Frictions in the Modern Queer Community
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves at the crowd during Toronto Pride in 2017. (Nick Lachance/Xtra)
This week, Joshua Diemert joins Ryan Jamula, an MA student at UBC, and Nicolas Jensen from the MPPGA program to talk about the frictions in the modern queer community. In the aftermath of Trans Week of Resilience and World AIDS Day, the community is at a crossroads around how radical it allows itself to be, what battles need to be fought and who its allies are. They, of course, discuss their high school crushes and the pros and cons of Sky and Woodys.
Joshua Diemert is a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs student at the University of British Columbia. His primary policy interests focus around tech policy, data ownership and cybersecurity. Prior to joining the SPPGA he worked in commercial finance and venture capital in Waterloo, Ontario, with specialities in tech firms, real estate and lean manufacturing.
Nicolas Jensen is a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs student at the University of British Columbia. He earned a BA in Political Science from Western Washington University in 2016. Following graduation, he became a non-profit leader, securing $1.2 million in funds for small charities in Washington State and British Columbia. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Vancouver based non-profit, Health Initiative for Men (HiM), a clinical and public health focused organization promoting health programs for Queer identified men.
Ryan Jamula is an MA student in the Sociology Department at the University of British Columbia. A Loran Scholar in 2014, Ryan went on to complete a BA in Sociology at McGill University. In his current program, he is researching the impact of income assistance as well as design on health and and social service utilization.