(Candi is a trans feminine artist) Stop killing us I am love I am hope I am love and hope and compassion and empathy and understanding I am all the things you claim to love But to you I am dirt - I am worse than dirt I am shit To you I am the buckra, the thinker, the faggot, the kike, the spick, the chink, the poet, the mick, the pollack, the slant, the tranny, the bitch and I am the reason for wars - wars - wars and your eye sees only Hate, and your Heart is Death I am love and hope and compassion and empathy and understanding I am all the things you claim to love, And I am real and here and alive right now trying not to die And I will always love you I am a fuckin’ unicorn

France, a Two-Spirit person, temporarily lives at the women’s pavilion at the Old Brewery Mission, an organization serving people who are homeless in Montreal. Out of the shadows Coming out of the rubble Coming out of the catacombs The future is in my hands A new day finally begins Fate is mine I reset the switch to zero finally Deep in my eyes A bit of light The universe responds To my prayers My heart filled Of joy and happiness My soul rises Light as a flower

I am a community organizer and artist. Queer Asian culture seems to only recently come out of the shadows, and its renaissance is now blossoming like a blooming lotus in muddy waters. My mission is to contribute to this global movement through queer erotic expression and inter-generational drag. Through my art, I hope to allow future queer Asian generations to heal through sexual liberation and stronger connections with their cultural roots. As a Canadian of Chinese Bruneian descent, I count myself privileged to live in a country where I can live freely to define my own queer expression, and I hope to use this as a beacon to inspire others in finding themselves.

I was born premature, causing blindness. Living in the dark is my ‘normal’ and isn’t a scary thing. Every person on this planet has a different definition of what ‘normal’ is to themselves. At a very young age, thanks to the Montreal Association for the Blind, I learned the skills needed to survive. People who are blind are very capable; we just do things differently. One misperception about people who are blind is that we have superpowers, that our other senses are better when in fact we simply pay more attention to them because we have to. People sometimes treat me as an inspiration, yet I merely live my life. I expect to be treated like everyone else, so no need to speak to me slower, louder or simpler. I encourage kids to ask whatever questions they have; there are no bad questions. We have to start coming together as an entire community, including all those living on the margins. There is too much ‘othering’ in this world. We have more in common than what sets us apart.

Muslim women who wear the veil are perceived by Quebec society as being both submissive who delay the advancement of feminism, and malign ones who want to influence our children. Perverts who have an Islamist propaganda agenda, poor stupid and immature women, women who must be saved, fantasies who we want to undress. We are dehumanized to a point where we are nothing other than this veil, and we are this piece of fabric away from being considered as full people. I am proud to wear the hijab, which I call my crown. I am also proud to be this accomplished and fulfilled woman, who finished university despite my ADHD, who is in love, who traveled alone, and went to the other side of the world to love even more, and give. I'm proud to be a mom, to cook like a pro, to be the one who always takes beautiful photos, to be an artist, proud to have become a teacher, proud to be resilient, proud not to have given up, proud of my courage for reorienting myself, proud of succeeding in what I do, proud of being where I am today, despite all the racism and violence.

As sex workers, we are constantly traveling between two worlds: the broad daylight of everyday life and the secret matrix of the night. It suits me perfectly, I've always done this: traveling between the mindscape of my imagination and reality, between the mountains and the city, being really energetic and being just a lazy blob, logical and emotional, asleep and awake, the comfy bubble of my apartment and the wider world. You might see us only as shadows in the night, but we are everywhere, we are everyone, and just like you, we do what we need to survive, we do what we love. Look around and you'll probably see us, but never recognize us. At least as long as you judge us. I'm a member of SWAC (Sex Worker Autonomous Committee) not just to advocate the removal of the laws that surround sex work, criminalizing it, but also to destigmatize us sex workers. We want you to see us as who we are, humans earning a living. This might not fit your moral values, but it does ours. Sex work is work. Blow jobs are real jobs, real jobs suck.

I grew up as a chubby, hairy, Middle Eastern, punk rock kid. In my early 20s, I realized that my whole life I had been living in two worlds, one was my own and I shared it with very few people and the other was something I curated for the public and it was mostly lies I told to keep the people around me happy instead of sharing with them who I actually was and what my experiences were. SO, in one fell swoop at the age of 21, I came out as bisexual, started my burlesque career, and stopped lying to my parents about the racism and discrimination I faced as a kid to tell my full story and dedicate myself to anti-racism work and youth empowerment. I am proud of the narrative of liberation that I am adding to when I live by my own rules, I see the way it affects my work, the youth I’m around, my peers, and even my parents and I am so thankful that I am at a point where I can say ‘fuck the shadows, I belong in the sun’.

