Interview with kēr

KER: And then, when I finish, I'll decide if I'm going to add my name to the thing.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Sure, and you know what, I have it turned on now

KER: Yeah, oh.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: No, no, no. I just turned it on just now. And I'm just turning it on now to kind of just give the project a little introduction to you and then who's ever listening to let them know that I've done all the steps properly.

KER: Yeah.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So I just want to note, this is Gav, Darrell "Gav" Chippeway. I'm actually here with somebody participating, a guest, from QPOC [Queer Persons of Colour]. Are you from QPOC? But you came with QPOC people?

KER: Yeah, I'm from Regina, I'm not really affiliated with anyone, but I have been hosted by the people of Manitoba before, through QPOC, so I guess my interaction with the two-spirit people of Manitoba has always been through QPOC, 00:01:00and that is how I came here yesterday.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So what is your name?

KER: The name is ker. k-e-r

DARREL CHIPPEWAY: k-e-r? ker?

KER: Yeah.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So I just want to note, today is the forth, no the sixth.

KER: Yes.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: [equipment being set up] I'm going to put this close to you. I just want to give a brief explanation of the project. This project started ... it's a joint project. The Two-Spirited group of Manitoba is hosting this event, it's here, and I'm part of that group. The other part of this project is with the Oral History department of the University of Winnipeg. Part of this project 00:02:00is Albert McLeod, one of the elders and one of the leaders of this gathering, donated his documents associated with his gay/lesbian activism over the years. He donated all his documents to the University of Winnipeg Archives, and they want to expand their archives. And part of that we determined was to gather stories from the LGBTQ2S community. And I just want to note that you're here, not associated with the QPOC group, but you came here with the QPOC" Queer Persons of Colour". And you came yesterday, I saw you, and you're here again today, and you're a guest. I just wanted to get your permission to do this interview and your oral permission now that you kind of have an idea of what we're doing. So I'm just going to ask you, you have a general idea of the 00:03:00questions I'll be asking.

KER: Yes.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: I thought it would be a good idea to have one of our guests participate in these interviews. I just want to note that the interview could potentially be transcribed, and interviews are going to be made available to students, researchers, and it will be at the archives. It'll be a document that becomes a historical document about an event that happened here at the Sandy Saultaux Centre at this time in the middle of summer 2018. Quite warm.

KER: Amazing.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Were in a little box room right now. The meditations ... I've done all my interviews in here. So kēr, once again, I just want to ask if you're okay with what we're doing?

KER: Yes I am.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Aw, thanks.

KER: I'm all in.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Okay great! I really appreciate you participating. I look forward to hearing you respond to these questions. So first, I just want to 00:04:00ask... this is the 2018 Two-Spirited gathering. I had noted that you came with a group called QPOC "Queer Persons of Colour", how did you end up here?

KER: How did I end up here right now?

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Yeah. These last couple days.

KER: The last couple of days? I live in Regina, and living in Regina as a black/intersex/trans person, it's a ... I don't really have that sense of community in the sense of people my skin shade. I found that family in Winnipeg. So, I'm very close with the QPOC family here because many of them, you know, lived experience wise, very close to me, you know? So, while I do have a community in Regina, my siblings truly are in Winnipeg. So whenever I can come 00:05:00down here, I come down. And this was happening and we as QPOC, they've worked together; the two-spirit people of Manitoba before. When this was floated to me, I said "yeah! Definitely. I'm going to come down!" and that's how I came here. Worked a few things around, and here I am.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: You had mentioned earlier that you're hoping to see the powwow, but unfortunately it's happening this evening.

KER: Yes, that's really sad. My friends say I don't come to Winnipeg enough. So many things have been condensed into a short time, this long weekend that I'm here. And so, I was hoping to spend this day and do the powwow and celebrate, come together, and then go back to town, and hangout with my family, but it seems there's been a conflict of scheduling. So, I'm going to miss the powwow, 00:06:00but I'll be here in spirit.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: You've been here a couple days, or yesterday and today, what are your thoughts?

KER: I love this.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Yeah?

KER: We need more of this at all times. You know what I love about this?

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: What?

KER: I've seen trans kids who are existing in their trans-ness with no shame, with pride. And them being taught just today, there was a trans lady who was talking to them about her voice, like her actual voice, and how she trained herself, and I think it's amazing to see things like this. More than anything, settings that allow children, young folk to exist in their truth, and to view themself as normal, to see that they are not "others". You can be different, but 00:07:00you're not an "other", you know? You are a normal. You exist. You're valid. I love that. I love that.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Did you see the talent show last night?

