The 70s was a time of calls for social progress and liberation for many marginalized communities, one of them notably being the formation of the Gay Liberation Movement, leading to hard-earned legal progress and recognition for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. The history of Pride Month as it's known today is heavily centred around the Gay Liberation Movement south of the border, sparked by the 1969 Stonewall Riots. The multicultural and progressive image of Canada means that, despite the relatively better level of safety it offers for this community, much of Canada’s history of dissent gets buried and erased – including some of Canada’s most well-known Pride and Gay Liberation milestones.
During the Community Corner hosted by the Office of EDI-R, this is where we wanted to centre our reflections on Pride Month and Pride events on campus. What is the story of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Kitchener-Waterloo? What did community, progress, and dissent look like before, during, and after calls for legal recognition and equality? And what do milestones and celebration for the community look like outside of institutional acceptance?
The 2SLGBTQIA+ community has suffered. Political polarization and inter-community division have been on the rise, and the hate-motivated violence we’ve seen on campus just two years ago has left queer students on campus feeling scared, unsupported, and unheard. How can we use our access to our community’s history and being in a space with community as an opportunity for healing, restoration, and empowerment in the face of an intimidating political climate?
The Office of EDI holds Community Corners, a series of events, to offer a space for communities to foster expression, discussion, and belonging. The Pride Community Corner held this June featured the release of a coloring book, designed for and by students, which serves as a handbook of resources for queer students on campus seeking connection and support. Alongside this was a Living Timeline of Queer History in KW and, more broadly, in Canada, featuring both milestones regarding institutional recognition as well as events such as the first community-organized Pride events, drag events, and the beginnings of notable queer organizations in KW, such as GLOW and Spectrum. On the bottom half of the board, we invited attendees to share their own milestones and stories, personal or cultural.
Queer history in KW is rich, reaching far and wide, beyond the bounds of a whiteboard. Below, we’ve compiled a gallery of notable artifacts and images that speak to this history. We would like to particularly highlight the efforts of the Kitchener Public Library and the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project in their efforts and commitment to preserving queer history in KW through their digital galleries that made this gallery possible.
An understanding of one’s history, and engagement with one’s own community often provides a sense of healing, restoration, and solidarity for individuals in marginalized communities. The Office of EDI-R would like to express its commitment to making campus a safer and more inclusive space for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This Pride also marks the release of the new Trans and Non-Binary Equity Strategy, a comprehensive document involving 28 recommendations put together by the Office of EDI-R and Campus Wellness aimed at addressing concerns brought up by queer community members on campus through a series of community consultations.
If you experience or witness identity-based harm and would like support, the Office of EDI-R can connect you with services, resources, and support through our response form.
Queer History Through the Decades
This is a poster for the 2003 Rainbow Reels Queer & Trans Film Festival, initially founded in 2000 through the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG) at the University of Waterloo. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
"Women Out of Doors" (WOODS), initially beginning in 1988, was a social recreational group for queer women in the Waterloo Region. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
An article on Ontario Queers and the provincial election campaign by Ron Walker published in the Independent Media Centre in September 2003. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Marking a year since its opening as one of KW's first queer community spaces, this is an invitation for Spectrum's one year anniversary celebration in October 2013. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Created in 2005 by KW Counselling Services and Family and Children's Services of Waterloo Region, OK2BME started as a resource offering support services such as individual and family counselling, youth groups, outreach, and education services for LGBTQ+ people and their families. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Created by GLLOW in 2004, Dyketopia was a women's social group meant to offer space for queer women in the community to meet weekly for discussion, games, movies, and other activities. It was renamed in 2009 to Sapphic Tuesdays. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Beginning in May 1994, a discussion group held by GLLOW in Hagey Hall at University of Waterloo was created to focus on the experience of coming out. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Held at the University of Waterloo's Bombshelter Pub, GLOW organized a series of drag shows featuring drag performers. This series was titled "Drag Me To The Bomber". Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
In commemoration of lives lost during the AIDS pandemic, the NAMES Project began in 1987 San Francisco, designing a collection of cloth panel memorials. The quilt had toured in Canada in 1989, and Canadian panels were created to form the Canadian AIDS Memorial Quilt. As a part of Pride 2003, 12-foot square sections were displayed both at Forbes Hall in RIM Park and Victoria Park Pavilion. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Founded in 1985, the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area (ACCKWA) were a community resource offering AIDS testing, a needle exchange program, counselling, and support. This is a pamphlet detailing their services. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
A logo for tri-pride 1996. Courtesy of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project.
The front cover of the July 2002 Pride Pages Magazine by the Waterloo Wellington Regional Pride Committee. Courtesy of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project.
A poster advertising a 2003 tour of notable drag kings, titled the Kingdom Come Tour, stopping at the Robin's Nest in Cambridge. Courtesy of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project.
This flyer is advertising the celebration for the launch of the Voice, a local magazine, at Federation Hall at the University of Waterloo in collaboration with GLLOW and Out and About Queer Radio. Courtesy of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project.
In May 1992, the Pink Triangle Community Calendar, a monthly non-profit publication serving LGBTQ+ individuals in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph, publishes a review of a lesbian film festival in London. Courtesy of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project.
A flyer from 2012. The Waterloo Region Rainbow Coalition (WRRC) launches the premire issue of the Rainbow Community Calendar and the grand opening of the WRRC Community Space, later Spectrum KW. Courtesy of Spectrum KW.
An image of the grand opening of Spectrum KW's physical space in 2012. Courtesy of Spectrum KW.
As a result of a 1998 decision by the Conservative Party in Ontario, gender confirmation surgery was to no longer be covered under OHIP. Michelle Josef, a Canadian musician, was halfway through completing the requirements to acquire OHIP funding for her gender confirmation surgery at the time. In order to get coverage re-instated, she took legal action against the Government of Ontario. This pamphlet explains the situation and asks for donations towards her legal fund. Despite this, OHIP coverage would not be reinstated until 2008. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
Created by Sandy Delion of the KW Record, Proud Magazine covered topics relevant to the LGBTQ+ community of Waterloo. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
The article "Queer Buzz" by S.C. Dillion was featured in the April 2008 edition of the (quatlyst) magazine, which was printed and distributed for free in Waterloo. Courtesy of the Kitchener Public Library's History in the Making digital archives collection.
