Trans-Positive Teach-In: Nick Matte

In response to comments made last week by a member of the University of Toronto faculty, we are working with students, staff, faculty and community members from across SDS and U of T to help challenge transphobia on our campuses. We are in the midst of creating a new series called Transpositive Teach-In to amplify the voices that are working to combat transphobia and support trans, genderqueer and non-binary members of our communities.

This first video comes from Dr. Nicholas Matte’s Intro to Trans Studies class, where students get a comprehensive and in-depth opportunity to explore and learn how to recognize and begin to address many of the issues and challenges related to transphobia (living in a world that fears or punishes people who “seem trans”) and cis-normativity (living in a world that presumes or insists that people are “actually” only “male” or “female.” In it, he discusses trans representations in the media through the work of Dr. Viviane Namaste of Concordia University’s Simone de Beauvoir Institute and our upcoming TTI