KER: Yes. I was around for it. I was coming in and out of it because I have sound overload, so sometimes the sound got a bit too much for me. But I did stay over for it, until ... we left here about ten thirty, eleven probably. So, I would have more or less... I don't know if that was the end or the break, but we stayed until pretty late.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: I just want to note I didn't see the no talent show, in part because I had to leave early yesterday, but somebody video recorded it, just on 00:08:00their camera. It looks fun, the little kids performing, and drag. It was so cute. So many trans identifying kids are out.

KER: Yeah. Kids living in their truth, I love that. I'm a big proponent of living in your truth at all times. That is how I've always lived my life. I'm lucky that this is the life I've lived. And I want other kids, other young folk to exist in the same way.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Oh yeah. Well where are you from?

KER: I'm from Regina.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Regina. Is that where you grew up?

KER: I moved to Regina as an adult by myself. But I am a child of the world. I've lived a few places, gone around. And then, one time, after the demise of my father, we laid him to rest and everything. I had just come from moving around, 00:09:00so I settled down for a bit, because I was helping my mother transition through to being a widow. After that I said "mom, I want to go somewhere and settle", my mom said "you know what? Go anywhere you feel like, you know?" This conversation is well, because I'm condensing it, because I'd have to give you a ton of backstory as to why we're having this conversation. But there's quite a little bit of trauma in my life, and my mom was just like "you deserve to go whatever you want, you know? Go. Fly my child" So, I somehow, through the inter webs, landed on... something online popped up on google. Regina popped up.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Oh wow.

KER: And I said "that is where I'm moving to".

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Oh neat.

KER: Long story short, I boarded the plane, I would never look back. Regina is 00:10:00home. I'm a Regina baby.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Wow, it's funny. Regina is probably a tiny bit smaller, maybe around the same size of Winnipeg, and those who want to kind of live here maybe stayed in Regina. You always kind of wonder, how do people get here? [Laughs]

KER: Yeah. Regina is actually, I think a third the size of Winnipeg. Were about two hundred and fifty thousand tops. And I think Winnipeg, probably is about eight hundred grand.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So what's the ... I'm just going to use the word "two-spirit" generally to mean everything. What's the two-spirit community like in Regina?

KER: So, I'm going to expand on this in a very distinct manner. Living in Regina, as I mentioned at the start, I am black. So there isn't really a sort of black community of people like me in the sense of gender and sexuality wise. So, 00:11:00I found myself by default being around indigenous people, you know? That is my family in Regina. One of my friends I came with is indigenous, who drove me up here. And the reason why I had to be driven up here isn't because I can't drive, but I have particularly trans problems where access to documentation, especially as someone like me who has been a child of the world, is kind of difficult. So when you put the whole like "I'm trans, and intersex, and my gender into the mix". But the fact that I have a weird bowl of nationality, it makes access to identification so difficult for me. So, I haven't updated my driver's license. So the drive here, I had to get someone to drive me. Now, back to the story 00:12:00before that. My brain also skips a lot. I have ADHD [Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder] so my brain just like [swish sound] back and forth. But yeah, before I finish the whole thing about identification, I think the whole thing about trans people and identification, or gender diverse people and identification is so significant and it's something we still need to put a lot of work in. Even as black people and indigenous peoples of Canada, access to documents is still also a very huge problem for us, just as ourselves. And then when you add a layer of gender diversity, it becomes so huge and problematic. There's a ton of work that needs to be done, and I'm hoping if someone is listening to this, in 2032, things have changed and better for everyone. Now back to the story about the two-spirit community in Regina. So I 00:13:00hang around a lot of indigenous folk. I wouldn't say there's a massive two-spirit community, but we know each other. But also, indigenous folk in general in Regina, and just everywhere, have a reverence for two-spirit folk, and we find space in settings, in indigenous settings. So, we exist, we're loved, we're respected. Sometimes we have to assert ourselves and teach people, but the general sense of you belong here is there, so that's amazing. Now, if we're going to talk about gender diversity in sort of like western point of view, if you're interested, I could tell you that in the Regina setting?

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Whatever you want.

