By Emily Nascimento

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is home to a significantly Queer student body—10 per cent of undergraduate students according to a TorontoMet Today article on the Bill 7 Award—many using this space as an opportunity to grow into their identities. Constantly being encouraged to experiment with who they want to become. Which for some, who come from backgrounds with stricter views on Queer identity, means a lot.

Fifth-year English student Salma Hadid was eager to tell her story after moving  to Toronto from Brampton a few years back.

“I feel comfortable wearing things that kind of signify that I’m a lesbian”

Hadid said since the Queer scene in Toronto is so well maintained, it felt natural to place herself here for her studies. “Toronto is sort of the space where [queer students] can be more free about [their identities]. And I think because of that, it sort of rubs off on me,” she said, a sentiment echoed across campus.  

Another point that was mentioned was the allowance to experiment with appearance and gender expression. “In Toronto, there’s a more generally accepting attitude of just dressing how you want…I feel comfortable wearing things that kind of signify that I’m a lesbian,” she said. 

Hadid said that on TMU’s campus, she feels comfortable dressing however she wants, not afraid that anyone will have something to say. “There are people my age who will also see those things and recognize it as hints that I’m Queer. So it felt comfortable to experiment being more visibly open in that way,” she said.

Joseph Medaglia, chair and associate professor in the School of Fashion says there’s a reason fashion and the openness to dress a certain way is tied to the Queer community. 

“Fashion navigates the interaction between our body and space and our body and communities and our body and our environment, it’s very much tied to our identity,” he said. 

Medaglia said fashion is especially important to Queer folks, as being able to recognize people within the community and know you’re not alone can make a large city like Toronto feel much closer. 

Marin Mcintosh, a second-year media production student said she’s a part of Queer organizations on campus—like the Ted Rogers Pride Allaince—and likes to surround herself with members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. 

“I’m from Burlington, so there’s lots of people, but not lots of queer people,” she said. “Going to the mall, if you hold hands with a partner of the same sex, you’re getting weird stares.”

Mcintosh said with all that goes on in downtown Toronto, a Queer couple holding hands is the least of people’s worries.

“Me and my girlfriend are high school sweethearts and now we both go here together. So we do lots of things together…we hold hands, my heart’s bouncing, and it’s just all been lovely,” she said. 

Although some students agree that TMU is progressively creating a safer space for Queer students, there are still some feelings of separation due to how broadly it covers the community. 

“Fashion navigates the interaction between our body and space”

Fourth-year psychology student Kiki Idoko said intersectionality plays a big role in how comfortable she feels on campus.

“I do meet people that are different or are unique or are also queer and lesbian, but there’s also some struggles with that,” she said. “I feel like I fit into so many different groups at once that, like with certain people, there’s still aspects of myself that I have to protect and like still have to hide.”

“There’s still aspects of myself that I have to protect and like still have to hide”

Growing up in an especially religious community in London, Ont., Idoko says interacting with people from traditional or conservative cultures—like that of her hometown—can make her hide aspects of her Queer identity. 

Hadid said being Queer is a large part of her life, but remains a very “foreign concept” to her South Asian family.

“I think with how little representation there is of South Asian Queer people in mainstream media even in Bollywood,” said Hadid. “I just never saw anyone who looked like me or who was from my culture, being represented as queer. And so for me, it’s a huge deal.”