Let’s Make Every Month Pride Month at WIN

Written by Sierra Kemp and Jasmine Philip 

In 2018 WIN decided to display Transgender and Pride flags on our front windows to indicate that we are a safe space for everybody, regardless of our differences. For many queer folks, seeing these symbols offers a sense of security and acknowledgement. However, we knew that displaying these flags was not enough. Our space does not become safe just because we say it is. The values of equality and respect have always been important to us, but at the time, when we talked about the significance of placing the flags in our store windows, we took the opportunity to ask ourselves “are we doing all that we can to make WIN a space that is inviting, accessible, comfortable, and safe for everyone in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community”? What can we do better? 

Here are some of the actions we have taken in order to ensure that WIN is a queer positive place for our staff, volunteers, program participants, shoppers and donors: 

In-store adaptations:  WIN felt it was important to move away from gendered language, not only in our daily practices, but in how we present our shops to the public. Transphobia is built into our society in many ways and we want to be leaders in helping to dismantle this, so we decided to use gender-neutral language wherever possible. WIN removed clothing categories like “Men’s” and “Women’s” from our clothing sections and in our point of sales system, and instead display items based on masculine or feminine styles. We encourage our staff to not make gender assumptions about anyone’s gender and do our best to create a culture in which sharing your pronouns is common amongst everyone.  

Staff and volunteer education: WIN hired Ambit Gender Diversity Consulting to host a workshop for all our staff and volunteers to learn about gender diversity, some of the struggles faced by the transgender community, and to ask questions in a safe space. The feedback from our team about the training was wonderful! We aim to participate in this workshop every 2 years. We include some key learnings from Ambit’s training in all our orientation packages, so staff and volunteers can learn, and ask questions as soon as they start with us.  

WIN’s programs:  We recognize the fluidity of gender, and as such, our programs are open to self-identifying women, trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit people who identify with the intention of WIN’s programs. We now include this statement on our website, in our pamphlets, and staff and volunteer orientation packages.  

WIN’s participation in Victoria Pride Events: WIN has participated in the Pride Festival and parade several times, and we wanted to look at why we were participating, and what our intentions were.  As an organization, we felt that in participating, we wanted to offer something to the queer community and this evolved into us hosting a booth in the festival where folks could access affordable trans-accessible clothing and accessorie items including binders, wigs, breast forms, and queer literature that had been donated to us. 

We ran with this idea some more, and eventually came up with an event that would be called “Shop Proud at WIN.”  Many folks in the queer community fear scrutiny, and social repercussions when shopping for items they need, want, and feel good in. WIN wanted to create an after-hours event, where attendees were welcomed in for a safe and inclusive shopping experience. Tickets were free, and a WIN coupon was given to each shopper as they arrived. We prioritized offering the extra hours of work to our queer staff, to further ensure folks felt at home when they came to this event. We plan to continue to host this event annually.  

WIN’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee:  WIN aspires to have a workplace that is diverse, respectful, inclusive, and joyful where everyone’s voices are heard, valued, and celebrated. We created WIN’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee to help achieve this vision. The goals of this committee are to drive change within the organization by providing feedback and recommendations on policies, procedures, and organizational change impacting workplace culture as it relates to inclusiveness and diversity. The committee also researches trainings and activities to support our vision, and members act as role models to promote and spread the vision of the committee within the organization.  

The proud placement of pride flags in our windows has inspired learning, change and growth for us and we would like to share with you, some of the history behind both flags. 

The Transgender Pride Flag was created by Monica Helms, who was inspired to create the flag as a representation of transgender legitimacy and pride, in 1999. The flag consists of five stripes: a light blue stripe followed by a light pink stripe at the top and bottom, with a white stripe in the middle. Activist Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag in 1978 to encompass the diversity of what was then referred to simply as the "gay community”. Helms thought it necessary to have a flag that represented the unique struggles of transgender people.  

"The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are intersex, transitioning, or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives." – Monica Helms  

The first rainbow flag, the Pride Flag, was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist and queer activist, in response to calls by other activists for a symbol for the community. Baker initially designed a flag with eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. These colours were intended to represent respectively: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, and spirit. The flag went through some natural changes and the current, and most popular design consists of just 6 colours – Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.   

We place these flags in our windows not only to express the fact that we aim to provide a safe space for all people to be themselves, but also to show how much we celebrate diversity. In fact, we love it!