Season three of the Woodstein Media Podcast starts with poet John Barton discussing his new free verse collection, Compulsory Figures. He explores themes of family, patriarchy, and contemporary queer issues, reflecting on his experiences as a gay man during the AIDS pandemic. The book is published by Caitlin Press.
Stevie Bees chats about the boost David Tennant gave to their trans-positive T-shirt brand which has enabled Stevie to infuse more positive energy into the gender-diverse community we live in through activism, bursaries, and public speaking.
United Way Perth-Huron’s Social Research & Planning Council is partnering with the University of Guelph on a study focused on local 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals’ experiences with discrimination and exclusion, priorities important to the community and the availability, or lack, of services across Perth-Huron.
In this episode, Barrie Ontario musician Earl Wyvern discusses their history and involvement in the DIY Arts Collective, which progressed to a deep involvement in music, promoting shows through Gay Ass Productions and slamming eardrums on recording and stages for the past ten years. They are currently playing with Angry Spells and digging deeper into what they refer to as their “horrendous progressive politics” with Earl Wyvern and Spare Parts.
Essentially, their horrendous politics, which they describe as “queer” and “militant,” are just a wish for people to be treated fairly and not single out specific segments of society with excuses not to be kind to them. Wyvern describes this as “what-aboutism” and that when people set out to do good for people, they don’t discriminate about who deserves help in times of need.
Six southern Ontario bands rocked Barrie, Ontario’s Simcoe Hotel, in support of trans youth on October 15 during Stonewall 2: Fundraiser Boogaloo.
People who didn’t make it out to enjoy the music ranging from acoustic folk punk to punk and pop rock but still want to support transgender youth as they endure attacks from far-right agitators across Canada can contribute at https://www.transwellness.ca. Trans Wellness Ontario provides counselling, resources and peer support for transgender youth in Ontario at a time when anti-2SLGBTQIA rhetoric is on the rise.
Gay-Ass Productions is presenting Stonewall 2: Fundraiser Boogaloo at the Simcoe Hotel in Barrie on October 15. Money raised will support transgender youth through Trans Wellness Ontario. This organization provides counselling, resources and peer support for Trans Youth in Ontario at a time when anti-2SLGBTQIA rhetoric is on the rise.
Six bands are on the bill: Morel, Chachi On Acid, Earl Wyvern with Spare Parts, Mercy, Speed Humps, and Not So Gentle at the Simcoe Hotel, 31 Bayfield St. Barrie, On for $15. It’s 19+, and the doors open at 7 p.m. sharp. The bands will be playing shortly after, and it will run like clockwork.
As anti-trans rhetoric gets normalized across Canada, activists stand up to the hatred. This episode highlights the work and activism of Celeste Trianon, a trans-feminine jurist and activist. On the legal front, she helps people in Quebec with name and gender marker changes. Across Canada, she has been involved in activism, resisting hatred directed towards the 2SLGBTQIA community, specifically trans, two-spirit and non-binary people.
Since May, a group of concerned citizens known as the Drag Storytime Guardians have supported Drag Story Time and Pride events throughout Southwestern Ontario. At the heart of the guardians is a 70-year-old biker, Sista Patricia, who has been putting what she has learned, marching for the rights of women and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, into action to protect families and drag queens from far-right fanatics who show up at libraries to protest Drag Story Time.
In this episode, Sista Patricia discusses how she came to be involved with the Guardians, the work they are doing and her thoughts on why the protesters are feeling bold enough to show their hate without regard for how they are perceived in this era.
In a related theme to the main focus of this episode, Woodstein Media also wishes respect and love to the Minneapolis, Minnesota music scene based around the 2SLGBTQIA+ friendly punk music venue Nudieland. Sadly, on August 11, the house venue was the scene of a mass shooting that injured six people and killed one beloved member of the scene, August Golden.
In episode 15, Bruce Duncan Skeaff, the president and chair of the board at the Stratford Pride Community Centre, assesses how things have been going as it approaches the one-year mark since opening. He discusses what he had expected the role of the community centre would have been for the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community and how it has been utilized as a resource to help people.
After homophobic vandalism was discovered at Sirkel Foods in Stratford on the morning of Nov. 1, a meeting was planned at the Stratford Pride Community Centre (SPCC) to allow the community to discuss their feelings, thoughts and fears with representatives from Stratford Police Services, City of Stratford council and the Stratford City Centre Business Improvement Area (BIA).
This is the final installment in a series of articles documenting the discussion of how police investigate hate-motivated incidents and what the city and the public can do to help make the community more welcoming and inclusive for all people.
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