Page 10 | Autumn 2022 Talking about gender and sexual diversity in education continued
celebration they deserve . For me , this question is like saying " Why do you work for justice for yourself and everyone you know ?" I was out as a queer person in 1990 . By 1995 , I was an official delegate for the International Lesbian and Gay Association ( ILGA ) to the UN ' s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing . I was lobbying with people like Palesa Beverly Ditsie and Dylan Scholinski . Palesa Beverly Ditsie is a South African activist whose work included ensuring that The Republic of South Africa ' s constitution prohibited discrimination against on the grounds of sexual orientation . Dylan Scholinski is a trans person who spent his high school years in psychiatric hospitals undergoing conversion therapy , and who then became an activist against conversion therapy . I was deeply inspired by them both . Dylan and I almost got arrested , along with others , for supporting Palesa during her speech to the UN about the importance of supporting human rights of people of all sexual orientations . We were being taken down a long hallway by Chinese security , when Bella Abzug intervened by blocking the hallway with her wheelchair . Her aid got on the phone to the US State Department and Bella refused to move until they released us . It was a stunning moment of solidarity work . Making queer and trans lives possible is about all of us engaging in community care . I am constantly inspired by people who do the ongoing work of making more possibility for themselves and others . It ' s a giant group project and we inspire and support each other in it .
What successes , failures , or changes have you seen over the years in the work of gender and sexual diversity in education ?
Fritz : My work has not necessarily changed over the years . However , I continue to engage in local or spaced-based research , community organizing , and advocacy . I believe that queer and trans issues are shaped and impacted by the politics and social structures of local settings .
The change I have seen , at least in the context of my work , is that the momentum of advocating for queer and trans lives has been magnified / increased . This is also based on my observation that queer and trans experiences of oppression and discrimination continue to manifest in varying levels , sometimes quite subtly within institutions and organizations .
j wallace skelton : I often remind cis het folks that we are still reasserting our own identities , and taking back our ability to name ourselves . Taking it back from medical establishments that want to pathologize us , taking www2 . uregina . ca / education / news