,965 --> 00:49:28,034
that comes from, you know,
the moral reformers in the city,
811
00:49:28,103 --> 00:49:30,793
but also from
the Toronto police,
812
00:49:30,896 --> 00:49:34,310
to try to, you know,
push us back into the closet.
813
00:49:34,448 --> 00:49:36,275
Gay rights now!
814
00:49:39,344 --> 00:49:42,724
The next night, thousands
poured into the streets.
815
00:49:42,793 --> 00:49:46,068
That was a real experience
for people in a demonstration.
816
00:49:46,137 --> 00:49:47,931
It had never been
like that before.
817
00:49:48,068 --> 00:49:50,862
Gays fight back!
Gays fight back!
818
00:49:50,965 --> 00:49:54,068
As we walked up towards Yonge
and Wellesley,
819
00:49:54,172 --> 00:49:59,103
you could see more and more
queers and lesbians and drag...
820
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:01,758
coming out.
821
00:50:01,827 --> 00:50:05,793
And by the time we got to Yonge
and Wellesley, it felt enormous.
822
00:50:05,896 --> 00:50:07,793
Gays fight back!
823
00:50:07,931 --> 00:50:10,689
Gays fight back!
Gays fight back!
824
00:50:12,275 --> 00:50:15,793
We expected 300 people.
I think we got 3,000.
825
00:50:15,931 --> 00:50:17,689
That gives you the
courage to carry on.
826
00:50:17,793 --> 00:50:20,034
There are people behind you.
You're not alone.
827
00:50:20,137 --> 00:50:22,068
All of these things
are really important
828
00:50:22,137 --> 00:50:24,137
in terms of the development
of the movement.
829
00:50:24,275 --> 00:50:27,965
Chris got up,
and she starts with:
830
00:50:28,068 --> 00:50:30,241
"No more shit. No more shit."
831
00:50:30,310 --> 00:50:33,931
No more shit! No more shit!
832
00:50:34,034 --> 00:50:35,620
No more shit!
833
00:50:35,724 --> 00:50:38,137
We're overflowing
out onto Yonge Street
834
00:50:38,241 --> 00:50:42,034
in the opposite direction
to where we'd intended to go,
835
00:50:42,137 --> 00:50:43,931
to head down
toward 52 Division,
836
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:47,137
where so many of them had been
processed the night before.
837
00:50:50,344 --> 00:50:51,827
So the major slogan
838
00:50:51,931 --> 00:50:55,103
that had spontaneously
emerged in the crowd was:
839
00:50:55,241 --> 00:50:56,103
"Fuck you, 52."
840
00:50:56,241 --> 00:50:58,793
Fuck you, 52! Fuck you, 52!
841
00:50:58,931 --> 00:51:01,275
They were responsible
for the raids.
842
00:51:01,379 --> 00:51:02,689
And so, "Fuck You, 52,"
843
00:51:02,793 --> 00:51:05,000
became a real focus
for the anger,
844
00:51:05,137 --> 00:51:08,344
because that's where
this thing had started.
845
00:51:08,448 --> 00:51:12,862
No more shit!
No more shit! No more shit!
846
00:51:14,241 --> 00:51:18,172
Don't be afraid of
violence and anger!
847
00:51:18,275 --> 00:51:21,379
Protect yourself
and keep fighting!
848
00:51:23,103 --> 00:51:26,689
It felt frightening
to be in the protest.
849
00:51:26,827 --> 00:51:29,379
You didn't know what
kind of level of violence
850
00:51:29,517 --> 00:51:30,689
was going to take place.
851
00:51:30,793 --> 00:51:34,034
Everyone who chose to be
on that street at that time
852
00:51:34,137 --> 00:51:38,689
had to kind of dig into
a level of courage.
853
00:51:39,793 --> 00:51:42,034
You'd think that something
854
00:51:42,137 --> 00:51:45,896
that had required
so much police person power...
855
00:51:48,344 --> 00:51:51,103
would have to have
some sort of political support
856
00:51:51,206 --> 00:51:53,000
from farther up.
857
00:51:55,551 --> 00:51:58,931
And then,
almost as spontaneously,
858
00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:01,551
people said: "Queen's Park."
859
00:52:22,137 --> 00:52:25,068
There were a series of other
demonstrations that took place
860
00:52:25,172 --> 00:52:28,482
over that winter and spring
right into June.
861
00:52:34,103 --> 00:52:36,724
One of the most important
moments was when Lemona Johnson,
862
00:52:36,827 --> 00:52:38,448
who was the widow
of Albert Johnson,
863
00:52:38,551 --> 00:52:41,344
who had been
gunned down by the police
864
00:52:41,448 --> 00:52:44,758
in his own home
in front of his kids,
865
00:52:44,896 --> 00:52:46,275
I think a year before,
866
00:52:46,379 --> 00:52:48,068
she actually spoke.
867
00:52:48,172 --> 00:52:50,241
A Jamaican immigrant
talking about
868
00:52:50,344 --> 00:52:52,931
what was happening
to the Black community.
869
00:52:53,034 --> 00:52:57,344
Raids and arrests of members
of this Toronto gay community
870
00:52:57,413 --> 00:53:02,758
is a further indication
that the police force of this
city
871
00:53:02,827 --> 00:53:07,137
is lacking in discipline
and proper supervision.
872
00:53:12,931 --> 00:53:15,310
The police force in this city
873
00:53:15,448 --> 00:53:20,172
is being used as a political
tool
by politicians.
874
00:53:28,965 --> 00:53:30,517
The outcome of this
875
00:53:30,620 --> 00:53:32,344
extraordinary
grassroots response
876
00:53:32,448 --> 00:53:34,000
was 80% acquittals,
877
00:53:34,103 --> 00:53:37,482
unprecedented in terms
of activism and fighting back.
878
00:53:39,931 --> 00:53:42,000
This truly was our Stonewall.
879
00:53:46,275 --> 00:53:48,103
We were particularly shaped
880
00:53:48,206 --> 00:53:51,206
by the police attacks
on our community,
881
00:53:51,310 --> 00:53:54,172
not uniquely, but profoundly.
882
00:53:54,310 --> 00:53:57,310
And that opened up doors
to solidarity
883
00:53:57,413 --> 00:54:00,379
and working together
with Black community,
884
00:54:00,482 --> 00:54:03,586
with other communities who
suffered at the hands of police.
885
00:54:03,689 --> 00:54:06,068
This was truly a game changer.
886
00:54:13,413 --> 00:54:15,896
I came out in
the early '80s,
887
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,137
at a time when
the Black community
888
00:54:18,206 --> 00:54:22,034
was really organizing
around police violence.
889
00:54:23,206 --> 00:54:24,344
As young activists,
890
00:54:24,448 --> 00:54:27,413
we had a vision for the kind of
world we wanted to live in
891
00:54:27,551 --> 00:54:30,344
and really took it seriously
that it was our responsibility
892
00:54:30,448 --> 00:54:32,517
to create that world.
893
00:54:32,586 --> 00:54:36,068
And so, we wanted a world
that was free of homophobia.
894
00:54:36,172 --> 00:54:39,896
We wanted a world where
Black queer people will be seen
895
00:54:40,034 --> 00:54:42,206
and recognized
within Black struggle.
896
00:54:42,344 --> 00:54:44,620
And we also wanted
a world where,
897
00:54:44,724 --> 00:54:47,034
within the larger queer
community,
898
00:54:47,172 --> 00:54:50,241
issues of race
and racism will be addressed.
