Gender Studies

**Description** Coming Out Being Out (COBO) is a peer discussion group that has served the LGBT community for over 15 years in downtown Toronto. We meet to share stories and opinions, challenges and triumphs at all stages of coming out and being out. COBO participants are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and questioning people. We welcome all who identify under the banner of queer sexual orientation and gender identity. **What We Do** \|\-\| COBO participants are often seeking to: * Understand what experiences others have in coming out to family, friends and their respective communities. * Develop comfort in discussing their identity with others. * Meet others having the same experiences when it comes to living openly. * Receive the encouragement of peers. \|\-\| Regular topics of discussion include: * How people choose to come out (at work, with family, with friends). * Where to find others like us in the community. * Challenges and triumphs in navigating family and partner relationships. **Where & When** * Every Wednesday from 6-8pm * Community meeting space at Casey House - 119 Isabella St., Toronto **How to Access the Meeting** Registration on Meetup is not required to attend. Attendance is on a drop-in basis. The front door to our meeting space at Casey House is controlled by the main floor receptionist. To access the space when you arrive: * Press the button to the left of the main entrance door. * Tell the receptionist that you are there for the COBO meeting. * You will be buzzed in and someone from our group will come to show you to the meeting. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON WEDNESDAY! *COBO is a community group led by non-professional peer facilitators and is not a Casey House program.*

**​The Test Tribe 11th Toronto Meetup** ​ Agentic, generative, and evocative AI is no longer a passing trend-it’s reshaping how software is built, delivered, and trusted. As AI systems become more autonomous, opaque, and influential, the risks extend far beyond bugs and failures. They reach into ethics, bias, accountability, and societal trust. ​In this powerful and provocative keynote, Robert Sabourin challenges testers to rethink their role in an AI-driven world. Testing is no longer just a technical activity-it is an act of social responsibility. As guardians of risk, uncertainty, and quality, testers are uniquely positioned to protect not just products, but people and institutions. ​This is not a talk about fear-it’s a wake-up call, and an invitation to rise. ## ​Event Details ​📅 Date: 4th February 2026 (Wednesday) 🕕 Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST 🏢 Location: 125 E Liberty St, Toronto 🗺️ Google Maps:[ https://maps.app.goo.gl/mwJf4zRSkXQa2v9w5](https://maps.app.goo.gl/mwJf4zRSkXQa2v9w5) ## ​Session: Test Transcendence and the AI Apocalypse ​Speaker: Robert Sabourin ## ​About the Session ​AI is redefining what we mean by *products*, *services*, and even *decision-making itself*. Its promise of speed and intelligence is intoxicating-but beneath it lies a rapidly growing landscape of risk. ​In this keynote, Robert Sabourin explores how software testing becomes a critical line of defense in an era where autonomy, bias, and opacity threaten trust itself. Drawing from decades of real-world experience, Rob brings these ideas to life through compelling stories, case studies, and pragmatic strategies for testing agentic and generative AI systems. ​This is a high-energy, reality-grounded session that goes beyond tools and techniques. It’s about purpose. ​As AI systems grow more powerful, testers must transcend traditional roles. The future demands professionals who can model risk, navigate uncertainty, and communicate value to leaders, regulators, and society at large. ​The apocalypse is not a prophecy-it’s a call to action. ## ​Key Takeaways * ​Understand how AI is redefining risk, quality, and assurance in modern socio-technical systems * ​Recognize the ethical and social responsibility of testing in an AI-driven world * ​Learn concrete strategies for testing agentic and generative AI responsibly * ​Discover how testers can evolve from defect finders to trusted advisors and change agents * ​Leave inspired by decades of practical wisdom-and the belief that testing can truly make a positive impact ## ​About the Speaker ​Robert Sabourin has over four decades of experience in software engineering and testing. A globally respected educator, consultant, and keynote speaker, Rob is known for his energetic, story-driven, and deeply thought-provoking presentations. ​He bridges technical excellence with human insight, helping teams around the world elevate quality, accountability, and trust in the software systems that increasingly shape our lives. His work consistently challenges professionals to think bigger-not just about systems, but about their responsibility to society. ## ​Why You Should Attend * ​Gain a rare, big-picture perspective on AI, risk, and trust * ​Learn how testing intersects with ethics, governance, and societal impact * ​Be inspired to elevate your role in an AI-first world * ​Hear from one of the most respected voices in global testing * ​Connect with Toronto’s QA and tech community at the 11th Toronto Meetup ## ​About The Test Tribe ​The Test Tribe is the world’s largest software testing community, empowering testers globally since 2018. With 700+ events and 150K+ members across 130+ countries, we bring testers together to learn, grow, and connect through meetups, conferences, cohorts, masterclasses, and more. ​By RSVPing, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and consent to be contacted by The Test Tribe and our event partners.

