Montreal's Gay Village 'Gay' No More?
A famous Canadian gayborhood is about to be "gay" no more, reports say.
"Montreal's most famous LGBTQ neighborhood, known around the world as Le Village Gai (The Gay Village), wants to change its name," a story at the wrote The Daily News.
The NY paper cited a post at the Instagram account for Le Village Gai making the announcement that, going forward, the village was going to be known as "The Village of Montreal" - though it intended to try to hold on to a reputation as being "the largest 2SLGBTQ + village in the WORLD!"
The Instagram post was made by a business association that "represents 250 businesses located in the traditional queer enclave," the Daily News noted.
"By dropping the 'gay' from its name, the association wants the area to reflect a more inclusive view of different nuances of sexual orientations and gender identities," the article added.
The Instagram post assured readers that "sexual and gender inclusion and diversity is very important to me," before setting about offering definitions for each of the terms represented in 2SLGBTQ +, though presumably to followers that already know most, if not all, of the terms.
"2S," for example, the post explained, stands for "two spirit," which in "some indigenous communities" is "a person who embodies characteristics and qualities considered to be both masculine and feminine.
"This identity is not reduced to the question of gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation."
After offering definitions for L,G,B, and T, the post offered a small essay on "Q":
"Q for Queer - Person who identifies with an outside gender identity or sexual orientation outside the norm or fluid. This word can also be used to encompass different LGBTQ + identities (eg "queer culture").
"This term was originally an insult to LGBTQ + people, but it has been re-appropriated by many, but some people (especially people who have known the term primarily as an insult) remain uncomfortable with the word. It is best to avoid using this term unless the person is using it to describe themselves."
The "+," the post added, "refers to any other community and subcultures that are part of sexual and gender diversity not mentioned in the first letters."
"The Village of Montreal, which is home to the city's annual Pride celebration, Fierté Montréal (Montreal's Pride festival), welcomes more than 1.4 million visitors each year," the Daily News noted.