Untitled

Sister Mystrah Label Gore is co-founder of the Montreal Convent of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an international radical group combining political activism, social struggle and artistic performance. The Sisters are heavily involved in 2SLGBTQ+ communities and do a lot of volunteer work to give back to their peers. Being a queer and racialized man, he does not respond to the stereotypes often imposed on him, coming from a bourgeois family and considering himself an intellectual.

Untitled

For me, kink is a way of reclaiming my sexuality. I express it through what I wear, how I present myself and with my experiences. I am ready to face the gaze of others to live in the most authentic way that is unique to me. My body, my image, my gender expression and my fetishes are a part of me that I constantly share with the world. This is in the hope of making it clear that having a different sex life is not an attack or an offer. I am in control of my choices and my narrative, in latex or in jeans. An object of desire only for those who deserve it or a person you meet in the subway. I exist on terms that are mine, even when an attack is hidden in the DMs of my screen and attempts are made to project expectations and desires onto me.

Fashion designer. Using precise manipulation of leather. I carry out a work of anchoring in the physical and social sphere; the one we share with other humans. I sculpt, with intention, objects that serve to carry a message. By making dog collars for humans, I try to reflect on the border between bestiality and humanity. By creating harnesses, leather coats, and non-binary clothing, I try to make marginalized groups visible and thus help to lift human beings out of shame. Shame is such a heavy, greedy, stupid emotion. However, it is often at the origin of my need to create. My goal over the years has been defined: I want to make objects that transform shame into pride, and pride into beauty. Through art, I want to expose what is beautiful in a twisted mind, in a twisted body.

A veiled body cannot produce a candid heart. Is this the truth? This variant of the legend that Plato gave his lessons while walking because, according to him, a spirit could not move if the body remained motionless is MY truth. Very early in the COVID-19 pandemic, I lost everything...except my naturist/natural form; 3 years later, I am relatively at the same stage, but with greater peace of mind. Unable to wear a mask, both literally and figuratively, I embrace my extreme candor, even if it means shocking with my scars or "outing" myself as an unoperated trans person...or simply shocked because I'm naked.. In a world where I have been forced to completely reinvent myself, I fiercely embrace this truth that I have cherished more timidly since my teenage years and allow myself to quote the French singer (born in Quebec) Mylène Farmer in claiming that it is naked that I learn virtue.

Untitled

Untitled

If tomorrow morning I had to choose between living in society or going to live in the forest; without hesitation, I would head off into the woods without looking back. Why? Would you not be afraid of hungry animals at night? To be devoured; in summer, by mosquitoes to the point of suffocation and being blistered to the point of being disfigured? To hurt you; you whose blood flows without ever stopping? And I assure them. And you, aren't you afraid of living in a jungle where your peers are hungry for excessive power? Where on every street corner; a woman is raped, an old man is stabbed and a child is abused? On a farm, I rescue animals who have been mistreated by humans. In the woods I can connect; as my ancestors were accustomed to, to Ostara, to Demeter, to the Green Man and the other deities. There are a few similar people in the village reminding me of the sliver of hope I have left for humanity. When in society I have to go; the pigeons in the park I go to visit. They make me forget this bloodthirsty jungle and the violence of my stubborn fellows.

I have been part of the Montreal fetish scene for several years, but it was in 2017 that I really began to discover puppy play. Some people find this practice of trying to imitate a dog strange, but it is just a role-playing game like so many others. Just like meditation, puppy play is an excellent way to learn to refocus in your body, live in the present moment and relax from everyday life. This is called entering the “headspace” (or “pup space”). If it is an activity that can be done individually, it has also developed a whole community of hundreds of thousands of followers around the world. This community organizes several events, including various local and international competitions. I am also the 2022 winner of the Pup Montréal competition, which comes with the responsibility of acting as an ambassador for the community. But many still cannot appear in public for fear of the consequences for them, both at the family level and in their career. It’s a shame all these prejudices for an activity which aims first and foremost to have fun!

Not belonging to "regular society" has always been partially choice and partially circumstances beyond my control. I've always been an "outsider". Since I was very young, I was always fascinated by the punks and goths because they found a way to thrive outside social expectations. When you're an "outsider" you find other outsiders to fit in with. From being a teenage travelling squeegee punk to my current involvement with the kink scene, and every subculture in between, I've found community and acceptance for who I am. Subcultures may be misunderstood by people outside them, but having expressive communities for all types of people is what makes humans fascinating and interesting. Our differences do not need to be points of contention but rather glimpses into another facet of humanity.

