Latest news with #transvisibility
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Toronto's Pride month kicks off. Here's what to expect
Pride Month kicks off June 1 in Toronto, and the city will be filled with events celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community. As the largest Pride celebration in Canada, the city's annual events attract millions of visitors every year. From flag raising ceremonies to the big Pride Parade weekend, Pride Toronto's executive director Kojo Modeste says there are events for everyone. "We have a lineup that is going to be spectacular, that's going to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community, but will also send a very strong message that we are all in, that we are here and we are here to stay," Modeste told CBC Toronto. Modeste says this year's Pride month will highlight the transgender and non-binary community, and that it's important to use Pride as a platform for visibility, education, and advocacy. "We're very deliberate to really showcase that the 2SLGBTQ+ community stands with the trans community because we have seen the attacks that have been directed especially to our trans siblings," said Modeste. According to data from Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation, sex and gender increased each year from 2019 to 2023. Pride Toronto is working with city agencies to ensure the events remain safe for everyone, says Modeste. "At Pride Toronto, we take safety of both the participants or community visitors very seriously," said Modeste. "Pride has a track record of being a safe event and we are going to be maintaining that." Modeste says Pride Toronto will have a 99 per cent Canadian lineup to send out a message about local representation. This year's Pride Toronto theme, "All In," is meant to celebrate the city and reflect the core values of Canadians, Modeste adds. Throughout the month of June, the festival will showcase over 400 performers, eight stages and over 300 hours of programming. The executive director of the Church and Wellesley Village BIA, Jaret Sereda, says Pride events bring plenty of visitors to the area, which in turn helps local businesses. "We love the increased foot traffic," Sereda told CBC. "We want to support all our local businesses and we encourage everybody to shop local." The Church and Wellesley Village BIA will host its 11th annual VillageFest from June 20 to June 22. Sereda says this year's festival has been revamped, and will take place in the parking lot across from Woody's and SAILOR restaurant. He says the show will be filled with Canadian talent and is encouraging people to attend it and support it. "It doesn't matter what sexuality you express and who you are. We invite everybody. This is an event for everyone," he said. The city has provided the full list of Pride events. Here are some of them: Flag-Raising events: Mayor Olivia Chow, Members of Council and representatives from Pride Toronto will kick off Toronto's Pride month at Nathan Phillips Square on June 2 at 5 p.m. with performances by Sanjina DaBish Queen, Trash Panda Brass, Tempo Choir & DJ Blackcat. North York Civic Centre Flag-Raising on June 4 at 9 a.m. Etobicoke Flag-Raising at Montgomery's Inn on June 4 at 4 p.m. Scarborough Civic Centre Flag-Raising at Albert Campbell Square on June 5 at 9 a.m. Nathan Phillips Square events: Pride Toronto's Opening Night on June 27 at 6 p.m. Attendees can expect a lineup of 2SLGBTQ+ dance artists including Rebecca Black, Kiesza, Priyanka and Singing Out Choir. Pride Toronto's Drag Ball on June 28 from 2 p.m. to midnight. The drag event will return with over 70 drag acts from Canada and beyond. Pride Toronto's Closing Night on June 29 at 2 p.m. Pride Parade will close out the night with a party at Nathan Phillips Square. Street events: Gay History Walk at Church-Wellesley Neighbourhood on June 6, 12 and 20 at 2 p.m. St. Lawrence Market Street Pride at Market Street on June 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Church Street Pride Fair on Church Street on June 27 to 29. Trans March on Church Street on June 27. People will rally at 7 p.m. and march at 8 p.m. Dyke March on Church Street on June 28. People will rally at 1 p.m. and march at 2 p.m. Pride Parade from Church and Bloor Streets to Nathan Phillips Square on June 29 from 2 to 6 p.m. Family and youth events: Drag Story Time with Gila Münster at the Toronto Botanical Garden on June 1 at 11 a.m. TRANScendTO at Toronto Metropolitan University Student Centre on June 6 at 12 p.m. Family Pride at Church St. Public School on June 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Youth Pride at Church St. Public School on June 28 at 6 p.m.
