2SLGBTQI+ community members share their stories at event in the Vancouver Public Library
Posted November 12, 2022 7:21 pm.
Last Updated November 13, 2022 3:55 pm.
In an event held at the Vancouver Public Library, storytellers from the 2SLGBTQI+ community shared their personal journeys in one-on-one sessions.
On Saturday, the library hosted the Rainbow Elders and Allies Collection, an event where people could come and hear the stories of people in the community about their experiences over the years.
For Marylee Stephenson, now a 79-year-old woman, she explains some of the struggles she faced going through high school in the 60s.
She says at the time, being labeled as a part of the community was seen as a “bad thing.”
“In high school, as I began to realize I was different and the ways that I was different,” she explained that she stayed “hidden.”
But when she started attending university in the states, Stephenson says she chose to be open and “could just be whoever I was.”
Speak one-on-one w/ 2SLGBTQI+ elders to hear personal stories and learn more about the history of Vancouver’s queer community at @zeezeetheatre‘s “Rainbow Elders & Allies Collection.”
Nov 12 & 13 | 1pm | Central Library | https://t.co/pJixUWGCDc pic.twitter.com/KWJ3vqxPQ7
— Vancouver Public Library (@VPL) November 6, 2022
“So from the beginning, I’ve been open about it. It wasn’t just political or anything, it was because I felt love for my girlfriend, or girlfriends, and I’d always been taught, and believed, that love was a good thing,” Stephenson added.
She says that for her, it was a priority to be up-front with people right away about her sexual orientation, and helped protect her from being rejected.
“If you’re open right away, and they’re going to turn on you, or they’re going to find it difficult. I want to know. I don’t want to find out three months later, or three years later, that…they were rejecting me,” she explained.
“I’ve been all along take it or leave it.”
For Jag Nagra, she shared with event goers about her year long journey of talking to strangers.
Rainbow Elders and Allies Collection event held at the Vancouver Public Library. (Angela Bower/CityNews)
“I went out on a 356-day journey back in 2013, and I asked one stranger what they learned that day,” she said.
She says this experience changed her life and helped her become more confident.
“Before I did this project I was incredibly introverted, really shy, hated any sort of attention on me. And through the process I learned how to not be afraid of anybody, and I found my own voice through people having lent their voices to me,” she explained.
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“I think sometimes it’s a lifelong journey, right? Breaking through the fear that we often carry within ourselves…I think every interaction like that helps build your own voice, and your own confidence. And it’s really powerful to see how you can emerge on the other side,” she added.
Melanie Ray, the curator for Rainbow Elders and Allies, says having 2SLGBTQI+ community storytellers share their stories brings people closer, and builds a stronger understanding and acceptance for all.
“It shortens the distance between you and the other person…There are lots of people who have some sort of feeling that people who are gay or trans aren’t as they should be, and there is this old saying” ‘If you know my story’ you can’t hate me, and I think this is what this is about,’” she said.
