The Gender Expansive Joy Series was an educational program series for the 2024-25 year that centred the creative and persistent joy of trans, nonbinary, 2Spirit and gender expansive identities, through knowing ourselves, our communities, and our histories and ongoing legacies of resilience and resistance.
Previous Events
Select a section below that corresponds to a previous Gender Expansive Joy Series event.
This event is presented as part of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) and Pride 2025 programming at the University of Toronto. This event will be the final event in the SGDO’s Gender Expansive Joy Series for the 2024-2025 year.
In this session, Dr. Goodridge will address myths and misinformation that circulate about gender-affirming health care. He will do so by addressing:
- The historical context of trans and gender-diverse identities in health care
- The realities of gender-affirming health care in Ontario, how access to care works, and barriers to care faced by trans and gender diverse individuals
- How universities can provide inclusive and supportive learning and working environments for students, staff and faculty who are seeking gender-affirming medical care and what resources are needed
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Jordan Goodridge is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He works as a family physician at multiple sites across the GTA and has provided focused 2SLGBTQ+ health care for several years. He received his MD from Queen’s University, completed his Family Medicine training at McMaster University, and did an Enhanced Skills Year in HIV Primary Care through the University of Toronto. He has a strong interest in medical education, particularly in areas such as gender-affirming care, HIV primary care, and sexual health care.
Join First Nations House, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office for an afternoon of medicine pouch making and Two-Spirit teachings with guest Benny Michaud.
Benny Michaud (she/they/him) is a proud tasta-iiyinew (two-spirit/transgender), and a citizen of the Metis Nation. Originally from St. Boniface in Manitoba, they are an alumnus of Carleton University and were central to the creation of a separate Indigenous-focused department. In their current role as Director of the Centre for Indigenous Support and Community Engagement, they work with their team to ensure that Indigenous students have the academic, cultural, and spiritual support necessary to maintain their health and well-being. They also work with the broader Carleton community to create opportunities for learning and dialogue, and to enable the 41 calls to action included in Carleton’s Kinamagawin Strategy. Throughout their career, they have worked to support the needs of Indigenous youth in both the mental health and education sectors.
Event Details:
Two-Spirit people are working to reclaim our rightful place within community and ceremonial circles. Part of this process includes acknowledging the gifts that Two-Spirit people carry and helping us to better understand our roles and responsibilities within those contexts. The cultural shift required to ensure Two-Spirit people grow up with a sense of belonging and purpose is not forging a new path, but rather returning to the traditions that kept our communities balanced and healthy. Participants will learn about the diversity of experience for those who identify as Two-Spirit and will better understand how Settler languages and interactions propagated the prejudice Two-Spirit people now experience in these lands now known as Canada.
Speaker Bio:
Benny Michaud (she/they/him) is a proud tasta-iiyinew (two-spirit/transgender), and a citizen of the Metis Nation. Originally from St. Boniface in Manitoba, they are an alumnus of Carleton University and were central to the creation of a separate Indigenous-focused department. In their current role as Director of the Centre for Indigenous Support and Community Engagement, they work with their team to ensure that Indigenous students have the academic, cultural, and spiritual support necessary to maintain their health and well-being. They also work with the broader Carleton community to create opportunities for learning and dialogue, and to enable the 41 calls to action included in Carleton’s Kinamagawin Strategy. Throughout their career, they have worked to support the needs of Indigenous youth in both the mental health and education sectors.
University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, and librarians are invited to join the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office and the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education for a preview screening of the short film, Pink Light, followed by a panel discussion with the film’s creator Harrison Browne, and the PWHL Toronto Sceptres goalie, Carly “CJ” Jackson. The film’s runtime is approximately 11 minutes.
Film Synopsis
In Pink Light, Scott, a transman and ex pro hockey player, is needlessly injured during a beer league game. Frustrated and in a daze, he experiences a flashback to his pre-transitioned self in college. The film continues to follow Scott at two moments in his life: as a 20-year-old, pre-transitioned and navigating college, and a 30-year-old trying to reconnect with the sport he gave up to physically transition.
Seating is limited, so please register to secure your seat (a waitlist will be maintained). The location information will be shared with confirmed registrants.
Harrison Browne (he/him) is a Canadian Filmmaker based out of Toronto. Prior to his acting career, (Nancy Drew, Y: The Last Man, Murdoch Mysteries), he was a professional hockey player in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and the first transgender athlete in professional hockey. During his tenure in the NWHL he helped form the first ever transgender policy in professional sports. He is the appointed Inclusion Leader for the NWHL advisory board and special ambassador for the National Hockey League’s Hockey Is for Everyone initiative. Through his efforts, Harrison was recognized in 2016 by The Hockey News as one of hockey’s 100 Top People of Power.
Carly “CJ” Jackson (she/they) is a first-time actor and 4-year professional hockey player, most recently playing for PWHL Toronto. They are a 2023 Isobel cup champion with the Toronto Six, 3rd overall pick in the 2020 NWHL draft, and part-time assistant women’s ice hockey coach. CJ earned a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Maine as an NCAA Scholar athlete and holds all goaltending records at the school; they are an ambassador and volunteer with little league baseball, youth hockey programming, the You Can Play project, and Sport a Rainbow.
In collaboration with Accessibility Services, this panel discussion explored the intersections of gender expansive identity and expression and neurodivergence, as well as race, class, and other factors. The discussion centred the diverse experiences of gender expansive neurodiverse people and was also an opportunity for others to learn about these experiences and reflect and act on how to be supportive and in solidarity.
Moderator
Taite Lehov (she/her, he/him)
Taite is a Queer, Autistic person working as the ASD Support Coordinator in the Accessibility Department here at UofT. They received their Masters of Education in Developmental Psychology and Education from OISE (UofT). For their entire working career Taite has focused on increasing the support for autistic and other neurodivergent people at all stages of life and believes very strongly in the need for multifactored approach to neurodivergent support that includes both diverse identity and cultural perspectives. When they aren’t working during the day Taite spends their nights helping to put together events for niche, queer communities and performing as a drag queen.
Nicole Zouki (she/they)
Nicole is a non-binary, Arab, neurodivergent person working as a registered psychotherapist and sexuality educator in Toronto. She graduated with a master’s degree in counselling and psychotherapy (OISE, University of Toronto) with a collaborative specialization in sexual diversity studies through the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies. Nicole enjoys working with clients relationally to better understand and honor their authentic self, whatever that means to them, with a specialization in working with clients interested in exploring the intersections of gender, sexuality, kink, culture, disability, and diverse relationship structures. They prioritize client collaboration and working through an anti-oppressive lens. In her free time, Nicole enjoys watching movies, admiring nature, and spending time with loved ones.
Frankie Talon Rose (they/them)
Frankie Talon Rose, RP(Qualifying), is a mixed-race, queer, non-binary, and neurodivergent graduate of the Gestalt Institute of Toronto with a private practice in Toronto. They work primarily with folks around the complex intersections of varying identities, particularly sexuality, gender, race, religion and neurodivergence, and are passionate about creating spaces for transformation that heal the heart, listen to the body, engage the mind and nourish the soul.
Frankie Talon Rose (they/them)
Noah Adams lives and works in Toronto and the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat peoples. He is a researcher, advocate, and student at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where he is completing a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development. Noah’s PhD work expands on his book Trans and Autistic: Stories from Life at the Intersection (with Bridget Liang; Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2020) by exploring the development of transgender/autistic community groups globally. Noah volunteers extensively and is currently working with the Transgender Professional Association for Transgender Health, an international network he co-founded. More about his work can be found at www.noahjadams.com.