Stratford Perth Pride to host first intersectionality summit in Stratford this summer

Stratford Perth Pride is hoping to start a much larger discussion with rural Pride organizations across Southwestern Ontario by hosting its first Cross Roads Rural Pride Summit on Intersectionality in Stratford this summer.

Focused on diversifying the offerings of rural Pride organizations and making them more inclusive for 2SLGBTQIA+ people of all different identities and experiences, the one-day summit is intended to foster a better understanding of the concept of intersectionality, Stratford Perth Pride president AJ Adams said. A framework that reflects how people’s overlapping identities and experiences relating to race, gender, sexuality and other categorizations do not exist independently of each other, intersectionality allows for a better understanding of the scope of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Adams noted.

“People’s identities – things like gender, sexuality, race, social class – don’t live as separate pieces of a person,” Adams said. “It’s understanding how they intersect, hence the term. As rural Pride organizations, because our rural communities themselves are often very white and cisgender, our Pride offerings reflect (the identities) of who organizes them.

“Pride offerings are often centered around white, queer, cis folks, so we’re holding a conference to start some foundational conversations and knowledge sharing for these organizations across Southwestern Ontario around intersectionality and how Pride organizations can improve their offerings to Black, Indigenous, trans, gender-diverse folks, folks with disabilities, neuro-divergent folks – really any intersection within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”

Adams said Stratford Perth Pride is hoping to bring together representatives from as many as 30 different rural Pride organizations across Southwestern Ontario, as well as a few from other rural parts of the province, to participate in workshops and discussions around topics like supporting trans and gender -diverse people in rural Ontario, the role of Pride in combating anti-Black racism, and the decolonization and Indigenization of rural Pride programming.

“There’s so many different topics we could touch on, so we’re hoping if this is successful, and we can get more money in future years, we can host this event again and touch on other aspects of intersectionality. … To have rural Pride organizations gather in one spot is a very rare occurrence. … Both in terms of Pride organizations and equity, diversity and inclusion work in general, a lot of it comes down to shared experiences … whether that’s just sharing the challenges and solutions or just experiences other rural Pride organizations are having,” Adams said.

“The case is likely other Pride organizations are having the same challenges we are, so we can talk through what those are but also learn from other people about their lived experiences with an intersectional lens as well.”

There is no cost to participate in the summit, which is made possible with funding through a Fierté Canada Pride Microgrant from Women and Gender Equality Canada. For more information on the summit, which will be held Aug. 20 from 9 am to 5 pm at the Arden Park Hotel in Stratford, visit stratfordperthpride.com/crossroads.

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