This October marks the seventh celebration of Queer History Month at McGill. The 2024 theme is visibility, with a special focus on the question, “What does it mean to be seen?” In a time where lawmakers around the world are actively shrouding the existence of queer and trans people in shadow, it is paramount that we shine a light on their history and achievements. For this year’s editorial, we would like to focus on the history of Canada’s LGBTQ+ community – especially in and around McGill.
When it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, there has been an alarming trend towards global regression over the past year, the effects of which have been felt by queer and trans communities worldwide. Countries such as Georgia, Indonesia, and the United States have set concerning precedents across multiple continents, passing and promising laws that repeal existing rights in place for queer and trans people. For instance, just this past July, Georgia passed a “Family Values” bill that, according to Al Jazeera, provides “a legal basis for authorities to outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBTQ rainbow flag, and to impose censorship of films and books.” Civil Rights Defenders states that this legislation outright bans gender-affirming care, adoption by queer or transgender parents, and “annuls same-sex marriages performed abroad.” In the United States, the far-right’s proposed Project 2025 plan, rising book bans, and state legislation pushed by conservative politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, all pose a significant threat to the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ Americans. Canada has also been moving backwards, failing on many occasions to protect the rights and security of queer and trans people.
Yet, as some areas of the world are regressing when it comes to protecting LGBTQ+ communities, other places are progressing. In 2019, Taiwan became the first region in Asia to legalize gay marriage, with Thailand following suit just a few weeks ago. While many Western countries often pinkwash themselves as a haven for LGBTQ+ rights, such landmark developments show Asian nations moving towards a more inclusive future, whereas countries like the U.S. and Canada are becoming more repressive. These contemporary milestones illuminate the other side of queer visibility today: just as they have done in past decades, queer people continue to fight, to persevere, and to thrive.
Canada, specifically Montreal, has a long history of LGBTQ+ activism and groundbreaking victories. In 1977, Quebec became the first province in Canada to write the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation into its Charter of Human Rights. This amendment came about as the result of extensive activism from Montreal’s queer community, who banded together following a deplorable police raid on Truxx and Le Mystique, two gay bars that were located on Rue Stanley. The raid culminated in 146 arrests and led to a massive protest, consisting of roughly 2,000 participants. The pressure put on the then-governing party, Le Parti Québécois, led to both political and social advancements in human rights in Quebec and Canada. The Canadian Museum of History states: “Public support for gay rights solidified after the raids and was instrumental in leading to the first Montréal Pride march on June 16, 1979.” This march, organized by queer rights pioneer John Banks, was instrumental in advancing the fight for queer and trans rights in Montreal. The events following these raids, in conjunction with the raid of The Sex Garage in 1990, are colloquially referred to as “Montreal’s Stonewall.”
Montreal’s rich queer history is preserved in the Quebec Gay Archive. There, you can find examples of the large role LGBTQ+ people have played in Montreal’s legacy as a city. The first queer establishment in North America was recorded in Montreal in 1869. Over the last century, many queer nightlife venues were founded throughout the city, such as the numerous lesbian bars started by Denise Cassidy in the late 1960s. Additionally, the first queer publication in Canada, Les Mouches Fantastiques, was established right here in Montreal and ran from 1918 to 1920. This magazine, which mainly featured poetry and essays, is a shining example of queer Canadians’ literary achievements.
Today, you can follow projects like Queering the Map and Walls Have Ears, which are useful resources for those seeking to learn about queer history and the lives of LGBTQ+ people. On Queering the Map, created by queer Montrealer Lucas LaRochelle, queer and trans people across the world can upload their daily life experiences online to document their collective history. Specific to Montreal is Walls Have Ears, an exhibit and “pilot project” that combines multimedia and interviews to precisely map the queer history of different neighbourhoods, universities, and college groups within Montreal.
McGill students and faculty have been instrumental in creating queer spaces at this university. Gay McGill, now known as Queer McGill, emerged following a 1972 seminar titled “Biology and Social Change,” and has been integral to McGill’s queer community ever since. Queer McGill continues to host important programming, creating safe spaces for queer and trans McGill students. The club started Gay Line, now known as the Canadian Association of Education and Outreach (CAEO), which provides a phone hotline for queer and trans Canadians in need of a social safety network. Currently, McGill and Montreal have many organizations in addition to Queer McGill, such as the Union for Gender Empowerment and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) that aim to bring together queer communities.
As members of the LGBTQ+ community or as allies, we all have the responsibility to stand in solidarity with other oppressed groups and people who are suffering around the world. Showing up for queer and trans people also means opposing genocide, oppression, and imperial violence. By amplifying the voices of all marginalized people and advocating for them, we are all advancing our collective liberation.