A queer artist from western Newfoundland is facing off against homophobia and hyper-masculinity in sports by creating a make-believe hockey league full of B次元官网网址渟issies,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址減ansiesB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渇lamers.B次元官网网址�

Lucas Morneau spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic hunched over his hands, crocheting and rug hooking 14 jerseys for teams such as the St. JohnB次元官网网址檚 Sissies, the Come By Chance Flamers, the Pasadena Pansies and the Bonavista Buggers. TheyB次元官网网址檙e all part of his imaginary Queer Newfoundland Hockey League, which is the name heB次元官网网址檚 given to the collection of work.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been something that was brewing in the back of my head for about two years,B次元官网网址� Morneau said in a recent interview. B次元官网网址淚 wanted to work with rug hooking in some sort of way B次元官网网址� and I wanted to do something that dealt with queer theory a bit or reclaimed pejoratives, but didnB次元官网网址檛 know really how to.B次元官网网址�

Then, he said, B次元官网网址渢he whole Don Cherry thingB次元官网网址� happened.

Like it is for many in Newfoundland and Labrador, hockey is a big deal in the Morneau family. His uncle, George Faulkner, was a professional hockey player and led CanadaB次元官网网址檚 national team to a bronze medal in the 1966 World Hockey Championships in the former Yugoslavia. HeB次元官网网址檚 now a member of the provincial Hockey Hall of Fame.

His childhood nights were often spent watching Hockey Night in Canada and its well-known segment CoachB次元官网网址檚 Corner, which was co-hosted by Don Cherry, Morneau said. When Cherry was let go in 2019 following on-air comments many felt were critical of immigrants for not wearing Remembrance Day poppies, Morneau said he started reflecting on those nights watching Cherry.

B次元官网网址淪ome of the past things that he said, specifically about European players and players that refused to fight, and him using pejoratives like B次元官网网址榮issyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址榩ansy,B次元官网网址� and really looking a the homophobic root of that,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎fter that, I came up with the idea of the hockey jerseys.B次元官网网址� The Canadian Press was unable to reach Cherry for comment on Monday.

The project is also a way to critique the past use of racial slurs in masculine professional sports, he said, pointing to the former name of the Canadian Football LeagueB次元官网网址檚 Edmonton Elks, which had a name considered a slur to Indigenous Peoples. Major League BaseballB次元官网网址檚 Cleveland Indians have announced they would be called the B次元官网网址淕uardiansB次元官网网址� for the 2022 season, following years of criticism from Indigenous groups and fans.

Morneau applied for a grant in February 2020 for the project, and it came through just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he said.

He used rug hooking, sometimes with materials like pantyhose, to make the emblems for the front of the jerseys and then crocheted the shirts. Morneau used the more comedic Newfoundland town names for some teams, like the Dildo Dykes, but he also made use of real symbols for other towns. The logo for the Come By Chance Flamers, for example, represents a huge flame bursting from a pipe in the townB次元官网网址檚 massive oil refinery.

The design for his Corner Brook Queens jersey borrows from the colours, patterns and logo used by the Corner Brook Royals, the team his uncle played for.

Morneau has also created series of fake hockey cards for his fantasy teams, featuring players with tinted aviator shades, greasy handlebar moustaches and classic mullet-style haircuts. The card for the Port Union Pinkos shows a bald man in a full face of makeup wearing his pink and yellow crocheted jersey and making a suggestive tongue motion at the camera.

His hockey-loving family has been completely on board with the project, he said. His father, he added, pushed him toward some of the funnier town names, like the Leading Tickles Lesbos. B次元官网网址淚 would have the pejoratives ready, but I had a hard time sometimes trying to pick a town,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 have more town names I would love to make jerseys for B次元官网网址� like Spread Eagle!B次元官网网址�

Morneau has posted pictures of the jerseys and the hockey cards to his Instagram account. Earlier this summer, The Rooms, Newfoundland and LabradorB次元官网网址檚 provincial art gallery, purchased his St. JohnB次元官网网址檚 Sissies jersey for its permanent collection.

The work will also be shown in October in Moncton, N.B., at La Galerie Sans Nom, he said, adding that more shows will likely be added as the COVID-19 pandemic abates.

B次元官网网址擲arah Smellie, The Canadian Press