Global Courant
Heartbreaking: this is how Ariana Giroux describes the exclusion from LGBTQ events because of her disability.
Giroux is a neurodivergent person with a physical disability. She uses an ambulatory wheelchair and a cane to walk.
Giroux says she sometimes has to be away with friends due to accessibility issues.
That sense of isolation is particularly hard to digest at a time when gender and sexually diverse people are under increasing scrutiny.
“What I need is community care. What I need is to feel solidarity with my community, and I can’t because my community is solidarity in places I can’t access,” says Giroux, who lives in Regina.
Ryan Young is known by their stage name China White. Young says they have been “visually impaired” for about eight years. (Submitted by Ryan Young)
“It really pisses me off,” says Ryan Young, who lives in Saskatoon.
“Especially as a drag queen it frustrates me because we as a community who have fought so hard for the marginalized (now) are marginalizing people within our own community.”
Young, who goes by the stage name China White, has been “visually impaired” for about eight years.
They say it’s challenging to navigate Pride events as an artist. Young often depends on the help of their friend and colleague Iona Whip.
“When she’s not around, sometimes I’m really screwed,” says Young.
Celebrated in June in Saskatchewan, Pride Month is a time to embrace diversity and show support for LGBTQ people. But with its traditions of parades and boisterous celebrations, some celebrations can create barriers for people with disabilities — and they say more can be done throughout the year to make this community inclusive.
The Saskatoon Pride Parade will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023. (Travis Reddaway/CBC)
On its website, Saskatoon Pride says the group wants to make sure its events and programs are accessible and barrier-free.
“We’ve heard from people in the past how this is a problem,” said Mike McCoy, co-chair of the organization.
For the Saturday parade, Saskatoon Pride plans to provide a shaded, accessible viewing area at 24th Street and Fifth Avenue, with easy access for people to be dropped off and picked up. Some parking spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Shuttle services between the two festival grounds at River Landing and Friendship Park will assist those with walking difficulties and difficulty navigating crowds.
McCoy says one of the accessible spaces is also meant to be a quieter space to escape from overstimulation.
Regina’s Pride parade took place on Saturday, June 10. (Nichole Huck/CBC)
Regina’s Pride Parade, held last weekend, “has room for improvement” in terms of accessibility, co-chair Lisa Phillipson admits. Queen City Pride attempted to offer interpretation in American Sign Language during the festival, but it fell through.
“This year is probably not the best example of what we’ve brought out with accessibility,” she said. “We keep accessibility as an important thing that we try to strive for.”
The Afternoon Edition – Sask5:32The organizers of the Queen City Pride parade are celebrating another successful year
Queen City Pride Co-President Lisa Phillipson provides a recap of the weekend event. She spoke with Theresa Kliem, guest presenter of the Afternoon Edition.
Prince Albert Pride allows people to join the parade on foot or behind a wheel – an approach the organization has taken because of the pandemic, but has also made it more accessible.
“In some ways, Pride festivals are making significant strides each year to create a more accessible and more available space for everyone,” says Giroux, “but there is still a lot to do.”
Jes Battis, an autistic person in Regina, wrote in an email that they’ve always found Pride “a little overwhelming.”
“For many neurodivergent people, this can cause sensory overload and lead to exhausting meltdowns.”
That’s why some people offer alternatives to celebrating Pride. For example, two Saskatoon birdwatchers gave a tour of a local park last weekend. Like Battis, one of the hosts found many Pride events overstimulating.
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The CBC’s Theresa Kliem joined local birdwatchers Ryan Bradshaw and Ryan Dudrane on their Pride Month’s Fabulous Feathers Bird Walk tour at Donna Birkmaier Park.
Giroux, executive director of the UR Pride Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, says hosting hybrid events that take place both online and in person has also helped make events more accessible.
Most of the center’s Pride events this year will also take place in dry and austere spaces, she says.
“It’s about doing our best to organize (and) make sure there are at least a few options for everyone,” says Giroux.
Q Nightclub and Lounge is run by the non-profit Gay and Lesbian Community of Regina. (Emily Pasiuk/CBC)
The call to make LGBTQ-friendly spaces more accessible extends beyond Pride Month.
Q Nightclub, Regina’s hot spot for year-round LGBTQ events, does not have an accessible entrance. The driveway had to be removed because it became dangerous, says Cory Oxelgren, president of the Regina Gay and Lesbian Community, the nonprofit organization that manages the site.
“We’ve been concerned about this for a while. There have been a number of people who have asked us to work on this, so we did,” he says.
The organization wants to organize a fundraising campaign soon to make the front entrance accessible.
OutSaskatoon, the city’s LGBTQ community center and service provider, has a fully accessible ground floor, as well as an upper floor with a library, boardroom, and office space that are more difficult to access.
“We have a lot of room for improvement, like everywhere else,” says Anndi McLeod, the organization’s community support advocate.
McLeod says OutSaskatoon has been talking about installing an elevator for a while. They say they “would like to see that happen sooner rather than later,” but point to the cost.
Giroux says money is a common barrier to making these improvements. She wants a commitment from all levels of government to fund “queer initiatives” to make safe spaces more accessible.
In the meantime, OutSaskatoon has moved some books down and worked to make the space more welcoming for people experiencing sensory overwhelm, McLeod says — something they’re dealing with themselves.
OutSaskatoon is an LGBTQ community center and service provider. (Chans Lagaden/CBC)
Look elsewhere for inspiration
When it comes to making Pride more accessible, McLeod recommends finding inspiration in other cities.
This month, according to the organization’s website, Pride Toronto will provide ASL interpreters, mobility aids that are free to rent, designated viewing areas for accessibility and sensory spaces, as well as personal support staff.
We’re a very ciscentric and a very valid society, so I think all these things are often considered “extras” when in reality they should be some kind of foundation that exists for all spaces, all the time.– Jaye Kovach, Regina resident
Giroux recommends being proactive about these improvements.
“Make your event accessible now so that when you need it, it will be accessible, right? Because chances are we’ll all be disabled at some point in life, especially later in life.”
Jaye Kovach says getting more diversity in LGBTQ organizers and event planning committees can help identify barriers and accessibility accommodations.
The Regina resident says she missed events because of barriers and even started planning her own events as a result.
She recommends building relationships with venues to collaborate on improving accessibility.
“We’re a very cis-centric and a very valid society,” says Kovach, “so I think all these things are often thought of as ‘extras’ when really they’re kind of a baseline that always exists for all spaces.”