CBC
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Toronto's Pride month kicks off. Here's what to expect
Pride Month kicks off June 1 in Toronto, and the city will be filled with events celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community. As the largest Pride celebration in Canada, the city's annual events attract millions of visitors every year. From flag raising ceremonies to the big Pride Parade weekend, Pride Toronto's executive director Kojo Modeste says there are events for everyone. "We have a lineup that is going to be spectacular, that's going to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community, but will also send a very strong message that we are all in, that we are here and we are here to stay," Modeste told CBC Toronto. Modeste says this year's Pride month will highlight the transgender and non-binary community, and that it's important to use Pride as a platform for visibility, education, and advocacy. "We're very deliberate to really showcase that the 2SLGBTQ+ community stands with the trans community because we have seen the attacks that have been directed especially to our trans siblings," said Modeste. According to data from Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation, sex and gender increased each year from 2019 to 2023. Pride Toronto is working with city agencies to ensure the events remain safe for everyone, says Modeste. "At Pride Toronto, we take safety of both the participants or community visitors very seriously," said Modeste. "Pride has a track record of being a safe event and we are going to be maintaining that." Pride events to celebrate Canadian talent Modeste says Pride Toronto will have a 99 per cent Canadian lineup to send out a message about local representation. This year's Pride Toronto theme, "All In," is meant to celebrate the city and reflect the core values of Canadians, Modeste adds. Throughout the month of June, the festival will showcase over 400 performers, eight stages and over 300 hours of programming. The executive director of the Church and Wellesley Village BIA, Jaret Sereda, says Pride events bring plenty of visitors to the area, which in turn helps local businesses. "We love the increased foot traffic," Sereda told CBC. "We want to support all our local businesses and we encourage everybody to shop local." The Church and Wellesley Village BIA will host its 11th annual VillageFest from June 20 to June 22. Sereda says this year's festival has been revamped, and will take place in the parking lot across from Woody's and SAILOR restaurant. He says the show will be filled with Canadian talent and is encouraging people to attend it and support it. "It doesn't matter what sexuality you express and who you are. We invite everybody. This is an event for everyone," he said. City events The city has provided the full list of Pride events. Here are some of them: Flag-Raising events: Mayor Olivia Chow, Members of Council and representatives from Pride Toronto will kick off Toronto's Pride month at Nathan Phillips Square on June 2 at 5 p.m. with performances by Sanjina DaBish Queen, Trash Panda Brass, Tempo Choir & DJ Blackcat. North York Civic Centre Flag-Raising on June 4 at 9 a.m. Etobicoke Flag-Raising at Montgomery's Inn on June 4 at 4 p.m. Scarborough Civic Centre Flag-Raising at Albert Campbell Square on June 5 at 9 a.m. Nathan Phillips Square events: Pride Toronto's Opening Night on June 27 at 6 p.m. Attendees can expect a lineup of 2SLGBTQ+ dance artists including Rebecca Black, Kiesza, Priyanka and Singing Out Choir. Pride Toronto's Drag Ball on June 28 from 2 p.m. to midnight. The drag event will return with over 70 drag acts from Canada and beyond. Pride Toronto's Closing Night on June 29 at 2 p.m. Pride Parade will close out the night with a party at Nathan Phillips Square. Street events: Gay History Walk at Church-Wellesley Neighbourhood on June 6, 12 and 20 at 2 p.m. St. Lawrence Market Street Pride at Market Street on June 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Church Street Pride Fair on Church Street on June 27 to 29. Trans March on Church Street on June 27. People will rally at 7 p.m. and march at 8 p.m. Dyke March on Church Street on June 28. People will rally at 1 p.m. and march at 2 p.m. Pride Parade from Church and Bloor Streets to Nathan Phillips Square on June 29 from 2 to 6 p.m. Family and youth events: Drag Story Time with Gila Münster at the Toronto Botanical Garden on June 1 at 11 a.m. TRANScendTO at Toronto Metropolitan University Student Centre on June 6 at 12 p.m. Family Pride at Church St. Public School on June 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Youth Pride at Church St. Public School on June 28 at 6 p.m.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Before the word ‘transgender' existed, there was Bambi, the dazzling Parisian icon
