The ''Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity'' (CCGSD) was a Canadian

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

that operated from 2005 to 2024. CCGSD worked towards stopping

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

, and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

in schools and communities in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. CCGSD closed their operations in October 2024.

History

The CCGSD, originally known as Jer's Vision, was founded by a six-member board in 2005. Originally starting with a scholarship program, the organization grew to include a range of programs to address challenges related to bullying, homophobia, and transphobia in schools. The organization rebranded in March 2015 as the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD). In October 2024, CCGSD announced they closed operations due to bankruptcy.

CCGSD's Work

The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity worked with schools to develop programs that engage students, staff, and the wider community to understand bullying, discrimination, homophobia and

transphobia Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to socia ...

. This included presentations, workshops, conferences, training, professional development, and other efforts to support youth initiatives and clubs. In 2007, youth from Jer's Vision were inspired by David Shepherd and Travis Price to start the International Day of Pink. The initiative supports youth actions to stop bullying in schools and communities. In 2012, over 8 million people participated in the International Day of Pink.

The Gay Sweater

On March 24, 2015, the CCGSD launche
The Gay Sweater
The campaign, aimed at reclaiming the phrase "that's so gay" by creating an actual gay object - namely a sweater knit from yarn made from 100% human hair donated by the LGBT community - was timed to coincide with Toronto Fashion Week. The Gay Sweater received widespread coverage and the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

br>video
had 45,000 views in the first 48 hours.

References

External links

Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity
{{Bullying Organizations established in 2005 Children's websites Anti-bullying charities Children's charities based in Canada LGBTQ organizations based in Canada

History

CCGSD's Work

The Gay Sweater

See also

References

External links