Shawn Syms (born 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer and activist on

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

issues and other aspects of progressive politics based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. From 1988 until 1992, he was one of the editors and publishers of ''

Rites RITES Ltd, formerly known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, is an Indian public sector undertaking and engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field of transport infrastructure. Established in 1974 by the In ...

'', a

monthly magazine of

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

history, politics and culture. Syms's work for ''Rites'' included political and cultural analysis that was referenced in such books as ''The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader''Abelove H, Barale MA, Halperin DM, eds., ''The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader.'' Routledge, 1993, page 43. and ''Global Sports Sponsorship'',Amis JM, Cornwell, BT, eds., ''Global Sports Sponsorship.'' Berg, 2005, page 282. and reprinted in the respectedHoffman A
"An Army of Ex Lovers"
/ref> left-of-centre LGBT weekly '' Gay Community News''. During that time, Syms was also active in the political organization AIDS Action NOW!, which fought for access to treatment for people living with

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. In 1997 and 1998, he was publisher,Cudmore, D
"The Little Gay Paper That Grew"
''Ryerson Review of Journalism,'' Summer 1996. for

Pink Triangle Press Pink Triangle Press is an independent, Canadian media organization specializing in LGBTQ2S+ journalism, television and online interactive media. Founded in 1971, Pink Triangle Press is one of the longest-publishing LGBTQ2S+ media groups in the wo ...

, of ''Canadian Male'', a short-lived gay men's sexual magazine characterized by very diverse contents and high production values. Syms co-wrote the sexual-advice column "Carnal Queeries" in Toronto's ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

'' for several years. Syms was a copy editor at ''Fuse Magazine'' for over a decade and served on its board of directors for 13 years in the 1990s and early 2000s. He blogged on political affairs for ''

This Magazine ''This Magazine'' is an independent alternative Canadian political magazine. History and profile The magazine was launched "by a gang of school activists" in April 1966 as ''This Magazine Is About Schools'', a journal covering political issues ...

'' from 2007 to 2008. From 2007 to 2010, he wrote a regular column on sexuality, sex work, drug use and harm reduction for xtra.ca called "Free Agent." As a journalist, Syms has specialized in covering medical conditions transmitted through drug use and sexual practices, including

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

herpes Herpes simplex, often known simply as herpes, is a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. Herpes infections are categorized by the area of the body that is infected. The two major types of herpes are oral herpes and genital herp ...

HPV Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and ...

and HIV/AIDS. His 2009 extensive examination of the legal and biocultural implications of criminalizing HIV transmission was described by criminalization expert Edwin J. Bernard as a "piece de resistance"Bernard EJ
"Canada: Xtra publishes its anti-criminalisation piece-de-resistance".
/ref> and was one of the few pieces by a non-lawyer included by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network's resource kit for lawyers involved in cases related to HIV and the criminal law. In 2008, Syms was an invited speaker on the topic at the Health and Human Rights Conference at Queen's University.HHRC2008
" HHRC 2008 Speakers"
/ref> Other advocacy journalism by Syms regarding gay

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

men has been lauded by writer and sex-worker advocate Sasha Von Bon Bon,Bon Bon S von. and translated into French.Syms, S
"Des hommes trans qui aiment des hommes gay qui aiment des hommes trans"
/ref> His coverage of the forced sterilization of a Chilean HIV-positive woman has been cited in the ''Harvard Human Rights Journal''.Nair P
"Litigating against the Forced Sterilization of HIV-Positive Women: Recent Developments in Chile and Namibia"
volume 23, page 228. Syms's fiction writing was nominatedMiller, M
"Interview with Shawn Syms"
for the 2009

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published b ...

, and was twiceSaints and Sinners Literary Festival website
"Fiction and Playwriting Contest Finalists"
short-listedSaints and Sinners Literary Festival website
"And the Winner Is"
for the short-fiction competition associated with the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival. His essays have twice been published in books by

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...

. Also a widely published book critic, his writing has appeared in thirty periodicals and journals. In 2013, he edited and published ''Friend. Follow. Text.'', an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of short stories about interactions through

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. His debut short story collection, ''Nothing Looks Familiar'', was published by Arsenal Pulp in September 2014.'' Plenitude'', Issue 4 (Spring 2014).

References

External links

''Legal Resource Kit of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network''

''Xtra.ca Free Agent column''

''The Journey Prize Stories 21''

''First Person Queer'', Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007

''I Like It Like That'', Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009

''website of Shawn Syms''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syms, Shawn 1970 births Living people Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian male short story writers Canadian gay writers Journalists from Toronto Canadian LGBTQ journalists Canadian literary critics Canadian magazine editors Writers from Toronto Canadian anthologists 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people