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About Margaret Robinson
Academic Interests
I hold a PhD from the University of St. Michael's College, at the University of Toronto. My area of specialization is sexual ethics.
My research interests include: Christian sexual ethics; religion and politics; feminist theology; postcolonial theology, native issues in theology, gender and sexuality; GLBTQ issues in religion; GLBTQ activism and community formation; religious-based prejudice (esp. anti-Judaism and homophobia); queer studies; gender and film; and identity politics.
Background
I
was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1973. I was raised in Sheet Harbour,
a small village (pop. 820) on the coast, 120km east of Halifax. For many
of those years we lived without running water or plumbing. My parents
were writers who encouraged reading and creativity.
I am a member of Generation X, and a third wave feminist. The year I turned sixteen also saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, the crash of the Exxon Valdez, tanks rolling over students in Tienanmen Square, and the Montreal Massacre. My first sexual education class included a discussion about AIDS. The year I came out as bisexual the World Health Organization removed “homosexual” from their list of diseases, Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, and the world wide web was invented. I can't take credit for any of that.
I currently live in Toronto, at the corner of Chinatown and Kensington Market, with my partner. We have two cats named Archie and Nero. In my spare time I write, paint, sew my own clothes, and try to change the world.
Activist Work
I came out in Halifax in the early 1990s. My university didn't have a queer student group, so I joined the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth Project organized by Maura Donovan and run out of the Planned Parenthood office on Quinpool Road. This group had very few bisexual members, but they showed me how to be an activist. With the Youth Project I gave day seminars on homophobia and heterosexism at high schools and universities across the province and worked on Outline, a toll-free hotline for queer youth. I later vollunteered with Halifax Pride before moving to Toronto to pursue my Masters Degree.
Toronto Dyke March
Committee (1999-2002)
From 2000 until 2002 I was co-chair of the Toronto Dyke March. Our committee
created the first Dykeversity art show, and established the march as welcoming
of bisexual women and transpeople. We also wrote a manual for producing
a Dyke March. This manual has since helped to nurture marches in Buffalo
and Vancouver.
Pride Toronto
(1999-2002)
As a member of Pride Toronto I advocated volunteer training on cultural
competency, transsexual and transgender issues, and bisexuality. These
are now part of the training process for all volunteers. I also fought
to get the City of Toronto to change its Pride Week announcement to include
bisexuals, transsexuals, and the transgendered. Prior to 2001 the city
announced only "Lesbian and Gay Pride Week." It took a lot of work, but
for one brief year Toronto had one of the most inclusive Pride Week announcements
in the world.
Bi Pride Planning (2000-2006)
I was a founding member of this committee, initially formed to address
issues of safety in the bisexual support groups at the 519 Church Street
Community Centre. The committee now plans social and political events
for bisexuals in Toronto throughout the year, but particularly during
Pride Week and Celebrate Bisexuality Day. They also oversee the running
of Bisexual Women of Toronto, theToronto
Bisexual Network, and Bisexual Men
of Toronto.
Toronto Bisexuality Education Project (2005-present)
I am director and treasurer of the Toronto Bisexuality Education Project.
TBEP is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to supporting the bisexual
community in Toronto. In 2006 we organized and hosted the 9th
International Conference on Bisexuality, Sexuality and Gender Diversity.
In 2007 we gave grants to the Toronto Bisexual Network.