PARIS (AP) — The moment that changed queer history occurred on a sweltering summer day in early 1950s Algeria. An effeminate teenage boy named Jean-Pierre Pruvot stood mesmerized as traffic halted and crowds swarmed around a scandalous spectacle unfolding in the conservative Algiers streets. All had stopped to look at Coccinelle, the flamboyant 'transvestite' star of Paris' legendary cabaret, the Carrousel de Paris, who strutted defiantly down the boulevard, impeccably dressed as a woman, sparking awe and outrage and literally stopping traffic. What Pruvot — who would become famous under the female stage name 'Bambi' — witnessed was more than mere performance. It was an act of resistance from the ashes of the Nazi persecution of the LGBTQ+ community in World War II. 'I didn't even know that (identity) existed,' Bambi told The Associated Press in a rare interview. 'I said to myself, 'I'm going to do the same.'' Decades before transgender became a household word and 'RuPaul's Drag Race' became a worldwide hit — before visibility brought rights and recognition — the Carrousel troupe in the late 1940s emerged as a glamorous, audacious resistance. Bambi soon joined Coccinelle, April Ashley, and Capucine to revive queer visibility in Europe for the first time since the Nazis had violently destroyed Berlin's thriving queer scene of the 1930s. The Nazis branded gay men with pink triangles, deported and murdered thousands, erasing queer culture overnight. Just a few years after the war, Carrousel performers strode onto the global stage, a glittering frontline against lingering prejudice. Remarkably, audiences at the Carrousel knew exactly who these performers were — women who, as Bambi puts it, 'would bare all.' Elvis Presley, Ava Gardner, Édith Piaf, Maria Callas and Marlene Dietrich all flocked to the cabaret, drawn to the allure of performers labeled 'travestis.' The stars sought out the Carrousel to flirt with postwar Paris's wild side. It was an intoxicating contradiction: cross-dressing was criminalized, yet the venue was packed with celebrities. The history of queer liberation shifted in this cabaret, one sequin at a time. The contrast was chilling: as Bambi arrived in Paris and found fame dancing naked for film stars, across the English Channel in early 1950s Britain the code-breaking genius Alan Turing was chemically castrated for being gay, leading to his suicide. Evenings spent with legends Today, nearing 90, Marie-Pierre Pruvot — as she has been known for decades by some — lives alone in an unassuming apartment in northeastern Paris. Her bookshelves spill over with volumes of literature and philosophy. A black feather boa, a lone whisper from her glamorous past, hangs loosely over a chair. Yet Bambi wasn't just part of the show; she was the show — with expressive almond-shaped eyes, pear-shaped face, and beauty indistinguishable from any desired Parisienne. Yet one key difference set her apart — a difference criminalized by French law. The depth of her history only becomes apparent as she points to striking and glamorous photographs and recounts evenings spent with legends. Such was their then-fame that the name of Bambi's housemate, Coccinelle, became slang for "trans" in Israel — often cruelly. Once Dietrich, the starry queer icon, arrived at the tiny Madame Arthur cabaret alongside Jean Marais, the actor and Jean Cocteau's gay lover. 'It was packed,' Bambi recalled. 'Jean Marais instantly said, 'Sit (me and Marlene) on stage' And so they were seated onstage, legs crossed, champagne by their side, watching us perform.' Another day, Dietrich swept in to a hair salon. 'Marlene always had this distant, untouchable air — except when late for the hairdresser,' Bambi says, smiling. 'She rushed in, kissed the hairdresser, settled beneath the dryer, stretched her long legs imperiously onto a stool, and lit a cigarette. Her gaunt pout as she smoked — I'll never forget it,' she says, her impression exaggerated as she sucked in her cheeks. Perhaps Dietrich wasn't her favorite star. Then there was Piaf, who, one evening, teasingly joked about her protégé, the French singing legend Charles Aznavour, performing nearby. 'She asked, 'What time does Aznavour start?'' Bambi recalled. 'Someone said, 'Midnight.' So she joked, 'Then it'll be finished by five past midnight.'" Reassignment surgery Behind the glamour lay constant danger. Living openly as a woman was illegal. 'There was a police decree,' Bambi recalls. 'It was a criminal offense for a man to dress as a woman. But if you wore pants and flat shoes, you weren't considered dressed as a woman.' The injustice was global. Homosexuality remained criminalized for decades: in Britain until 1967, in parts of the U.S. until 2003. Progress came slowly. In 1950s Paris, though, Bambi bought hormones casually over-the-counter, 'like salt and pepper at the grocery.' 