On Monday November 7th, Mary Ward’s Gay-Straight Alliance club kickstarted the school’s second annual GSA week with the celebration of their birthday. The week was a momentous occasion for the group and the students because it provided opportunity for discussion and education about the LGBTQ+ community. Our school was lucky enough to have a week run and created by the GSA, wherein the group’s goals of education, inclusiveness, and the celebration of differences, were carried out.
During the week, numerous topics were covered. The club began on Monday by celebrating the fourth anniversary of their creation, reflecting on the group’s history, and looking back on its formation. On Tuesday , they discussed the issues that people of colour within the community face.
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They also brought to light the matter of the community always being represented by white cisgender gay men, when the community is much more diverse. The day’s morning reflection spoke of how people of colour in the community face different prejudices than white LGBTQ+ people do. For instance, while a white cisgender gay man faces numerous discriminations, his existence as part of the community will be very different from that of a black transgender lesbian woman, who in addition to homophobia will have to also deal with racism, transphobia, and misogyny. In their T.A activity, they shared with us important famous LGBTQ+ people of colour by having T.A.s look at quotes and guessing which famous LGBTQ+ person of colour said it. Their hope was to display the diversity of the community by showcasing individuals unique from the archetype of white cisgender gay men, making people realize that the community is much more than what the media paints it as. The whitewashing of the community is a pressing issue as it erases the identities of a large amount of LGBTQ+