LISA SALAZAR — BLOG

What’s so sickly wrong with the USA? Oh, where to start? Here’s a country that will gleefully eviscerate celebrities over a single tweet, a bad outfit, or a scandal, rendering their life’s work radioactive. They’ll cancel them so fast it’d make your head spin, declaring their movies, books, or businesses unworthy of public consumption because of “moral outrage.” But when it comes to electing a president? Suddenly, moral outrage takes a holiday. This is the same nation that proudly handed the nuclear codes to a man with the emotional maturity of a Twitter troll, who openly flaunted his narcissism, misogyny, and shady dealings like they were badges of honour. A man who’s been convicted of felonies, proven guilty of sexual misconduct, and brags about his corruption? Sure, let’s give him the keys to the country! Why not? And when this man lost the election in 2020, he couldn’t simply accept defeat with even a shred of dignity. No, he instigated an insurrection, rallied a mob to storm the C...

  I ask, with a touch of exasperation: why are Conservative politicians so focused on Trans and Non-Binary (TNB) people, who make up such a small percentage of the population? Is it to distract from a hidden agenda, where they hope to shift the focus away from their anti-socialist views on publicly-funded universal healthcare, the Canada Pension Plan, universal daycare, public education, implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and anything they see as a waste of taxpayers' money? Will they also find a way to restrict women's access to abortion and birth control, continuing a pattern of targeting vulnerable groups while framing it as a defence of traditional values? I come to these questions not as an outsider looking in, but as someone who has lived through systemic and personal challenges. My journey began long before my transition, rooted in a deep sense of not belonging. In 1980, I wrote a letter to my then-wife, confessing the struggle I...

It’s What Poilievre Won’t Say Troubles Me Most Sidestepping Accountability at the Costs of Trans Canadians  During an interview yesterday (January 22, 2025) on CTV News , Pierre Poilievre  delivered a masterclass in deflection, showcasing his “debating team” skill at avoiding complex issues by pivoting to well-rehearsed talking points. The reporter asked a straightforward question about a controversial Presidential Order signed by Donald Trump, which declared that only two sexes exist. The question: If Pierre Poilievre were to form a government, would he negotiate with the Americans to ensure the gender markers on Canadian travel documents are recognized, even when they differ from the sex assigned at birth? (Source:   https://youtu.be/lwfC9z4YWhs ) Poilievre’s responses were dismissive and evasive. His repeated quips, like “I’m not aware of any other genders” and “if you come up with another list, you’re welcome to do that,” trivialized the question. When pressed about a...

  I am reminded of my own experience as a transgender woman who grew up in a time when this kind of understanding and support simply did not exist. As a baby boomer, I spent decades living without a framework to comprehend my feelings, let alone access to any solutions. It was a life of suppression and repression, one that came with profound costs to my mental health. Yet, ironically, I would not change a thing. The fact that I survived and delayed my transition allowed me to father three amazing boys who have grown up to be wonderful human beings. For me, this journey, though fraught with challenges, also came with blessings I cherish deeply. And yet, here we are today—in a time when science and understanding about gender-affirming care have advanced—facing lawmakers who completely dismiss the evidence. We have grown weary of conservative leaders ignoring the data, dehumanizing trans youth, and leveraging fear and ignorance to strip away essential care. The hypocrisy is exhausting...

Let me count the ways. But First, a Bit of Transphobia’s Historical Context Transphobia is deeply rooted in history, shaped by cultural, religious, and political forces that have long marginalized those who challenge traditional norms. Anti-trans feminism and religious conservatism have often intersected to form a formidable front against transgender rights. In the late 20th century, feminist movements seeking to dismantle patriarchal structures inadvertently gave rise to factions that excluded trans women from their advocacy. These factions perpetuated the notion that trans women, by virtue of their assigned gender at birth, could never fully understand or embody womanhood while failing to recognize the traumatic effect of having been socialized as their wrong gender and then having to dismantle and deconstruct years of internalized transphobia resulting from it. At the same time, religious institutions reinforced the binary understanding of gender as divinely ordained. Any deviation ...

