This year’s Flin Flon Pride festival in August will feature a new twist – an event dedicated specifically to transgender people and issues.
A march is planned during the festival, which will take place on August 17
and 18. It will be the first event geared specifically to transgender people ever held in Flin Flon.
While Pride events are designed to promote awareness of LGBT+-related causes, transgender – often shortened to “trans”– people can be marginalized.
“The transgender community often feels silenced at pride celebrations. It’s all about being open, being who you are,” said Jordana Oulette, executive director of the Flin Flon Pride committee and a founder of the group.
“Trans people have a lot of oppression against them because of all these battles lately, about removing male and female markers off of birth certificates for example and the negative pushback from the public. The trans march is to show people that they’re visible, that they’re there and that they matter as well.”
One of the organizers for the upcoming march is Pride committee member Mason Godwaldt, a trans man who has organized similar events in other communities, including Winnipeg. Godwaldt moved to Flin Flon three months ago.
“By holding a trans march, it shows another group of our community that is usually shoved to the back, that they are still seen, that they are still valid. We are still fighting for a lot of our rights and to be seen,” he said.
While awareness for trans issues has grown in recent years, Godwaldt says the general public can benefit from a pro-trans event. More importantly, he said, people shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions they don’t know the answers to regarding trans life.
“Most people are curious and I am more than happy to educate,” said Godwaldt.
“I have been out for three years and am very privileged to be on hormones. If me having that conversation 30 times a day means maybe one of those people wont misgender someone who is newly out as trans or maybe struggling with their identity, then I will gladly correct someone multiple times a day and educate as much as possible.”
“That’s kind of the base of our whole festival – to inform,” added Oulette.
“Especially since a lot of people are just uneducated when it comes to transgender issues. I was speaking with one of our sponsors yesterday and he said, ‘Oh, transgender, that’s basically like drag, right? It’s going to be a drag show.’ No, it’s different from that.”
Oulette said that since starting the group in 2017, she has seen knowledge of LGBT+ issues blossom in Flin Flon.
“We have people identifying as different sexual preferences and different phrases under the umbrella. We’ve had people reach out to us and comment on the page and say, ‘Hey, thank you for explaining that, I didn’t know what that meant and I’m aware now,’” she said.
In the end, Godwaldt hopes the march and other Flin Flon Pride events can drive the group toward the same goal – understanding, information and celebration.
“I hope it can continue to build communities where LGBT+ people aren’t seen as different, that we contribute to the communities just as much as any other person. We are siblings, friends, employees,” said Godwaldt.