899
00:54:50,344 --> 00:54:51,379
As we did this work,
900
00:54:51,517 --> 00:54:54,068
more and more, we were hearing
from young Black people
901
00:54:54,172 --> 00:54:55,965
that they didn't
have any place to go,
902
00:54:56,068 --> 00:54:59,034
that they didn't know
where to show up.
903
00:54:59,137 --> 00:55:02,965
Dewson House was very much
about the energy
904
00:55:03,068 --> 00:55:05,620
of the women
who lived in that house,
905
00:55:05,758 --> 00:55:08,206
the women who owned the house.
906
00:55:08,275 --> 00:55:11,344
So there was Makeda,
and then her partner Stephanie.
907
00:55:11,448 --> 00:55:15,310
Dewson House, I think for
many of us, was ground zero.
908
00:55:15,448 --> 00:55:19,000
It is where not only we
developed our politics
909
00:55:19,103 --> 00:55:20,275
around being queer,
910
00:55:20,379 --> 00:55:22,931
it was a place where
people came to party.
911
00:55:23,068 --> 00:55:24,689
It's the place
where Black lesbians
912
00:55:24,793 --> 00:55:26,137
who lived in Scarborough,
913
00:55:26,241 --> 00:55:28,448
who were closeted from Monday
to Friday in their jobs
914
00:55:28,551 --> 00:55:29,965
and then their families
915
00:55:30,103 --> 00:55:31,275
on a Friday or Saturday night
916
00:55:31,379 --> 00:55:32,862
can come downtown
to Dewson House
917
00:55:32,931 --> 00:55:34,482
and know that
they would be welcome.
918
00:55:35,758 --> 00:55:37,586
You know, it was
in the front room
919
00:55:37,655 --> 00:55:39,310
that I first heard
Nina Simone, right?
920
00:55:39,448 --> 00:55:43,965
It was in that space where
I first danced with another man.
921
00:55:44,068 --> 00:55:46,517
You know, it was in that space
922
00:55:46,620 --> 00:55:49,448
that Blackness and queerness
923
00:55:49,551 --> 00:55:53,068
and Caribbean-ness
was normalized.
924
00:55:56,758 --> 00:55:59,448
I put an ad
in the Body Politic
925
00:55:59,551 --> 00:56:02,551
for people who were
interested in starting a group.
926
00:56:03,586 --> 00:56:07,172
And that was the beginning,
for me, of Gay Asians Toronto.
927
00:56:09,724 --> 00:56:13,137
It was the first
organization that was,
928
00:56:13,241 --> 00:56:18,137
you know, specifically looking
at people who were not white.
929
00:56:19,344 --> 00:56:21,620
You know: "If you're white,
you're all right.
930
00:56:21,724 --> 00:56:23,482
If you're brown, turn around."
931
00:56:25,517 --> 00:56:30,241
There just was no space
for people of colour.
932
00:56:30,344 --> 00:56:33,758
At least that was
my experience of it.
933
00:56:35,379 --> 00:56:38,620
In the summer of '82, they
were actually trying to look for
934
00:56:38,724 --> 00:56:41,000
someone from
Gay Asians Toronto
935
00:56:41,137 --> 00:56:43,689
to be a speaker
at the Pride parade.
936
00:56:47,517 --> 00:56:50,551
And the parade
went through Chinatown.
937
00:56:50,689 --> 00:56:53,344
And of course,
as Gay Asians Toronto,
938
00:56:53,448 --> 00:56:56,206
we recruited in Chinatown.
939
00:56:56,344 --> 00:56:58,655
We put up posters in Chinatown.
940
00:56:58,758 --> 00:57:03,068
That was really
very affirming for me,
941
00:57:03,172 --> 00:57:04,793
to be marching in a parade
942
00:57:04,896 --> 00:57:09,586
where people all around you
were cheering you, you know.
943
00:57:09,689 --> 00:57:12,413
And so like: "Hello, here I am!"
944
00:57:16,379 --> 00:57:20,517
For most of them who hasn't
really come out, like myself,
945
00:57:20,620 --> 00:57:23,275
it was really
a groundbreaking thing.
946
00:57:23,379 --> 00:57:26,068
And I think that was
actually the first time
947
00:57:26,206 --> 00:57:30,068
that I feel really proud
of my own community.
948
00:57:30,172 --> 00:57:34,724
To have that courage
to break through those barriers.
949
00:57:56,344 --> 00:58:00,172
The '70s and early '80s
were a time of enormous growth
950
00:58:00,241 --> 00:58:02,758
and organization
in queer communities.
951
00:58:02,827 --> 00:58:07,310
And then out of left field,
people started getting sick.
952
00:58:09,827 --> 00:58:12,310
Strange cancers
were occurring
953
00:58:12,448 --> 00:58:15,482
in otherwise healthy
young gay men.
954
00:58:17,931 --> 00:58:20,172
I was brought in
to do support services,
955
00:58:20,275 --> 00:58:22,034
which was basically helping
956
00:58:22,137 --> 00:58:24,413
really young,
scared gay men die.
957
00:58:24,482 --> 00:58:26,172
That was basically the job.
958
00:58:32,379 --> 00:58:33,517
I had no idea.
959
00:58:33,620 --> 00:58:36,586
I thought for sure if they could
send a man to the moon,
960
00:58:36,689 --> 00:58:39,482
they would have
AIDS done by September.
961
00:58:39,586 --> 00:58:43,310
I spent my next 30 years
working in HIV and AIDS.
962
00:58:45,448 --> 00:58:47,379
Some people thought
it was poppers, right?
963
00:58:47,482 --> 00:58:48,517
Or they didn't like poppers.
964
00:58:48,655 --> 00:58:49,827
Other people said it was, like,
965
00:58:49,965 --> 00:58:51,655
too much sex, drugs
and rock and roll,
966
00:58:51,758 --> 00:58:53,275
just too much sex in general.
967
00:58:53,344 --> 00:58:56,241
Right? Christian fundamentalists
said it was God's
retaliation,
968
00:58:56,310 --> 00:58:59,586
God's punishment
for sinfulness, right?
969
00:58:59,689 --> 00:59:02,655
The reaction to the pandemic,
the AIDS pandemic,
970
00:59:02,758 --> 00:59:06,620
by the straight world
was shocking in that context.
971
00:59:06,724 --> 00:59:09,344
The fact that
they didn't care,
972
00:59:09,413 --> 00:59:13,448
even openly on some areas
of the religious right,
973
00:59:13,551 --> 00:59:16,206
and others almost celebrated it.
974
00:59:16,310 --> 00:59:19,206
We were dealing with
end stage of AIDS
975
00:59:19,344 --> 00:59:21,344
of our friends, our lovers,
976
00:59:21,448 --> 00:59:24,551
whether they were
Indigenous or non-Indigenous.
977
00:59:24,655 --> 00:59:29,379
So it was that stigma,
that fear of AIDS,
978
00:59:29,482 --> 00:59:32,551
the isolation
and the segregation.
979
00:59:32,655 --> 00:59:34,724
And we were going to
palliative care wards.
980
00:59:34,827 --> 00:59:37,551
You know, we were
arranging funerals
981
00:59:37,689 --> 00:59:39,448
or cremations for our friends
982
00:59:39,551 --> 00:59:43,965
without any support from
our families or their families.
983
00:59:44,068 --> 00:59:47,344
It was that toxic combination
984
00:59:47,448 --> 00:59:53,413
of political negligence
and criminal indifference.
985
00:59:53,551 --> 00:59:55,896
Finally, I bid you pray
for the dying...
986
00:59:56,965 --> 00:59:59,758
for those who
have to die alone...
987
01:00:02,931 --> 01:00:05,413
for those who are
afraid to die...
988
01:00:06,758 --> 01:00:08,862
and for those
who cannot wait to die.
