On May 11, long-time Ottawa Pride organizer, Capital Pride, made an unprecedented announcement: all Pride festivities will be held virtually this year in response to COVID-19.
This announcement came on the cusp of Pride month — a time where many LGTBQ+ Ottawa community members celebrate their identities and diversity which ultimately culminates in the events hosted by Capital Pride in August.
The 2020 festivities will fly under the banner title “Wherever We Are!” and place an emphasis on participants remaining proud and vocal about their identities, despite social distancing measures keeping them apart.
Osmel Guerra Maynes, Capital Pride executive director, was reluctant to give away specific details. However, he said the new means of delivering Pride classics, such as the parade, will be announced on the organization’s website ahead of time.
“Folks will be able to tune in and see the various events via online streaming and shows and allow them to fully immerse themselves in Pride,” he said. “Though it’s not in person, it’s going to give them the effect and the essence of being a part of Pride.”
“At a time when a lot of young LGBTQ+ people may be experiencing isolation, harassment and rejection from their family and a lack of contact with supportive peers and mentors, the absence of in-person pride events may have a big impact on some LGBTQ+ youth,” Sinclair-Palm said.
Eli Goddard, a fourth-year engineering student at Carleton and president of the Carleton University EngiQueers (CUE), said CUE’s highest priority is engaging first-years during the fall semester, and that Capital Pride’s parade will still be important to accomplishing this goal.
“There’s not a lot of information coming out and we’re not sure what format it’s going to take,” Goddard said. “Our main priority right now is to get out there and ensure that there is an LGBTQ+ engineering presence at the most important events.”
The Lookout Bar, long seen as a hub for Ottawa’s LGBTQ+ community, has temporarily closed and is also facing radical disruptions to its summer programming. Many of the bar’s popular drag queens are now out of work and are adapting to the challenges of moving content online.
“We all suddenly lost our main source of income, most of us have no reserves, so that’s definitely a challenge,” she said. “The hardest thing will be the next few months, to make sure we can all make it to the end of this crisis.”
Icesis Couture, another drag queen at the Lookout, has been performing there for a 10 year tenure. She said even though being a drag artist already involves having an online platform, it has been difficult to capture the spirit of performance over the web.
“Nothing compares to the in-person feeling and energy we experience from a live crowd,” she said. “It’s that energy and feeling of love that fuels our art form, and without it, that ‘something missing’ will always persist.”
Chris Fry, The Lookout’s social media manager, is confident that the bar will survive the closure and is committed to retaining its staff.
He added although closure has been difficult, the most frustrating part of this experience is the uncertainty caused by the provincial government’s vague health guidelines.
“If we knew in advance what would be required of us when we reopen, we would be able to move forward with a whole host of measures and plans,” Fry said. “Instead, we are in somewhat of a holding pattern while we wait for further instructions on when and how we can reopen, and it’s hard.”
The worldwide protests in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police have left a strong impression on Ottawa’s LGBTQ+ community. Amid new COVID-19 programming, many LGBTQ+ organizations are also reexamining how inclusive they are towards BIPOC individuals.
Goddard said that CUE will be placing a special emphasis on including BIPOC individuals in upcoming social media campaigns and online events.
“That’s a very important part of what we do — that everybody feels welcome where we are,” Goddard said. “Particularly when we say ‘most welcome’ we mean the most vulnerable people should feel welcome. Bigots are not.”
Maynes said that Capital Pride has always been a voice for BIPOC individuals in Ottawa and reaffirmed his commitment to Capital Pride’s 2017 ban on uniformed police officers participating in Pride events.
“When you have people who are constantly running away from the institution of police — especially when they wear that uniform — it puts people who are marginalized like me and have feared for their lives because they don’t know if they’re going to be snuffed out by a police officer,” he said. “How can I be happy to be with you and join arms with you one day when I know the next you might come after me?”
The Pride movement itself has protests and riots deeply woven into its history. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 — spearheaded by Black trans women such as Marsha P. Johnson — were instrumental in creating the Pride known today. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, these origins have never been more relevant.
Dr. Sinclair-Palm said Pride should not only be a celebration, but a time for renewed action in support of all marginalized groups. She added that she can’t think of a better way to spend Pride this year than by protecting the rights of BIPOC individuals.
“Police violence and harassment are not just LGBTQ+ history — just in the last twenty years, Project Marie and the Toronto Women’s Bathhouse raids are two examples of police violence against LGBTQ+ people,” Dr. Sinclair-Palm said. “Defunding the police should be a top priority for LGBTQ+ communities.”
For all of these members of the LGBTQ+ community, Pride is still a time of great importance, regardless of what form it takes.
According to Dr. Sinclair-Palm, the intergenerational nature of Pride festivities is vital to the growth and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community.
“The visibility of LGBTQ+ people of all ages can be impactful for young LGBTQ+ people, inviting them to imagine a future and community that they may not currently have access to,” she said.
Seasoned members of the LGBTQ+ community, such as Yaya Torres, are confident that the past struggles of the community have prepared it for this year’s challenges.
“The community is actually really working to keep each other alive. We have been checking on our friends constantly, finding ways to stay connected, and also help whoever is in need,” she said.
For Icesis Couture, Pride shouldn’t be confined to a month or even a single celebration. To her, continuous actions of protest, education, and unity define the movement.
“It is important that we still celebrate Pride month this year, even though we can’t physically be together, but let us not forget that same mentality needs to be continuous year-round,” she said. “Without unity as a whole, change cannot occur. We as a community are our leaders for a brighter future.”
Featured image by Maddie Snelgrove.
