Arts & Culture
Whether inside or outside of the classroom, the domain of arts and culture at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has provided a platform for many LGBTQ2+ students, faculty, and alumni to express themselves and question the dominant heterosexual and cisgender norms on campus, in the city, and around the world. TMU has also hosted and supported local queer community events, such as “Fruit Cocktail,” an annual revue that ran during the 1980s to fundraise for the Lesbian and Gay Community Appeal. At the same time, artists who produce work with queer themes have sometimes been subject to censorship by TMU's faculty and administration.
RyePRIDE members present a play to educate their fellow students about homophobia.
Fourth year fashion student Derrick Yong created a line for gay men for TMU's end of year fashion show in 2004.
Lee Anderson's fourth year art project on queer space was deemed offensive by the Dean's office.
Zanele Muholi is a notable graduate from TMU's photography program. Her work brings light to lesbian lives in South Africa.
A literary salon at TMU's Modern Literature & Culture Research Centre focuses on the relationship between Berenice Abbott and Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven.
The Image Centre (formerly Ryerson Image Centre) presented a popular photography exhibit around the theme of queer visibility for Toronto's World Pride in 2014.
A 2014 design contest for World Pride asked students to create pieces inspired by drag queens.
RyePRIDE makes queer content available in a variety of forms, including film.
Screenings such as this one bring queer varied queer content to the TMU campus.
This fashion show challenged gender and sexuality norms through the medium of fashion.
Traditionally homophobic institutions, including sports teams, have shown support for the LGBTQ2+ community at TMU.
Queer representation in the media has been the topic of constant debate among the LGBTQ2+ community and beyond.