Toronto media coverage

[michaeld]

There's been rather a lot of Toronto media coverage this week about our WP activities and I haven't been noting them down in WW. Maybe just one thread will do...

Anyway I just heard I'm supposed to be on CTV at 10:40am only just over an hour away (eek it was originally going to be noon) and I'm still in bed, so I'd better get going!

EDIT: just received a correction. It's 12:40pm not 10:40am. *goes back to bed*

EDIT EDIT: New time! 3:40pm Eastern time tomorrow.

[catsaregood]

oo exciting! Hope it goes well!

[LadyWallflower]

I wish you the best of luck!

[michaeld]

Oh dear. I've now been displaced by the Prime Minister! The new time is 1:20pm.

[michaeld]

Rescheduled again. It might now be at 3:40pm EST tomorrow.

[michaeld]

OK this DID at very last go ahead after many reschedulings. It was on Saturday 28 June at 9ish pm. I delegated it to Ivy (who was in Toronto for the conference) and there is now a thread here.

http://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/104938-ivy-interviewed-on-ctv/

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=389781&binId=1.810401&playlistPageNum=1

Thanks Ivy for finally managing to make this elusive interview happen!

2015 Edit - For future reference:

Edited February 1, 2015 by ithaca

[virtua]

Didn't you do the Square Off interview earlier in the week: http://www.chch.com/shows/squareoff/?epIndex=2? I think that qualifies as Toronto media coverage.

2015 Edit - For future reference:

Thanks Ivy for finally managing to make this elusive interview happen!

Glad to see that a visit to the emergency room didn't stop the interview from happening.

[ithaca]

Let's not forget CBC radio! :)

http://www.cbc.ca/player/AudioMobile/Day+6/ID/2468503521/

2015 Edit - For future reference:

Edited February 1, 2015 by ithaca

[Sebastian Grace]

Great to read about the Toronto media coverage! Here are some more links to coverage that happened in the run-up to, and during, Pride Weekend:

-The Toronto Star wrote about the Asexuality Conference
2015 Edit - For future reference:

World Pride Toronto: Asexuals march in biggest numbers yet
World Pride Toronto will host the largest gathering of asexuals ever with the International Asexuality Conference

The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), founded by David Jay in 2001, marches in a pride parade in 2013.

As communities converge in Toronto this week for World Pride, thousands will march on rainbow-lined streets for the right to be attracted to whomever they want.


But one group will march for a different kind of right: not to be attracted to anyone at all.


Brandishing posters that read “A-SEXY” and ask “Why have sex when you can have cake?” the asexual community will make its biggest appearance yet at Toronto’s World Pride with the International Asexuality Conference on June 28.


Despite its growing visibility, asexuality is sometimes called “the invisible orientation.” Some researchers suggest asexuals — people who do not experience sexual attraction — make up about 1 per cent of the population. It’s a small group that has faced resistance from some in the broader LGBTTQ world (a group that encompasses people who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and queer or questioning) since coming out in recent pride parades.


After founding Ace Toronto in 2010, the city’s sole organization for asexual people, CJ Chasin, 30, marched in Toronto Pride with the first group of asexuals ever to officially walk openly in Toronto.


“A lot of people watching the parade — and in the parade — told us we should go see a doctor,” Chasin recalled. “A lot of people offering sex. A lot of people insisting that we don’t exist.”


Since then, acceptance has grown, and some permutations of the LGBTTQ acronym now include the letter “A”. Chasin and Ace Toronto now walk with defiant signs proclaiming: “Yes, we exist.”


Indeed, research shows that as many as 1 per cent of the population identifies somewhere on the asexual spectrum, which is divided into sexual and romantic orientations like “biromantic” and “heteroromantic.” Many in the asexual community define their close relationships in romantic terms instead of sexual ones.


“Not every asexual person is the same,” said Anthony Bogaert, author of Understanding Asexuality. In a 2004 British study, which sampled 18,000 people, Bogaert found that some asexual people, along with having no attraction to others, will have no desire whatsoever. “They’ll have no tingling horniness feeling at all,” he said. There are others who have what Bogaert calls a “solitary desire.” They may pleasure themselves, but do not connect those sexual feelings to other people.


Bogaert expects that there is a biological predisposition to asexuality, in the same way that there is for other orientations.


