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Quietly seeking tolerance
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Queer West Village home to growing lesbian community
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| By Tom G. Kernaghan |
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“I don’t need to be a big urban dyke,” says Stephanie Rogerson, a lesbian
artist and writer who lives in the Annex but wants to move to the west end.
For many years, lesbian women, like gay men profiled in this section of last month’s
Village Gleaner, have been choosing to live in the west end instead of Church and
Wellesley streets, or what is often referred to as the Gay Ghetto.
“The Ghetto is fine if you’re a very specific kind of gay or lesbian person,” says
Rogerson. “If you’re into rainbows.”
The rainbow has long been a flag and symbol for the gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, and queer communities.
“Queer, for me, reaches outside who you sleep with,” explains Rogerson. “It can
include a sensitive straight man who reads poetry, or anyone who lives and thinks
outside society’s normative boundaries. And it doesn’t necessarily mean I have
something in common with all gay people.”
The west end lesbian community is as diverse as the west end itself. The only
apparent pattern among them is their shared desire for tolerance.
Parkdale is one neighbourhood that has been described as lesbian-friendly.
“There is so much more than sexuality that brings people [to Parkdale],” says
Leslie Gaynor, local lesbian and owner of Mitzi’s Café and Gallery (100 Sorauren
Ave.) and Mitzi’s Sister restaurant (1554 Queen Street W.). “We have all kinds of
people here who generally care about the well-being of their community as a whole.”
“I’ve never heard that Parkdale was a lesbian-friendly area,” says Gail Lynch, a
lesbian woman who lives near Jane and Bloor streets. “Parkdale seems like, you
know, a rough area.”
But Parkdale is just one of many communities in a broader community known as the
Queer West Village, which also includes Roncesvalles Avenue, High Park, Bloor
West Village, the Junction, and Etobicoke.
“I’ve never heard of it,” says Rogerson, who moved here from Los Angeles about a
year ago. “You mean there’s actually an area of the city that’s been labelled as
the Queer West Village?”
She says she just wants to find a quiet place to live.
“I would love to live in Mimico or East Etobicoke,” says Rogerson. “It has beautiful
homes, quiet streets, and nice parks. Parkdale has been über-queer with artists and
cheap rents. As for Bloor West Village, I see it pretty entrenched in kielbasa,
pretty old school.”
Though Lynch has heard of the Queer West Village, she hasn’t sought involvement
in lesbian organizations.
“It has more to do with me than with them,” says Lynch. “Most of the time I’m too
busy with work.”
One large organization is the Gay West Community Network (GWCN), a broad and
growing online network supporting many lifestyles and promoting gay-and
lesbian-friendly businesses and groups in the west end.
“I’ve been on [the GWCN website] and have exchanged a few emails,” says Lynch,
who was born in Barbados. “But there are some hindrances for me. I’ve been to
some [lesbian] functions where I’m the only black person. I’m not racist, but I
do see cultural differences.”
Gaynor sees various people in her restaurants every day, and she will not
tolerate intolerance.
“There’s no exclusivity in my places,” she says. “If someone sees women holding
hands and has a problem with it, they’re free to go somewhere else.”
(Divercity column – The Village Gleaner – December 2005)
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