Central Okanagan LGBTQ community pushing back against hate

UPDATE: 5:03

The LGBTQ+ community and a number of supporting groups are standing together in solidarity against anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ hate, which the Kelowna Pride Society says is getting much worse recently.

“We’re seeing new kinds of actors, new kinds of tactics, things like organizers getting death threats. Recently we had a comment that needed to be taken down on TikTok, someone saying they were going to show up with a rifle and turn us into food," said Kelowna Pride member Claire House.

"It’s causing a lot of distress, and a lot of different conversations within our communities."

According to Kelowna Pride, the past year saw 166 acts against drag events across North America, with 25 of those happening in Canada, and one in Kelowna where a protest allegedly turned into a physical confrontation.

People are getting swept up into hysteria and fear that’s being generated by really rightwing extreme activists and mostly influenced out of the US, but there’s some organizations in Canada that are actually behind this as well," said Advocacy Canada founder Wilbur Turner.

"So, we’ve seen that influence creeping into Kelowna … We don’t need violence. We can disagree on things, but we don’t need to oppose it in a physical way."

Local drag performer Freida Whales, who’s been putting on drag shows for years now, says the anti-trans hate only fuels her fire, and is proof that the shows need to continue.

"I love celebrating my community. Representation, obviously, very much matters. As a kid growing up in the early 2000s and 90s, I didn’t see any positive queer role models on TV, so having someone out there that you can see and that you can become something great, it’s a good thing," explained Whales.

“I’ve gotten literally thousands of positive messages of people being like thank you, I wish I had this as a kid. My kid can’t wait to come, they’re so excited to show you their dress or their astronaut outfit or whatever it is."

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ORIGINAL: 12:02 p.m.

The 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the Central Okanagan is making a coordinated push against a recent surge of hate in the region and B.C.

A joint statement issued Thursday morning by 20 groups and individuals, including the Kelowna Pride Society and Advocacy Canada, says the community has noticed over the past year increased mobilizations by anti-trans actors. The statement comes in the wake of online vitriol after the announced return of Drag Story Time at the Kelowna library.

The groups say this has affected their ability to carry out events safely and free from verbal harassment and abuse.

The statement says it is critical that the community come together and stand against the hate while educating the public and politicians on the issue.

"We are living through times of significant attack on trans and 2SLGBTQIA+ rights in B.C., Canada and around the world," said the statement.

According to the statement, there's been 166 actions against drag events across North America in the last year, with 141 in the United States and at least another 25 in Canada. Several local incidents, such as protests at drag events and bigoted hecklers at Pride events, were detailed in the statement.

"We stand together with our trans and gender diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, particularly our trans and gender diverse youth," the joint statement said.

"We ask elected representatives and policy makers to take active measures to ensure the safety of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. We call on our wider local and provincial communities to stand with us in solidarity in 2023 and beyond, to challenge this wave of hatred and help ensure this timeline stops now."

The groups are urging allies of the community to join future events, sign petitions, join the cross-community working group and contact your elected representatives.

Groups signed onto the statement include; Advocacy Canada, Essie's Place, Free Parent Hugs Kelowna, Health Initiative for Men, Kelowna 50+ Pride Network, Kelowna Pride Society, Living Positive Resource Centre, Pacific Trans Wellness, Rebellious Unicorns, South Okanagan Similkameen PRIDE, Third Space Charity, This Space Belongs to You, TransParent Okanagan, as well as DR. Wayne Broughton, Chantelle Desrosiers and Val Johnson of the Central Okanagan Board of Education, and Emmett MacMillen and Jade Walters of the Okanagan Gender Identity Group.

The community is planning a rally for Drag Story Time on Jan. 28 at 10:15 a.m. at the Okanagan Regional Library in Kelowna.