Montreal trans community dances against transphobia
The event marked the first year an anti-transgender march did not occur
Around 75 people gathered on Sunday, Sept. 20, for the Super Ultra Fabulous Dance Party Against Transphobes.
This event celebrates its first year back since its 2023 iteration without an anti-transgender march on the day.
Chloe Lavoie, the event's media spokesperson, gave a speech on the importance of the date they were celebrating.
“For many years now, Sept. 20 has been the day on which Montreal’s trans community and allies united against the pervasive hatred and transphobia that poisons our society,” Lavoie said.
It is the first year since 2023 that Ensemble pour protéger nos enfants (EPPNE), an anti-transgender parents’ rights group, did not march.
The party was organized in part to celebrate the group’s absence.
“We dance in defiance of those who wish to see us suffer,” — Chloe Lavoie, Event Media Spokesperson
Lavoie believes it is important to reappropriate the dates of these anti-transgender protests into celebrations for the transgender community.
“It is the anniversary of various transphobic manifestations that have been happening in Montreal. [...] The transphobic group in Montreal is not manifesting this year,” Lavoie said. “We're having a dance party to commemorate this victory, to celebrate it and to keep the momentum going forward.”
EPPNE advocated for restricting children’s access to sexual education resources. Despite their absence, legislation attacking trans rights is still being enacted across the country.
“It’s important [to be out here] because the elections are coming, and we want to make sure that people know that depending on who you are voting for, our rights as trans people could be in danger,” Zoz, a non-binary attendee, said.
They referred to a slew of recent legislation limiting transgender youths’ access to healthcare, sports and policing their choice of names and pronouns in schools.
“Our own government here in Quebec decides our fate based on the whims of the cisgender committé des sages and a fringe group of far-right transphobic conspiracy theorists,” Lavoie said.
Attendees danced, shared food and took turns striking piñatas. Zoz highlighted the importance of transgender joy being a form of resistance.
“It’s dangerous to be trans and joyful right now. People don’t want us to be joyful and to exist,” Zoz said.
“We dance in defiance of those who wish to see us suffer,” Lavoie said.
The dance party merged with a group of Pro-Palestine flag-wavers that were across Sherbrooke St. W.
Participants from the party chanted slogans such as “Free free Palestine!” and “Police partout, justice nulle part.”
Attendees and organizers highlighted the importance of solidarity between different human rights struggles.
“None of us are free until we’re all free,” Emma Hanson, an attendee, said. “We’re not going to achieve collective liberation and get a revolution off the ground if we don’t reach across to our friends and support each other.”
Lavoie explained that the party also served as a reminder to keep fighting for the rights of other communities facing oppression.
“So this, while it is a celebration and it is trans and queer joy, it’s always in the context of a longer struggle," Lavoie said. "Not just for our own rights, but for the rights of other oppressed groups in our community.”
Despite the event's peaceful nature and the lack of a counter-protest, police were heavily present.
“This fight is not fought in isolation. [...] It must be fought for alongside racial and disability justice, housing justice and the abolition of prisons and police,” Lavoie said.
The event concluded around 2 p.m. following a speech from the organizers.
