A large crowd of counter protesters gathered outside of Peterborough City Hall on Wednesday September 20th to send a clear message that Trans and Queer youth are welcomed in the community. The counter protest assembled in opposition to the so called “1 Million March 4 Children,” which had been planned for some weeks as a nation-wide event to “protect” children in Canadian schools from what has repeatedly been referred to as “gender ideology” being taught in schools.

A significantly smaller, but vocal group of protesters in support of the 1 Million March 4 Children carried apparently unironic signs with slogans such as “Stick to Reading, Writing, and Arithmatic [sic]!”, “FREEDOM NOT TOTALITARIAN CONTROL” and “LEAVE OUR KIDS ALONE.” 

One particularly evocative sign read “Castro You Have No Authority Over Our Children” referring, apparently, to the conspiracy theory that Justin Trudeau is the illegitimate son of former Cuban Prime Minister and President, Fidel Castro.

Schools, and the children that attend them, have recently become the targets of right-wing political movements and conservative governments across Canada and the United States as a means of appealing to what they consider to be the rights of parents to have a say in what their children learn and how they identify outside of their homes.

In New Brunswick, recent revisions to Policy 713, or the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy, held that students under the age of 16 must receive parental consent before changing their pronouns or name at school. This was eventually changed to allow for school professionals such as social workers and psychologists after a report from the Province’s Children and Youth Advocate, Kelly Lamrock, found that forcing non-binary and trans kids to use a name or pronoun they don’t identify with violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In August of this year, Saskatchewan followed suit with a similar policy which requires parental consent for children under 16 to change pronouns or names at school. Even more recently in Ontario, Education Minister Stephen Lecce has stated plainly that while “it’s important that every school must be safe for every child” he believes “parents must be fully involved” in decisions such as changing names or pronouns. 

May Chazan, an Assistant Professor of Gender and Social Justice at Trent University and Canada Research Chair in Feminist and Gender Studies explained that in many ways these reactionary policies are being developed as a means of regainining power in communities which feel stripped of it. However, instead of interrogating the systemic causes of economic and social inequality, they turn towards tactics which target even more marginalized groups.  

“They're using parents' rights as that framing in order to get support from people who feel like they're losing power,” Chazan said. “I'm sure lots of parents feel like their power is maybe slipping when they have teenagers—that's a very normal part of development for kids to assert their independence and find out who they are apart from their parents. And I think that this preys on very normal feelings that parents can have about their kids, maybe not opening up to them as much.” 

In the face of this outgrowth of conspiracy-based fear that children are being “indoctrinated” into an ever-expansive narrative of gender ideology through the recognition of the existence and legitimacy of Queer and Trans children and identities, counter-protesters took to chanting “Protect Trans Kids!” to which the other side would respond “From You” or attempt to change the chant to “Protect Canadian Kids.” In both cases, they were drowned out by laughter and responses from counter protesters that in fact many Queer and Trans kids are Canadian. 

Chazan noted that these groups and policies that they support represent a backlash against gains made over the past fifty years for a number of minority and oppressed groups. 

“They're mobilizing against that and they're all interconnected—whether it's against trans youth, or whether it's against science—which is saying that climate change is in fact happening, or saying that vaccines do in fact work, masks do protect us from viruses,” she told Arthur. 

“Anything that they see to be limiting their freedom and their control in an environment. You know that is changing quickly, and I think they do feel out of control,” Chazan continued.

When approached by Arthur, two people in attendance and in support of the 1 Million March explained that they didn’t want their grandchildren there on this day because they had heard there had been threats of violence. When pressed on the credibility of this or where they had heard this would be the case, they could not expand on this belief. The woman explained she had not worn earrings due to the fear they would be ripped out by counter protesters.

Taking pains to explain that they are not “hateful” people, the couple explained that their fears were rooted in their understanding that “pornographic” books were being studied in schools and that their (presumably) cis-gendered grandchildren were being made to feel as if they didn’t belong in schools.

Among their complaints along these lines was the fact their children don’t have a flag, like the iconic rainbow Pride Flag, or the various flags representing other identities within the LGBTQI2S+ community. 

The man, who repeatedly interrupted and spoke over the woman while telling her to calm down, explained that he felt that teaching issues of gender, sexuality, and sexual identity was taking up “too much space” during the school day which could be better spent teaching reading, writing, and sciences. 

“We’re paying teachers to educate kids” he said, noting that he feels parents and taxpayers should have more of a say in curriculum development. “We’re not satisfied with what’s happening.” 

“There are only so many hours to teach in the day,” he stated before relating an instance in which a young female employee of a horse feed store he frequents couldn’t handwrite a receipt. The implication being, apparently, that with her mind swimming with left-wing gender theory, that she was rendered unable to muster the will or capacity to write by hand.

On the side of the counter protest, individuals repeatedly noted the importance of creating spaces in schools where children of all gender idenitities can be safe, which must include discussions around the topic of Queer and Trans identities. 

Counter protester Drew Whatman told Arthur that it is important to ensure that kids feel safe to come out in whatever ways they can and that they not be forced to do so to their parents. 

“They could be in an environment where they're more likely to become abused by their family, and they speak out about these things, and increase their risk of suicide,” he said. “I think that's a real risk when people are forced to come out, they need a space to be able to explore who they are safely. And talking about gender just informs people that it's there. Talking about pronouns, just lets people know that it's an option. I didn't have that in high school.”

Derek Newman-Stille, a PhD Candidate, scholar, and instructor at Trent University whose research focuses on disability in the Queer community noted that as someone who was abused as a child by a family member due to their gender identity they “think it's significant to see that that kind of violence still continues.”

“Recognizing that in these situations, these kids aren't a threat. Queer kids are constantly afraid of either being abused or kicked out, all of which were things that I experienced,” they continued.

The reality is that representation of Trans and Queer identities in media can also have harmful effects on children’s understanding of themselves and others. Newman-Stille explained that teaching children in schools about different identities plays a key role in challenging degrading or inaccurate depictions of Trans people.

“So much of pop culture shows that Trans folks either don't exist by erasing us or presenting us as somehow dangerous or threatening or funny for existing. So anything that can counter that overall public message is really powerful and rare,” Newman-Stille explained. 

While the topic of parental rights continues to be front and centre in the ongoing debate surrounding what is taught in schools, both supporters of the Million March and the counter protesters felt that this event would be unsafe for children, although reasons differed. Counter protesters consistently cited the fact that they would not want to subject their children to the transphobic rhetoric when they face enough of it in schools, while the Million March supporters reverted back to their understanding of the counter protesters being possibly violent. 

However, at around 11:00 in the morning, supporters of the Million March protest began walking around Confederation Park in front of City Hall. As they did, many were joined by their children. 

“For one, I don't think that parents own their children,” Chazan said as supporters of the March walked past us on the sidewalk. “I believe in the autonomy of children and children's rights, and we have the entire Charter of Children's Rights that says that children have the right to bodily autonomy. They have the right to feel safe in their classrooms and educational spaces.”

This protest and counter protest occurred in the middle of Peterborough’s Pride Week which takes place between the 15th and 24th of this month. Newman-Stille recalls their experience at the first Pride Week in the City twenty years ago noting that “there were hateful people there then, but it's feeling like there's an actual fact that we've got so many more voices, there's so many folks protecting Queer kids.”

For his part, Whatman expressed how important it is that people continue to show up to counter the hatred being directed as Queer and Trans kids. 

“Seeing as many people at this turn out shows youth in particular that they are cared for, that it does matter, and that there's people here who support them and love them and will fight for them.”