(Full title – Breaking the 'Invisible Chains of Slavery': Recognition's Motivational Problem and Frederick Douglass's Abolitionist Politics of Shame) This talk reads Frederick Douglass as a theorist of recognition and examines one of the counterintuitive ways that he navigates what I call the “motivational problem.” Struggles for recognition encounter the motivational problem when there is no clear desire or need on the part of powerful individuals or dominant groups to confer affirmative recognition to those struggling for recognition. While most studies of the political and moral salience of recognition focus exclusively on the misrecognition of the oppressed, Douglass confronts the motivational problem by orienting the attention of his readers and audiences to a form of misrecognition experienced by white slaveholders: a recognition of a humanity that is falsely assumed to remain intact and undistorted as a result of slaveholding. Douglass rhetorically leverages this discrepancy for an abolitionist politics of shame. By demonstrating how slaveholders alienate their humanity, Douglass seeks to not only shame slaveholders but erode their external sources of recognition and persuade his white northern audiences to dis-identify with the slaveholders and thereby implicitly recognize their own misrecognition of the master’s humanity. Douglass sought to make slaveholding appear to white Americans (among others) as unappealing as it is in reality and thereby persuade his white audiences to adopt abolitionist principles. William Gregson https://www.politics.utoronto.ca/people/directories/graduate-students/william-gregson PhD Candidate Department of Political Science University of Toronto **About the Speaker:** I specialize in political theory, especially critical theory and the history of political thought. My dissertation focuses on the relationship between freedom and recognition and explores how intersubjective recognition is vital for achieving freedom even as it has the potential to inculcate new forms of dependence. Through an engagement with Frederick Douglass, Frantz Fanon, and Judith Butler, the dissertation seeks to paint a more complex historical and theoretical picture of how the concept of recognition evolved to become an important modern category. My work on Fanon and recognition can be read in *Political Theory.* Beyond my engagements with debates on recognition, my interests in political theory extend to questions concerning the role of love in a life of human flourishing. I am currently working on a series of co-authored papers with Joshua D. Goldstein that wrestle with the political and philosophical perplexities posed by modern family life and its institutional boundaries, particularly through a critical engagement with G.W.F. Hegel’s political thought. The first of these articles can be found in *The Review of Metaphysics.* **\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*** This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. Free pizza and refreshments will be provided at the event. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat [here](https://youtube.com/live/s82P2HZCFU0). About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca): The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life. In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society. The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai

PLEASE CONTACT Jason at 905-308-4100 FOR DETAILS.

Every Wednesday Night! Free Magic The Gathering Commander games at Hairy Tarantula, hosted by Toronto Gaymers! Please note: Masks are required in store! For more information and to RSVP please over to harryt.com/events