KER: In Regina, yeah, there are gender diverse people who are not indigenous, as in indigenous peoples of Canada and or black. They exist, very white, 00:14:00extremely white. There is a community, it's not bad, but personally for me, I struggle to be around white settings.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Uh huh. Even within our gender identity roles, still, I understand totally what you mean. Like I'm more comfortable being around brown people. Like indigenous and brown people.

KER: Yeah, no, that is extremely true. I appreciate my white siblings, but I still feel there's a difference in how we view the whole like gender spectrum. There's a difference in even just ... yeah. I feel a disconnect. It exists, we 00:15:00hang around, we support each other, but I feel the disconnect. When I'm around black and brown folk, like me, I feel very at home. And it doesn't mean the white people are not making me feel at home, it's just that I'm not particularly settled. It's almost ... let me give you an example. It's like resting, sleeping. If you're sleeping on a bus, you know you can sleep on a bus, but the sleep on a bus is very different from the sleep on your bed. It's kind of like the same thing. I can be as comfortable as possible, pad on the bus or whatever, but, I still would not feel very comfortable. So that is my experience with white gender diverse people in Regina. While there is community and it's amazing, and we do great work together, there's still that disconnect, but it's there. I think white people who are gender diverse feel at home in those 00:16:00settings, and I'm grateful that those settings exist. I'm also grateful that we have settings that allow for people like me, people like us, to also exist. And also, I'm grateful that there's settings that allow for both of us to come together and collaborate, you know? So, I'm grateful for opportunity always, even if some opportunity doesn't include me, I'm fine with that, let them enjoy it, let them do it.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: I think you may have already said, but I just want to clarify, there isn't like a QPOC in Regina?

KER: We do not have that because we don't have enough people for that. We do unofficially have it. Actually my friend that I came with, we call it "people of culture". I'm not particularly fond of "people of colour" for several reasons, because I feel it is coloured by another term. But also, POC [people of colour], while okay, people of culture ... not people of culture. People of culture is 00:17:00what we say. People of colour, I think does this thing where it senses whiteness and then others "us".

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Oh yeah, that's a good point.

KER: And that is not how I function.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Could you tell me about how you identify yourself?

KER: Oh yes. So, I'll just start from the start. I'm black.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: And it's okay if I use that term "black"?

KER: Yes. Perfect. I love it. That is my race. That is my ethnicity. That is my culture. That is my everything. I peg back to blackness at all times. I'm intersex. And I'm trans. It's interesting being intersex and trans because 00:18:00someone is like "so you're trans? What direction are you going?" None. None. I'm trans. That is where it stops. For the sake of this conversation, I'll expand a little bit. I function in the feminine. So, if we use spectrum, or we use a number setting. I love using numbers. Let's do a one to ten. One being male, and ten being female. I function as about a 9.8. While I don't particularly see myself as a woman, I function almost ... not almost exclusively, I function 00:19:00exclusively in the feminine. Sometimes though, I'm a little butch, you know? I like my cups. I like my ... you know kind of like a little ... just I don't know. Put -- not masculine, because that's gross. But yeah, sometimes I just like dressing a little butch, a little sporty, you know? A little active-y. Like "look at me, I do things".

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Yesterday you were wearing, which I really thought was gorgeous, was this kind of a purple or blue...

KER: Cap?

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Cap. Along with...

KER: I wrapped my head too.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Yeah, a wrap.

KER: I love wrapping my head.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Yeah, I loved the way you did it. It was so trendy.

KER: I love wrapping my head. And yesterday, the colour was purple. I hoped I 00:20:00embodied it properly. I love the fluidity of gender. And I think within myself, I flow within that cycle. Even landing here right now, what I am gender wise has been a journey of going several places until my body said "were ready to be helped, where we are right now". And I don't view my gender as concrete. I'm intersex because I was born that way. And then I'm trans, but then also, I dare not say anything else about my trans-ness because only god knows, where my meter will decide to be on the scale of trans-ness.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: That's funny. Well, not funny. But it's interesting that you say that, because there was a time, not that long ago, where I thought, "maybe I'm going to live with a trans person and be more feminine and take hormones", but I kind of moved away from that feeling. And now, I just identify as non-binary. However, I call it "btwix".

KER: Yeah! Love it! Love it! Love it! I do identify as non-binary sometimes. That is language I use for myself. On the scale, as I mentioned, I function in femininity. I'm scientifically, at least, logically referred to as a trans feminine, but what I do refer to myself sometimes is my gender. I call myself "fem". And it's not f-e-m-m-e. I call myself "fem", f-e-m. That's my gender. So, 00:22:00that is where if I do have to use language to define my gender, I'm "fem", f-e-m. So, if I was to go for, I'd say "I'm a black intersex trans fem".

