Megaphone, Vancouver’ street paper, has republished an article from Sad Mag‘s Queer History Issue. The article, Tough in Transit by Daniel Zomparelli, follows Charlize Gordon and Suzanne Kilroy as they navigate gender and sexuality in one of Vancouver’s toughest neighbourhoods.

Sean Condon, Megaphone‘s Executive Director, had this to say on the magazine’s website:

The Downtown Eastside may be home to our city’s most marginalized residents, but that doesn’t mean it’s always accepting of people who live on the fringes. Just ask Charlize Gordon and Suzanne Kilroy.

Charlize, a recently-transgendered woman, and Suzanne, who’s two-spirited, have bravely faced down myriad challenges ranging from simple homophobia to physical abuse while finding their places as proud members of the DTES’s LGBTQ community. The diverse social makeup of today’s DTES owes much to the struggles and triumphs of people like Charlize and Suzanne, as uncovered in this story from Sad Mag’s Queer History issue.

You can buy the issue now from one of Megaphone‘s vendors for a suggested donation of $2.