Small Group | Women-Only Event ※日本語の案内は下にあります 【Fee】 $10 (Only $5 if you bring snacks for share) 【Payment】：Cash or E-Transfer only ⚠️ Credit/debit cards are not accepted. • We’ll provide a cup of green tea. If you have a favorite drink, feel free to bring it with you! (Cups, plates, wet wipes and snacks will also be available.) Meeting Point: The central stage on the first floor of the library (If you are late, please come to Study Room 1 and 2 on the first floor or Study-room on the second floor). • A relaxed tea-time hangout with casual chatting in both English and Japanese, plus card games 🌸🍵 (There’s no structured “language exchange time,” so don’t worry if you’re not confident—just take it at your own pace! 🙋‍♀️) 【Important Request】 If you can’t make it, please mark yourself as “Not Attending” so someone on the waitlist can join. If you fail to show up twice without marking “Not Attending,” you may be removed from the group. 【Eligibility Notice】 This event is exclusively for individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB). While we deeply respect all gender identities, this particular gathering is intended to provide a safe and comfortable space for AFAB women to connect. We kindly ask trans women, non-binary, and other gender-diverse individuals to refrain from attending this time. Additionally, if your name or profile photo does not clearly reflect your gender (e.g. male-identifying names, random numbers, spam-like characters), you may be removed from the event. Thank you for your understanding. 少人数｜女性限定 The English guide is below 【参加費】 $10 （シェアできるお菓子を持参で半額の$5） 【支払い】：現金 or E-Transfer のみ ⚠️ カードの取り扱いはありません ・緑茶1杯ご用意します。好きなドリンクがある方はお持ち込み大歓迎です。 （他：コップ、お皿、手拭き、スナックあります） 【集合場所】 図書館の一階中央ステージ （遅刻した場合はStudy Room 1 or 2または2階のStudy roomに来てください） ・英語と日本語を自由にミックスしておしゃべり、カードゲームなどゆるっとお茶会スタイル 【こんな方におすすめ】 女の子の友達が欲しい！ Meetupに参加してみたいけど、不安がある。 【お願い】 参加できない場合は「不参加」にしてください。 「不参加」なしで2回現れなかった場合、退会となります。 【参加対象についてのご案内】 本イベントは「出生時に女性として割り当てられた方（AFAB）」に限らせていただいております。 あらゆるジェンダーアイデンティティを尊重しておりますが、今回はAFABの女性が安心して交流できる場を意図しております。 トランス女性・ノンバイナリー等の方々におかれましては、誠に恐れ入りますが、今回のイベントへのご参加はご遠慮ください。 また、名前やプロフィール写真から性別が判断できない場合（明らかに男性である、数字の羅列、スパムのような文字の羅列など）イベントから退会してもらう可能性があることをご承知ください。

Come to our church on Sunday! We’re a welcoming bunch. Our website is nlife.ca

Winterlicious is here and we’re getting together for a cozy Girls Club lunch 🤍 This will be a relaxed, low-pressure afternoon to enjoy good food and easy conversation with other girls in the city. We’ll be meeting for Winterlicious lunch at a vegetarian-friendly, reservation-friendly restaurant. To keep planning smooth and fair for everyone, the restaurant will be selected based on suggestions and confirmed attendees. How to join: ✨ Please email your restaurant suggestion ✨ Send a $5 deposit 📧 s.girlsclub.to@gmail.com Your deposit helps us confirm numbers and secure the reservation. It will go toward holding the spot and coordinating the booking. ✨ Limited spots to keep the group intimate ✨ Everyone pays for their own lunch (Winterlicious pricing applies) ✨ Restaurant details will be shared once finalized This event is perfect if you’ve been wanting to meet new people IRL but prefer something calm, cozy, and approachable

Please note: this is not a physical event but an invitation to experience private 1:1 feminine embodiment coaching. To book a session or for more information please contact Amanda Clarke at lusciousfeminine@gmail.com. Feminine Embodiment Coaching with Amanda Clarke https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/4/2/8/600_461233352.jpeg There is a cosmic shift happening on the planet and women are tired of playing second fiddle in this game of life. Playing small not only keeps you from manifesting what you truly want, but it also holds you back from living out your divine purpose. I’ve been there, stuck, held back, and yearning to break free and frankly being in that place plain 'ol sucks! What if you could step up and make a difference; a meaningful contribution in this world by just being you? How might the landscape of your life look? Over for the past six years, I’ve worked with women who are looking to break out of the spell of smallness. It pangs me to see women depressed, depleted, disconnected and downright insecure. One of the reasons many of my clients rave about the work we do together is because I provide immediate results. What I teach is inherent within you but there are layers of gunk bogging you down from access this wisdom yourself. Spinning your wheels, and living a life of lack is no way to live, beautiful. You are so much more! What can you expect from our sessions together: • A solid understanding of what feminine energy is, and how to use it to have your way with the world • Develop a physical and energetic presence that attracts what you want: personally and professionally. • Feel more comfortable with your sensuality, and with receiving positive attention. • Experience more passion in your life - particularly your love life. • Be more at ease setting clear boundaries with others. • Learn to be in flow rather than always pushing and striving to make things happen. • Look and feel more sexy, confident and radiant • Gain clarity about your life purpose and the greatest gifts you have to offer the world • Establish or strengthen your intuitive guidance Book a FREE 30-minute discovery call to learn how I can help support you on your journey to coming home to yourself as a woman. This means MORE self-love, MORE self-confidence, MORE clarity, MORE empowerment and saying YES to living out your divine mission. For more information on my coaching packages please visit http://www.lusciousfeminine.com or to book a FREE 30-minute complimentary Discovery Call, email Amanda at lusciousfeminine@gmail.com “Before working with Amanda, I was the dried-out, work-obsessed intellectual. I lived in my head and felt completely severed from the neck-down. I over-intellectualized emotionally-charged situations to avoid being present…I am [now] able to ease my ‘mind-babble’, step into my power as a woman knowing that I am safe and secure within my own space, and practice expressing my needs and desires from a more authentic place… Amanda helped me to be trust in the power of vulnerability, surrender, and acceptance. It has been a pleasurable journey! ~ Stefanie T. Amanda Clarke The Luscious Feminine www.lusciousfeminine.com http://www.facebook.com/thelusciousfeminine lusciousfeminine@gmail.com

