by Gender Dissent
It’s Pre-Pride Season for Canada’s Federal Public Service – time for all government employees to be loud and proud if they/thems got it, or celebrate and venerate those who do if you do not.
The PSPAs
Kickstarting the festivities for Pride Season in the federal workplace is the annual call for nominations for government employees and executives for the Public Service Pride Awards.
These career-enhancing prizes are presented every August during Public Service Pride Week to "honour those who have illuminated the path towards 2SLGBTQIA+ diversity, inclusion, and pride within the federal public service.”
This year, Gender Dissent nominates federal government employee and daring gender-defender, Tanya King, for the 2024 Public Serve Pride Agent of Change Award.
This prize "recognizes advocates and leaders who are actively working to eliminate systemic barriers and advance the inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in the federal public service."
Given this intro, the 2024 PSP Agent of Change Award already has "Tanya" written all over it.
Tanya King demonstrates supreme balancing skills while waving the flag of trans. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=745411210917923&set=a.541203204672059
Who is Tanya King?
King self-describes on his public Facebook profile as a “transgender autistic drag queen from Ottawa Ontario.”
By day, King works from home as a “free agent” for Natural Resources Canada.
By night, King is a very busy artist, educator, and service provider.
For his selfless and illuminating 2SLGBTQIA+ barrier-breaking campaign, King bravely employs traditional and contemporary media strategies on multiple platforms, combined with bold, on-the-ground actions and direct stakeholder communications (and boy, do we mean direct).
Through his effective, attention-getting efforts, he enlightens the people of Canada as to the systemic struggles of transgender-identifying people in the federal workplace.
Public servants criticize rollout of new health care plan as 'chaotic' | Ottawa Citizen
In the summer of 2023, King represented his cohort when he spoke with the Ottawa Citizen about how he had to wait for weeks to access the new $75,000 in public service health care benefits.
He needed that money for the facial and vocal feminization surgeries necessary to complete his “gender affirmation journey.”
Nevertheless, he persisted
Determined not to succumb to the criticisms and concerns of hateful Canadians, last October, King participated front and centre in a colourful protest in front of the Prime Minister's office.
Marching and pointing in gender-affirming thigh-high fantasy boots and associated vinyl fetish wear, even the rain couldn’t dampen King's enthusiasm for condemning conservative policies that permit parents to know what their children are being taught at school.
The Saskatchewan government had just passed a “parents’ bill of rights,” King explained to the legacy media, making parental consent a requirement before students under 16 can use different gender-related names or pronouns at school.
“Some people on the right who were otherwise silent have been emboldened by politicians such as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe,” King said.
“It’s to make a statement that the movement is not just a fleeting movement where, as soon as it gets hard or you get cold, you go away,” King told a reporter. “That’s not what activism is about. You have to be present even when the weather is not nice, even when things are hard.”
Certainly the spirit of activism was alive and well within King that morning as he chimed in with one sassy parade marshal announcing repeatedly into a bullhorn:
“We're here!
We're queer!
We're FABULOUS - Don't FUCK with us!”
Dacey Media: https://x.com/chrisdacey/status/1716082443940134947
A communications wiz
As any good PR practitioner knows, consistency is key when it comes to communications designed to sell an idea.
Here’s King in yet another cute little number, reportedly chowing down on a Hershey bar to keep the pace at another pro-trans rally led by Ottawa’s most famous chocolate bar wrapper model, trans enthusiast, Fae Johnstone.
Canada First Media: Trans-March in Ottawa with Fae Johnstone
Celebrity endorsement
An endorsement by Johnstone must be taken into account when considering King for the PSP Agent of Change Award.
An independent advisor to the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and executive director of Wisdom2Action consulting firm and Queer Momentum, Johnstone has provided numerous workshops to public servants on how to better treat their transgender-identifying and queer+ colleagues.
Tanya King celebrating something during daylight hours at Ottawa’s Mill Street Brew Pub. Fae Johnstone signaling his support in the background. Rhinestoning: @phionnakittycreations
An established spokesperson
In April, King was again featured in the Ottawa Citizen, this time advocating for the right of public servants not to return to the office three days a week come September.
And who could blame him? The notion of having to locate a chair and roll it into one’s assigned workspace would be a daunting undertaking for any queen.
A dedicated artist
King has long been established in the art of woman-face and adult performance.
From his bio at Dragshow.ca we learn that he was Miss Brockville Pride in 2019, Miss Thousand Islands Pride in 2021, and that he performs regularly at Swizzles Bar and Grill. Promoting a bias-free lifestyle with a neighbourhood feel, Swizzles caters to those interested in the young set:
“Located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, Swizzles is a bar built on community. Any given day, you'll find what you're looking for: boys, girls and everything in between…”
Adherence to the values and ethics of the Government of Canada
Committed to Government of Canada principles of openness and transparency, King keeps the lines of communication open via a second, publicly accessible Facebook account.