The asexual movement has been growing since David Jay, 32, founded the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network, AVEN, in San Francisco in 2001. Now, AVEN boasts some 80,000 online community members from around the world in different language-specific forums, from English to Italian.


The increasing visibility is just one part of AVEN’s mission, which emphasizes educating people about the orientation.


“One of the core narratives in our community is redefining the concept of what emotional intimacy means, what human connection means, and making that a story that’s big enough to include us,” said Jay.


Toronto’s World Pride is expected to be the biggest gathering of the community yet, he said. Jay expects up to 200 people to attend the International Asexuality Conference, at the Rogers Communications Centre on Gould St., double the attendance at London’s World Pride in 2012.

-The Toronto Star also mentioned AVEN's contingent in the World Pride Parade
2015 Edit - For future reference:

Showing off a world of Pride
An estimated 12,000 people walked, danced and rode along the downtown parade route capping off 10 days of World Pride celebrations.

By: Emily Mathieu Investigative News reporter, Published on Sun Jun 29 2014
The “Queen of Bermuda” came ready to talk politics as well the importance of celebrating World Pride and, unsurprisingly, showed up dressed to kill.

“I’m from a country that at one time it was legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation,” said Sybil Barrington, one of an estimated 12,000 people who walked, danced and rode along the parade route that capped off 10 days of Pride celebrations.
Barrington, clad in tight iridescent pants, a sash and tiara, explained that a little over a year ago the government in Bermuda amended the human rights act to legally protect people against discrimination because of their sexual orientation when they are seeking employment or housing.
“So we are here celebrating that,” said Barrington, who was born in Bermuda and, after establishing a career as a drag queen in New York City, returned there to live.
Bermuda has become a more tolerant place, but as a country they still have a long way to go, said Barrington who walked with the Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda.
In Toronto, the Pride Parade and festival is in its 34th year. This year’s celebration is the fourth World Pride. The first was held in Rome in 2000.

Before the parade, one staging area near Bloor St. E. and Church St. was practically overflowing, as glittering, naked, bejewelled and leather-clad participants wove through the assembled crowds and into their position for the march.
Some outfits required special accommodations. “Cigarettes out please, watch the balloons,” instructed one of several members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, as the group manoeuvred into place wearing sea anemone-like clusters of inflated balloons on their backs.
Sitting nearby, two young women, part of the pack of onlookers watching the pre-parade show, tackled an important last-minute detail before the march.
“Is that your gold spray or sunscreen,” Kristen Lee, 27, asked Jessie Yelle, 26, as she sprayed a sparkling mist on her legs and feet.
“Gold spray,” responded Yelle.

In the middle of the crowd stood Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly , who was invited to walk with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
This was, he said excitedly, his first year to walk in both Pride and in the Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade. He said he expected to have the same enjoyable experience at Pride.
Kelly said World Pride not only serves as symbol of the diversity of humanity and its common unity, but this year it also reminds the world that Toronto is a tolerant, inclusive and world-class city.
“This is a city that receives people from all over the world. Our motto is ‘Diversity Our Strength,’ and it is important at times that you walk the talk,” said Kelly.

Also among the growing mass of people were representatives from the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) and David Jay, the founder of Asexuality.org . The asexual movement is somewhat misunderstood and that usually results in a few questions, particularly during Pride, Jay said.
“There are some people who have spent so long fighting for the right to be sexual on their own terms they at first don’t see how we fit into that,” said Jay. He added that once they explain that their group is simply fighting for the right to be intimate on their own terms, people understand and support their cause.

Standing a few groups back with Toronto Leather Pride was Pup Sprocket, who said he identifies as a puppy within the leather community and who was wearing the appropriate mask.
After a few playful and in-character barks, he spoke about how his personal experiences with hatred and homophobia have convinced him that Pride will always be an important event.
“There are always people out there we need to educate; we need to break down barriers and remove discrimination in all shapes and forms,” said Sprocket, who asked to use his puppy name to protect his privacy.
He had two words for people watching from around the world.
“Happy Pride!”