'It was much freer then,' but stakes were high, she said. Sisters were jailed, raped, driven into sex work. One comrade died after botched gender reassignment surgery in Casablanca. 'There was only Casablanca,' she emphasized, with one doctor performing the high-risk surgeries. Bambi waited cautiously until her best friends, Coccinelle and April Ashley, had safely undergone procedures from the late 50s before doing the same herself. Each night required extraordinary courage. Post-war Paris was scarred, haunted. The Carrousel wasn't mere entertainment — but a fingers' up to the past in heels and eyeliner. 'There was this after-the-war feeling — people wanted to have fun,' Bambi recalled. With no television, the cabarets were packed every night. 'You could feel it — people demanded to laugh, to enjoy themselves, to be happy. They wanted to live again … to forget the miseries of the war.' In 1974, sensing a shift, Bambi quietly stepped away from celebrity, unwilling to become 'an aging showgirl.' Swiftly obtaining legal female identity in Algeria, she became a respected teacher and Sorbonne scholar, hiding her dazzling past beneath Marcel Proust and careful anonymity for decades. 'I never wore a mask' Given what she's witnessed, or because of it, she's remarkably serene about recent controversies around gender. This transgender pioneer feels wokeism has moved too quickly, fueling a backlash. She sees U.S. President Donald Trump as part of 'a global reaction against wokeism… families aren't ready… we need to pause and breathe a little before moving forward again.' Inclusive pronouns and language 'complicate the language,' she insists. Asked about Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's anti-trans stance, her response is calmly dismissive: 'Her opinion counts no more than a baker's or a cleaning lady's.' Bambi has outlived her Carrousel sisters — April Ashley, Capucine, and Coccinelle. Still elegant, she stands quietly proud. When she first stepped onstage, the world lacked the language to describe her. She danced anyway. Now, words exist. Rights exist. Movements exist. And Bambi, still standing serenely, quietly reaffirms her truth: 'I never wore a mask,' she says softly, but firmly. 'Except when I was a boy.'
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Before the word ‘transgender' existed, there was Bambi, the dazzling Parisian icon
The moment that changed queer history occurred on a sweltering summer day in early 1950s Algeria. An effeminate teenage boy named Jean-Pierre Pruvot stood mesmerized as traffic halted and crowds swarmed around a scandalous spectacle unfolding in the conservative Algiers streets. All had stopped to look at Coccinelle, the flamboyant 'transvestite' star of Paris' legendary cabaret, the Carrousel de Paris, who strutted defiantly down the boulevard, impeccably dressed as a woman, sparking awe and outrage and literally stopping traffic. What Pruvot — who would become famous under the female stage name 'Bambi' — witnessed was more than mere performance. It was an act of resistance from the ashes of the Nazi persecution of the LGBTQ+ community in World War II. 'I didn't even know that (identity) existed,' Bambi told The Associated Press in a rare interview. 'I said to myself, 'I'm going to do the same.'' Decades before transgender became a household word and 'RuPaul's Drag Race' became a worldwide hit — before visibility brought rights and recognition — the Carrousel troupe in the late 1940s emerged as a glamorous, audacious resistance. Bambi soon joined Coccinelle, April Ashley, and Capucine to revive queer visibility in Europe for the first time since the Nazis had violently destroyed Berlin's thriving queer scene of the 1930s. The Nazis branded gay men with pink triangles, deported and murdered thousands, erasing queer culture overnight. Just a few years after the war, Carrousel performers strode onto the global stage, a glittering frontline against lingering prejudice. Remarkably, audiences at the Carrousel knew exactly who these performers were — women who, as Bambi puts it, 'would bare all.' Elvis Presley, Ava Gardner, Édith Piaf, Maria Callas and Marlene Dietrich all flocked to the cabaret, drawn to the allure of performers labeled 'travestis.' The stars sought out the Carrousel to flirt with postwar Paris's wild side. It was an intoxicating contradiction: cross-dressing was criminalized, yet the venue was packed with celebrities. The history of queer liberation shifted in this cabaret, one sequin at a time. The contrast was chilling: as Bambi arrived in Paris and found fame dancing naked for film stars, across the English Channel in early 1950s Britain the code-breaking