Alberta’s upcoming anti-2SLGBTQIA+ legislation is stoking fear and anxiety

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

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Authors: Corinne L. Mason, Professor of Women and Gender Studies, Mount Royal University; and Leah Hamilton, professor at the Faculty of Business and Communication Sciences, Mount Royal University

The Alberta legislature has reconvened for its fall session and the United Conservative Party is expected to introduce new anti-2SLGBTQIA+ legislation that will restrict trans women and girls’ access to sports, limit inclusive education and deny youth access to gender-affirming care .

Possible measures include banning puberty blockers for young people and allowing parents to allow their children to attend formal sexual health classes. Furthermore, trans women could be excluded from participating in women’s sports.

In February, when Alberta Premier Danielle Smith first announced the policy, she was riding the wave of the “parental rights” movement. Smith framed this policy as a way for the government to protect children from harm, telling the media that she was “sympathetic to parents who want to preserve their children’s innocence for as long as possible.”

The parental rights movement has reintroduced homophobic and transphobic narratives from the 1970s, positioning 2SLGBTQIA+ people as pedophiles and “groomers” who “recruit” children. According to parental rights advocates, children should be protected from “gender indoctrination.” This hate movement has led to violent attacks on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, such as bomb threats against drag performers during library story times.

Despite growing awareness that “parental rights” advocates are connected to a larger network of dangerous hate groups, including the Proud Boys, The Patriot Front and the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, provincial Conservative governments and parties in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Greater Britain Columbia has introduced anti-2SLGBTQIA+ policies inspired by this movement.

As concerned parents, we have been monitoring how the parental rights movement is influencing provincial government policy. As researchers, we have been publishing our analysis on the rise in anti-2SLGBTQIA+ sentiment in Alberta over the past two years.

Our conversations with parents

Because the parental rights movement and associated anti-2SLGBTQIA+ legislation are new, scientists and other organizations are just beginning to publish findings that demonstrate the harm they have caused. For example, a recently published academic study from the United States found that in states with anti-transgender laws in place, suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary youth have increased by as much as 72 percent.

Academic science on the impact of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ legislation in Canada does not yet exist. This gap in knowledge motivated us to conduct a research project that could capture parents’ experiences as this new “parental rights” legislation comes into effect.

Our ongoing research, set in Calgary, Alberta, involves 10 parents from 2SLGBTQIA+ families who committed to bimonthly focus groups for a year. By facilitating conversations with parents, we aim to identify the short- and long-term effects of the anti-2SLGBTQIA+ climate in Alberta. The participants in our study are a mix of straight, cisgender, queer and trans parents. They are all already experiencing the negative consequences of Alberta’s move to implement 2SLGBTQIA+ lives.

Below we have used pseudonyms to protect their identity.

We held our first focus group in late September 2024, where we asked participants about their concerns regarding the upcoming changes to education, healthcare and sports in the province. We also asked parents what they knew about the parental rights movement, and how parental rights rhetoric is impacting their families.

One of the overwhelming feelings from parents was that the parental rights movement was excluding parents of 2SLGBTQIA+ children. According to our participants, the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ parents and families are missing or silenced in the conversations about “protecting children.”

One participant, Maia, said: “There needs to be more parental representation, especially as it is legislation that is being fought on behalf of parents, so we need to make our voices heard.”

Olivia similarly said, “I feel like people keep talking on behalf of their parents. I’m a parent and you don’t say anything, I guess… so I just feel very unheard.”

When it came to parental rights, participants noted that their parental choice to support their 2SLGBTQIA+ children is not protected. In fact, they felt their responsibility to protect their children from harm is being taken away by the provincial government making choices for their families.

Courtney stated, “It really makes me angry that our child’s medical care can be customized based on the government. I work in healthcare. The thought that the government could step in and get a doctor to go against evidence-based medical care is madness.”

2SLGBTQIA+ youth express fear

According to the parents in our survey, the upcoming legislation has created so much fear and anxiety in their children that their school experiences have already been negatively affected. Courtney’s transgender child has missed much of school since the announcement of the impending anti-2SLGBTQIA+ policy last February.

Another parent, Sophia, told us that her teen’s overall well-being has “deteriorated” since the upcoming legislation was announced: “She has started self-harming. She misses school. She’s terrified of what’s coming…even though she knows she’s somewhat protected with her HRT (hormone replacement therapy), but that doesn’t mean they won’t say anything about the toilet or that her friends are safe. ”

Conservative Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe recently promised to implement a new policy that would ban trans girls from school locker rooms. In Alberta, the UCP’s 2024 policy resolutions include a similar ban, but instead of focusing on schools, the party wants to remove trans women and girls from all “female-only spaces.”

Our research, while preliminary, shows that harmful impacts are already taking shape in Alberta, and parents in 2SLGBTQIA+ families are terrified of what will happen with the legislation set to expire soon.

As we map the impacts of Alberta’s anti-2SLGBTQIA+ legislation over the coming year, we expect to gather findings similar to those of our U.S. research colleagues who are publishing evidence that these policies are associated with negative consequences for mental and physical well-being.

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Corinne L. Mason receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Leah Hamilton receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Disclosure information is available on the original site. Read the original article:

Corinne L. Mason, professor of women and gender studies, Mount Royal University; and Leah Hamilton, Professor at the Faculty of Business and Communication Sciences, Mount Royal University, The Conversation