荔枝视频

The inaugural Queerposium at the 荔枝视频 gave the community a chance to not only connect and share queer research and knowledge, but also offer mutual support and have fun. 

The gathering on May 11 was the first event hosted by the Queer Research Hub, a multidisciplinary initiative established by U荔枝视频 staff and grad students earlier this year to create space and visibility for people conducting research on queerness. 

鈥淭he Queerposium was a really beautiful and meaningful event,鈥� says Josiah Lansang, BSc'24, graduate student, . 鈥淚t felt very special to be surrounded by people who were not only interested in queer research, but also invested in creating a welcoming and joyful environment.鈥� 

The event featured research presentations and attendees participating in community-building activities and a photo booth. The event even included comedy and drag performances. The nearly 100 attendees included not only U荔枝视频 staff, faculty and students, but others from Mount Royal University, St. Mary鈥檚 University, and the University of Alberta.鈥�

鈥淨ueerposium was an important opportunity for 2SLGBTQIA+ people to revel in our queer joy. Joy is strategic because joy inspires momentum, and joy is an inside job,鈥� says , BA鈥�90, BEd鈥�96, PhD, professor, . 鈥淚t was so heartwarming for me to see so many members of various 2SLGBTQIA+ communities here in 荔枝视频 coming out to share their queer-themed research projects and just be together in person and in solidarity.鈥�

Callaghan adds that we need these real-life interactions now more than ever before. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 vital for allies and just those who care about socially progressive research to be vocal in their support for gender and sexually diverse people, as unity is necessary for change to occur,鈥� says Callaghan.

The goal of the event was to create community. And , BSc (Eng)鈥�11, MSc鈥�18, PhD鈥�24, says that sometimes being inclusive is simply about having a presence.

鈥淎s an engineering professor, it was incredibly nerve-wracking to be leading the Queerposium in the Engineering Building. But I鈥檓 proud to be an engineer, and I鈥檓 proud to be queer, and it was amazing to be able to do these two things at the same time,鈥� says Paul, an associate professor in the . 

And she hopes that queer and trans scholars across the university are able to create their own communities where they can collaborate and thrive together. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have the right resources and financial support so more people can run events like Queerposium for their communities,鈥� Paul says. 鈥淚t is also incredibly important to have a strong emphasis on mobilization. Our work needs to go beyond written words in journal papers to actively advocate and improve the lives of queer and trans folks.鈥�

These are important reminders throughout the year, yet more so as we enter , from June to September, and acknowledge May 17 as .

The team, including , PhD, (Schulich) and , MA'20, (Werklund) also partnered with several local queer-owned and queer-friendly vendors which helped make the Queerposium feel deeply community-led and celebratory:

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