Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inspired online confusion and mockery after stating the latest iteration of an elongated LGBT moniker that some say sounded like an encryption password, commemorating “2SLGBTQQIA+ people.”
“People across the country are lighting candles to honour Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people who are missing or have been murdered,” Trudeau posted on Facebook and Twitter. “We must continue to work together, raise awareness, and advocate to end this ongoing national tragedy,” he said with the hashtag “Sisters In Spirit.”
Many prominent users on Twitter did not fully understand the acronym the prime minister was referring to, prompting some to joke that “Headbutting the keyboard is now a sexuality,” British rapper ZUBY tweeted in response.
Evolutionary behavioral scientist Gad Saad, a professor at Concordia University in Canada, told Trudeau he should take the acronym a step further, asking , “What about the F##^*#>€PKSDFNNM+¥*+? Their lived experiences matter too. Please be more inclusive.”
“Is that the actual acronym now or did his cat walk across the keyboard?” conservative commentator Matt Walsh also tweeted .
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett provided additional context regarding the acronym used by Trudeau, noting the Sisters In Spirit vigil. The “2S” at the beginning of the line appears to be a prioritization of Indigenous people, from whom the “Two-spirit” sexual identity derives.
“I urge all Canadians to take time today to honour the Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) people who are missing or have been murdered,” Bennett said in a statement on Monday. “We offer support to the families and communities who bear the grief of their loss and to the survivors whose lives have been forever changed.”
Trudeau has been apologetic to Canada‘s Indigenous population in recent months following the discovery of 751 unmarked graves at the site of a former Catholic Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.