This should be made into a large billboard. Well, colour me shocked. In the relentless crusade to "protect the children" from the supposed horrors of gender-affirming care, a new study calmly dismantles the argument like a toddler knocking over a Jenga tower. The study reveals that cisgender males overwhelmingly benefit from procedures that could be classified as gender-affirming care—80% of breast reductions among adults and a jaw-dropping 97% among minors are performed on cis males. But please, do go on about how we’re all rushing to perform irreversible surgeries on toddlers wielding glitter. The findings should give anyone, even a casual observer, pause. They show that among minors, these procedures are exceedingly rare, with zero instances in children under 12. Imagine that—a system with “stringent standards” doing exactly what it claims to do. Shocking! Meanwhile, while lawmakers froth at the mouth over a non-existent epidemic of gender-affirming surgeries for minors,...

Disgust is a deeply human emotion. At its core, it has helped us survive—steering our ancestors away from rotting food, diseased bodies, and potential threats. But as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio program  IDEAS  recently explored, disgust is more than a survival mechanism. It is also a double-edged sword, wielded by cultures, religions, and politics to define morality, enforce social norms, and exclude those deemed “other.” The  IDEAS  episode titled  Disgust: The Good and Evil  shed light on the complexity of disgust and its troubling potential to drive prejudice. Experts discussed how this visceral emotion, while rooted in evolutionary necessity, often misfires, turning instinct into irrationality. As a trans woman, I have experienced firsthand how disgust can be weaponized—how it fuels transphobia and justifies the dehumanization of people like me. This is not just a personal reflection but a societal challenge: to confront the ways...

Hoping to Reclaim Empathy and Justice in a Polarized World...  In 2016, before Trump won his first term as POTUS, hope was rising—fueled by growing public support, inclusive policies, and increased representation in media and politics. The conversation around transgender rights was no longer on the fringe; it was becoming part of the national dialogue. Yet, the years since have been tumultuous. A rising tide of anti-trans rhetoric, legislation, and cultural backlash has made the journey toward inclusion and empathy more urgent than ever. The Escalating Crisis The state of emergency for transgender individuals has only intensified. Anti-trans voices, once fringe, have grown louder and more organized. Across North America and beyond, legislative attacks on gender-affirming healthcare, access to public spaces, and even the right to self-identify have escalated. The polarization surrounding trans rights is no longer confined to social misunderstandings—it is a coordinated effort to rol...

The Parents or the kids? I’ve attended enough counter-protest to anti-trans and anti-SOGI123 demonstrations and rallies over the years, and I’ve heard some pretty outrageous things. Back in 2014, outside the Vancouver School Board, as people waited to attend what can only be described as a heated debacle of misinformation and falsehoods about the school board's proposed revisions to their inclusivity policy, a new Canadian parent who had a lanyard identifying her as an organizer of the demonstration, said this to me when I asked her, “do you personally know anyone who is transgender or have you ever spoken to one?” Little did she realize she was speaking to one; she responded, “I don’t need to know any transgender person! Schools are for education, not indoctrination. I don’t want my children to be made transgender!” Who indoctrinated her? I wondered. It’s completely unfounded to fear that teaching children about sexual identity and gender expression will make them gay or want to b...

YouTube screenshot Since you might also be interested in dominions, this is what living in the Kingdom of Heaven really means: You know, this one passage in Matthew has always intrigued me. Jesus says, “For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:12). I don’t know about you, but that’s not exactly what I expected Jesus to say. Yet, as with so many things Jesus said, this one invites a deeper look. Now, when Jesus talks about eunuchs, it’s worth mentioning that today, we use a different term—“intersex” is often the more accurate description for people born with a combination of physical traits that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. The language has shifted, but the broader point remains: Jesus is speaking to those whose identities challenge societal norms, and he brings them into the conversation in a rad...