Toronto posters promoting gender diversity defaced

Toronto police said no crime was committed after a poster promoting gender diversity was defaced.

The posters, created by the City of Toronto and the Black Coalition of AIDS Prevention (Black CAP) under an initiative called Toronto For All, went up during Pride. The campaign focuses on trans youth of colour, who are seen smiling under a slogan: The phrase “My gender lives here” is displayed above their heads, and ends with “not here” written close to their hips.

Examples of the original poster can be seen below, or click here to view them.

Someone in the Martin Grove Road and John Garland Boulevard area has taken exception to that slogan and has taped two pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 paper over the poster. The notes, seen on Monday morning, say in part that people are either born men or women, and encourage those who are confused to pray to God.

The vandalized image can be seen below:

It’s not a crime, Const. Jessie Jheeta told CityNews. The typed notes, he said, just expressed someone’s view.

He said it was the first time they had heard of the posters being defaced, and hadn’t found any others in the area.

Tatiana Ferguson, the Toronto For All project lead, said that while targeting a poster isn’t a crime, mis-gendering a person is.

“Trans people have experienced discrimination, harassment, and assault. The posters went up during Pride, a celebratory time, and highlighted a group that is … not visible, and is subject to violence,” Ferguson told CityNews.

“Being trans is still not safe. These trans youth of colour face systemic challenges beyond their gender,” she said, adding that the Toronto For All campaign will eventually focus all kinds of diversity, including disability, in the LGBTQ community.

Ferguson said that the addition of religion in the poster highlighted the need for education, especially sex education, in the school curriculum.

“It’s not a singular opinion that is a challenge … it is a systemic challenge to what is considered natural and normal. If you are a boy who becomes a man, or a girl who becomes a woman, then you’re cisgender. We wanted to spark a dialogue about race and gender with the posters.”

The Toronto for All campaign is hosting an open dialogue talk on Thursday in North York. Click here for more information, and how to attend.

Adam Benn, the manager of LGBTQ community programs at Sherbourne Health Centre, said the defaced posters aren’t a crime — but they are a problem.

“I’m torn. This message of hope and positivity was papered over with hate,” he told CityNews in a phone interview.

“On the other hand, this kind of conversation can lead to the breaking down of barriers. We’ve seen this before, but not at this scale, because we haven’t had a campaign of this scale. As discouraging as it is to see this reaction, it’s encouraging to see a conversation,” Benn said.