Amanda Jetté Knox doesn’t know who tried to throw a bottle at them from a vehicle while walking home in Ottawa last month, but remembers the feeling of it barely missing their head.
“[It] hit my bangs as it went by,” said Jetté Knox, who identifies as non-binary and uses she/they pronouns. “[They] called me a f–king freak and drove off.”
It was the first time Jetté Knox experienced anything so violent but the proud activist and author has endured plenty of hateful comments since publicly sharing their family’s story several years ago. One of Jetté Knox’s four children is non-binary and came out in 2014; the next year, Jetté Knox’s spouse came out as transgender woman.
Now, they are closely watching the anti-LGBTQ hate billowing in the United States, where gender diversity and gender expression have become popular targets for Republican politicians, far-right groups and online trolls.
Amanda Jetté Knox, seen on the right, and their wife Zoë, live in Ottawa with their four children. (Submitted by Amanda Jetté Knox)
Jetté Knox, and other advocates and experts, see it spreading in Canada as well.
Threatening phone calls recently led to a family-friendly drag performance at Victoria café being called off, while other drag-queen storytime events at public libraries elsewhere in Canada have also been subject to intimidation. Pride flags have been ripped down and/or destroyed in London, Ont., Delta, B.C., and Ottawa. In early June, a 17-year-old was arrested in Mississauga, Ont., for allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a West Palm Beach, Fla., Pride celebration.
“It feels like it’s just a matter of time before we start seeing more of this in our own backyard,” Jetté Knox told CBC News.
“I’m a pretty positive person, but I’m worried right now.”
Hate ‘spilling over the border,’ says prof
Anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ hatred is something that is always “simmering,” including in Canada, said Prof. Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism based at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa.
A survey released by Statistics Canada in 2020 found transgender people had a greater likelihood of experiencing physical or sexual violence than non-transgender people in Canada. They were also more likely to experience “inappropriate behaviours” in public, at work, and online, which Statistics Canada defined as acts that “make people feel unsafe or uncomfortable” and have a lasting impact on mental and physical health.
But it appears far-right groups here have become more emboldened by what Perry describes as the “horrific narratives and policy shifts” seen in the U.S.
Since the start of this year, the U.S.-based Human Rights Campaign has documented more than 300 proposed bills, introduced in 36 states, that directly target transgender rights, gender diversity and expression. These include attempts to investigate families helping affirm their child’s gender identity to outright limiting education and conversation about LGBTQ people, restricting trangender children from participation in sports, and even going so far as to attempt to bar children from attending drag performances.
“That’s spilling over the border, obviously, into the Canadian narrative as well, and informing the far-right here,” Perry told CBC News.
WATCH | All-ages drag performances subjected to online hate:
All-age drag events in Canadian libraries facing threats and hateful messages
5 days ago
Duration 6:40
Alex Saunders, a drag performer who volunteers and hosts a drag storytime with the Saint John Free Public Library, says they have been the target of hateful messages from right-wing groups.
Advocates accused of ‘grooming’ children
Harmful language aimed at smearing transgender people, and those who support them, as preying upon or indoctrinating children is routinely used online and in right-wing media — in particular, “grooming” or “groomer.”
It’s a trope long been used to disparage LGBTQ people that’s seeing a steep rise in usage online.
Jetté Knox said they get called a groomer online “almost every day” because of their gender identity, because they’re raising non-binary child, or because of their activism for transgender rights.
It’s also happened in person. They were travelling in the United States recently and attended a Virginia school board meeting, with friends and their children, to recognize Pride Month. Protesters hurled insults at them.
“Some pretty awful things were said,” Jetté Knox recalled. “We were told we were indoctrinating children.”
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network has documented that narrative appearing in far-right political discourse in this country.
WATCH | A Human Rights Campaign montage of language used against transgender people:
Cancer. Terrorist. Problem.<br><br>These are the ways anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers nationwide are describing the people they serve. <a href=”https://t.co/NrS2LlgRZq”>pic.twitter.com/NrS2LlgRZq</a>
It’s actually far-right groups who are “grooming” people, said Perry, slowly luring new followers to their ideologies by latching onto their concerns and uncertainties.