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So can you... and you can define it however you want, can you tell me about your community?

KER: My community. Wow, what even is my community though? My community? That's interesting? My community is the indigenous peoples of Regina. The community of indigenous peoples living in Regina has always been my community.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: I just wanted to relate, because that was something you said earlier. I find us brown people, when we're kind of in a sea of non-brown 00:23:00people, we find each other.

KER: We do. There's similarity in culture, in points of views, you know? It's funny because...I like saying "it's funny", it's never funny. It's funny because, last week... so we have a camp in Regina. And in wearing a shirt saying "come justice for our stolen children", which is a camp in Regina, I believe where on our ... a hundred and sixty first day. It's a camp in Regina, where we are occupying the capital grounds in Wascana Park, which is just at the ledge (Legislative). So we have fifteen tipis right now, and I'm a camper there in protest with my people. Now, we sense this in the park, people do come in and visit, you know? And this group of men on holiday, they're from Toronto and one is from New York. Black men. Yeah, two are from Toronto, one is from New York. 00:24:00What happened is they came, they said "hi", and then they said ... and I'm going to quote them. They said "Hey, how did you land here?" I said "what do you mean?" They said "you're black", I said "yeah". They said "how did you land here with aboriginal people? What are you doing here?" and I said "this is my community. This is my people" and they're saying "how? Why? How? We don't understand". So, I had to explain it to them. And at the end of it, they were like "you know what you should do? Write a book". I said "okay". I do write, I do write for myself. Writing helps me process thoughts, whatever, I love writing. Sometimes I joke about being a writer. My mother in law, and I say mother in law, because the friend I came with, we have a very particular 00:25:00friendship, and my friend's mother loves me and I love her, so I call her my mother in law. Which is funny because I'm past the whole like "maybe you should date your friend first". But we have a very particular friendship, which one day, if we're going to do this, we should probably talk about relationships, and how even as black and brown people, we have very distinct relationships that don't follow this whole western view of how people relate.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Somebody else was talking using family terminology to describe his friends.

KER: Yeah, I refer to a lot of people as family, as I refer to many of the QPOC community members here in Winnipeg. But yeah, back to the story. What were we talking about?

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Can you tell me about your community?

KER: Yes. Oh no, I think we were talking about the men, yeah two of the men said that I should write. Oh my god. This is going to be a mess. And people are 00:26:00going to listen to this? Like oh "this person doesn't have their thoughts in order". Its ADHD friends!

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: [Laughs]

KER: I write occasionally, but my community in Regina is indigenous people. They make space for me.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Can you tell me about your trans/intersex journey?

KER: Oh okay wow. Perfect. Love this. This is a thing we're doing. This is it. So, I was only this child who somehow was in the middle, or at least, there was a pendulum, and it would swing. It didn't make sense to anyone, but I'm grateful that my parents were educated. My parents are what I would call "afro hippies". 00:27:00So, they were educated, but also very free spirited and just like let things go. So no one really policed me or tried to change me. At one point, my dad did try, but whatever. My dad was just like "you should be more X, so don't do this and that" but also just like these are not things I'm doing, so whatever. But I was able to grow up as me, in this web ball of gender-ness. As a teenager, I discovered the word "androgynous", and I considered my gender as androgynous until a few years ago. Slowly by slowly, I started getting uncomfortable with 00:28:00masculinity within me. What happened is ... because previously I'd dress feminine today, and be called "she/her" and it's amazing, and then I'd dress masculine the next, you know? And it's funny because I almost always ... when I was going somewhere nice, doing anything nice, I'd almost always function in the "she". I'm going dancing, I'm going as a girl. I'm doing boring things, I'm going as a guy. Mostly because I'd never put effort into dressing as a guy, and I'd really look beautiful, like "look at me" as a girl. And then, when we have to move languages, from our distinct native languages and start using English, many of our languages are not gendered. English is. So, when I was referring to 00:29:00myself in English, I found I really particularly didn't like its genderization. Part of the reason why I struggle with some European languages, I could be better at french, but the whole gendered things really messes me up. So, technically I'm really bad at french -- well no, I have a pretty decent french, I just don't follow the rules. And french needs you to follow the rules. But yeah, the gendered nature of English, I found super uncomfortable. In English, they use "they/them". I struggled for years with that, it didn't make sense to me. But then as time went by as an androgynous person who moved around "he/she", it reached a point where my masculinity- I was like "no, no. I don't like this. 00:30:00It's not fitting". At that time, I was starting to experience discomfort, and I wasn't sure. I told my friends "He out. Never ever. Even if I'm dressed as masculine as possible, don't call me "he", don't refer to me in the masculine". Time went by, and then I slowly started to think. I think about things a lot. I thought about my gender, where I want to go, how I want to be. Do I want to be on hormones? Do I want to have surgery? Do I want to do this? And it took me a really long time. And as that happened, I did struggle with the health system in my province. I'm from Saskatchewan by the way, I think this is going to be 00:31:00lesson to here. The health system in my province really didn't take me seriously as a black person. And again, what we need to do is access to health care for black and brown people, it's so difficult. And even then, the health care system never treats us right. It took me a really long time. It almost broke me, fighting the healthcare system. Part of me is grateful that it took that time, because it helped me iron out my thoughts and feelings. I'm working, I'm going through a [unclear] from language use for me, and everything, and then as I'm struggling with the healthcare system, I'm just dealing with depression because it's so bad. Struggling and not moving. I finally get a breakthrough and I'm in. 00:32:00It's funny that I'm going to talk about this, because when I was younger, my dad took me to a doctor for a semi unofficial visit. I asked my mom about it a few years later, after my dad died and I went back home. I didn't particularly grow up with my family if you've not picked that up. So after I went back home after my dad died, I said "mom, I went to the doctor when I was younger and it seemed like an unofficial visit, what was that about?" and my mom has this thing where she laughs uncomfortably and then doesn't answer something. So she laughed and she didn't answer it. I didn't press on. So anyway, I got to see a doctor before I started being on hormones, I wanted to see a doctor. And something told me "you must see this doctor before you do anything". It was a long waitlist and 00:33:00super expensive, I had to find hundreds of dollars, and had to go to the next city from Regina to Saskatoon. Anyway, I go see this doctor, it's an amazing thing. I leave the things that they want to test so we can move on. Then, I get frantic calls, and I replied the calls because why am I getting ... "I left you with everything, I'm expecting to talk to you weeks from now".

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: [unclear]

KER: No, no, no the doctor. So after I went to the doctor and did all the tests, I expected to talk to the doctor maybe weeks or months away. But I'm getting frantic calls. Like why am I getting frantic calls from the clinic? So I call back and the receptionist says "the doctor really wants to talk to you". I talk to the doctor and she's like "we discovered something in your system", 00:34:00"what did you discover?" Which it's odd, this is a doctor dealing with fertility and whatnot, why is she telling me she discovered something? What's happening? She says "you're sterile", "what do you mean I'm sterile?", "you're sterile", I said "okay". And I still actually to date deal with the difficulties of finding out I'm sterile, because I never made a true choice as to whether or not I wanted to have kids, but the choice has been stripped from me.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So that sterility... it wasn't natural? It was maybe what that other doctor did?

KER: No, no, no it's not that. I'm going. This is a full story. So, she explains to me I'm sterile because I'm intersex. Now, it explains why my father felt the need to take me to a doctor, because I always seemed to have 00:35:00indeterminate features. Even down there, things weren't particularly ... like they looked a certain way, but even to me, they didn't feel like they fully formed, but then I didn't overthink it. The gist of this bit of the story is that my father knew that I was intersex but didn't tell me. But the doctor confirmed it. And honestly, it wasn't new information to me, and I didn't feel shocked. The only thing that shocked me, and shocks me, and probably I'm still dealing with is the fact that I'm sterile. But after that, I saw another doctor, I think a day or two later, and I started my hormones. And then also, that doctor put into the works for me to see a professional, a specialist, for confirmation surgery down there. That ended up happening. The journey for me, 00:36:00gender wise, and all of it, what I'm happy about and grateful about has been very gradual. I haven't had concrete "this is the day I felt like this" or "I've always felt like this". Mine has been really gradual. It's both coupled with the fact that my body formed in certain ways when I was created. But also, my experience living coupled with also how my body is and everything came together to bring me forth as I am right now. Each person has a very different trans story, mine just passed through several different interesting roads and it adds 00:37:00to the colour of just "look, trans people are very diverse in their trans-ness". And they approach trans-ness differently, and I'm hoping ... even through my going sixty billion places as I tell a story, that you got a grasp of just the journey as it is.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: So I just have two questions associated with the story you told me. Have you had your confirmation surgery?