**Our February novel is: Julia by Sandra Newman** **This month is a classic, dystopian, fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and science fiction novel. The book is 394 pages in print and 14 hours and 20 minutes on audiobook.** **An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.** Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

OWASP is ending use of Meetup, so I built an eventbrite for the event. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-development-risk-case-studies-and-how-agentic-ai-is-the-future-of-appsec-tickets-1981450622150?aff=oddtdtcreator AI is transforming how software is designed, developed, and deployed, dramatically accelerating velocity while introducing new categories of risk. As organizations adopt AI-assisted coding, autonomous agents, and increasingly complex model interactions, traditional application security approaches struggle to keep pace. This talk examines emerging AI-driven risks through real case studies from the field, highlighting issues such as insecure code generation, data-leakage pathways, model manipulation, and evolving supply-chain threats. We will explore how engineering teams must adapt their people, processes, and governance models to secure AI-augmented development workflows effectively. The session will then introduce agentic AI as the next evolution in application security—autonomous systems capable of continuous analysis, multi-step reasoning, and real-time remediation. Attendees will learn how combining agentic AI with modern practices can reduce developer friction, improve coverage, and create a future-ready application security strategy designed for the demands of AI-native software development

**I’m planning future book club meetups and would love your input. Please choose your top three from the list below—your picks will help decide what we read next!** **Book Options** *The Hong Kong Widow* – Kristen Loesch *American Spy* – Lauren Wilkinson *God of the Woods* – Liz Moore *Listen for the Lie* – Amy Tintera *The Swallows* – Lisa Lutz *The Drowning Kind* – Jennifer McMahon *The Eights* – Joanna Miller *The Quiet Librarian* – Allen Eskens Thanks so much for sharing your pick! Please **reply in the comments** with your top three. I can’t wait to see which books rise to the top and to discuss them together at our next meetups.

Is doing good really its own reward? To look around the world and see wrongdoing, injustice, and seemingly-gotten-away-with crime, people have often wondered whether or not it is "worth it" to do the right thing. These are not new questions--going back at least 3,000 years, human beings have wrestled with such questions, and the Psalmist, ca. 1,000 BC, sought such answers as well. He came to the conclusion that there was, indeed, an answer, and one that brought hope: God sees, God knows, and God will not allow evil to triumph, nor will He allow the wicked to escape justice. In addition to God's justice, He also promises mercy and blessing to those who humble themselves and follow Him. Psalm 1 and 2 address the underlying concerns of both of these questions--will wrong one day be righted, and is it worth it to do right, in spite of so much evil--with a resounding, "Yes, indeed!" Doing rightly is always good and *will* be blessed. Doing wrongly is always wrong, and those who think they have "gotten away with it" will one day understand the truth: God will not be mocked, and justice *will* prevail. Come join us, **6:30 pm, Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at True Food Kitchen, Easton Town Center**, and be encouraged by ancient truth that is still vitally essential today! Get your tickets on [EventBrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/columbus-a-study-in-psalms-psalm-1-and-2-tickets-1982202015588)! Connect with us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/events/1409497500869578)!

**To Be Announced!**