Sex Salon Workshop: Queer, Trans, Suburban
Centering the suburbs as a place of brilliant queer and trans organizing, a place of conscious forgetting (as I have termed it), and deep struggle, this workshop will create space for critical dialogue on the possibilities of genealogy, archive, mapping and community-building. Part “uncovering” of histories, part collective daydreaming, the workshop will provide participants with stories, ideas, and “wicked” questions. Over the course of 2.5 hours, Anu Radha Verma will trace across moments of queer and trans organizing with their connecting points in Mississauga and Brampton, point to new ways of imagining what activisms can look like, and facilitate a discussion that will lead to a collective daydream of a) ways to document and share stories; b) what “community” could look and feel like for QTBIPOC folks who exist on the margins – of the city, of mainstream 2SLGBTQ+ spaces, and racialized spaces.
Location: UC 253
Facilitator:
Anu Radha Verma is a queer diasporic sometimes-femme, a survivor and someone who lives with mental health struggle. She has a BA from Trent University and an MES from York University where she focused on queer and trans south asian organizing in Toronto from the late 80s onwards, reimagining archives and the possibilities of mess as a theoretical tool. Since 2016, Anu Radha (along with Berkha Gupta) has been organizing QTBIPOC sauga, a grassroots gathering for QTBIPOC folks from across Peel. She believes deeply in the possibiities and brilliance of the suburbs.
Image description:
A photo of a computer screen showing an image with a speech bubble that reads: “QTBIPOC folks in Peel are…amazing!”, with a blue background. Below the screen, on the table, are some wooden letters that spell out “QTBIPOC”.
Entrance accessibility information:
Due to the UC Revitalization Project Construction, there will be no wheelchair-accessible entrance to University College until further notice. Since the UC Quad is a high-traffic construction area during the project, the entry must be restricted as a safety precaution. We hope to have accessible entrance re-opened as soon as possible. If you plan to attend Sex Salon and need accessibility assistance, please notify sds.sexsalon@gmail.com (or through the RSVP form) to arrange an escort through the construction zone.