King strategically uses this platform to pledge his defence of rainbow equality while advertising his after-hours talents and gender-affirming services:
Resourcefulness
In today’s climate of employment uncertainty, particularly with more federal government reductions on the horizon, King demonstrates flexibility and foresight in maintaining a second income stream — one which he can now better advertise with his completed facial feminization surgery.
While a copyright disclaimer on his OnlyFans account prevents us from directly sharing King’s creative offerings to his paying clientele, interested readers can simply click on “more info” to expand the screen and read for themselves.
Thunderpussy’s menu of spicy deeds are sure to dispel the idea that civil servants are out of touch with the needs and desires of the curious and questioning public. Photo credit: Derek Hille/Derek Hille Photography https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161005422076955&set=a.10151211223616955
Network building
King also contributes his woman-face performance talents to Public Service Pride events that are not limited to his own department of employment.
Here he is pictured with employees of Correctional Services Canada:
“The Correctional Service Canada (CSC) continued its participation in Pride events across the country. Members of the CSC Pride Network, led by Commissioner Anne Kelly, are shown preparing for the Capital Pride Parade in Ottawa in August.” pg. 13, Public Service Pride Network 2023 Annual Report
King’s devotion to furthering the rights of trans-identified Canadians must be especially noted in this instance. His brand of support is sure to have influenced implementation of Correctional Services’ Directive 100 — the policy that provides for violent male offenders who self-identify as transgender to be transferred to women’s prisons.
Now, convicted sex offenders, including those with a predilection for babies, may do their time under far less restrictive security conditions (for instance, guards don't have guns in women’s prisons) in extremely close quarters with their sisters — and sometimes, in the case of mother-child units, close to their sisters' children. ... Well done, Tanya!
The public service call to action
On May 1, 2024, Jason Bett (He/Him), Visiting Senior Advisor for 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusion at the Canada School of Public Service, and Champion of the Public Service Pride Network, issued an unclassified follow-up letter to the open letter he sent to all deputy ministers in 2023.
Encouraging them to “take action to support transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse colleagues in the federal public service,” Bett outlines initiatives that Canada’s public service leaders can champion to better the lives of trans-people-plus:
Recruiting and supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ employees “We need to improve the pipeline for Two-Spirit, transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse employees, providing them with the necessary support and resources to envision a path to executive positions while remaining true to their full authentic selves in the workplace.”
Inclusive washrooms
“Ensure your organisation remains involved in the PSPN-PSPC Interdepartmental Inclusive Washroom Advisory Group to advance shared goals of inclusive washing and toilet facilities.”
Pronouns, chosen names and gender markers
“Outdated workplace policies and certain system limitations—such as the binary man and woman gender options—remain a particular challenge for Two-Spirit, transgender, non-binary and gender diverse individuals working within the Government of Canada … Advocate for the removal of any unnecessary collection of binary gender data.”
Participation in Pride and 2SLGBTQIA+ activities throughout the year
“Ottawa’s Capital Pride Parade in August 2023 witnessed several deputy ministers, as well as the Clerk of the Privy Council, marching for the first time. Across Canada, federal public servants showed strong representation in multiple cities, and internationally various Canadian missions participated in Pride activities. And there are other dates of significance year-round for the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities that are commemorated with activities through which you can show your support!”
The time is now! As leaders, you have the power to actively drive change in both the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and our corporate culture; one in which diversity and inclusion is intentional, deliberate, and intrinsic to who we are and what we do.” - Jason Bett (he/him) Champion, Public Service Pride Network.
Back to King
Encouraged by the Public Service Pride Champion — who, in turn, is acting on the direction of the Clerk of the Privy Council — King loyally heeds the call of the Executive Branch by loudly living his best, authentic life while raising awareness among Canadians that there really, really are trans, queer, asexual, intersexual, non-binary and many, many other kinds of gender people in Canada’s federal workplace.
(And not just boring old cis, gay, lesbian and bisexual people people).
King’s selfless public participation in promoting and implementing programs and policies that trample women’s sex-based rights and threaten the health and safety of children must be recognized.
Gender Dissent is PROUD to nominate
~TANYA KING~
Queen of the Public Service,
for the 2024 Public Service Pride Agent of Change Award!
Tanya King, Gender Dissent nominee for Canada’s 2024 Public Service Pride Agent of Change Award. Photo credit: Vertigo Productions Photography