NEWS
July 25, 2022
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FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM
Army of Lovers celebrates the histories of local lesbian feminists Cyndia Cole, Pat Hogan, and barbara findlay share their stories in the exhibit’s opening panel O LIVIA V I S SER // STAF F W RI TE R
PHOTO: Olivia Visser / The Peak
Army of Lovers: Lesbian, Bisexual, Two Spirit, and Queer Women, 1970s and 80s is an oral and visual archival exhibit taking place at SFU’s Harbour Center campus. Running from July 14 to August 21, the exhibit focuses on interviews conducted by students in professor El Chenier’s oral history class.
The exhibit is being held at Vancouver Harbour Centre until August 21. as a SFU student. During the panel, she described her story as interesting because she “became a feminist first” before realizing she was a lesbian.
in her life. She explained that a lesbian caucus formed within the federation because at the time many feminists were in support of women’s rights, but not lesbian rights.
Chenier explained those who participated in the feminist and lesbian communities in the 70s and 80s “have a lot of hardearned wisdom to share,” and created this project as a two-way conversation between young and old generations.
Despite being involved in the feminist movement and feeling an urge to participate in the lesbian feminist movement, Cole didn’t believe she belonged in it. She realized she was a lesbian after having a dream about one of her friends, and subsequently sharing a kiss with her after explaining the dream.
“Lesbians are no longer willing to lie and hide and live in fear,” read a quote from Nym Hughes, one of the activists featured at the exhibit.
The archive itself is a trans-inclusive representation of the narratives that shaped Canada’s early queer and feminist movements. Its in-person component consists of posters lining the halls of Harbour Center, which include short biographies of prominent queer figures and quotations from interviews conducted by students. The content is available in its entirety on the Army of Lovers website, which includes audio recordings taken from the interviews. The exhibit includes other activists who were engaged with feminism and LGBTQIA2S+ activism. On the exhibit’s opening night, Chenier hosted a panel featuring the stories of Cyndia Cole, Pat Hogan, and barbara findlay. All three are heavily involved in BC’s lesbian and feminist movements, and have made significant cultural and systemic contributions. Cyndia Cole is a “published writer, an educator, a feminist, an activist, and an artist.” During the Vietnam War, Cole came to Canada as a war resister. She “worked closely with women’s studies founder Maggie Benston” during her time
Lesbians are no longer willing to lie and hide and live in fear NYM H UGH E S // ACT IVIST
After a lesbian couple was kicked out of Vancouver’s Joe’s Café for kissing in 1990, Pat Hogan opened up Josephine’s Cappuccino Bar for the lesbian community. In addition, she founded the feminist business, Sounds & Furies Productions, as well as BOLDFest — Bold, old(er) Lesbians and Dykes. Hogan recounted being involved in the British Columbia Federation of Women, where she was surrounded by lesbians for the first time
barbara findlay is a queer feminist lawyer who became an activist after her “forced incarceration in a mental health institution for being a lesbian.” After falling in love with a woman for the first time, she “didn’t know that [they] weren’t the only ones.” She emphasized to the younger generations in the audience it was terrifying to “live from one day to the next” when she grew up. People would make educated guesses on others’ sexuality or speak in code, asking questions that referred to queer culture, such as, “Do you know Jane Rule?” Like Hogan, findlay also remembered dealing with homophobia from straight feminists. Despite the barriers faced by lesbians in the early feminist movement, the panelists agreed that the lesbian experience still comes with its own joys. Cole and Hogan fondly recalled attending lesbian dances in their communities, while findlay said, “It’s not sex that first comes to mind,” when thinking about the pleasures of being a lesbian. “The biggest thing was all of a sudden I had a mirror in which I was reflected,” said findlay.
ADAPTIVE APPROACHES
Study calls for proactive approaches to climate change
Researchers underline need for resiliencebuilding in changing climate ecosystems
P RA NJALI J MAN N // NE WS W RI TE R
SFU biological sciences professor Jonathan Moore worked with Daniel Schindler, professor at University of Washington, to examine the current conservation approaches relating to climate change. This recently published study found that many current approaches to cope with climate change only focus on preservation approaches. This should be accompanied with “proactive approaches that will encourage adaptation and change,” according to Moore.
We can add to the oncoming impacts of climate change. On the other hand, what it means is that if we do things better, we can actually help mitigate those oncoming impacts. D R . JO N AT H A N M O O RE PR OFES S O R
SFU professor said a proactive approach to adaptation will foster resilience in our environment. The Peak interviewed Moore to find out more about this study. Moore noted the world and its ecosystems are changing rapidly, and pointed to an assumption that communities and ecosystems remain constant, but “that hasn’t been the case in the past actually. And with climate change, that’s definitely not the case,” he said. Given the changing climate landscape, he looked into coping mechanisms and proactive measures for ecosystems. This entailed looking into “different approaches and ideas for thinking about how to foster the resilience of natural systems given oncoming climate change.” He said, “Sea level rise is transforming where the edge of the ocean is going to be and what that means is that if we protect current seashores that’s probably not enough. We also need to protect the future of where the seashores are going to be.” The second key theme in the study was the reciprocal relationship between climate change, human activities, and the
PHOTO: Amirul Anirban / The Peak
ecosystem. “On one hand, we [as humans] can make things worse. We can add to the oncoming impacts of climate change. On the other hand, what it means is that if we do things better, we can actually help mitigate those oncoming impacts.” Moore gave an example to this relationship through an analogy of clearcutting trees. “When you clear cut a stream, it raises the stream temperature maybe two to five degrees Celsius. That two to five degrees celsius is probably more than 100 years of climate change.” As a general policy recommendation, he said it was essential to have the lens of resilience and climate change for all decisions. “Environmental assessment processes, the environmental risks of projects are considered and those risks then determine whether or not that project should get approved, and if so, how it should get operated. Those currently aren’t mandated to think about climate change, and I think that would be a great opportunity to have a policy that forces industry proponents to have that lens.”