989
01:00:08,965 --> 01:00:10,655
I mean, that was
a real wake-up
990
01:00:10,758 --> 01:00:13,551
for those of us who had already
been infected at that point,
991
01:00:13,689 --> 01:00:15,344
but also in the gay community,
992
01:00:15,448 --> 01:00:17,517
that they were
willing to just sit around
993
01:00:17,620 --> 01:00:19,344
and wait for us to die off,
994
01:00:19,413 --> 01:00:23,448
and then straight people
and the world would be safe.
995
01:00:23,551 --> 01:00:25,344
The food was left
outside my door.
996
01:00:25,448 --> 01:00:28,241
I had to get out of my bed
to get the food.
997
01:00:28,379 --> 01:00:29,689
Almost nobody came in,
998
01:00:29,793 --> 01:00:33,655
and if they came in,
they were in masks and gowns and
gloves
999
01:00:33,758 --> 01:00:38,241
and spent as little time
as they could in the room.
1000
01:00:42,379 --> 01:00:46,551
The nurses, the orderlies,
the doctors,
1001
01:00:46,655 --> 01:00:50,379
all of them treated me
like I was a leper
1002
01:00:50,482 --> 01:00:52,551
back in the biblical times.
1003
01:00:57,482 --> 01:01:00,344
I remember the first time
sitting there getting a call
1004
01:01:00,448 --> 01:01:01,448
from somebody who says:
1005
01:01:01,551 --> 01:01:02,724
"I can't bury my lover.
1006
01:01:02,793 --> 01:01:04,965
No funeral home
will take his body."
1007
01:01:08,862 --> 01:01:10,413
And so we said:
1008
01:01:10,482 --> 01:01:13,758
"We need an organization
that takes on those issues."
1009
01:01:13,862 --> 01:01:15,655
And we could speak
truth to power.
1010
01:01:15,758 --> 01:01:17,413
We could say what
needed to be said.
1011
01:01:17,517 --> 01:01:19,620
- What do we want?
- AIDS action!
1012
01:01:19,758 --> 01:01:20,758
- When do we want it?
- Now!
1013
01:01:20,862 --> 01:01:22,482
- What do we want?
- AIDS action!
1014
01:01:22,620 --> 01:01:24,448
- When do we want it?
- Now!
1015
01:01:24,551 --> 01:01:26,620
- What do we want?
- AIDS action!
1016
01:01:26,758 --> 01:01:28,586
- When do we want it?
- Now!
1017
01:01:28,655 --> 01:01:30,586
- What do we want?
- AIDS action!
1018
01:01:30,655 --> 01:01:32,379
- When do we want it?
- Now!
1019
01:01:32,448 --> 01:01:34,586
- What do we want?
- AIDS action!
1020
01:01:34,655 --> 01:01:36,586
- When do we want it?
- Now!
1021
01:01:36,655 --> 01:01:38,482
- What do we want?
- AIDS action!
1022
01:01:38,620 --> 01:01:40,586
- When do we want it?
- Now!
1023
01:01:40,689 --> 01:01:44,551
In 1989, the AIDS conference
was scheduled for Montreal,
1024
01:01:44,655 --> 01:01:46,413
the first time in Canada.
1025
01:01:47,724 --> 01:01:50,034
And AIDS Action Now
and Act Up New York
1026
01:01:50,137 --> 01:01:52,724
and a smaller group
called Réaction Sida
1027
01:01:52,827 --> 01:01:56,931
decided that we needed to have
an impact at this conference.
1028
01:01:58,655 --> 01:02:01,172
Not victims,
not patients,
1029
01:02:01,275 --> 01:02:02,517
but people living with AIDS.
1030
01:02:02,655 --> 01:02:07,482
Not victims. Not patients.
But people living with AIDS.
1031
01:02:07,586 --> 01:02:08,827
At this point,
1032
01:02:08,896 --> 01:02:11,931
these conferences were medical
and scientific conferences.
1033
01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:14,551
And if people with HIV
appeared at all,
1034
01:02:14,655 --> 01:02:17,758
we appeared as kind of
specimens and patients
1035
01:02:17,862 --> 01:02:19,034
and nothing much else.
1036
01:02:19,137 --> 01:02:21,482
And we decided
that it was important
1037
01:02:21,551 --> 01:02:22,689
for our voices to be heard
1038
01:02:22,827 --> 01:02:26,344
as part of this political
project that we were engaged in,
1039
01:02:26,482 --> 01:02:28,862
because nobody else
was concerned
1040
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:31,827
with accessing
experimental treatments.
1041
01:02:31,931 --> 01:02:36,068
History will recall,
Mulroney did nothing at all.
1042
01:02:36,206 --> 01:02:40,448
History will recall,
Mulroney did nothing at all.
1043
01:02:40,551 --> 01:02:42,551
We were out.
1044
01:02:42,655 --> 01:02:45,793
We had a group
of maybe 200 people outside
1045
01:02:45,896 --> 01:02:47,655
in this demonstration.
1046
01:02:47,758 --> 01:02:49,689
And all of a sudden,
I heard this ruckus behind me
1047
01:02:49,793 --> 01:02:51,724
and turned around
to see what was going on,
1048
01:02:51,827 --> 01:02:53,034
and it was the Act Up guys,
1049
01:02:53,103 --> 01:02:56,793
who just had barged through
the main gates to the Palais.
1050
01:02:59,068 --> 01:03:02,448
And so, all of a sudden,
the entire crowd,
1051
01:03:02,586 --> 01:03:04,689
who didn't know
what else to do,
1052
01:03:04,793 --> 01:03:08,103
decided: "Well,
we better follow them, right?"
1053
01:03:08,206 --> 01:03:10,620
Silence equals death!
1054
01:03:12,137 --> 01:03:14,517
And we seized the stage.
1055
01:03:14,620 --> 01:03:17,758
We die, major profits!
1056
01:03:17,862 --> 01:03:23,068
We die, major profits!
1057
01:03:23,137 --> 01:03:27,448
This government has been
criminally negligent.
1058
01:03:28,896 --> 01:03:31,689
People with AIDS have died
in this country
1059
01:03:31,793 --> 01:03:34,137
without care
and without treatment.
1060
01:03:36,137 --> 01:03:39,724
We got the message across
to the conference organizers
1061
01:03:39,827 --> 01:03:42,000
that these conferences
could not continue
1062
01:03:42,103 --> 01:03:44,862
unless people with AIDS
were front and centre.
1063
01:03:44,931 --> 01:03:50,931
Release the drugs,
stop the profiteering.
1064
01:03:51,034 --> 01:03:58,068
Release the drugs,
stop the profiteering.
1065
01:04:08,206 --> 01:04:11,551
As AIDS progressed and as
more and more people got ill,
1066
01:04:11,655 --> 01:04:13,000
then we began to see
1067
01:04:13,137 --> 01:04:17,758
that this was a kind of
a sense of community loss,
1068
01:04:17,862 --> 01:04:21,206
communal loss that needed
to be represented in some way.
1069
01:04:21,310 --> 01:04:23,517
And Michael Lynch formed a group
1070
01:04:23,655 --> 01:04:26,517
to put together
an AIDS memorial.
1071
01:04:39,793 --> 01:04:42,482
It was very important to kind of
mark the number of people
1072
01:04:42,620 --> 01:04:43,517
who were dying.
1073
01:04:43,655 --> 01:04:46,206
So this was
an extraordinary thing to see.
1074
01:04:54,965 --> 01:04:56,827
I had an uncle who was gay.
1075
01:04:56,965 --> 01:05:00,724
I was 11 years old
when he died.
