For years, Jessica Fisher would walk into elementary and high school classrooms, stand at the front of the room and say: “My name is Jessica Fisher, and I am a cisgender, queer woman who is both Métis and a settler.”

Fisher works with OUTSaskatoon and has a real gift for connecting with people from all walks of life. It’s a gift that has allowed her to make an impact on the lives of students in our city and is now opening some important doors when it comes to 2SLGBTQ research.

I first met Jessica Fisher in November of 2018. At the time, she was bringing gender and sexual diversity education to students, teachers and administrators in Saskatoon and across Saskatchewan. Her presentations focused on topics such as the building blocks of identity, what terms like bisexual and transgender mean and discussing the negative impacts of homophobia.

“The purpose of my presentation is to help folks understand that their language and their actions have consequences. That can be positive, where people feel comfortable to say and be who they are, or they can be negative consequences – that is, when people are afraid to exist in the world as they are,” explained Fisher.

In elementary schools, Fisher focused on the basics of gender, sexuality and consent. In high school classrooms, she explored LGTB issues in greater depth. She never shied away from sharing her own story of coming out.

Fisher grew up in Martensville, Sask., and knew she did not fit into traditional prescribed gender and sexuality roles. She enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan and discovered the term pansexual: when a person does not limit their relationships with regard to biological sex, gender or gender identity.

Something clicked in her mind and in her heart. “I had known for a very long time that I wasn’t straight, but I didn’t know what I was. And so I didn’t feel like I was allowed to talk about it. When I heard that term, all of a sudden it made sense why I was into Archie comics – not for Archie, but for Betty and Veronica,” she said.

Fisher’s classroom presentations were very successful and had lasting impacts on the lives of students. “Some of my biggest accomplishments are after the presentation, having a student come up to me and say, ‘Wow, I understand my identity now for the first time, and I’m going to go home and tell my family,’ ” said Fisher.

The presentations gave Fisher the confidence to take on a new and important role with OUTSaskatoon. Last April, OUTSaskatoon received a pair of federal grants totalling $1.1 million. The money will be used to fund two projects focusing on gender-based violence over the next five years. Fisher is the new gender-based violence education coordinator for OUTSaskatoon who is leading the two research projects.

Research shows that gender-based violence – which is violence directed towards a person because of their gender/gender expression – is experienced at higher rates in 2SLGBTQ people than in heterosexual/cisgender people. The research also shows queer individuals often face more barriers when accessing affirming, competent OUTSaskatoon bringing gender and sexual diversity education to students Jessica Fisher is the new gender-based violence education coordinator for OUTSaskatoon.

For the past several months, Fisher has been hosting focus groups with people who have experienced genderbased violence and with service providers such as nurses, social workers and teachers. “We’re asking people who have experienced a lot of discrimination and stigma, and in some cases horrific experiences at the hands of services providers, to come and talk to us,” said Fisher. The stories Fisher is gathering will eventually help find solutions to gender-based violence – not just in Saskatchewan, but in Manitoba and Alberta as well.

There are times when she misses her old job, especially the students, but she is still connecting with people through the focus groups. It is the opportunity to influence policies and bring about change in three provinces that drove Fisher to the new role with OUTSaskatoon. “The idea that a person can go into any door and get the support they need that is accessible and inclusive . . . holy smokes, that is very exciting to me,” she said.

(Eric Anderson is the host of YXE Underground, a local, independent podcast that shares stories of people who are making a difference in Saskatoon but who are flying under the radar. You can subscribe, for free, to YXE Underground on Apple Podcasts or through your favourite podcast app. You can also stream episodes on Spotify or at www.yxeunderground.com. Anderson worked as a journalist for CBC Radio in Saskatchewan for eight years and is currently the communications leader at Sherbrooke Community Centre.)

-Eric Anderson