Some far-right, religious and other groups have portrayed gender-affirming care for transgender youth as “child abuse” and push to restrict access to health care such as hormones to delay puberty and promote development consistent with a child’s gender identity.
Various medical groups, including the American Medical Association, say such policies are “dangerous” and “foregoing gender-affirming care can have tragic health consequences.”
It’s a means of “lending credibility and legitimacy” to extreme views, Perry explained, because they’re presented as “protecting the vulnerable.”
Transphobia a ‘gateway’ to far-right ideology
Focusing on transgender and gender-diverse youth is one way of gaining public approval for broader acceptance of anti-transgender policies and attitudes, said Florence Ashley, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Joint Centre for Bioethics whose work revolves around trans rights.
“Transphobia tends to oftentimes be the sort of like gateway into the far-right,” said Ashley, who uses they/them pronouns.
They noted how social media algorithms also play a role in this. The U.S. non-profit Media Matters For America, for example, examined how anti-trans content on TikTok served as a gateway to far-right and white supremacist content, conspiracy theories and even calls to violence.
Ashley also highlighted similarities the current climate of transphobia has with what’s known as the “great replacement” conspiracy theory disseminated by far-right and white nationalist movements, and in some conservative media outlets. It’s a racist claim that white people are being systematically replaced by immigrants.
The feeling of “losing power in society,” they explained, makes it easier to blame the people you perceive as “trying to replace you.”
It’s something that happens “in times of crisis and high anxiety as we’ve seen over the last couple of years,” said Perry. “We’re always looking for scapegoats, looking for somewhere to direct our anger or fears or anxieties.”
Florence Ashley is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Joint Centre for Bioethics whose work revolves around trans rights. (Submitted by Florence Ashley)
Political power balance can change in an instant
While gender identity and expression are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code, Jetté Knox is unnerved by the emergence of “more far-right parties,” some of which have candidates who criticize gender diversity and expression.
They worry voters may not be keeping as close an eye on the comments and promises such candidates make about gender diversity issues because it doesn’t an affect their lives the way it impacts Jetté Knox’s LGBTQ family.
Ashley warned it only takes a “shift in political power for groups to really start asserting their will on a population” and that’s why people in Canada should be closely watching what’s happening in the U.S.
They noted how the recent U.S. Supreme Court, stacked with conservative justices during Donald Trump’s single term in office, overturned Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old decision that enshrined the right to access abortion. That ruling could set a precedent to reverse decisions on same-sex marriage and same-sex intimacy for consenting adults, something Justice Clarence Thomas alluded to in his concurring opinion on the Roe v. Wade ruling.
Jetté Knox urged those who care about the rights and freedoms of gender-diverse people to vote.
“Watching those rights being attacked elsewhere puts a lot of fear in me because it means that they can be attacked in Canada too,” they said. “I think that those things will be challenged and I think that we have to get ready for it.”
Creating a positive online space for trans people
Despite the apparent rise of online slurs and hate against LGBTQ people, young transgender people like Vancouver’s Noah Yang are helping maintain positivity in online spaces and inform others about transgender experiences.
Yang, who uses the pronouns he and him, shares his gender-affirmation journey on Instagram. He said he’s fortunate to have only experienced negativity “a handful of times” and has largely received encouragement.
“It was unexpected that showing the physical scars and the physical changes would inspire people and, you know, open people’s eyes up to … what can really happen throughout someone’s transition.”
Noah Yang, who has been documenting his medical transition for nearly four years, said it started out as something personal for him but he later felt a responsibility to share his story and be open about his experience. (Submitted by Noah Yang)
He acknowledges not everyone has the ability to drown out the negativity being directed at gender-diverse people. But, for Yang, the importance visibility outweighs any hate.
“I do think it is beneficial because I feel that, you know, it’s not just trans folks who see the page,” he said.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
