Pride festivals: breaking the isolation of LGBTQ+ people in rural areas

Global News

3 days ago

Pascal Lessard and his partner bought their farm in 2019. They live in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec. It's a rural area south of Quebec City.
Although they were concerned about how the local population might react after learning they are a same-sex couple, Lessard said he is happy they bought the farm and joined a new community.
'We never had any problems when we arrived here. We didn't hide, we didn't try to hide who we were or that we lived together. We haven't encountered any difficulties or people who reacted negatively,' said Lessard, co-owner of Les Vergers du Cap farm in Chaudière-Appalaches.
'We were very well-received here in the village. We thought there might be some people who would react negatively, but that never happened.'
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The warm reaction may reflect a trend as new pride festivities spring up across Quebec.
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Flying in the face of the notion that rural areas are hostile to people of diverse sexual and gender identities, many of these festivals seek to improve the image of life for LGBTQ+ people living outside major urban centres.
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Like more than 300 people from LGBTQ+ communities living in rural areas or working in the agricultural sector, Lessard and his partner are members of the organization Fierté agricole.
Since 2012, this non-profit organization has been helping people from LGBTQ+ communities living in rural areas meet and participate in various activities.
'In the farming community, there aren't many of us, and being so few in such a large area means that we end up pretty isolated in our homes, far from large centres and services,' explains Joé Desjardins, president of Fierté agricole.
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Desjardins, who co-owns the JardinsRochers farm with his partner, said the community is generally doing well and that homophobic or transphobic incidents are rare.
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'People are afraid to come out or move to rural areas. We feel that sentiment a lot, but it's not true that things are worse than in the city,' Desjardins said.
Desjardins adds that allies are more important in rural areas, where it is more difficult to mask one's identity.
'A village that supports a member of the queer community is a village that will support all those people,' explains Mr. Desjardins.
'Unlike in big cities, there is less anonymity because, when you live in the country, everyone knows you, but at the same time, that can be scary for some people, so allies are important.'
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His organization works regularly to educate people in rural areas about the realities of LGBTQ+ people.
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Fierté agricole regularly sets up booths at agricultural events and visits agricultural schools to raise awareness among students.
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'We raise awareness so that there are fewer tragedies,' Desjardins said. 'We can't control the market price of wheat or the harvests with the rain. The only thing we can do is make sure that people in the community don't feel alone, and if we have to drive four hours, we'll be there.'
Camille Paradis, co-chair of Fierté Val-d'Or, shares this sentiment about the importance of allies.
Since 2019, Fierté Val-d'Or has organized its own Pride festival in the western Quebec region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue. In six years, the number of people participating in the four days of festivities has grown from about 600 to 2,300 people.
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Paradis said that between 50 and 60 per cent of participants are not part of the LGBTQ+ communities.
'It shows that we have a community that supports us, that we have a part of the population that wants to stand with us and say, 'We want these people to be treated like everyone else,'' Paradis said.
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'Everything related to sexual orientation is now taken for granted, but gender identities are still largely unknown, misunderstood, and mocked,' said Paradis, who is non-binary.
Beyond allies, Fierté Val-d'Or defines itself as an intergenerational festival aimed at 'breaking the isolation of older members.'
'We're like an anchor for people who are alone,' says Paradis.
Val d'Or isn't the only rural town with a new pride festival.
Mont-Laurier, a town in the Laurentian Mountains, about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal, organized its second Pride festival this year.
'The goal is to provide a more personalized and accessible resource in the region,' explains Maxime Belisle, president and founder of Fierté Hautes-Laurentides.
'We want to be more and more present to show that it's good to live in the Hautes-Laurentides and that there is also help available.'
While the festival's arrival in the region has prompted a few hateful messages online, Bélisle says the local population has largely been supportive.
The first Pride march organized last year by Fierté Hautes-Laurentides brought together about 200 people in the streets of Mont-Laurier.
'People were very happy to see it,' Belisle said. 'In the region, people's comments are that we've come this far and we need this to move forward in our efforts to improve quality of life.'
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