genius Alan Turing was chemically castrated for being gay, leading to his suicide. Evenings spent with legends Today, nearing 90, Marie-Pierre Pruvot — as she has been known for decades by some — lives alone in an unassuming apartment in northeastern Paris. Her bookshelves spill over with volumes of literature and philosophy. A black feather boa, a lone whisper from her glamorous past, hangs loosely over a chair. Yet Bambi wasn't just part of the show; she was the show — with expressive almond-shaped eyes, pear-shaped face, and beauty indistinguishable from any desired Parisienne. Yet one key difference set her apart — a difference criminalized by French law. The depth of her history only becomes apparent as she points to striking and glamorous photographs and recounts evenings spent with legends. Such was their then-fame that the name of Bambi's housemate, Coccinelle, became slang for "trans" in Israel — often cruelly. Once Dietrich, the starry queer icon, arrived at the tiny Madame Arthur cabaret alongside Jean Marais, the actor and Jean Cocteau's gay lover. 'It was packed,' Bambi recalled. 'Jean Marais instantly said, 'Sit (me and Marlene) on stage' And so they were seated onstage, legs crossed, champagne by their side, watching us perform.' Another day, Dietrich swept in to a hair salon. 'Marlene always had this distant, untouchable air — except when late for the hairdresser,' Bambi says, smiling. 'She rushed in, kissed the hairdresser, settled beneath the dryer, stretched her long legs imperiously onto a stool, and lit a cigarette. Her gaunt pout as she smoked — I'll never forget it,' she says, her impression exaggerated as she sucked in her cheeks. Perhaps Dietrich wasn't her favorite star. Then there was Piaf, who, one evening, teasingly joked about her protégé, the French singing legend Charles Aznavour, performing nearby. 'She asked, 'What time does Aznavour start?'' Bambi recalled. 'Someone said, 'Midnight.' So she joked, 'Then it'll be finished by five past midnight.'" Reassignment surgery Behind the glamour lay constant danger. Living openly as a woman was illegal. 'There was a police decree,' Bambi recalls. 'It was a criminal offense for a man to dress as a woman. But if you wore pants and flat shoes, you weren't considered dressed as a woman.' The injustice was global. Homosexuality remained criminalized for decades: in Britain until 1967, in parts of the U.S. until 2003. Progress came slowly. In 1950s Paris, though, Bambi bought hormones casually over-the-counter, 'like salt and pepper at the grocery.' 'It was much freer then,' but stakes were high, she said. Sisters were jailed, raped, driven into sex work. One comrade died after botched gender reassignment surgery in Casablanca. 'There was only Casablanca,' she emphasized, with one doctor performing the high-risk surgeries. Bambi waited cautiously until her best friends, Coccinelle and April Ashley, had safely undergone procedures from the late 50s before doing the same herself. Each night required extraordinary courage. Post-war Paris was scarred, haunted. The Carrousel wasn't mere entertainment — but a fingers' up to the past in heels and eyeliner. 'There was this after-the-war feeling — people wanted to have fun,' Bambi recalled. With no television, the cabarets were packed every night. 'You could feel it — people demanded to laugh, to enjoy themselves, to be happy. They wanted to live again … to forget the miseries of the war.' In 1974, sensing a shift, Bambi quietly stepped away from celebrity, unwilling to become 'an aging showgirl.' Swiftly obtaining legal female identity in Algeria, she became a respected teacher and Sorbonne scholar, hiding her dazzling past beneath Marcel Proust and careful anonymity for decades. 'I never wore a mask' Given what she's witnessed, or because of it, she's remarkably serene about recent controversies around gender. This transgender pioneer feels wokeism has moved too quickly, fueling a backlash. She sees U.S. President Donald Trump as part of 'a global reaction against wokeism… families aren't ready… we need to pause and breathe a little before moving forward again.' Inclusive pronouns and language 'complicate the language,' she insists. Asked about Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's anti-trans stance, her response is calmly dismissive: 'Her opinion counts no more than a baker's or a cleaning lady's.' Bambi has outlived her Carrousel sisters — April Ashley, Capucine, and Coccinelle. Still elegant, she stands quietly proud. When she first stepped onstage, the world lacked the language to describe her. She danced anyway. Now, words exist. Rights exist. Movements exist. And Bambi, still standing serenely, quietly reaffirms her truth: 'I never wore a mask,' she says softly, but firmly. 'Except when I was a boy.'
