Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"I'M PAN-TASTIC"

Date

2018

Materials

PLASTIC, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Diameter

3.75

Description

PANSEXUAL PRIDE BUTTON; BUTTON FRONT HAS PANSEXUAL PRIDE FLAG STRIPES (PINK, YELLOW, BLUE), WITH BLACK TEXT “I’M PAN-TASTIC, THANKS FOR ASKING”. BACK OF BUTTON IS WHITE PLASTIC WITH SILVER METAL C-CLASP. BUTTON EDGES ARE CRIMPED TO THE BACK; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

ADVERTISING MEDIUM

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON JULY 11, 2019, CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT INTERVIEWED KIRSTAN SCHAMUHN FOR A GALT MUSEUM EXHIBIT, ‘INQUEERIES: 2SLGBTQ+ HISTORIES OF SOUTHWESTERN ALBERTA’, AND REGARDING SCHAMUHN’S DONATION OF PRIDE MATERIALS FROM LETHBRIDGE PRIDE. ‘INQUEERIES’ EXHIBITED 2SLGBTQ+ STORIES, OBJECTS, AND VOICES FROM SOUTHWESTERN ALBERTA, AND RAN FROM OCTOBER 12, 2019 TO FEBRUARY 9, 2020. ON THE PANSEXUAL PRIDE BUTTON, SCHAMUHN RECALLED, “I GOT [THE BUTTON] AT PRIDE 2018. I GOT [IT] BEFORE THE PARADE STARTED. I STARTED WALKING AROUND WITH MY FRIEND…THEY HAD [PRIDE] AT GALT GARDENS. AT GALT GARDENS IT WAS LOOKING LIKE IT WAS GONNA BE A BIT OF A RAINY DAY SO THEY SET VENDORS UP INSIDE UNDERNEATH THOSE COLUMNS AND PILLARS WITH THE OVERHANGS. THEY SET UP VENDORS IN THERE AND THEY HAD THESE NICE LITTLE TABLES AND I ACTUALLY GOT A LOT OF PRIDE [MATERIALS] LAST YEAR AND THESE ARE TWO OF THE THINGS THAT I PICKED UP. THEY WERE GIVING OUT THE FLAGS FOR FREE AND I BOUGHT THE BUTTON, I THINK, FOR FIFTY CENTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IT WAS BECAUSE, AS I WAS STARTING TO WALK AROUND, AND I SAW PEOPLE WHO WERE DRESSED UP FOR PRIDE, AND I SAW THEIR ENTHUSIASM, THAT WAS WHAT REALLY GOT TO ME; HOW ENTHUSIASTIC THEY WERE ABOUT BEING THERE AT PRIDE AND BEING A PART OF PRIDE AND SHOWING THEIR SUPPORT AND BEING ABLE TO, MORE OVERTLY AND VISIBLY, IDENTIFY AND BE THERE AND BE WELCOMED AND ACCEPTED. I JUST THOUGHT THAT THE PIN WAS SOMETHING SMALL BUT IT MEANT A LOT TO ME TO BUY THAT AND TO WEAR THAT WHILE I WATCHED THE PARADE AND AS I WALKED AROUND THROUGH THE DAY…IT WAS MY WAY OF EXPRESSING MYSELF AT PRIDE.” “[THE BUTTON] MEANT QUITE A LOT TO ME COMING OUT OF PRIDE AND THEN…I WORE [IT] AFTER THE FACT BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I FINALLY HAD THE COURAGE TO BE VISIBLE AND TO BE OUT THERE AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT I DON’T THINK I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR PRIDE. THAT PIN IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE COURAGE THAT I HAD AFTER THAT DAY; TO COME OUT TO MORE PEOPLE. I STARTED COMING OUT TO MY BOARD…MY EMPLOYERS. WE HAD ANOTHER GIRL WHO WAS OPENLY OUT WORKING FOR [MY WORKPLACE] THAT SUMMER AND HER AND I TALKED AT LENGTH ON OUR BREAKS. WE WOULD TAKE OUR COFFEE BREAKS TOGETHER AND OUR LUNCH BREAKS TOGETHER AND WE’D JUST TALK ABOUT QUEER THEORY AND WE WOULD TALK ABOUT RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE AND WE WOULD TALK ABOUT HOW OUR FAMILIES FELT WHEN WE CAME OUT AND IT WAS, IN PART, THAT HAVING THAT PIN AND HAVING THAT FLAG WITH ME WHEN I WENT BACK TO DRAYTON AFTER PRIDE…[THE BUTTON] GAVE ME THE COURAGE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS THAT I WOULD LOOK AT [IT] AND THINK THAT YES, I CAN BE HERE, THIS IS MY SPACE, TOO. I WAS ABLE TO GO IN AND TALK MORE WITH PEOPLE AND BE MORE OPEN WITH PEOPLE ABOUT HOW I IDENTIFIED AND WHO I WAS.” “WHEN I GO TO PRIDE, I