- PinkNews wrote an article on the Asexuality Conference
2015 Edit - For future reference:

Second ever Asexual Conference at World Pride Toronto 2014

The second International Asexual Conference will be held at World Pride in Toronto this year, following the first Asexual Conference at the 2012 World Pride in London.
The conference will involve workshops, panel discussions and a full press conference. Some topics for panel discussions include the history of asexuality and the latest in asexual research.
Talks by leading educators and activists will also be held. Founder of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network David Jay will speak, as will founder of Asexual Awareness Week Sara Beth Brooks.
Historically there has been debate between the LGBT rights movement and the asexual movement as to whether asexuality should be included under the LGBT umbrella. Disagreements on the matter have been compared to previous campaigns to have transgender people represented in the (then) LGB movement.
Advocate Sarah Beth Brooks has addressed this discussion speaking to the Huffington Post, saying: “Asexuality is very much a part of the broader conversation in our society about gender and sexual diversity. [it’s] certainly queer, and it’s certainly part of the LGBT community”
The inclusion of the International Asexual Conference on the World Pride 2014 events calendar however seems to indicate a growing level of inclusion and engagement between the two movements.
Coinciding with Toronto’s Pride festivities the Asexual World Festival, a large-scale visibility effort, will be held 25-30 June.
[/spoiler

- amygdala did a radio interview on CFAX about asexuality (her segment starts starts 34 minutes in)
2015 Edit - For future reference:

- I did an interview for CBC Radio-Canada in French about asexuality. I know I made a lot of grammar mistakes and used the word "phenomenon" where it was not appropriate. I'm very sorry about these, and can only hope to improve in the future...
2015 Edit - For future reference:

- The Conference is also going to be the subject of an article in The Varsity, U of T's student newspaper with a circulation of 20,000. I'll post the link here when the article is published. EDIT: the article is available here.
2015 Edit - For future reference:

Toronto hosts second-ever International Asexuality Conference
WorldPride-affiliated event sheds light on history of asexuality and the growing “ace” community

By Jasleen Arneja


Julie Sondra Decker, author of the book The Invisible Orientation.

On Saturday, June 28, the second-ever International Asexuality Conference took place at Ryerson University’s Rogers Communications Centre. As a part of World Pride, the conference covered various subtopics of asexuality including a history of asexuality and the asexual (ace) community, current research in asexuality, grey-asexuality, and demisexuality. In an effort to make the conference as accessible as possible, it included sign language interpreters as well.

Iris Robin, a third-year Trinity College student, served as a panelist for the session on combining asexuality and ethnicity. Being both Chinese and asexual, she shared her experiences and her struggle disentangling the two aspects of her identity that she resisted to accept. Robin also helped organize the conference, being an active member of the asexual community.

According to Mary Kame Ginoza, one of the main asexual activists in the San Francisco Bay Area and a blogger, the primary issue that asexual people have to combat is simple ignorance — people don’t know what asexuality is, let alone how to react when someone comes out as asexual. She says, “If you come out as asexual, it automatically is going to turn into a 30-minute question and answer section.”

Bauer, organizer of asexual meet-ups in New York City, agrees in saying that ignorance is the key issue. She says, “I want to come out [as asexual] to people and have them know what I’m talking about.”

The complete lack of support and resources available to both asexual people and their friends and family is a major concern to many in the community. “Things like having support groups and therapists who are experienced in dealing with asexual people and know how to kind of treat asexual people without causing problems is one of the big thing right now,” says Ginoza.

Engaging the mental health community is important to better accommodate asexuals with mental illnesses. Several attendees at the conference raised concerns about doctors, psychiatrists, and gynecologists who are unaware of asexuality and end up prescribing hormones to asexuals to treat what they consider a disease.

Ginoza says, “It’s really hard to find [mental health] professionals who would be able to help you with your anxiety or depression or whatever without their lack of knowledge about asexuality kind of getting in the way of the treatment.”

Being taken seriously is an issue that asexuals have to combat, as some people do not believe in asexuality. On coming out to people, some of the responses asexuals receive are: “It’s a phase; you’ll grow out of it,” or, “You haven’t met the right person,” or even remarks as insensitive as “Asexuality is an excuse for ugly people.” These were some of the comments on a bingo card created by Julie Sondra Decker, author of the book The Invisible Orientation, which is to be released in the fall of this year. Decker debunks many of these myths and more in her upcoming book.

Sara Beth Brooks, founder of Asexuality Awareness Week, mentioned four things she thinks are key in advancement of society for asexuals: family protection, employment protection, healthcare accessibility, and better media representation.

