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Enza Anderson

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Enza Anderson
Born1964 (age 59–60)[1]
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Journalist, media personality, politician, activist

Enza Anderson (born 1964) is a Canadian journalist, media personality, Ontario politician, and transgender rights activist.

Early life and education

Anderson was born in Toronto, Ontario. Assigned male at birth,[2] she grew up in Toronto, living near Jane and Finch[3] with an Italian-Catholic father.

She initially attended York University to study geography but left due to a combination of lack of interest in the subject and her mother becoming sick. After a one-year hiatus, she attended Seneca College where she studied civil engineering and technologies.

Early career

After graduation she worked as the quality control supervisor of a concrete pipe-manufacturing plant, but was laid off after five years. She then worked part-time as a bartender at Woody's.[4]

In 1995 she got a job at a hair salon on Yonge Street, which called for her to hand out flyers for the salon to pedestrians in drag. It was during that job that a photo of her kissing then-mayor Mel Lastman ended up on the front cover of the Toronto Sun,[5] marking the start of her career in the public eye.

Anderson wrote a social column, "The Hot Ticket", for Canada’s highest circulated free daily newspaper, Metro Toronto.[6] She also divides her work schedule at the Bank of Montreal assisting clients as a financial services manager.

Politics

Enza Anderson

In 2000, Anderson ran for mayor of Toronto. Although the eventual winner of that campaign, Mel Lastman, won over 80% of the vote, Anderson garnered 13,585 votes, placing third behind Lastman and Tooker Gomberg.[7] She was one of the few candidates besides Lastman, Gomberg and Ben Kerr to gain widespread name recognition in the race, even though her campaign largely consisted of standing on downtown street corners with a handmade placard bearing the slogan "A Super City Deserves a Super Model!".[5]

In 2002, Anderson ran for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance. She was unable to raise the $25,000 required by the party to register as a candidate, and dropped out of the race before the convention which ultimately chose Stephen Harper.[8]

In the 2003 municipal election in Toronto, Anderson ran for a city council seat against incumbent Kyle Rae and placed second, though she was not considered to be a serious threat against him.[9]

She ran and lost in the same ward in the 2010 municipal election.[10]

Media

Anderson has a column in the Toronto newspaper Metro, covering local entertainment and party gossip since 2004,[11] after she pitched the idea of her doing a column to the editor-in-chief, bringing a mocked-up version of one of her articles complete with Metro banner.[11] She was also a fully clothed guest interviewer in the male version of Naked News.

She was the subject of a 2003 documentary by Carlos Valencia named A Man in a Dress,[12] and was also interviewed speaking about her spirituality on Vision TV's Credo.[13] In 2015 Enza was the feature of her second documentary "...When The Bullying Ends" which was selected to screen at the 2016 Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival in India. Directed by queer filmmaker Raymond Helkio tells the story her work as an anti-bullying and queer rights activist.

Anderson was chosen as grand marshal of Toronto's 2008 Pride Parade.[14]

Community activism

Anderson served as a board member of the Church and Wellesley Neighbourhood Police Liaison Committee.[15] Her two years as Pride Committee Co-chair of Fundraising helped raise record amounts needed to cover festival costs.[16] She put in many fundraising hours for the AIDS Committee of Toronto and its signature fundraising event Fashion Cares.[17] Anderson helped bring awareness of support groups like the People With AIDS Foundation and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Youth Support Line.[18] She also served on the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations.[17] She also serves on the LGBT Consultative Committee-Toronto Police Service.[19]

References

  1. ^ Antoine Tedesco. "My date with Enza". www.sceneandheard.ca. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2008-06-23. The 38-year-old... with Pride Week 2002 now in full swing
  2. ^ Dagostino, Scott (2011). "Misc Things". Fab Magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  3. ^ Bruce DeMara (2008-06-23). "Grand Marshal Enza's outgoing, not outrageous". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  4. ^ Pichler, Eugene (2016). The Transsexual Delusion. p. 164. ISBN 9781365237249.
  5. ^ a b Chris Dupuis (2008-06-19). "Pride grand marshal: Model citizen". Xtra!. Archived from the original on 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  6. ^ "Metro - Toronto : About Us". Archived from the original on 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  7. ^ "Ontario Gays Cheer Election Wins". Gay.com. 2000-11-14. Archived from the original on 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  8. ^ "Drag queen's political bid a bust". The Advocate. 2002-03-05. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  9. ^ Krishna Rau (2006-10-26). "Let's see a real race in Ward 27". Xtra!. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  10. ^ "Enza Anderson to run for city council in 2010". 2009-11-25.
  11. ^ a b Rita Zekas (2008-06-21). "Enza gets her Marilyn moment". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  12. ^ S. James Wegg (2004-05-20). "Against All Odds". jamesweggreview.org. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  13. ^ Enza "Supermodel" Anderson Archived 2008-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Dupuis, Chris (2008-06-05). "Grand marshal miffed - Enza left to sort out Pride ride, gala ticket". Xtra, Pink Triangle Press. Archived from the original on 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  15. ^ "No epidemic of Glee-style assaults in Village: Wong-Tam". Xtra. January 27, 2011. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  16. ^ Mason, Jenna (2017-07-11). "How trans icon Enza Anderson has made Toronto a better place — just by being who she is". CBC. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  17. ^ a b "Enza Anderson – Ward 27 candidate". Inside Toronto Votes. Fall 2010. Archived from the original on September 27, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  18. ^ Enza "Supermodel" Anderson Archived 2016-01-08 at the Wayback Machine, Halton Pride
  19. ^ Mason, Jenn (11 July 2017). "How trans icon Enza Anderson has made Toronto a better place — just by being who she is | CBC Arts". CBC. CBC Arts. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
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