TRY TO WEAR AS MUCH PINK, YELLOW, AND BLUE AS I CAN BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE COLOURS OF THE PANSEXUAL PRIDE FLAG…I WEAR A LOT OF PINK, YELLOW AND BLUE WHEN IT COMES TO BEING PANSEXUAL PRIDE DAY…THAT’S JUST SOMETHING THAT IT GIVES ME A SENSE OF EMPOWERMENT WHEN I DO THAT. WHEN IT COMES TO PRIDE, I’LL WEAR MY PIN TO PRIDE, NORMALLY, FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. I PICKED IT UP IN 2018 AND HAVE CONTINUED TO WEAR THAT. WHEN I WAS BACK [IN MY HOMETOWN FOR THE SUMMER], IMMEDIATELY AFTER PRIDE IN 2018, I HAD MY PIN ON MY PURSE, JUST HANGING…ATTACHED TO THE STRAP…AND I WOULD WEAR THAT OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND NO ONE EVER STOPPED ME TO ASK ME ABOUT IT BUT IT DIDN’T REALLY MATTER TO ME. I ENJOYED HAVING IT THERE AND I KEPT IT ON MY BAGS…I WOULD KEEP IT THERE UNTIL IT STARTED FALLING OFF.” “PEOPLE UP [IN MY HOMETOWN], I THINK, ARE VERY UNAWARE. SO THEY WOULD LOOK AT THAT AND [MIGHT] THINK, “NICE COLOURS,” BUT THAT WOULD BE ABOUT IT. THEY WOULDN’T [GENERALLY] UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COLOURS MEANT OR SYMBOLIZED. THEY MIGHT IF THEY SAW THE RAINBOW FLAG? I’M SURE THAT THEY WOULD KNOW WHAT [THE LGBTQ2S+ RAINBOW FLAG] MEANT BUT THEY WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT OTHER [PRIDE] FLAG COLOURS MEANT AND SYMBOLIZED.” ON HER ORIENTATIONS, SCHAMUHN SHARED, “[MY GENDER ORIENTATION] IS VISIBLE BECAUSE I’M CIS-GENDER. I’M A CIS-WOMAN SO EVERYTHING THAT I DO, EVERY WAY THAT I DRESS, EVERY WAY THAT I LOOK IS VERY VISIBLY, “YEAH, THAT’S A WOMAN. THAT’S A GIRL, RIGHT THERE.” IN TERMS OF MY SEXUAL ORIENTATION, I DON’T REALLY DO MUCH THAT SCREAMS, “I’M PANSEXUAL,” BECAUSE I DON’T REALLY THINK THAT THERE’S A WAY TO OPENLY SCREAM, “I’M PANSEXUAL,” VISIBLY WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK IS KIND OF NICE BECAUSE IT SAVED ME A LOT...” SCHAMUHN ELABORATED ON HER IDENTITY AS PANSEXUAL AND BEING OPENLY OUT, NOTING, “IT REALLY HAS MEANT, FOR ME, JUST KNOWING WHO I AM. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I STRUGGLED WITH WHEN I WAS A VERY YOUNG TEENAGER…TRYING TO FIND A SENSE OF IDENTITY. TO KNOW THAT I’M QUEER, TO KNOW THAT I’M PANSEXUAL, TO KNOW AND ACCEPT THAT I’M ATTRACTED TO WHOM I’M ATTRACTED TO AND THAT IT’S FINE, THAT, TO ME, HAS JUST BEEN A SENSE THAT IT’S HEIGHTENED AND STRENGTHENED MY OWN IDENTITY THAT I CAN DIP INTO. KNOWING WHO I AM NOW, TO GET COURAGE TO GO OUT AND DO THINGS THAT SHOW WHO I AM…BEING QUEER HAS MEANT A LOT TO ME, IN THAT REGARD.” “I AM PRETTY NEW TO VISIBLY BEING OUT WITH PEOPLE IN LETHBRIDGE AND, AS A RESULT OF PRIDE, HAVE STARTED TAKING MORE ACTION, AS MUCH AS I CAN, TO SUPPORT QUEER COMMUNITIES…I HAVEN’T, I DON’T THINK, HAD TO DEAL WITH SOME OF THE HOMOPHOBIA IN THE COMMUNITY OR SOME OF THE CONSERVATISM IN THE COMMUNITY. I THINK THAT, IN TERMS OF THE LETHBRIDGE QUEER COMMUNITY, MY TIES TO IT ARE BEING A PERSON WHO IS VERY MUCH ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF IT AND WOULD LIKE TO BE LESS ON THOSE OUTSKIRTS OF IT AT THIS POINT IN TIME.” “I DON’T KNOW HOW IT IS IN MOST CITIES WITH UNIVERSITIES, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THAT I WOULD ADD THERE IS THAT BEING QUEER IN LETHBRIDGE HAS MEANT THAT I’VE HAD A LOT MORE KNOWLEDGE. [COMING] OUT OF MY UNIVERSITY DEGREE AND BEING ON CAMPUS HAS LENT ME…MORE KNOWLEDGE THAT I’M VERY GRATEFUL FOR; [THAT] I CAN DRAW SOME MORE ON MY OWN IDENTITY FROM THAT KNOWLEDGE…BEING QUEER IN LETHBRIDGE HAS