KER: I did. I had my confirmation surgery. Now, I had a very particular thing that I wanted done. My trans experience has been very hands on for me. I'm very particular. I'm very obsessive. I'm kind of controlling. I'm to the detail kind of person, and I curated my trans journey. I made the health system do things the way I wanted them done. So, what I did have done wasn't anything ... wasn't 00:38:00a phalloplasty or a vaginoplasty, none of that. Mine was basically ... coupled with the fact that I'm intersex, I just wanted the doctor to do a little bit of edit down there. I went down and went for consultation and the doctor looked at it and said "this is something I can work with, I'll do my doctor magic and work out how to go about this". A few months later, I was top of the waitlist. I went, and I got my very nice edit. The biggest problem though was they asked me if I wanted ... the doctor was a urologist, so just rerouting a little bit of things down there to fit me, my view of myself and my gender and how I function- 00:39:00yay. But then, as I had been waiting for so long for surgery, and even just to be taken seriously by the health system, there was an option for the doctor bringing in a plastic surgeon. There's a certain thing there, that the doctor could do the rerouting and everything, but a certain very tiny cosmetic thing. And I thought to myself "I would like that. I would. But a plastic surgeon means that someone in the health system might look at this ..." because when you bring a plastic surgeon someone might decide to review the surgery, and I don't want it to delay. A plastic surgeon also means they might need to work together and devise ... because when two different surgeons are coming together, they must work together and devise how to ... I said "that's probably going to be way longer and I'm already dying internally" So I really didn't want to wait longer. 00:40:00And I got the surgery and I'm happy with the results. The doctor did tell me "as time goes by, I could naturally get everything just settled in, I might get the results closer to what a plastic surgeon would have done, but it's going to take really long" So I'm happy with the results. Sometimes I wish I waited for the plastic surgeon, because there's just a tiny bit of something down there that maybe is slightly inconveniencing, and maybe not that aesthetically pleasing, but function wise -- everything I'm happy with. Sometimes I just dance around and "maybe I should have waited for a plastic surgeon", but also, I know my state of mind at that time. And I will maintain this, anyone who listens to 00:41:00this, and if you take anything from ... everything I'm saying here is ... surgery can be life saving for trans people. My soul, my spirit, my everything has been different. My outlook. Everything has been different from surgery. Different from surgery. So I, indubitably am pleased. Just sometime I think about the plastic surgeon, and that's the only thing in that section. I'm kind of like "hm I don't know".

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: One other question kind of totally off topic. How long have you been living in Regina?

KER: I've basically lived my entire adult life there. Yeah. Entire adult life. Literally. I struck eighteen, eighteen and some, and here I am, I've been here.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: [interview interruption] Oh somebody is rudely... you know what? We're going to be done right away. We'll be about another five minutes. Somebody was just coming in to the door to do their own interview. I'm just going to ask you one more question.

KER: Yeah, definitely been fun, love it.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Yeah, I'm enjoying this. I'm just going to ask you where do you feel safest?

KER: Where do I feel safest? I feel safest and happiest ... I like how that was super loud, I'm sorry. I feel safest and happiest around -- black indigenous peoples of Canada. Brown, queer, trans people. If I can be around black queer 00:43:00people, indigenous queer people, brown queer people, black trans people, indigenous trans people, brown trans people, like that's when I feel safest. Because I feel mirrored. I feel like I'm not an "other". I just feel my guard isn't up, my guard is down. I feel I'm at ease. So that's when I feel safest, like here, this is safe, this is amazing. This is how I'd like kids to live, this safety and sanctity that is offered here is something I want kids to have, and I would also like to have for myself at all times.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: Good for you. I really appreciated you. Thank you.

KER: Thanks for having me. Thank you for having me so much.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: I am so glad that I was able to capture some of our guests. So you just want to fill out the consent form now.

KER: Yes, I've settled in, and I've listened to the interview myself, and I'm pleased with it.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: And we'll send you a copy of the consent form at the end. Do you have an email address?

KER: Yes, I did note it here.

DARRELL CHIPPEWAY: I'm going to shut this off now. We did a good forty-five minutes.

KER: Yeah. No, this was fun!