Source: Canva design by Allegra Morgado. A graphic with a black background featuring text in the top left corner in white and green which reads "PRIDE is ART". The simplified Moyo HCS logo is seen at the bottom of the graphic in white.
Allegra Morgado, 2SLGBTQ+ Special Projects Coordinator
As we begin another year stuck inside, I feel that it’s time for us to highlight something that has been keeping many of us going over the past ~23 months: art.
Whether it’s popping our headphones and singing along to a queer artists’ tunes as we go for a walk, cheering online at a virtual drag show, diving deep into our new favourite trans poet’s body of work or trying out a new craft, art has been keeping many of us going during these challenging times. With that, it’s time to celebrate the ways in which 2SLGBTQ+ communities use art to process the challenges we face and have faced for decades, whether or not they are related to our identities.
With that, let’s get into some of my favourite 2SLGBTQ+ art as of late!
Books
Arielle Twist, Disintegrate/Dissociate
As a big reader it’s hard for me to pick just one read, but this book took my breath away in a way that not many books do. A poetry collection from Arielle Twist, a Nehiyaw, Two-Spirit, Trans Woman originally from George Gordon First Nation, Saskatchewan and now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this collection introduced me to Twist and left me begging for more.
Music
Miss Chatelaine (Iron Hoof Remix) by k.d. lang and Orville Peck
Although I’m about 30 years late to the original version of this song, this updated 2021 version was definitely my “song of the summer” for 2021. A bit of cowboy swagger coming from gay country musician Orville Peck peppered on top of the soulful sounds from lesbian k.d. lang makes this song a bop you can sing and shimmy along to whether you’re dancing around your room or walking your dog in the chilly January weather.
https://youtu.be/MmAaxgxWPBM
Movies
But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
Although I kept it current for my first two recommendations, I had to throw it back to recommend one of my favourite movies of all time to this list. But I’m a Cheerleader is a camp classic about a conversion therapy boot camp that takes on so many tropes about what it means to be queer it’s hard to keep them all straight (yes, that was intentional). Starring Natasha Lyonne and featuring a stellar cast including Clea DuVall and RuPaul, this film will make you laugh and warm your heart. MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers even made a music video inspired by it (check it out below)
https://youtu.be/fhyk9rchC2c
Have you been engaging with 2SLGBTQ+ art to get you through the pandemic? What are some of the books/songs/musicians/movies/shows/performers/etc. that have been helping you through? Let us know in the comments on Instagram!
And remember, times may be tough but we as a community have faced challenging times before and created through it all. We will get through this time too—together.
