Get To Know The Dogwood Monarchist Society

We interviewed our 2022 Grand Marshals to highlight their contributions to the betterment of our communities while inspiring others to join. Read below to learn more about Emperor Victor the Victorious and Empress Fancy Pants from the Dogwood Monarchist Society (DMS). Empress Fancy Pants is the 50th Elected Empress of Vancouver, BC, the Mother Court of Canada, and she continues her Ministry of JOYous community service and sacred activism that started 6 years ago as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, and then Ms. Gay Vancouver 40 for the Rhinestone Phoenix Charity Foundation. Emperor Victor the Victorious represents the Dogwood Monarchist Society, the Mother Court of Canada, on their 50th Golden Jubilee Anniversary as an ambassador and the 50th elected Emperor of Vancouver is my absolute pleasure.

Emperor Victor the Victorious

What does #TogetherAgain mean to you?

From the beginning of my journey as the 50th elected Emperor of the Dogwood Monarchist Society, I knew I wanted to do everything I could to bring the community together during my one-year reign. It is challenging to accomplish our goals as co-chairs of this iconic fundraising organization without the support of the people in the community we serve. We need each other, I know that from my own life experience. I am honoured to represent the Dogwood Monarchist Society alongside Her Most Imperial Sovereign Majesty, Empress 50 of Vancouver Fancy Pants, Annie Ohana and Kristin Rivers as Grand Marshals of the 2022 Vancouver Pride Parade ~ Together Again, this was meant to be!

What is the advocacy and activism work that is closest to your heart?

I have been in recovery from drugs and alcohol for over 20 years. Getting sober has been the most difficult thing I have ever done, and also the most worthwhile. I would not be where I am today without the support of those who came before me. When I was ready to make some changes in my life, there were people in the community who stood with me and gave me a hand up, they showed me there was a better way to live. I’ll never forget that kindness and in turn, I will do my best to return that gesture to the best of my ability to the people who need it most. We all need to advocate and fight for people who are often affected in multiple ways by addiction, not just substance use itself. Mental health, poverty, isolation, and infectious disease, there are multiple issues at play, and it gets very complicated for some. Addiction destroys people’s lives, leaving families fractured and devastated. We need more funding for support services from local, provincial and federal governments to aid some of our most vulnerable citizens in the fight of their lives. If you or someone you love is affected, reach out, there is help available. Recovery is possible, never give up on yourself or the people you love.

Tell us a little about a special moment where you felt love for the 2SLGBTQAI+ community?

If you haven’t done it yet I can tell you from previous experience! Volunteer for a nonprofit, join a committee, create a fundraiser, and my personal favourite—march in the annual local Pride Parade. There is nothing as much fun as celebrating with the community, marching with 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and our allies in one of Vancouver’s most cherished large-scale public events. I fell in Love with the Pride Society when I volunteered on the board many years ago and I have participated in the parade on many occasions since! I have even photographed the spectators from the inside out and I can tell you they LOVE what they see! Take Pride in our community, all hands on deck there is work to be done. This is an opportunity to show our solidarity and fight for people in parts of this world who do not have the same rights and freedoms we enjoy each and every day here in Canada. Open your heart and celebrate Pride every day!

If you were to share something with your younger self about Pride, what would you say? 

I was a pretty insecure person growing up, I had my challenges just like everyone else. I had no confidence or real acceptance when it came to my sexual orientation until many years later. I’m a work in progress as they say. I was fortunate to have the friends I did, they always lifted me up and supported me through many difficult situations including the loss of my mom when I was 16. To my younger self, I would say that life does not always turn out the way we plan, be open to new ideas and don’t let fear control your choices. Believe in yourself and reach out to others who also need support, there is strength in numbers ~ Love yourself first and the rest will follow

Pride is larger than ourselves, how do you center community in your advocacy

I know where I came from, but not always where I am going. I faced a lot of challenges in my life and as I age I know that if I don’t continue to grow as a person, and stay connected and active in the community I live in, my mental health and wellness will suffer as a result. I hope to always have an open mind and remember to listen first, especially to those who are marginalized, may not have a voice and are not always included in the conversation. As our population ages, how do we stay connected to our 2SLGBTQIA+ elders and seniors? Are there enough resources available to meet the growing demand? If you have no biological or chosen family in later years, who will advocate for you? So many questions, there is a lot of work to be done, let’s not forget that. We need to continue to work towards building healthier communities, and affordable education for all and continue to engage our most vulnerable citizens, they have to be a priority. I work in a hospital. If you fall through the cracks in a world with a system that is not designed to fully support you physically, emotionally and spiritually and you end up here in one of our critical care wards, it might be too late. I see it every day and it’s heartbreaking. Don’t let that happen! Have Pride in yourself and the community you live in and fight to make this world a better place for all people, especially those we hold dear.

Empress Fancy Pants 

What does #TogetherAgain mean to you? 

#TogetherAgain means connection; connection of old friends parted by the pandemic and new friendships created by being able to share physical spaces again.

What is the advocacy and activism work that is closest to your heart?

The advocacy and activism closest to my heart is queer history.  Our community has been very fortunate that while our neighbours to the South were throwing bricks in 1969, we were actually signing bill C-150 that decriminalized homosexuality.  And the work that led to bill C-150 was started in 1958 by Vancouver’s very own Mr. ted northe (always written in lower case letters).  We are all able to celebrate our true authentic selves because of the advocacy and activism of this one individual, who the newer generations have never heard of. 

Tell us a little about a special moment where you felt love for the 2SLGBTQAI+ community?  

Picture it, Toronto, Ontario, Pride 1988.  A teenage asian boy attended his first Pride Parade.  Not out to anyone and scared, and wearing clothes that hid him from potential prying eyes, he saw a colour spectacle that showed him the potential to . . . BE.  He was embraced and celebrated by everyone around him.  And he cried when one parade float walked by and was hugged by a stranger in that float.  That boy grew up to be a proud queen asian man, the stranger was a mom of a gay person and the float was PFLAG.  While it wasn’t until 1996 that I came out, that memory still is fresh in my mind of the love and acceptance that I continue to share it forward today.

If you were to share something with your younger self about Pride, what would you say? 

Pride Parade may be one day of the year, but Pride in yourself is celebrated every day of the year.

Pride is larger than ourselves, how do you center community in your advocacy?  

While Pride is about celebration and is a big ole party, I have always used it as a platform to combine my unique aesthetic to grabs peoples’ attention and then shift that attention to awareness.  In the past parades I have walked in, I celebrated the history of the Pink Triangle, the queer community’s first symbol, much before the rainbow flag, I brought awareness to the plight of the treatment of the Latin community at the USA/Mexico border and walked with the “Families Belong Together” logo as my placard and I’ve supported an individual’s right to own their own bodies, especially those with a uterus and proclaimed “NO MORE WIRE HANGERS” wearing angel wings made of wire hangers with the uterus as makeup inspiration.  Advocacy and activism can be powerful and pretty at the same time.  And I always wear the highest of heels to walk Pride, because a few blisters on my feet is a small price to pay compared to the fight that has happened and the lives our community has lost in the pursuit of equality, in order for me to be my true authentic self in public.