Events for May 2021

This is a monthly group for East & Southeast Asian transmasculine and non-binary people. This includes all transmasculine-identifying folks or folks who may be questioning. We welcome people at any point of their transition. This monthly group is a safe space of support where we can share and learn from each other's common experiences as Asian transmasc folks. This group will be facilitated by an Asian transman. Date: Tuesday, May 4 Time: 7pm - 8:30pm EST If this will be your first time attending please register through this form (https://forms.gle/8W3VzpkbsRQ3iY3H9) and the facilitator will email you with the Zoom link. If you are part of the Asian trans masc Facebook group or email newsletter, you will automatically receive the Zoom link there. Who can join? ACAS primarily serves those who identify as East and/or Southeast Asian living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. However, we know spaces for East & Southeast Asian transmasc folks are very few and we are happy to open this event to those living outside of Toronto. Please note that resources will be focused on Toronto due to our knowledge of local services and resources. East & Southeast Asian includes those from multiple generations of immigrants (1st generation, 2nd generation, and so on..) and members of the diaspora from East & Southeast countries like China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, etc. This can also include people with mixed backgrounds from at least one of those countries. This may also include those who might not identify ethnically by blood, but have a substantial heritage or up-bringing living in those countries.

👉 When: Sunday, May 16, 2021 👉 Time: 1 - 3 PM 👉 Location: Zoom (virtual) QTAY presents: Finding Your Ikigai Join us for a few hours of self-reflection to discover more about your passions, purpose, and meaning! According to Yukari Mitsuhashi, ikigai is a traditional Japanese concept that embodies happiness in living. Finding your ikigai is all about achieving greater happiness in life. In this workshop, we will be exploring the four main elements of ikigai and how they might intersect for you. Through this, we hope to guide you closer to your ikigai and ultimately give your everyday life more meaning and joy. This event is open to all queer and trans Asian youth, but we are capping participants at 10 people - so fill out our Google Form to save your spot! Feel free to email Dany at youth@acas.org for more information.

Did people ever assume that you were good at math just because you were Asian? Were you expected to be soft-spoken and quiet, or loud and assertive because of your gender? Are you interested in unpacking how race and gender interact to shape our experiences in the world? In this workshop, we will be discussing the racist stereotypes that affected us growing up, the gender expectations that were (and are!) placed upon us, and how we can live loud and proud in a world that wants to make us feel invisible. About Pillow Talk: Pillow Talk is a forum hosted by ACAS that aims to draw lessons learned about sexuality, intimacy, and relationships from the real-life experiences of Asian ciswomen, transwomen, and non-binary folks.  This year, ACAS is proud to host Pillow Talk 2021: Sorting Through the Fluff, sponsored by Viiv Healthcare!  Thank you to ViiV for supporting us and helping us create a safer space to discuss our experiences around intimacy and relationships to both our own and other people’s bodies.

QTAY is hosting an open mic night! Join us Wednesday May 19 from 7pm to 9pm, when we will unleash an awesome line-up of performances and FUN TIMES! Performances can be live or pre-recorded.   Want to perform? Here’s the sign-up link: https://forms.gle/bWuBzdYZad3goRtw9 Want to watch? You can register to do so here: https://forms.gle/MFjSSmpRKH4LyMFx7  

Kicking off during Asian Heritage month, ACAS is hosting an English Conversation Circle! Looking to practice your English speaking? The ACAS English Conversation Circle is for the Qmunity if you want to make new friends and develop your English speaking skills. This series will be on Zoom, so you can participate from anywhere. We will host the English Conversation Circle once per month, where you can become more confident in your speaking and make new friends in a judgment-free safe space. Please click here to reserve your spot. https://docs.google.com/.../15l4JrOZLnMqtAK28Pae3SMO.../edit After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We are all magical beings. Our magic is incarnated through our joy, resilience and love. This workshop is an exploration in various healing tools--art-making, chill mindfulness techniques and grounding exercises for tapping into your gorgeous asian power. For this workshop, we prioritize queer Asian magic users, but any Asian magic users of marginalized genders are allowed to join (ciswoman, transwoman, non-binary, etc.). About Pillow Talk: Pillow Talk is a forum hosted by ACAS that aims to draw lessons learned about sexuality, intimacy, and relationships from the real-life experiences of Asian ciswomen, transwomen, and non-binary folks.  This year, ACAS is proud to host Pillow Talk 2021: Sorting Through the Fluff, sponsored by Viiv Healthcare!  Thank you to ViiV for supporting us and helping us create a safer space to discuss our experiences around intimacy and relationships to both our own and other people’s bodies.

An anti-oppression workshop facilitated by Ryan Tran with ASAAP and Pride Toronto Through the intersectional lens of being LGBTQ and East/Southeast Asian, we give an overview of the major issues and their impacts on our community with an interactive activity Join us on Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/94891872297?pwd=ZmRnWVQ3TUwyTlZ0MFBabHhtekErZz09

Curious about exploring pleasure? Need a refresher on STIs and HIV/AIDS? Time to wrap it up, because our facilitators will take you through an informative and interactive session. Tasneem will introduce STI risks and cover some safer practices. Ayser will inform you about tools for your pleasure and ways to cover your bases. Now let’s tie up those ties and get sexually wise! About Pillow Talk: Pillow Talk is a forum hosted by ACAS that aims to draw lessons learned about sexuality, intimacy, and relationships from the real-life experiences of Asian ciswomen, transwomen, and non-binary folks.  This year, ACAS is proud to host Pillow Talk 2021: Sorting Through the Fluff, sponsored by Viiv Healthcare!  Thank you to ViiV for supporting us and helping us create a safer space to discuss our experiences around intimacy and relationships to both our own and other people’s bodies.