1076
01:05:00,827 --> 01:05:03,103
What I grieve the most,
actually,
1077
01:05:03,241 --> 01:05:05,000
is not having that gay uncle,
1078
01:05:05,103 --> 01:05:09,620
that gay mentor sort of take me
through my teenage years,
1079
01:05:09,724 --> 01:05:11,965
my coming of age,
moving to Toronto,
1080
01:05:12,068 --> 01:05:14,724
finding myself
in our gay community.
1081
01:05:14,827 --> 01:05:17,068
I think I would have
really benefited
1082
01:05:17,172 --> 01:05:19,241
had he still been around.
1083
01:05:21,862 --> 01:05:23,724
Sometimes I would go to Pride,
1084
01:05:23,827 --> 01:05:26,034
and it would feel
like the universe
1085
01:05:26,103 --> 01:05:27,965
was Swiss cheese
with holes in it,
1086
01:05:28,068 --> 01:05:31,551
like I would see the people
who weren't there.
1087
01:05:31,655 --> 01:05:33,931
And there was a point where,
maybe three years,
1088
01:05:34,034 --> 01:05:35,172
I couldn't go to Pride events
1089
01:05:35,241 --> 01:05:37,103
'cause I would only
see the ghosts.
1090
01:05:43,724 --> 01:05:47,068
But I had this fantasy
when I was a baby lesbian
1091
01:05:47,172 --> 01:05:49,206
about, you know,
getting old with these guys
1092
01:05:49,275 --> 01:05:50,310
and the guys in my world.
1093
01:05:50,413 --> 01:05:51,931
And we'd have an old folks home,
1094
01:05:52,068 --> 01:05:54,655
and we'd have, you know,
cute little people to take care
of us
1095
01:05:54,724 --> 01:05:56,103
wearing French maid's outfits.
1096
01:05:56,206 --> 01:05:57,724
I don't know what I thought.
1097
01:05:57,827 --> 01:05:58,965
But it would be a community
1098
01:05:59,068 --> 01:06:02,068
that was growing old
and growing grey together.
1099
01:06:03,517 --> 01:06:06,827
And all those people that I went
dancing with when I came out,
1100
01:06:06,965 --> 01:06:08,172
they're dead.
1101
01:06:08,310 --> 01:06:09,965
Not just one or two.
1102
01:06:10,068 --> 01:06:12,000
They're all dead.
1103
01:06:12,103 --> 01:06:14,172
All dead.
1104
01:06:20,172 --> 01:06:23,344
Ultimately,
the AIDS epidemic
1105
01:06:23,482 --> 01:06:26,896
decimated a significant number
1106
01:06:26,965 --> 01:06:30,551
of the most important leaders
1107
01:06:30,655 --> 01:06:35,103
of the gay movement
here in Canada.
1108
01:06:38,896 --> 01:06:44,034
People I knew very well and
was very close to and respected
1109
01:06:44,172 --> 01:06:49,034
and knew how powerful they
had been in their contributions.
1110
01:06:49,137 --> 01:06:53,172
And many of them are forgotten,
totally forgotten today.
1111
01:07:28,034 --> 01:07:31,862
When I ran for public office,
of course, I realized
1112
01:07:31,965 --> 01:07:36,000
that it would be unthinkable
for me at that point.
1113
01:07:36,103 --> 01:07:37,793
I squashed it.
1114
01:07:37,862 --> 01:07:40,655
But I was also
absolutely determined
1115
01:07:40,724 --> 01:07:43,965
that while I at that
point couldn't come out,
1116
01:07:44,068 --> 01:07:46,862
that I would do
everything in my power
1117
01:07:46,965 --> 01:07:48,068
to fight for a world
1118
01:07:48,206 --> 01:07:51,689
in which people like me felt
totally comfortable and free
1119
01:07:51,758 --> 01:07:54,034
to be who we are
and to love who we love
1120
01:07:54,172 --> 01:07:56,827
and to have sex with
who we wanted to have sex with.
1121
01:07:56,931 --> 01:07:59,034
And so from the time
I was elected, I spoke out.
1122
01:07:59,137 --> 01:08:00,931
I want to ask the minister,
1123
01:08:01,068 --> 01:08:02,172
does he stand by the promise
1124
01:08:02,275 --> 01:08:05,310
that was made by his predecessor
as Minister of Justice?
1125
01:08:05,448 --> 01:08:08,068
And if so, when will he
finally move
1126
01:08:08,172 --> 01:08:11,379
to make equality a reality
for Canadian gays and lesbians?
1127
01:08:11,482 --> 01:08:14,275
In '81, I moved an amendment
to the Constitution of Canada
1128
01:08:14,413 --> 01:08:17,275
to include sexual orientation
in the Charter of Rights,
1129
01:08:17,379 --> 01:08:19,310
which was kind of revolutionary
back then.
1130
01:08:19,448 --> 01:08:21,551
Of course, my amendment
was defeated 22 to 2,
1131
01:08:21,620 --> 01:08:23,137
crashing defeat.
1132
01:08:23,241 --> 01:08:28,413
Madam Speaker, this is not an
amendment on sexual orientation.
1133
01:08:28,482 --> 01:08:32,931
This is an amendment
on sexual deviation.
1134
01:08:33,034 --> 01:08:38,310
I am afraid that our society
is becoming overly permissive.
1135
01:08:38,448 --> 01:08:43,068
We're at a point where
sodomites,
pedophiles, people who practice
bestiality
1136
01:08:43,172 --> 01:08:45,517
are becoming our children's
guardians.
1137
01:08:45,586 --> 01:08:47,103
I mean, really!
1138
01:08:47,206 --> 01:08:50,000
If they want to stay
in the bedrooms of the nation,
1139
01:08:50,103 --> 01:08:52,206
let them stay
in the bedrooms of the nation,
1140
01:08:52,275 --> 01:08:54,827
but Madam Speaker,
never let us allow them
1141
01:08:54,931 --> 01:08:57,275
into our armed forces, our RCMP,
1142
01:08:57,379 --> 01:09:01,862
and we will work with them
so they can stay silent.
1143
01:09:02,000 --> 01:09:03,172
Three years later,
1144
01:09:03,275 --> 01:09:06,034
a parliamentary committee was
established to hold hearings.
1145
01:09:06,137 --> 01:09:08,241
And I went to the
prime minister then,
1146
01:09:08,344 --> 01:09:09,896
Brian Mulroney, and I said:
1147
01:09:10,000 --> 01:09:12,793
"Look, you're gonna hold
hearings on this section.
1148
01:09:12,896 --> 01:09:15,896
"Sexual orientation
isn't in Section 15,
1149
01:09:16,000 --> 01:09:19,034
"but I have
a private member's bill
1150
01:09:19,137 --> 01:09:22,000
"to include sexual orientation
in human rights legislation.
1151
01:09:22,103 --> 01:09:23,931
"I want you to
let the committee,
1152
01:09:24,000 --> 01:09:27,172
"as part of its hearings
across the country,
1153
01:09:27,275 --> 01:09:30,206
deal with the issue
of sexual orientation as well."
1154
01:09:30,344 --> 01:09:32,034
On March 4th of 1986,
1155
01:09:32,137 --> 01:09:34,482
John Crosby stood up
in the House of Commons
1156
01:09:34,551 --> 01:09:36,241
and said the government accepts
1157
01:09:36,344 --> 01:09:38,310
the recommendations
of the committee.
1158
01:09:38,413 --> 01:09:41,517
"The government will take
whatever measures are necessary
1159
01:09:41,620 --> 01:09:43,137
"to ensure that
sexual orientation
1160
01:09:43,241 --> 01:09:46,034
"is a prohibited ground
of discrimination
1161
01:09:46,172 --> 01:09:49,620
in relation to all areas
of federal jurisdiction."
