Start the school year off right: fight gender oppression!
The 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy invites you to attend, participate, and tell all your friends! Unless otherwise specified, events take place at 1500 de Maisonneuve West #404.
Thursday September 20th
3PM-5:30PM–Open House Come visit and get acquainted with our space and all we have to offer!
7:30PM–Wine & Cheese w/ performances and open mic Come one, come all. Help us celebrate another September and kickstart another inspiring event series by sharing food, drink, and music in a warm, inviting atmosphere. Open mic is open to all spoken, musical, and other sound-making — bring us a riddle, a rhyme, a rant, or a rave!
Friday September 21st
2PM–Trans’ 101 workshop This workshop will challenge your understanding of gender and shed light on some of the struggles faced by Trans’ people. We will discuss gender identities and expressions, terms, definitions as well as the role of allies. Let’s create an empathic, safer and more inclusive campus environment for all. (With Gabrielle Bouchard)
6PM–Pulling strings: A Puppet Making workshop (part I) Make your own puppets from scratch! A celebration of the how to and why of political puppetry. Join us for a DIY 2 day workshop, including; Cardboard, Papier–mâché, paint and an anything-but-boring history lesson. (With Lisa Pietersma and Frances Adair Mckenzie)
Saturday September 22nd
3PM–Pulling strings: A Puppet Making workshop (part II) The Papier–mâché has dried and it’s time for fun with colour!
Monday September 24th
6PM–Transformative Justice 101 Join Life After Life, a collective dedicated to de-criminalization and de-carceration, for an interactive introduction to the principles of transformative justice.
Tuesday September 25th
7:30PM–Crooked Beauty (2010, 34 min) Crooked Beauty is a poetic documentary that chronicles artist-activist Jacks McNamara’s transformative journey from childhood abuse to psych ward inpatient to pioneering mental health advocacy. It is an intimate portrait of her intense personal quest to live with courage and dignity, and a powerful critique of standard psychiatric treatments. Crooked Beauty reshapes mental health stigmas through a new healing culture and political model for living with madness as a tool of creativity, inspiration and hope. (Film Screening followed by facilitated discussion)
Wednesday September 26th
6PM–Fertility Awareness workshop Do you want to know how can you accurately determine when you’re ovulating? When is the best time to conceive or avoid pregnancy? Wondering what the effects are of different hormones, or what happens when you’re transitioning off the Pill? The Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is a way to naturally understand your cyclic changes. Far from the inaccurate “Rhythm Method”, it’s designed for individuals who can appreciate the natural cycles of their bodies – and of their relationships. This workshop will outline the basic notions of FAM, clarify misconceptions about the practice, and explain when it is and isn’t an ideal method. (Open to all genders. Registration needed in advance.) With Sonia Osorio.
Sonia Osorio is a homeopath, certified massage therapist and yoga instructor with a background in natural health care, journalism and dance. Sonia worked as a writer and editor in medical publishing, contributes to various health care publications, and has developed teaching curriculums for various mind-body training programs.
Thursday September 27th
7PM–Loretta Ross on Race, Rape Culture and Reproductive Justice (Keynote speaker) H-110, Concordia University, SGW Campus. Whisper translation to French will be provided on site. Childcare available. Traduction chuchotée vers le français sera disponible pour cet événement.
Loretta J. Ross was founder and the National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, composed of 70 women of color organizations across the country. She was the Co-Director of the April 25, 2004 National March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C., the largest protest in U.S. history. She is also the co-author of Undivided Right: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice (2004, South End Press).
Friday September 28th
6:30PM, Concordia University, H-110—Defending the Land: Indigenous Women’s resistance to Plan Nord and community violence
Innu women speak out about the Plan Nord and violence against their communities. Activists will discuss their opposition to the massive industrial development plan being imposed on them by the government. They will speak about the impacts of the new infrastructure development north of the 49th parallel and its devastating cultural and environmental implications. Event will be in French with simultaneous translation to English. Événement aura lieu en français avec traduction simultanée en anglais. Wheelchair accessible, and childcare available with 48 hours notice. Presented by Missing Justice in collaboration with Regroupement Solidaire Autochtone, Alliance Romaine, PASC and the Indigenous Solidarity Committee.
With guest speakers Denise Jourdain, Élyse Vollant & Ellen Gabriel:
Élyse Vollant is an Innushkueu from the North Shore community of Uashat mak Maliotenam. She is a mother of eight and grandmother of two. Elise is against the Plan Nord for future generations and has fought against it as one of the women who walked from Uashat mak Maliotenam to Montréal for Earth Day. She was also one of twelve women who were imprisoned following the blockade of route 138 in March 2012.
Denise Jourdain is a member of the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-utenam, on the north shore of the St.Laurence River. She presently teaches the Innu language to students at Johnny Pilot primary school. Denise is a direct descendent of the Vachon and Jourdain families who fought to keep their territorial rights in the 1950’s, having defied municipal, governmental and ecclesiastical authorities. She too was imprisoned for having defended her people’s territorial rights in March 2012 during the blockade of route 138.
Ellen Gabriel was well-known to the public when she was chosen by the People of the Longhouse and her community of Kanehsatà:ke to be their spokesperson during the 1990 “Oka” Crisis. For the past 22 years she has been a human rights advocate for the collective and individual rights of Indigenous peoples. In 2004, Ellen Gabriel was elected president of the Quebec Native Women’s Association a position which she held until December 2010. She believes that decolonization will be achieved by implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples. She is an advocate for gender equity, the revitalization of Indigenous languages, culture, traditions and Indigenous governing structures.
Monday October 1st
2PM—Feminist Perspectives on the Student Movement (a discussion) Feminist organizers share insights into the work they’ve been doing, and offer their perpectives on the student movement, student organizing and where to go from here. Come and join the discussion and find out how you can get more involved!
Tuesday Oct 2nd
2PM–Media for Social Change: This interactive workshop will help you develop story-based messaging that can reframe your issues, speak to people’s values, and tell a different future than the one projected by power-holders. Learn to strategically access the mainstream media and effectively communicate your message. (With Isabel Macdonald)
6PM–Intro to Sexual Assault Awareness This workshop is designed to provide a basic understanding of consent and personal boundaries in the context of sexual assault. We will explore people’s right to define their own experiences, why consent can be complicated, communication of comfort levels, and what resources are available to survivors within Montreal. (Presented by the Sexual Assault Centre Campaign.)
Wednesday October 3rd
4PM–Placard and banner-making for Oct. 4th Annual March (see below). Volunteers are needed! Everyone is welcome!
Thursday October 4th
6PM–7th Annual Sisters in Spirit March & Vigil for Missing and Murdered Native WomenPlace Emilie Gamelin (Berri & St. Catherine), with Missing Justice (Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. See missingjustice.ca for more info about the group. This annual event is held in honour of the memories of missing and murdered women and girls, raise awareness, and to demand government support for the actions of indigenous families and communities. Speakers and special guests include: Laurie Odjick, Sheri Pranteau, Viviane Michel of QNW, Ellen Gabriel, Nina Segalowitz-case worker, Anik Sioui, Joey Shaw, Buffalo Hat Singers, and others!
**All events are free of charge and open to the general public. Spaces are wheelchair accessible. Childcare available with 48 hours notice.