Last Friday, I had the honour and the privilege of attending the 14th annual INSPIRE Awards in Toronto, Ontario. It was a magical night of celebration and inspiration, where I got to be surrounded by amazing queer and trans people working extremely hard to make the world a better place for LGBTQIA+ people everywhere.
As you can see from the photo, it was a beautiful sunny day, the courtyard venue was absolutely stunning, and my pink suit was giving Avon-calling realness.
But I won't bury the lede any further. I was in attendance on this gorgeous day because I was a recipient of INSPIRE Awards Canada's Inspiring Person of the Year!
I was one of five people across Canada to receive this award, and reading about the accomplishments of my fellow recipients was truly awe-inspiring. I often wonder how the heck I got here because in my heart, I am still but a humble voice teacher providing a service. But when I think of all the other award recipients and nominees who have dedicated their lives to providing service to others, I understand just how inspiring that act can be.
Speaking of the other recipients and nominees, get a load of this well-dressed bunch!
There isn't time to talk about every single person in this picture (although I encourage you to check out this year's list of nominees and recipients and learn about them all), but there are a few standouts I'd like to mention.
Brook Lynn Hytes, who received the International Icon Award, was the first Canadian drag queen on RuPaul's Drag Race. She went on to become a permanent judge of Canada's Drag Race. And she congratulated me in the hall when our paths crossed, and that was really nice!
Fontaine is a longtime Toronto drag legend whose career reaches back to the 1960s! She received an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award, and it was amazing to see a drag queen in her 80s telling everyone that what the world needs now is love.
Eve Zaremba, who was a trailblazing lesbian author, received a posthumous honorary lifetime achievement award. She created the first lesbian detective character in North American fiction, Helen Keremos. Her wife Ottie accepted the award on her behalf and said, "She was my love, and I miss her," and I swear there was not a dry eye in the house. I was delighted to find a copy of one of her books in the loot bags we received at the end of the party. I'll be reading it soon!
I also had the surprise privilege of meeting Canadian bi icon Reverend Doctor Cheri DiNovo. Where do I even begin?? Here are a few choice highlights from her Wikipedia, but you should definitely read the whole thing:
- DiNovo was the only woman to sign Canada's first gay liberation manifesto, "We Demand," in 1971.
- MPP DiNovo introduced more successful LGBTQ bills to a legislature or parliament than anyone in Canadian history, including Toby's Act (named after DiNovo's deceased transgender friend and congregant, Toby Dancer), which added trans rights to the Ontario Human Rights Code in 2012
- She performed the first legally recognized same-sex marriage in Canada in 2001.
- During her time on the streets, she helped smuggle LSD into Canada from California inside hollowed-out bibles.
Need we go on?? She was also appointed to the Order of Canada in 2019 for her lifetime commitment to social justice. I was obviously starstruck and basically speechless meeting her. I need to hurry up and get over that, though, because she invited me on her radio show for an interview!
Needless to say, it was an incredible and memorable evening. I'm so grateful that my work gives me the opportunity to meet others fighting the same fight as me.
Most of the time, I'm working alone or with a few collaborators, and it can feel like it's my tiny team against the world. But when I get to attend events like the INSPIRE Awards, I'm reminded that there are so many people working now, who have been working for decades, and who will continue to work to make the world a safer, more welcoming place for trans people.
I'm immensely grateful for everyone's contributions to this work. None of us is doing it alone.
Last but not least, I got to give a little thank-you speech! We only had 30 seconds to pour our hearts out, but I think I managed to capture exactly what I was feeling in that moment: there are more trans people all over the world than any of us know, and all of them deserve love, care, and access to what they need to thrive.
Actually, one more thing! While I was in Toronto, I got to check out a Blue Jays game, and it was awesome!! I hadn't been to a baseball game since I was a child, but I've been getting into baseball recently with the inauguration of the Women's Professional Baseball League this month. I figured if I enjoy watching the women's league, maybe I'll like the men too?? Seems fake, but worth a shot.
It was great, and I had a lot of fun!! In case someone from the Men's League of Baseball is reading this: supporting the WPBL will create more MLB fans, I promise!
And in case someone from the WPBL is reading this: create a trans-inclusive gender policy! You have literally nothing to lose at this point and everything to gain.
That's my unrelated baseball soapbox, thanks for reading!!
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