1162
01:09:49,689 --> 01:09:51,172
This was 1986.
1163
01:09:51,275 --> 01:09:54,827
We were the only country
in the world, in the world,
1164
01:09:54,965 --> 01:09:57,000
which actually
had a constitution
1165
01:09:57,103 --> 01:10:00,310
that prohibited discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
1166
01:10:00,413 --> 01:10:01,344
Good evening.
1167
01:10:01,448 --> 01:10:03,448
Never before
in Canadian history
1168
01:10:03,551 --> 01:10:05,827
has a politician
publicly declared
1169
01:10:05,931 --> 01:10:07,862
that he or she is a homosexual.
1170
01:10:07,965 --> 01:10:10,310
It has always been
something whispered about,
1171
01:10:10,413 --> 01:10:11,931
a rumour, an innuendo.
1172
01:10:12,034 --> 01:10:14,241
But now,
veteran MP Svend Robinson
1173
01:10:14,344 --> 01:10:17,379
has decided to
break that political taboo.
1174
01:10:17,517 --> 01:10:19,586
What I'm telling
Canadians, Barbara,
1175
01:10:19,689 --> 01:10:21,482
is that
I'm a member of Parliament
1176
01:10:21,586 --> 01:10:23,000
who happens to be gay.
1177
01:10:23,103 --> 01:10:27,000
I'm, I suppose, saying,
"So what?" to that.
1178
01:10:27,103 --> 01:10:28,137
But I'm also using this
1179
01:10:28,206 --> 01:10:30,310
as hopefully a means
of telling Canadians
1180
01:10:30,413 --> 01:10:33,862
that there are many other gays
and lesbians in this country
1181
01:10:33,965 --> 01:10:35,517
who are not able to live up to
1182
01:10:35,620 --> 01:10:37,586
their full potential
as human beings,
1183
01:10:37,689 --> 01:10:39,344
who are subject
to discrimination,
1184
01:10:39,448 --> 01:10:41,034
who can lose their jobs,
1185
01:10:41,137 --> 01:10:42,931
who can be
thrown out of their homes,
1186
01:10:43,000 --> 01:10:45,000
who can be
the subject of violence.
1187
01:10:45,103 --> 01:10:48,137
And I guess it's a plea for
understanding, for acceptance,
1188
01:10:48,241 --> 01:10:50,827
and for laws which will say
that we as a society
1189
01:10:50,965 --> 01:10:53,172
don't tolerate
this kind of discrimination.
1190
01:10:53,275 --> 01:10:56,827
I flew home to my constituency,
as I did almost every weekend.
1191
01:10:56,931 --> 01:10:58,517
And Saturday morning,
went into my office,
1192
01:10:58,620 --> 01:11:00,344
and it had been completely
smashed to bits.
1193
01:11:00,448 --> 01:11:04,586
The windows smashed,
hate literature there and so on.
1194
01:11:06,689 --> 01:11:08,413
I mean, I had death threats.
1195
01:11:08,517 --> 01:11:12,275
I had a bullet fired
through my office window.
1196
01:11:13,724 --> 01:11:17,103
And it was a big, big
reason for me coming out,
1197
01:11:17,206 --> 01:11:20,413
was to try to fight that hatred
and to say to people:
1198
01:11:20,517 --> 01:11:25,586
"Yes, maybe you're gay,
but that's a gift.
1199
01:11:25,689 --> 01:11:29,206
And nobody should take
that away from you."
1200
01:11:48,000 --> 01:11:51,965
In the early '80s,
I was living in Winnipeg.
1201
01:11:52,068 --> 01:11:55,241
I had returned from Vancouver
in 1983,
1202
01:11:55,379 --> 01:11:58,379
primarily because
we had learned, you know,
1203
01:11:58,448 --> 01:12:01,517
the Indigenous gay men
living in Vancouver,
1204
01:12:01,620 --> 01:12:03,620
that HIV was transmitted
by a virus.
1205
01:12:03,689 --> 01:12:08,310
So I thought I could outrun HIV
by coming back to Winnipeg.
1206
01:12:11,586 --> 01:12:17,379
When I came to the city,
I met other youth,
1207
01:12:17,482 --> 01:12:21,103
young people that were
struggling with their
sexuality
1208
01:12:21,206 --> 01:12:23,448
and struggling
trying to find themselves.
1209
01:12:23,551 --> 01:12:27,482
But I knew that if I stayed
here and I hung out here
1210
01:12:27,620 --> 01:12:29,448
and I met enough people,
1211
01:12:29,517 --> 01:12:33,379
I would figure out
what it was to be gay.
1212
01:12:36,172 --> 01:12:39,965
I have four names,
but two are only public.
1213
01:12:40,068 --> 01:12:42,137
Only two of them are public.
1214
01:12:43,482 --> 01:12:46,448
...is the woman that sits at
the centre of Four Directions.
1215
01:12:46,551 --> 01:12:47,586
And...
1216
01:12:49,448 --> 01:12:53,000
...is a second name
that I carry.
1217
01:12:53,137 --> 01:12:57,586
And it means you're a helper.
1218
01:12:57,655 --> 01:12:59,275
I'm a helper.
1219
01:12:59,379 --> 01:13:05,068
My job is to help people,
to help Mother Earth...
1220
01:13:06,551 --> 01:13:08,655
all creatures that are living.
1221
01:13:08,724 --> 01:13:11,344
I grew up in a little village
in Northern Manitoba
1222
01:13:11,448 --> 01:13:12,344
called Cormorant.
1223
01:13:12,448 --> 01:13:13,586
Very early on,
1224
01:13:13,724 --> 01:13:17,448
I knew about 5,
that I was different.
1225
01:13:17,551 --> 01:13:20,137
I was sort of magical
in some way.
1226
01:13:24,275 --> 01:13:28,172
In 1990, we decided
that we were going to host
1227
01:13:28,241 --> 01:13:29,689
a gathering in Winnipeg.
1228
01:13:29,827 --> 01:13:32,344
When we went to that land...
1229
01:13:32,413 --> 01:13:34,344
It's beautiful, beautiful land.
1230
01:13:35,689 --> 01:13:39,620
It was not gonna be
a mainstream gathering,
1231
01:13:39,724 --> 01:13:42,620
a conference
or anything like that.
1232
01:13:42,724 --> 01:13:45,551
It was going to be
a gathering of nations.
1233
01:13:54,482 --> 01:13:56,034
Not too tight, you know.
1234
01:14:14,896 --> 01:14:17,448
We wanted to have ceremony
1235
01:14:17,586 --> 01:14:23,413
as the main part
of what we were going to do.
1236
01:14:29,586 --> 01:14:34,551
A red-tailed hawk was flying
above us in Beausejour.
1237
01:14:34,655 --> 01:14:36,344
It was a very hot day.
1238
01:14:37,689 --> 01:14:41,689
And to me,
that was the sign.
1239
01:14:41,758 --> 01:14:45,482
That hawk revealed itself.
1240
01:14:53,689 --> 01:14:55,758
Myra came and told us...
1241
01:14:55,862 --> 01:14:58,448
While we were
in a sharing circle,
1242
01:14:58,586 --> 01:14:59,482
she came and told us
1243
01:14:59,620 --> 01:15:01,862
that she had had
this vision given to her,
1244
01:15:01,965 --> 01:15:04,310
and she was given this name
1245
01:15:04,413 --> 01:15:08,172
of who we were
as gay and lesbian people.
1246
01:15:08,310 --> 01:15:11,310
They gave me the
words Niizh manidoowag.
1247
01:15:11,413 --> 01:15:13,551
Niizh meaning two.
