New Brunswick
queers are tough. Tough as kelp. And not for reasons you think you know.
Contrary to
central Canadian ideas, NBers in general are not conservative, uptight, or
secretive.
We are, instead,
crafty. Foxy even.
Case in point: the
longest serving Premier of New Brunswick was a flamboyant and (by the standards
of his era) everybody-knew/nobody-cared out gay man named Richard Hatfield. He
loved disco music and drugs and wore gorgeous foulards while flipping pancakes
at country fairs, kissing babies, and telling off bossy Prime Ministers. And he
was friends with Truman Capote and danced at Studio 54. He got away with
everything, simply by being clever.
Our queerness is
Hatfieldian – dashing, smart, and deeply local. Our queerness is built, not bestowed
from afar. We take our own cues, thank you, and shall skip rocks as we please.
What’s that cute new word for this state of being? Liminal. Our queerness is
liminal. Because it has to be to thrive in such small numbers.
Just don’t mess
with us. We all know how to start fires.
This selection is
not a complete project. Not even close. It’s a start, a baton passed in a
relay. I hope it will lead you to discover more of our wonders. Or just be a
tourist. Nobody in New Brunswick ever turns away a visitor.
RM Vaughan
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| Richard Hatfield drinking with Stompin’ Tom Connors, circa1977. |
RM Vaughan is a Canadian
writer and video artist. Please visit www.rmvaughan.ca