Strong on coming out and standing out

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This article was published 22/01/2018 (2890 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shandi Strong is putting her story out there for everyone to read.

The local politician, who ran as the provincial Liberal candidate in  Wolseley in 2015 and who resides in Wildwood Park, is publishing her first book, titled Growing a Pair. The memoir will be launched at McNally Robinson (1120 Grant Ave.) on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.

Strong says it’s been a long time in the making — about eight or nine years. The story follows Strong’s experience as a transgender woman who eventually realizes her passion for politics. She currently works as the constituency assistant for Jon Gerrard, MLA for River Heights, and plans to run in the next provincial election.

“If there’s any message anyone can get through this, it’s that life is going to throw stuff at you,” Strong said. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger… that’s what I got out of it, when I think about it, when I look back.”

Strong says she wasn’t encouraged to be herself at a young age.

“My parents didn’t raise me to say, ‘Hey, go on and take the world.’ No, it was, ‘Go get a job, dig ditches if you have to, raise a family,’ because that was their generation. And when my kids came along it was like yeah, you wanna be a rock star? Here’s a guitar!

“I wish my parents had done that for me because my life might have been different.”

Strong said that three years ago, she was going through a challenging time after being let go from her job. She lived on welfare while getting back on her feet and eventually found a job where she felt she truly belonged.

“I got a job at Home Depot and that was wonderful because… it didn’t matter if you were trans or had purple hair as long as you did your job. It was great,” Strong said. “They embraced me.”

Strong said the supportive environment instilled her with new confidence to speak on behalf of the LGBT community and stand up for what she believed in.

“It was a really great environment to do that and to come to a place like this (as constituency assistant), which I had never dreamed of until I had that politics bug hit me, and that was because someone had faith in me.”

Strong and Rana Bokhari, former leader of the Liberal Party of Manitoba, became friends, and Bokhari encouraged Strong to run for office. Strong brushed it off at first but eventually realized her passion for leadership. Although she wasn’t elected, Strong plans to run again and hopes that if she wins, she’s able to be a political resource for the LGBT community.

“Trans and non-binary people, they’re coming out and they need someone. They need a voice,” Strong said. “We don’t have a voice in the legislature that is out.”