Inside Story Toronto Monday February 26, 2007.
Chris Bearchell,52, was a phenomenal human being and extraordinary social justice activist, died in Vancouver General Hospital Sunday Feb.18, 2007 after a lengthy and courageous battle against cancer.
Her recent home, until two weeks before her death, was on her beloved Lasqueti Island , near Vancouver Island , B.C. A memorial celebration of this wonderful woman’s pioneering work in addressing systemic societal prejudice, particularly against lesbians and gays, will be held in Ottawa on Monday February 26th at 7p.m. at the SGI Buddhist Centre, 237Argyle (between Bank and O’Connor), 2nd floor.
Chris Bearchell's career as a dyke dynamo covers nearly three decades. Chris began writing for Toronto's Body Politic ('BP') in 1975, often as the 'only lesbian'; she joined the governing collective in 1978 and stayed until the paper's demise in 1987.
Hugely influential, and an unrelenting activist, she co-founded the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT), was key player with the Coalition for Gay Rights in Ontario, and acted as Chair of the Committee to Defend John Damien, a racing steward fired in 1975 solely for being gay.
Even after the Body Politic's demise, her influence did not wane. She did television with the Gay Offensive Collection, den-mothered a vibrant team of news writers and wrote editorials. She worked on an AIDS project with inner-city youth and worked with Maggie's, a prostitute's rights group and drop-in.
An astute analyst of pornography, she made her own - and passionately opposed censorship. She has consistently fought for the rights of queer kids, whatever their orientation.
Chris lived her politics not just at the office or out on the street (she is credited with coining the famed 'No More Shit' chant at the 1981 demo following Toronto's bathhouse raids), but at home.
Gay and lesbian group households, many connected with the Body Politic, were hotbeds of community activism and political education, and Chris lived in more than one collective ménage.
Toronto's Pink Triangle Press, a not-for-profit organization and former publisher of BP., founded Xtra a Toronto gay and lesbian newspaper in March 1984.(Xtra came out of the ashes of Body Politic, after a lengthy court battle over pornography charges, between 1977 and 1982.) Pink Triangle Press was cleared of all charges, and the verdict was not appealed.
In 2002, she appeared in Nancy Nicol's documentary film Stand Together, a history of the lesbian & gay rights movement in Ontario from 1967 to 1987.
Bearchell is survived by Irit, Andrew, Will Collin, Penny and many, many more close friends and family.
Unrelenting, loud, and infinitely proud, Bearchell's influence will continue to be felt across Canada's queer community for years to come. [Don_Q., editor]
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