Sixteen tattoo shops across Calgary are taking a stand against Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s proposed limits to gender-affirming care for youth.
Sixty-four tattoo artists will be donating 100 per cent of tattoo flash funds March 24, to support Skipping Stones gender-affirming legal fund, dedicated to protecting trans youth in the province.
“I’m hoping that maybe there’s going to be some people that learn a bit more about this issue,” said Heather McLean, organizer of the event and tattoo artist at Haven Tattoo.
“My hope is that it brings people into the conversation that are maybe a little bit outside of it. “
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that during the upcoming fall session of the legislature, new regulations will be introduced. These regulations will include limitations on youth altering their names or pronouns at school, as well as restrictions on hormone treatment and surgery for gender affirmation.
The province also plans to implement stricter measures regarding transgender female athletes participating in women’s and girls’ sports.
“The government and the premier announced a set of proposed policies that had really harmful and detrimental effects on trans and gender diverse youth,” said Amelia Newbert with Skipping Stone.
“What we’ve seen is one of the only avenues that has existed to be able to really protect and advocate for the rights of transgender diverse youth as well as their parents and caregivers, is to legally challenge the legislation or regulations that are introduced in the courts, on the basis of a violation of human rights.”
The trans-affirming legal fund will support the legal advocacy work, which involves assisting in lawsuits and other actions to fight against government policies and laws.
Organization does the ‘heavy lifting’ for the transgender population
Skipping Stone works with trans and diverse individuals across Alberta. This may include getting help from peers or joining group activities in the community.
It may also include help with getting support for basic needs like housing or financial assistance, or accessing services related to legal gender affirmation, mental health, or medical care
“We really look to try to do the heavy lifting that comes from navigating a world that is not really set up to accommodate trans folks so that some people can just focus on thriving and being their best selves,” said Newbert.
For the fundraising effort, each shop is organizing the event independently, with different operating hours and flash designs. It’s suggested that people interested contact the artists directly for bookings or further details.
Attendees can buy raffle tickets to win prizes and find resourceful information at two of the participating shops.
“We’ve had artists from Calgary and a few other cities donate art prints, swag and merch,” said McLean.
“We’re also going to have Skipping Stone at Haven and Bushido. They’ll have info booths at both of those shops to give a bit more information on what Skipping Stone does and what the gender-affirming legal fund is for.”
For more information, and to see list of the artists and shops participating, visit @Haven.tattoo.yyc on Instagram.
