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We have just been contacted by Patricia Hluchy, Team Editor of the Features Unit at the Toronto Star, who is overseeing a story on individuals who are taking up non-binary identities and existences. According to Patricia:
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“The people were are hoping to interview are those who, whether conventionally sexed or intersex, do not feel comfortable — for whatever reason — with being streamlined into the sex categories of ‘Male’ or ‘Female’. The article will be about the limits of these sex-based categories, but also the fact that some people are opting out of either.”
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“The premise / approach of the article (to be shaped by interviews with some leading gender theoreticians / academics) will be: We have this binary sex = gender belief system, but many experts say it’s a social construct and that gender identity is way more complicated. And now, as our society continues to evolve into a less sex-determinist one (thanks in part to gay activism and the decline of homophobia), some pioneers — both academic and ‘on the street’ — are saying, ‘Enough of the gender straightjackets already'”
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“The article will also include the fact that a few countries allow individuals to check a category other than ‘Male’ or ‘Female’ on their passports; and we will try to interview Tony Briffa, a city counsellor and former mayor in Australia who is intersex and genderless.”
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“It would be great if — just for the authenticity factor — someone were willing to be photographed and to use their name. But that is not essential.”

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Indeed, I have chatted at length with Patricia and can attest that they are highly knowledgeable about the nuances of ‘sex’ vis-a-vis ‘gender’, and in particular the real-life implications of defining ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ in binarist terms.
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If you are interested in being interviewed for this article, please contact Patricia at phluchy@thestar.ca or at 416-869-4352. Feel free to indicate if you prefer to be interviewed in writing as opposed to verbally / live.
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Towards greater visibility and awareness,
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Martin Otarola
Queer Ontario Secretary
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Today marks the 13th anniversary of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day that has been set apart to remember the lives of the family, friends, lovers, and strangers we have lost throughout the year as a result of anti-trans* violence. As individuals personally invested in the recognition, protection, accommodation, embrace, and appreciation of transsexual,* transgender,* genderqueer,* two-spirited, and other/non-gendered individuals, it pains us to have to observe this day every year. Therefore, as part of your observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, we encourage you to write to your Member of Parliament requesting that they support Bill C-279, the federal ‘gender identity’ bill.
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As you may or may not know, Bill C-279 is the federal bill that seeks to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds both in the discrimination provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act, and in the hate crimes provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada. The bill will provide the frameworks needed to ensure that violence against trans people is accurately recorded and redressed by violence prevention programs nation-wide (including law enforcement). It will also establish the legal foundation needed to get people thinking about the  violence being done to trans people in Canada and around the world, both personally and systemically.
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You can find the name and contact information of your Member of Parliament here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E.
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If you don’t know who your Member of Parliament is, you can find your riding here http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx?L=e and then find your riding in the contact link above.
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Your assistance is deeply appreciated.
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In celebratory, pensive, and sorrowful solidarity,
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The Queer Ontario Steering Committee
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