I'm tired of putting forward some of my identities/realities as marginalized. It’s getting old, you know? For me, they are not marginal, they are central and normal. I don't feel comfortable sharing with the general public, it makes me feel like a freak. I believe that we should instead put the reasons for these marginalizations in the spotlight and consider how we can change the equation. Instead of looking for or seeing what makes me marginal, I invite you to question the norms that you perpetuate and the privileges that you have. What contributes to considering others as marginal?

I am queer, trans non-binary. I started on my gender journey in 2018. Since coming out, I have undergone a profound change of life. It has involved learning to love myself, unlearning behaviors ingrained by societal norms, and reaching out to the supportive community around me. As a child, I faced unimaginable hardships, including kidnapping, sexual violence, at times poverty, and I have experienced death from an early age. Alongside being a queer person, I navigate the world as someone who is autistic, experiences chronic pain, and lives with ADHD. I prioritize pushing my creative boundaries and pursuing my passions while exploring what building healthy boundaries looks like. I find solace in my roles as a burlesque and drag performer, as well as a multidisciplinary artist. My journey has led me to the colorful realms of LARPing, and I embrace my polyamorous nature while living the kinkiest life I can. In the queer refuge, the space that I share with my wonderful trans partner, I strive to create an environment that celebrates authenticity and fosters growth. Together, we continue to forge unforgettable and meaningful core memories.

Untitled

to occupy the margins to always live on the edge, and yet to find meaning & purpose & beauty & love élever nos cœurs tel des têtes de violon, vers la lumière baigner dans les fissures dorées we are the dust that never settles, the mist that veils the deepest vérités enfouies sous ce qu'on refuse de voir qu'on choisit d'effacer but still, we echo l'espoir the glimmer from the core de nos êtres of our beings

I have been a sex worker since 2018. People think that we don't choose our job and that we are forced to do what we do. I don't think you can simply say whether sex workers choose their profession or not. It is more complicated: there is a continuum between physical coercion and people who have no economic coercion. For most sex workers, it's just the least worst option available to us. It's more money in less time and the problems we experience are much more similar to those of other workers than you might think: difficulties in getting paid, sexual harassment at work or employment discrimination exist in all industries, not just in sex work. Since 2020, I have been organizing with my colleagues in the Autonomous Sex Work Committee (CATS) for better working conditions in the sex industry, starting with the decriminalization of our work. It is true that there is violence in the sex industry, but I think that by organizing, we are better able to combat this violence than by criminalizing it. In fact, criminalization only makes things worse, because we always end up suffering the consequences.

Untitled

I am a mixed race (Chinese & Indigenous), working class queer, who left home at thirteen and lived homeless, finding community and survival in my friendships and queerness itself. ùBallroom community is an underground queer and racialized subculture that originated in NY, in which people “walk” at events known as balls. It is a working-class, racialized queer kinship system that provides intergenerational solidarity and mentoring in a white supremacist society. I walk the category called ‘Bizarre’ which calls for intense creativity and out-of-this-world costumes. ‘Bizarre’ demands the strange and unusual, and I build with the beauty of these things, often working with discarded materials. Drawing on my history and the weight that I carry, my works are both an architectural armour and a shedding of skin, where vulnerable transformation is shared and uplifted in a community of artists I call home. My performance and wearable works are a way of honouring the weirdness and outsideness that builds our queer and trans racialized scenes of Ballroom culture, and a way of immersing myself in the glory of moving as a strange body, a beacon of bizarre movement, a home that no one knew they needed till they saw me walk.

When I was younger, I was abused and lived as a punk on the streets for a while. After getting out of prison, I also got out of drugs. That's when I started to tattoo myself, to recreate an image of myself that looked like the person I imagined, to change my life for the better. I told myself that with such identifiable tattoos, I could never go back to my previous life of crime as I would be too easy to identify. My tattoos are therefore a way for me to improve myself, to find my authenticity. I like who I am with my tattoos much more than the person I was without tattoos. But even before I got my tattoos, I was still marginalized. Thanks to a few fashion contracts, I was able to find some stability in my life. Now, I'm a general contractor, work in a foundry, and run a musicians' studio. Maybe not what people think of when they only look at the superficial side. I don't feel obligated to justify myself to others; however, what I ask of people is to really get to know the person rather than pass judgments.