1248
01:15:14,655 --> 01:15:17,448
Manidoowag meaning spirit.
1249
01:15:17,551 --> 01:15:19,793
Manidoo would be one spirit.
1250
01:15:19,862 --> 01:15:21,758
Manidoowag is more than one.
1251
01:15:22,931 --> 01:15:26,206
So Niizh manidoowag
is what they shared with me.
1252
01:15:27,448 --> 01:15:28,931
And...
1253
01:15:30,310 --> 01:15:36,344
they spoke with me in a way
that was gentle and calm.
1254
01:15:37,827 --> 01:15:41,413
But it was also
with a certain strictness
1255
01:15:41,517 --> 01:15:44,586
that you don't fool around
with this.
1256
01:15:44,689 --> 01:15:46,413
You don't play with this.
1257
01:15:46,482 --> 01:15:48,655
This is sacred.
1258
01:15:52,862 --> 01:15:57,689
We opened a portal
into the spiritual world
1259
01:15:57,793 --> 01:16:00,620
because we had
followed those instructions
1260
01:16:00,724 --> 01:16:03,413
by our elders
and our knowledge keepers
1261
01:16:03,551 --> 01:16:07,413
of how to petition the spiritual
world for what we need.
1262
01:16:07,551 --> 01:16:11,586
And out of that portal
came a name, Two-Spirit People.
1263
01:16:13,689 --> 01:16:14,793
That name went everywhere,
1264
01:16:14,931 --> 01:16:17,448
because everybody heard
what she had visioned.
1265
01:16:19,551 --> 01:16:22,000
Naming or renaming
or self-naming
1266
01:16:22,103 --> 01:16:23,827
is an act of liberation.
1267
01:16:43,896 --> 01:16:45,965
I felt strange sometimes.
1268
01:16:46,068 --> 01:16:48,241
Not only because of being gay,
1269
01:16:48,310 --> 01:16:51,275
but because of who I was,
my background.
1270
01:16:52,586 --> 01:16:54,482
There was something missing.
1271
01:16:54,586 --> 01:16:56,793
I needed other Latinos
there with me.
1272
01:16:58,620 --> 01:17:01,034
I would go to parties,
and I'd see Samuel.
1273
01:17:01,137 --> 01:17:02,724
And Samuel was already out.
1274
01:17:02,862 --> 01:17:05,689
Samuel was
the gayest Latino there was.
1275
01:17:05,793 --> 01:17:11,344
There was no way that we were
going to be part of something
1276
01:17:11,448 --> 01:17:13,275
that we didn't belong to.
1277
01:17:13,379 --> 01:17:16,827
So we needed to create
our own moment,
1278
01:17:16,931 --> 01:17:19,482
our own movement.
1279
01:17:21,965 --> 01:17:25,448
What was clearly needed
is to have a group.
1280
01:17:25,517 --> 01:17:28,448
And then HOLA started.
1281
01:17:28,551 --> 01:17:29,862
At that time,
1282
01:17:30,000 --> 01:17:34,000
it's when the
immigration explodes.
1283
01:17:36,000 --> 01:17:38,655
Homophobia is intense
in Latin America.
1284
01:17:38,724 --> 01:17:41,758
It's a crime in some of
those countries to be gay.
1285
01:17:41,827 --> 01:17:44,379
So, many people were fleeing.
1286
01:17:46,034 --> 01:17:49,620
And say, if your friend
had arrived here,
1287
01:17:49,724 --> 01:17:53,344
the board of volunteers
will help people,
1288
01:17:53,448 --> 01:17:55,862
go pick people up
at the airport...
1289
01:17:57,724 --> 01:18:02,034
you know, give them shelter,
you know, give them clothing,
1290
01:18:02,137 --> 01:18:03,896
winter coats,
whatever, food,
1291
01:18:04,034 --> 01:18:07,689
take them to,
you know, a lawyer,
1292
01:18:07,793 --> 01:18:10,827
help them go
all the way to immigration.
1293
01:18:10,931 --> 01:18:13,827
Chabuka went to
immigration a few times.
1294
01:18:13,931 --> 01:18:14,862
I went there.
1295
01:18:16,724 --> 01:18:21,586
In drag, I went to immigration
to help people.
1296
01:18:28,103 --> 01:18:31,379
Marching with Grupo HOLA,
the first time...
1297
01:18:34,068 --> 01:18:36,620
We were apprehensive.
1298
01:18:36,724 --> 01:18:38,827
We were, of course, afraid.
1299
01:18:39,965 --> 01:18:41,655
But it was time.
1300
01:18:41,758 --> 01:18:44,586
Laugh, enjoy
1301
01:18:44,689 --> 01:18:47,517
Life is beautiful
1302
01:18:47,620 --> 01:18:50,586
Live, sing.
1303
01:19:04,137 --> 01:19:06,482
There was a lot of us.
1304
01:19:06,586 --> 01:19:08,827
And there was solidarity.
1305
01:19:08,965 --> 01:19:11,206
There was care.
1306
01:19:11,310 --> 01:19:13,482
There was laughter.
There was fun.
1307
01:19:13,586 --> 01:19:16,931
There was love.
There was camaraderie.
1308
01:19:19,034 --> 01:19:22,517
My heart was beating, marching.
1309
01:19:22,620 --> 01:19:24,482
And it was emotional, uh...
1310
01:19:34,344 --> 01:19:36,551
Just to be free...
1311
01:19:37,862 --> 01:19:40,862
and just be ourselves.
1312
01:20:13,724 --> 01:20:15,965
When I started
doing my parties,
1313
01:20:16,068 --> 01:20:18,827
it was right in the middle
of the whole AIDS crisis.
1314
01:20:18,931 --> 01:20:23,068
My primary goal was to
try and make sex positive
1315
01:20:23,172 --> 01:20:26,206
and good and sexy.
1316
01:20:27,655 --> 01:20:31,655
I went to the party,
from what I remember, two times.
1317
01:20:31,758 --> 01:20:34,482
I just remember
it was very underground.
1318
01:20:34,551 --> 01:20:37,724
You know, we were
in a special place.
1319
01:20:39,000 --> 01:20:42,758
It was a space that was
free of prejudice,
1320
01:20:42,827 --> 01:20:43,827
free of judgment.
1321
01:20:43,896 --> 01:20:47,068
We could just dance
and feel beautiful.
1322
01:20:49,275 --> 01:20:51,793
Nicolas tapped me
on the shoulder and said:
1323
01:20:51,862 --> 01:20:54,689
"Listen, I think
we're gonna be raided."
1324
01:20:54,793 --> 01:20:58,655
We just, you know, got our stuff
together and ran out the door,
1325
01:20:58,758 --> 01:21:01,931
ran out the window,
jumped out the window and hid.
1326
01:21:04,206 --> 01:21:06,241
They basically came in,
1327
01:21:06,379 --> 01:21:09,000
a bunch of them
with flashlights.
1328
01:21:09,068 --> 01:21:12,172
A lot of the policemen
had removed their badges,
1329
01:21:12,241 --> 01:21:14,896
which is definitely
a warning sign.
1330
01:21:19,206 --> 01:21:22,586
People reacted very quickly.
1331
01:21:22,724 --> 01:21:26,068
Go away, fascist cops!
1332
01:21:27,241 --> 01:21:30,758
There was a big protest
outside of the police station,
1333
01:21:30,862 --> 01:21:34,103
the ones that
were responsible for the raid.
1334
01:21:34,206 --> 01:21:35,724
- Pas de violence!
- No!
1335
01:21:35,827 --> 01:21:37,103
- Pas de violence!
- No!