Igniting East and Southeast Asian Youth Activism on Anti-Asian Racism, Anti-AIDS Stigma & Discrimination, and Anti-Homophobia & Transphobia Panelists: Justin Anantawan, Youth Activist Michael Arnord, Executive Director at Égides – International Francophone Alliance for Equality and Diversity Dany Ko, ACAS Youth Coordinator Dr. Alan Li, ACAS Co-founder, HIV/AIDS Advocate and Champion   Moderator: Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp, Executive Director, Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) Please register here

A panel discussion with Asian LGBTQ Community Leaders Moderated by Ryan Tran With ASAAP and Pride Toronto What does it look like when we take Asian culture and make it queer? Or do we take gay culture and make it Asian? Using their own experiences, our panel of queer Asian leaders discuss how our identities can intertwine, and share how they created safe spaces that cultivate our intersectionality. Join us on Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/96080494277?pwd=NzhwZGVWcURZcUlHdlc1OEYvZzZQdz09 Panelists: Joon (they/she), AQUA (Asian Queer Alliance) a queer 2nd gen Korean living in Toronto who makes a living out of mental health counselling. They are at their best when they make time to read, tend their garden, and with their halmoni (grandmother) Rejh Cabrera (they/them), New Ho Queen gender non-conforming model/stylist/designer/creative director, muse and founding member of New Ho Queen, the Toronto-based art collective aimed at celebrating and uplifting queer Asians and QTBIPOC Alan Li, M.D. (he/him) Past president, Gay Asians Toronto; Past National President, Chinese Canadian National Council; Founding presidents of Hong Kong 10% Club-1986 (1st incorporated LGBT group in Asia), Asian Community AIDS Services (1994), Co-founder of Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment (2001) & Ethno-racial Treatment Support Network (2003).

Queer Asians to the stage and you all get front row seats! This is a showcase of thought-provoking performances from local queer East/Southeast Asian artists that bring queer Asian issues to the forefront. Join us on Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/92783805959?pwd=My8yakFpSk5BdW81eXNFcElwdTBUdz09 Performances by: cutsleeve Mattea Shay Dior Vale Wrong Note Rusty Ysabel

This is a monthly group for East & Southeast Asian transmasculine and non-binary people. This includes all transmasculine-identifying folks or folks who may be questioning. We welcome people at any point of their transition. This monthly group is a safe space of support where we can share and learn from each other's common experiences as Asian transmasc folks. This group will be facilitated by an Asian transman. Date: Tuesday, June 1 Time: 7pm - 8:30pm EST If this will be your first time attending please register and the Zoom link will be emailed to you: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcu2rrzgqE9CXr13WLDruPFPu0aTHItRn If you are part of the Asian trans masc Facebook group or email newsletter, you will automatically receive the Zoom link there. Who can join? ACAS primarily serves those who identify as East and/or Southeast Asian living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. However, we know spaces for East & Southeast Asian transmasc folks are very few and we are happy to open this event to those living outside of Toronto. Please note that resources will be focused on Toronto due to our knowledge of local services and resources. East & Southeast Asian includes those from multiple generations of immigrants (1st generation, 2nd generation, and so on..) and members of the diaspora from East & Southeast countries like China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, etc. This can also include people with mixed backgrounds from at least one of those countries. This may also include those who might not identify ethnically by blood, but have a substantial heritage or up-bringing living in those countries.

Joining us internationally from the west coast USA, the Director Alex Liu and Writer/Producer Leo Neri reveal all from their film, A Sexplanation in our live Q&A event. We’ll be talking about everything from sex to shame and mental health to filmmaking. Q&A Hosted by Tony Tran Got questions for the filmmakers? Send them in advance to men@acas.org Register to receive the Zoom link at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0oc-6vrzktG9CA7qZXZOWkYo03EV-oIxKk This event will be live-streamed on the ACAS Youtube channel. If you are not comfortable being recorded, you can turn off your camera and change your name so that you do not appear in the recording.  The first 10 people to sign up here will get a FREE ticket to the virtual screening at Inside Out LGBT Film Festival. From neuroscience labs to church pews, A Sexplanation features provocative conversations with psychologists, sex researchers—and even a Jesuit priest. Now in his 30s and out of the closet, Alex has turned fear and loathing into something positive and humorous. This documentary seeks to turn his personal pursuit of shame-free pleasure into a call for comprehensive sex education for everyone. Watch the film first at the Inside Out LGBT Film Festival! Available to watch from your home between May 27 (noon ET) - June 6 (11:59pm ET) https://youtu.be/G8Oor-B5hm8 ALEX LIU Alex’s passion for telling compelling stories that blend education, advocacy, and entertainment led him to found Herra Productions in 2012. Since then, he’s developed two award-winning YouTube channels focused on sex and drug education, totaling over five million views. After studying molecular toxicology at UC Berkeley and Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting at New York University, he produced video, radio, and print content for NOVA scienceNOW, CNN Health, and San Francisco NPR station KQED. LEONARDO NERI​ Leo is a tinkerer of ideas, words, and narratives. With […]