About Us
Oh hello there,
It is great to meet you!
Our Story
We’re Kat (she/her) and Chanel (she/they), the co-founders of Beyond the Bow. Our journey started when we met during our undergrads at Trent University - where we played varsity rugby together and bonded over our shared disappointment of the lack of queer spaces in Peterborough, Ontario.
In stereotypically queer fashion, we each ended up dating our partners’ exes and all basically lived together. Through this "big gay house" we had created our own little 2SLGBTQIA+ group, but we still craved a larger connection to learn more about the spectrum of experiences and create a true sense of community. Thus, in 2016 this passion project began.
Our first photo taken together for the launch of our Instagram page.
Originally, we established as a Youtube channel called "The Lesbian Experience" with the intention of creating casual content that others in our community could relate to. We rebranded to Beyond the Bow when we started researching, learning, growing and adapting to new intersections of our personal queer journeys. We were each still navigating our own identities, and realized that “The Lesbian Experience” just didn’t encompass the spectrum of who we were, let alone represent the entire larger community with whom we wanted to connect with and learn from.
As our undergrads came to an end and we began living in different cities - Kat focused on BTB through her Master's to try to better understand how we could use this platform to create the change we wanted to see, and Chanel decided to explore Australia for a year, pursuing identity growth and contributing to BTB from the other side of the world.
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Celebrating in the TD Beer Garden at Toronto Pride after a year of not seeing each other in June, 2019.
Kat presenting her final Master's thesis on BTB at Toronto Metropolitan University (Ryerson University) in August, 2019.
It wasn’t until 2021 that we finally found ourselves in the GTA together again. As we dealt with our sadness because Pride Toronto was cancelled for the second year in a row, we continued posting online and attended virtual events. In 2022, as things slowly started opening up after multiple pandemic lockdowns, we noticed that the queer community was longing to connect with others again. Multiple clubs and groups started popping up around the city, which inspired and motivated us more than ever to finally start building and connecting with others in the spaces we had always dreamed of.
The first space that we wanted to create was a simple picnic meetup in a Toronto park, where people could enjoy the nice weather, meet new friends and participate in our community.
By some crazy stroke of luck, a couple of TikToks by (then strangers) Shannon and Meg were sent our way. We realized we were all planning a picnic meetup - on the EXACT same day, at the EXACT same time. A shy message with the suggestion to collaborate led to the creation of an incredible planning committee including Ajuki with FOMO.TO, Jess, Meg, Sam, Shannon, and us.
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Pre pride picnic making plans & smiley patches
From left to right, top to bottom: Chanel, Sam, Kat, Ajuki, Shannon, Meg, Jess
On June 11th 2022, over 1500 people gathered in Christie Pits Park for one "big gay picnic." We were overwhelmed with complete joy that day, as it was an aspiration talked about in the "big gay house" all those years ago that we never knew would come true. We couldn’t be more grateful to our new friends who helped make that beautiful day possible. We went on to plan a second spontaneous picnic day, followed by a beach day - leading us to the desire to continue planning meetups that are family-friendly and free to attend.
Since that first picnic, we have met so many incredible folx to collaborate on various projects, start conversations and build friendships. As we continue to grow our platform, we are committed to sharing events, spaces, artists, resources and more that align within our set of values. We simultaneously commit to looking beyond what meets our own needs - even if this means participating in uncomfortable spaces. We will do our best to be allies in our community as we want to ensure that all intersectional members are being represented. We commit to continuous listening, learning, and amplifying the voices of others. We are dedicated to taking up space in "the bow" and beyond.
Learn more about the incredible creators, organizers, businesses and more that you can support on our Beyond the Bow Hub.
Who We Are
Kat (she/her)
To briefly introduce myself in a professional sense, I currently work in marketing and have a Master Degree in Digital Media from TMU, where Beyond the Bow was my major research project. I love collaborating with others on all types of projects in the digital media space as long as there is room for creativity and the messaging resonates with me and my values.
In a non-professional sense, I love athletics, gaming, spending time with my beautiful friends and family, and when the wave of creativity really hits, usually some hobby project that requires me to buy a new tool or art supply that I’ll only use one time…
Most of all though, I love being part of the queer community. Feeling uplifted, recognized, and loved is what made me proud to be who I am and confident to live authentically. All I want is to give back and share what my community has given me, and in doing so I promise to always pursue new experiences and educate myself to be a welcoming and positive person that creates spaces which reflect that.
Chanel (she/they)
My goal is to tell unforgettable stories. Whether that is through my photographs, art journaling, long Instagram captions or in conversations with strangers - I aim to use creative and authentic storytelling to foster change and build community. I am passionate about using self reflection to nurture personal growth, because through empowering myself, I can empower others to be true to themselves.
With a joint major honours degree in Media Communications and Gender & Women Studies, and post-graduate degree in Sport and Event Marketing, I am able to bring a unique perspective to life. A few things I am passionate about include; live music, playing sports, being creative and hugging all my awesome pals!
Describing my queer journey in a few words looks like this.
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Lingering, Longing, Limited
Learning, Light, Loved
I am proud to be part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and I will continue to dedicate my time to creating a positive environment and safer space for those around me.