David Jay, the founder of Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), shared some of the misconceptions about asexuals he has come across in his experiences at the conference. In word association studies, the words commonly associated with asexual include mechanistic, inhuman, and robotic. Jay says, “There is a sense that asexual people are missing something fundamental.”

Jay added, “People think that sex and human emotional connection are Velcroed together. When someone says ‘I am not interested in having sex with you,’ what people hear is, ‘I am not interested in connecting with you.’ We need to un-Velcro these concepts because connection and intimacy can exist without sexuality.”

AVEN defines an asexual as “someone who does not experience sexual attraction.” It is an online forum and hub for asexuals worldwide. Jay established it in 2001 with two goals: to create public acceptance and discussion of asexuality and to facilitate the growth of an asexual community.

Iris Robin is a contributor to The Varsity

- I'm also going to be blogging about my experience as a panellist for a Toronto urban lifestyle blog. Again, I'll post the link when it's up. EDIT: The post is up here.

2015 Edit - The above link doesn't work anymore. For future reference please check post #15 of this thread.

Edited February 1, 2015 by ithaca

[Sebastian Grace]

I've added the link to U of T's Varsity article in the post above :)

[Heart]

Wow, so much awesomeness!!!

[Sebastian Grace]

Finally, the blog post has gone up and it's here. That's all I can think of right now, but I'll keep an eye out for more post-Pride coverage. I love that we appeared on different media outlets; yay visibility!

[virtua]

Finally, the blog post has gone up and it's here. That's all I can think of right now, but I'll keep an eye out for more post-Pride coverage. I love that we appeared on different media outlets; yay visibility!

That link doesn't currently work, but I did find the cache of your blog post here.

[Sebastian Grace]

Finally, the blog post has gone up and it's here. That's all I can think of right now, but I'll keep an eye out for more post-Pride coverage. I love that we appeared on different media outlets; yay visibility!

That link doesn't currently work, but I did find the cache of your blog post here.

Thanks, virtua! It was published then removed and was republished today, so everything should be working now.

Edit: The post is no longer available, so I'm pleased the cache exists.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Sebastian (Iris)

[ithaca]

I don't know if cache pages last forever, so here we go:

LIFE | Speaking at the International Asexuality Conference

When I registered for the International Asexuality Conference way back in May, I did so as an asexual person who was also an interested member of the press and seven weeks later, I was speaking at the conference as a panelist.

I intended to speak about being asexual and Asian to help people understand the intersection of the two identities and why it is important.

Image via Sarah Beth Brooks

In signing up for this important Pride event, I realized that it’s not easy to write about personal experiences in a relatable way. The night before the conference, however, I managed to get it all down on paper: all the times I was repeatedly asked where I’m from, being complimented on the quality of my English, and being racially profiled based on the assumption that because I’m open about my sexuality, it’s okay to ask me invasive questions.

I was proud that I helped to change the name of the event from “Asexuality and People of Colour” to “Asexuality and Ethnicity: A Discussion” to shift the focus away from skin colour and towards a broader discussion of marginalised racial and ethnic groups.

Discussion of racial and sexual identity politics can become very heated, so my aim in speaking at the conference was to help facilitate a productive conversation about these controversial issues.

I was apprehensive about the panel as a whole because there has been a lot of discussion about race in the community online, which has often devolved into arguments about terminology and the concept of ‘reverse racism’.

The panel attracted around 35 people, all of whom were supportive and attentive listeners. I’m not a sentimental person, but I was definitely overwhelmed by how much the panel as a whole resonated with the audience.

Image via Io Media

One man even joined us at the podium to speak about his own asexual identity and his Jewish heritage. People even came to find me afterwards to thank me for speaking and to tell me that I had articulated experiences that they had themselves.

Both asexuals and visible ethnic and racial minorities experience similar representation issues, as neither fit the prescribed cultural narrative of white desire. There are so few stories that tell racialized asexuals that they can be happy, successful, or desirable, and I hope at the end of the day that my speech addressed that.

I left the conference amazed that my experiences had resonated with so many people. Most importantly, I felt inspired that the community could be improved to include and welcome asexuals who are also racial and ethnic minorities, which would help further the position of both groups on the long road to equity.

It was definitely one of the highlights of my experience at Pride this year.

If you would like to learn more about the International Asexuality Conference or if you want to read my speech in full, please click here.