1336
01:21:37,206 --> 01:21:39,206
- Pas de violence!
- No!
1337
01:21:40,724 --> 01:21:43,103
The police,
they taunted people.
1338
01:21:43,241 --> 01:21:44,931
They used their batons
1339
01:21:45,034 --> 01:21:48,034
and made reference to,
like, dicks,
1340
01:21:48,137 --> 01:21:50,862
and they would say:
"Come suck my dick."
1341
01:21:50,965 --> 01:21:53,793
We're here, we're queer,
and so are some of you!
1342
01:21:53,896 --> 01:21:56,517
We're here, we're queer,
and so are some of you!
1343
01:21:56,586 --> 01:21:59,793
We're here, we're queer,
and so are some of you!
1344
01:21:59,896 --> 01:22:02,896
We're here, we're queer,
and so are some of you!
1345
01:22:03,000 --> 01:22:06,068
We're here, we're queer,
and so are some of you!
1346
01:22:06,137 --> 01:22:07,689
We're here, we're queer...
1347
01:22:07,793 --> 01:22:09,896
Pas de violence!
1348
01:22:51,344 --> 01:22:53,275
Fascist!
1349
01:22:59,413 --> 01:23:04,413
Shame, shame, shame,
shame, shame, shame!
1350
01:23:10,793 --> 01:23:12,206
Shame, shame, shame!
1351
01:23:12,344 --> 01:23:15,965
I remember my friend standing
in front of the crowd
1352
01:23:16,068 --> 01:23:18,172
and crying and showing his
bruises
and saying:
1353
01:23:18,275 --> 01:23:20,068
"Look at what they did to me."
1354
01:23:23,000 --> 01:23:25,241
Every social
movement is like this.
1355
01:23:25,379 --> 01:23:28,206
People get brutalized
by the police.
1356
01:23:29,310 --> 01:23:32,068
Sex Garage was about
the activism
1357
01:23:32,172 --> 01:23:33,344
that came out of it.
1358
01:23:33,413 --> 01:23:35,068
As marginalized people,
1359
01:23:35,206 --> 01:23:38,206
we wouldn't
take that shit anymore.
1360
01:23:38,344 --> 01:23:41,206
The 1990 raid
on the Sex Garage
1361
01:23:41,310 --> 01:23:46,517
really set the precedent for
establishing Pride in Montreal.
1362
01:23:47,896 --> 01:23:50,000
This is seen
as this major turning point
1363
01:23:50,103 --> 01:23:52,965
in the history of the city
for the queer community,
1364
01:23:53,034 --> 01:23:56,034
and it really revealed
to our community
1365
01:23:56,172 --> 01:23:58,241
that the fight wasn't over.
1366
01:24:08,413 --> 01:24:10,172
Officer!
1367
01:24:13,793 --> 01:24:18,310
I remember
walking up Church Street
1368
01:24:18,413 --> 01:24:22,103
sometime in
the mid to late 1990s,
1369
01:24:22,241 --> 01:24:24,172
seeing the police at Pride
1370
01:24:24,275 --> 01:24:28,275
and being, like,
really taken aback.
1371
01:24:28,379 --> 01:24:30,793
I was, like,
just really taken aback by it,
1372
01:24:30,931 --> 01:24:33,068
and I was like:
"What is happening?"
1373
01:24:41,413 --> 01:24:43,482
It's about to come to an end.
1374
01:24:43,586 --> 01:24:45,793
They're going to take it over.
1375
01:24:45,931 --> 01:24:48,379
Pride is going to
morph into something
1376
01:24:48,482 --> 01:24:51,241
that we will soon
not be able to recognize.
1377
01:25:00,137 --> 01:25:05,172
What we saw
is a simultaneous policing
1378
01:25:05,310 --> 01:25:10,034
of what queer life
and possibility
1379
01:25:10,172 --> 01:25:12,206
and expression should look like.
1380
01:25:16,275 --> 01:25:18,206
Folks that were not
Black, queer, and trans
1381
01:25:18,310 --> 01:25:20,172
were not thinking that
police were an issue.
1382
01:25:20,275 --> 01:25:23,000
There were a lot of people
who felt safe around police.
1383
01:25:23,103 --> 01:25:25,000
And because they felt
safe around police,
1384
01:25:25,137 --> 01:25:26,896
"We won't listen
to you Black folks
1385
01:25:27,034 --> 01:25:29,034
when you're talking about
police issues," right?
1386
01:25:29,137 --> 01:25:31,344
So there was often...
Folks felt that erasure.
1387
01:25:31,448 --> 01:25:33,000
Folks were really upset
1388
01:25:33,103 --> 01:25:37,413
and folks wanted somebody
to say something.
1389
01:25:46,241 --> 01:25:47,965
Sumaya's life matters!
1390
01:25:48,034 --> 01:25:49,344
Sumaya's life matters!
1391
01:25:49,448 --> 01:25:51,172
Philando's life matters!
1392
01:25:51,275 --> 01:25:53,482
Black Lives Matter,
they were the honoured group.
1393
01:25:53,586 --> 01:25:55,862
They were leading
the parade that year.
1394
01:25:56,000 --> 01:25:57,448
Black lives matter!
1395
01:25:57,551 --> 01:25:59,344
It was the first pride
1396
01:25:59,448 --> 01:26:02,172
that a prime minister
was marching in the parade.
1397
01:26:02,241 --> 01:26:06,034
And so Justin Trudeau was
marching in his linen outfit,
1398
01:26:06,103 --> 01:26:07,482
and he was ready to go.
1399
01:26:07,586 --> 01:26:10,413
And everything
had to move smoothly.
1400
01:26:13,000 --> 01:26:15,172
There were snipers
on the roof.
1401
01:26:15,241 --> 01:26:17,379
The level of, like,
police presence
1402
01:26:17,482 --> 01:26:19,068
was at an all-time high.
1403
01:26:23,275 --> 01:26:26,896
I was part of the
Black Lives Matter contingent
1404
01:26:27,000 --> 01:26:29,586
who marched
at the front of the parade.
1405
01:26:33,758 --> 01:26:36,620
So many young Black people
1406
01:26:36,724 --> 01:26:40,275
just in all of their full glory.
1407
01:26:42,000 --> 01:26:43,965
We had to do a lot of work
behind the scenes
1408
01:26:44,068 --> 01:26:45,103
to be like: "Trust us, y'all.
1409
01:26:45,241 --> 01:26:46,896
We're not just going to,
we're not..."
1410
01:26:47,000 --> 01:26:49,206
We were like: "No,
if we're going to do this,
1411
01:26:49,310 --> 01:26:50,482
it's gonna be an action."
1412
01:26:50,586 --> 01:26:52,931
ide Toronto!
1413
01:26:53,034 --> 01:26:58,206
We are calling you out
for your anti-Blackness!
1414
01:26:58,275 --> 01:27:00,172
Your anti-Indigeneity!
1415
01:27:00,275 --> 01:27:03,000
We will not be moved!
1416
01:27:03,137 --> 01:27:07,137
I don't think we have much
to be proud about.
1417
01:27:07,241 --> 01:27:10,482
I don't think
this is a cause for celebration!
1418
01:27:10,586 --> 01:27:13,241
Garbage! Assholes.
Racist bastards!
1419
01:27:13,310 --> 01:27:15,034
Oh, boo!
1420
01:27:15,137 --> 01:27:18,310
The only time I've ever heard
this
1421
01:27:18,379 --> 01:27:22,448
was from a community who should
understand
what it feels like to be
oppressed.
1422
01:27:22,551 --> 01:27:25,586
We fought for you.
We threw bricks for you.
1423
01:27:25,689 --> 01:27:27,413
We got locked up for you!
