Transgender to skip Gay Pride Parade in favour of Mount Pearl Family Day!

Critical of the gay community for often throwing the trans community under the bus and speaking and acting on their behalf, transitioned Newfoundland marathon runner Jennifer McCreath refuses to be silenced.  Rather than conform to expected norms, she is going to skip the Pride Parade this Saturday in favour of attending a more mainstream societal event occurring concurrently, the Mount Pearl Family Fun Day, where ironically, she plans to bring a Rainbow Flag, while her trans colleagues will take her Trans Flag to the parade.

"It's important for every-day Joe and Jane to realize that not all trans people (or gay people for that matter) are sex-craving fetishist predators with diseases." said McCreath, in reaction to concerns that Pride Week has taken on a more risque look by booking events such as Frisk Pride Fetish Fantasy and Zha Zha LaWhore's Pride Party .  "Even more importantly, they need to know that trans people have families too, and they live regular everyday lives in this city and province."

Originally a co-founder of non-profit entity St. John's Pride Inc., McCreath resigned from the Board in March due to what she felt was lack of trust and support towards trans leaders by gay community members. "Ironic how the gays are praising themselves for doing the same things I was criticized for last year," McCreath said.

McCreath is also concerned about the lack of presence at Pride week by prominent Liberal and Conservative politicians.  While a card-holding member of the Federal and Provincial NDP Parties, McCreath feels all political parties need to be persistently pressured into supporting gay and trans rights, "we are talking about continued fight against bullying and discrimination in terms of housing, employment, health care, and acceptance in social circles. This has to be a universal right, not a political issue."

While a Pride Board member, McCreath contacted all Mount Pearl city councillors about Pride involvement and did not get a response from any of them. She is determined to find a way to get all political parties to publicly show support, and she plans to start by attending Mount Pearl Family Day and mingling with the locals and the various politicians who are scheduled to be there, including infamous twitter-friendly Conservative MHA, Paul Lane, who McCreath has recently developed some rapport with. McCreath is also encouraged by her communication with Steve Kent, who she says has also expressed signs of support.

Anxious to shed her 'trans' label and simply be seen and accepted as Jennifer the person, McCreath intends to drastically reduce her direct trans advocacy and focus more on simply living life and attending community events. Her attendance at Family Day, as well as her participation in Sunday's Tely 10 mile road race are two perfect ways that she hopes to demonstrate this, "I don't need a transgender or transsexual label for life. I have completed the hormonal, anatomical, and legal transition from male to female. Transitions is in my past. I am simply, a woman with a history," said McCreath.

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