GIVEN ME THE MOTIVATION TO CHECK OUT BEING QUEER IN MORE PLACES; TO CHECK OUT QUEER HISTORIES AND TO REALLY, JUST LEARN AS MUCH AS I CAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF QUEER COMMUNITIES AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY’VE GROWN FROM AND WHERE THEY’RE GROWING TO AND THAT WAY, WHEN I LEAVE LETHBRIDGE, I KNOW THAT I CAN GO INTO OTHER COMMUNITIES AND DO MY BEST TO CONTINUE PURSUING THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY WANT TO SEE…I DON’T KNOW HOW IT IS IN PLACES LIKE CALGARY OR EDMONTON, AS WELL WITH OTHER STRONG UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS…WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE BUT I KNOW THAT BEING QUEER IN LETHBRIDGE HAS MEANT THAT TO ME; JUST KNOWLEDGE, IN GENERAL.” ON LETHBRIDGE AS A CITY TO BE QUEER IN, SCHAMUHN SHARED, “I THINK THAT LETHBRIDGE IS AN INTERESTING PLACE TO BE QUEER. I THINK THAT BECAUSE IT’S IN ALBERTA AND BECAUSE IT’S IN THE SOUTH OF ALBERTA…AND ALSO IT’S IN THE BIBLE BELT...IT’S AN INTERESTING PLACE, I THINK, TO BE QUEER AND TO BE VISIBLY QUEER BUT I ALSO THINK IT’S A GOOD PLACE TO BE QUEER BECAUSE YOU DO, I THINK, HAVE A STRONG COMMUNITY. FROM JUST WHAT I’VE HEARD AND WHAT PEOPLE’S PERCEPTIONS HAVE BEEN, IT DOES SEEM LIKE IT’S A STRONG COMMUNITY…AND IT’S GOT THE UNIVERSITY. IT’S A BIG UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE TOWN SO I THINK THAT THERE’S MORE [LGBTQ2S+] AWARENESS BECAUSE OF THAT.” “I THINK THAT [THE QUEER COMMUNITY IS] VERY ENCOURAGING TO SEE AND I THINK THAT IT GIVES A LOT OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION TO YOUTH WHO ARE COMING UP FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND COMING UP FROM JUNIOR HIGH AND I’M VERY ENTHUSIASTIC AND EXCITED TO SEE [THE ‘INQUEERIES’] EXHIBIT AND TO BE A PART OF IT BECAUSE I THINK THAT MORE VOICES NEED TO BE HEARD FOR THOSE YOUTH TO REALLY FIND THEIR OWN VOICES AND TO FIND THEIR OWN UNDERSTANDING OF WHO THEY ARE. FIND THEIR OWN IDENTITIES AND FIND THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED TO GET THAT COURAGE; TO STAND UP AND BE PROUD OF WHO THEY ARE.” “VISIBLY, I HAVEN’T NOTICED GROWTH OR CHANGES [IN THE LETHBRIDGE QUEER COMMUNITY] BECAUSE I’M NOT A PART OF THOSE COMMUNITIES, REALLY. I HAVEN’T BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THEM SO I CAN’T SAY IF THEY’VE GROWN NOR IF THEY’VE SHRUNK. I THINK THAT…ONE THING THAT HAS GROWN HAS BEEN STUDENT VOICES IN TERMS OF GETTING INVOLVED AND SAYING, “LISTEN, WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION.” STUDENTS ARE GETTING MORE INVOLVED AND THAT’S FROM CHECKING OUT MEDIA COVERAGE AND EVEN DRIVING BY AND CHECKING OUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN TERMS OF PROTESTS. I NOTICED THAT A LOT OF YOUTH ARE GETTING INVOLVED; A LOT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, EVEN AS FAR DOWN AS JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS. I NOTICED PARENTS GETTING THEIR YOUTH INVOLVED SO, EVEN AT PRIDE, THE AMOUNT OF FAMILIES THAT I SEE OUT THERE IS SO HEARTENING, BECAUSE YOU SEE KIDS WHO ARE FIVE YEARS OLD, SIX YEARS OLD, WHO ARE OUT THERE AND IT’S THEIR PARENTS SHOWING THEM THAT IT’S OKAY TO BE QUEER. IT’S OKAY, IT’S ACCEPTABLE, AND THIS IS A COMMUNITY THAT WILL SUPPORT YOU AND THAT YOU CAN ACCESS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190015001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190015002

Acquisition Date

2019-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail