* This presentation was originally recorded in French. Closed captioning is available in both English and French.
Four years after the explosion of the #MeToo movement launched a public review of how sexual abuse, exploitation and lack of consent have been normalized in our culture, there has been tremendous progress in the public recognition of the need for meaningful change. Currently, we are experiencing a new wave of denunciations in Montréal and in Québec in general, including more LGBTQ+ people, which is a reminder of how widespread but often invisible these non-consensual experiences are. However, too little attention is still being paid to the experiences of aggression by and from queer people, especially men. Sexist and homophobic stereotypes lead many of us to assume that GBT men are more able to protect themselves, that they still want sex, etc., which leads us to undermine the uncomfortable truth. For over 3 years, RÉZO has been developing tools and engaging in research partnerships to better understand the ways in which abuse and the importance of consent are trivialized in our communities. We propose a two-part workshop: 1) a presentation of RÉZO's high-profile media campaigns and the lessons we have learned from the positive and less positive responses of our community members, in particular how this effort can be seen to be in conflict with the struggle for queer sexuality and 2) a facilitated discussion among participants about the barriers and opportunities they see in their communities to encourage a paradigm shift around consent among GBT men.
Brock Dumville & Alexandre Dumont Blais (RÉZO), and Gabriel Giroux (Université Laval)