1424
01:27:27,482 --> 01:27:29,448
And so we created the demands,
1425
01:27:29,517 --> 01:27:33,551
and it was deliberate that we
chose 8 demands about Pride
1426
01:27:33,655 --> 01:27:35,344
and one about the police,
1427
01:27:35,482 --> 01:27:36,517
because let's be honest,
1428
01:27:36,620 --> 01:27:38,586
people were going to
focus on the one.
1429
01:27:38,655 --> 01:27:41,517
Everyone in this space, sit
down!
1430
01:27:41,620 --> 01:27:44,137
Stopping the parade for us
1431
01:27:44,241 --> 01:27:46,275
didn't mean Pride
would not happen.
1432
01:27:46,344 --> 01:27:48,344
In fact, it would
bring back Pride
1433
01:27:48,482 --> 01:27:50,310
to its roots of direct action,
1434
01:27:50,448 --> 01:27:53,310
of spontaneous action,
of people-led action.
1435
01:28:06,379 --> 01:28:09,206
It started out
that Prides
1436
01:28:09,310 --> 01:28:11,448
were a way of winning visibility
1437
01:28:11,551 --> 01:28:14,068
for fairly concrete demands.
1438
01:28:14,206 --> 01:28:15,689
The first pride that I went to
1439
01:28:15,758 --> 01:28:18,793
was calling for the inclusion
of sexual orientation
1440
01:28:18,896 --> 01:28:20,379
in the human rights code.
1441
01:28:23,241 --> 01:28:25,068
When you look at Pride,
1442
01:28:25,172 --> 01:28:27,206
you really see
what we fought for.
1443
01:28:32,586 --> 01:28:34,172
Who we became.
1444
01:28:40,517 --> 01:28:43,517
How we grew as a community.
1445
01:28:58,620 --> 01:29:01,620
And what we lost along the way.
1446
01:29:05,655 --> 01:29:08,586
Watching that
evolution
over decades...
1447
01:29:08,689 --> 01:29:11,724
Inevitably, we would see
that collision
1448
01:29:11,827 --> 01:29:16,206
around conservative politics,
conservative assimilationist,
1449
01:29:16,275 --> 01:29:20,241
and the sort of community-based
liberation politics.
1450
01:29:32,310 --> 01:29:35,793
If you're a trans
high school student
1451
01:29:35,896 --> 01:29:38,620
or you're a queer
racialized person,
1452
01:29:38,724 --> 01:29:42,310
you might not have access
to these victories,
1453
01:29:42,413 --> 01:29:44,379
these gains that we've made.
1454
01:29:44,482 --> 01:29:45,620
You may not.
1455
01:29:45,724 --> 01:29:48,310
The kind of work that
we should be doing
1456
01:29:48,448 --> 01:29:50,793
has to do with
broadening out the notion
1457
01:29:50,896 --> 01:29:52,724
of what our movement is about.
1458
01:30:09,275 --> 01:30:13,275
Right now, the debate
is about trans youth.
1459
01:30:13,379 --> 01:30:16,724
I follow it closely
because I was a trans youth.
1460
01:30:16,793 --> 01:30:21,344
I can't believe somebody
would oppose what I was doing.
1461
01:30:21,448 --> 01:30:23,724
For me, it was
completely the opposite.
1462
01:30:23,827 --> 01:30:26,206
My family supported me.
1463
01:30:28,379 --> 01:30:33,310
I first came out
as a young queer kid.
1464
01:30:33,413 --> 01:30:35,793
And then when I got to be
a little bit older,
1465
01:30:35,896 --> 01:30:38,275
I realized there was
a bit more going on.
1466
01:30:38,379 --> 01:30:40,517
I wanted to be able to
look in the mirror
1467
01:30:40,620 --> 01:30:42,137
and see myself looking back.
1468
01:30:42,275 --> 01:30:43,793
That was so important to me.
1469
01:30:45,241 --> 01:30:48,241
So there I was,
realizing that I was trans,
1470
01:30:48,344 --> 01:30:49,620
and so I came out again.
1471
01:30:49,689 --> 01:30:53,586
I think that for some of us,
there is...
1472
01:30:55,344 --> 01:30:58,344
a sense of being
at home everywhere you go.
1473
01:30:58,482 --> 01:31:01,689
For some of us,
everywhere is your living room.
1474
01:31:01,793 --> 01:31:03,275
And for the rest of us,
1475
01:31:03,379 --> 01:31:05,689
unfortunately,
that's not the case.
1476
01:31:05,758 --> 01:31:09,344
Leave our kids alone!
1477
01:31:24,586 --> 01:31:27,931
Protect trans kids!
1478
01:31:31,413 --> 01:31:34,413
Protect trans kids!
Protect trans kids!
1479
01:31:37,344 --> 01:31:38,551
It is a time to stand up,
1480
01:31:38,655 --> 01:31:41,517
and I'm really proud of
those youth around the world
1481
01:31:41,620 --> 01:31:44,620
who are standing up
to this patriarchy,
1482
01:31:44,724 --> 01:31:46,586
to this fascism.
1483
01:31:46,689 --> 01:31:51,344
Love is louder!
1484
01:31:51,448 --> 01:31:54,758
I'm thinking about the young
who,
if the laws change,
1485
01:31:54,862 --> 01:31:58,758
if their rights
are once again taken away...
1486
01:31:59,827 --> 01:32:01,620
I won't be here to see it.
1487
01:32:01,758 --> 01:32:04,758
It could happen.
I hope it doesn't.
1488
01:32:04,862 --> 01:32:10,724
I don't want them to go through
what I went through. No. No.
1489
01:32:10,827 --> 01:32:14,275
Protect trans kids!
1490
01:32:20,310 --> 01:32:22,793
My granddaughter is also
homosexual.
1491
01:32:22,931 --> 01:32:25,551
She will suffer if the times
change.
1492
01:32:25,655 --> 01:32:28,310
Do you think a boy is a girl?
1493
01:32:28,413 --> 01:32:30,758
What does it matter to you?
1494
01:32:35,758 --> 01:32:39,758
It's like we did
3 steps forward,
1495
01:32:39,862 --> 01:32:44,793
and now this million
for children
1496
01:32:44,896 --> 01:32:47,793
is bringing us so far behind.
1497
01:32:49,551 --> 01:32:52,586
The same people
who wouldn't visit their sons
1498
01:32:52,655 --> 01:32:54,448
when they were
dying from AIDS
1499
01:32:54,586 --> 01:32:57,724
are back forming committees
to protect their children,
1500
01:32:57,793 --> 01:32:59,586
to ban books.
1501
01:33:01,172 --> 01:33:03,689
And the backlash is upon us.
1502
01:33:06,689 --> 01:33:10,482
History matters because of
what it can do for us today.
1503
01:33:12,137 --> 01:33:16,068
The fights maybe
are in very different places
1504
01:33:16,172 --> 01:33:18,551
than they were 50 years ago,
1505
01:33:18,689 --> 01:33:23,758
but the necessity to fight
is as urgent now as it was then.
1506
01:33:31,482 --> 01:33:33,862
Phobia is about not knowing.
1507
01:33:34,931 --> 01:33:39,827
Hate is about not knowing
anything about real life.
1508
01:33:41,586 --> 01:33:44,931
If Niizh manidoowag
could spread like wildfire,
1509
01:33:45,034 --> 01:33:47,482
why can't peace,
love and respect?
1510
01:33:48,655 --> 01:33:50,724
That's my question to the world.
1511
01:33:52,000 --> 01:33:55,551
Love is louder!
1512
01:34:18,241 --> 01:34:20,137
Closed Captions: MELS