11th annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (May/June 2012)

The 11th annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference is next May 31st – June 2nd; there will probably be additional programming on the 30th and 3rd. I’m a member of the PTHC Spirituality Advisory Group, and I’m co-chairing the Jewish Working Group (J-WoG? J-WorG?) with Shelley Kapnek Rosenberg (in Philly); we organize the Jewish programming for the con. Here’s the Spirituality Call for Proposals (and the other Calls), also available at http://www.trans-health.org/2012specificcallforproposals#spirituality and as a Word document.

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11th Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference

May 31st-June 2nd 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center

(Philadelphia, PA)

a program of the Mazzoni Center

Please forward/spread the word to friends and colleagues!

*Call For Workshop Proposals in the area of Spirituality*

The *11th Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference* (PTHC) will be held*

**May 31st-June 2nd 2012* at the *Pennsylvania** Convention Center

(Philadelphia, PA)*.

The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference hosts over 175 workshops each year. In this fourth year of extended *spirituality programming* at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, we continue to embrace the power of spiritual practice, reflection, and community as tools that can support personal health and wholeness.

Our programming includes a wide range of spiritual perspectives, reflecting a diverse range of spiritual and religious paths. Through multiple programming approaches, we will nurture personal strength, explore transgender experiences of the sacred, build community, and create

opportunities to (re)claim religious traditions in a transgender-friendly environment. We will also work to support spiritual and religious leaders in making the world a more supportive place for transgender people, our family, and friends.

*Leadership*

If you have never presented at PTHC in the spirituality track, then we would love to hear from you! PTHC emphasizes grassroots empowerment and we put together a variety of non-sectarian and multi-faith offerings in addition to religiously specific workshops. We are particularly eager to hear from transgender people who are willing and able to talk about their experiences in faith traditions or spiritual practices outside of Christianity, including spiritual practices that may not even be considered "religious." We would love to hear from you, if you have a perspective to

share. Please contact chris@trans-health.org or 267-507-5507 to explore possible opportunities for leadership and representation -- OR if you can help to put us in touch with other relevant people.

Meanwhile, please help us expand the circle by sharing this call for proposals with others you know who may want to participate or have gifts to share.

*Spiritual Opportunities*

We need your ideas for creative affirmations, spiritual practices, and religious observances that facilitate exploration and/or rediscovery of spiritual vitality beyond the workshop schedule. Traditional examples of spiritual opportunities at PTHC have included meditation practice (e.g.

guided or Buddhist), yoga practice, Pagan ritual opportunities, Jewish prayer service, and Christian worship and/or prayer. In past years, we have also offered non-sectarian opportunities like 12 step meetings, naming ceremonies, a celebration/gratitude table, and an artful meditation room.

With your help, we can expand our offerings to even better represent the breadth of religious experience -- as well as opening further to the amazing spiritual strength of our communities. Join in the existing conversations about Eastern traditions, Indigenous traditions, Judaism,

Black Church contexts, Islam, and Catholicism -- or help us to better represent additional traditions like atheism, ancestor worship, African traditions, Hinduism, New Thought, and more! We embrace and affirm the incredible diversity of spiritual paths and practices among transgender folks, our families, friends, and allies. We need creative conversation partners as we look at new ways to facilitate the sharing of wisdom and strength in our communities in ways that transcend religious institutions. Please contact chris@trans-health.org or 267-507-5507 to share your ideas.

*Workshops*

In the area of spirituality programming, we are seeking workshop proposals and faculty that nurture spiritual strength and expression in and around transgender communities, including:

§ Spirituality and our bodies (e.g. ritual and spiritual practice, sacred significance of body modification, how spirituality supports personal health, etc)

§ Uniquely transgender experiences of the sacred (e.g. gender-giftedness, insights from beyond the binary, etc)

§ Safe spirituality (e.g. finding your spiritual path, new transgender-friendly spiritual practices, finding/building alternative spiritual communities, etc)

§ Transgender-friendly perspectives on religious traditions (e.g. exploring Christian Scripture or Jewish texts, gender-giftedness in pagan traditions, gender diversity in Buddhism, etc)

§ Strategies for making change (e.g. how spiritual practice supports activism, how to connect with adversarial religious types, the role of moral authority in trans-activism, equipping transgender leaders to impact local religious communities, etc)

§ Innovative efforts to address transgender spiritual and religious issues (e.g. Black Church town hall meeting, seminarian caucus, transgender clergy networking, etc)

§ Your other creative ideas, nurturing spiritual strength and expression in transgender communities

We are also seeking proposals that will equip religious and spiritual leaders to better serve transgender people, our family, and friends. Examples of workshop topics include:

§ Pastoral counseling with the transgender community

§ Experiences of family and friends of transgender people in religious communities

§ How to make your religious community more trans-inclusive

§ How religious communities can make a difference for transgender people, our family, and friends

§ Your other creative ideas, nurturing cultural competency and trans-advocacy among religious leaders

*Special Events*

We are also looking for organizations that are interested in partnering with us to provide additional opportunities and impact. If your organization would like to explore opportunities for partnership or invite PTHC participants to attend a special event hosted by your religious/spiritual community during or around the conference, please contact chris@trans-health.org.

Also, please check back for more details on a pre-events being planned for Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Opportunities are also in development for Sunday, June 3, 2012.

*How To Submit Your Proposal*

At www.trans-health.org/propose-a-workshop, you can propose your own workshops as well as review a list of topics and past workshop descriptions. We are eager to hear your creative ideas!

*The workshop proposal deadline is January 15, 2012.* However, earlier submission is strongly encouraged!

There is no registration fee to participate in the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, but if travel expenses would prevent you from offering your workshop idea, please be in touch with the planning committee about your needs. A limited amount of funds may be available to provide travel and lodging assistance for presenters with pressing need. Go ahead and submit your workshop proposal in the online system and also contact jacsen@trans-health.org with information on what kind of support you would need to be able to attend.

*General Call for Proposals*

In addition to this specific call for proposals, we are seeking proposals in many other areas of programming. Please see the website www.trans-health.org/2012generalcallforproposals for more details about this.

*For More Information*

Please watch http://www.trans-health.org for more conference developments as plans are finalized, including details about sponsorship, advertising, and vending opportunities, as well as housing options, pre-registration, and more program details. Jacsen is the logistical coordinator on staff at the Mazzoni Center and can be reached at jacsen@trans-health.org or on the phone at 215-563-0652. Jacsen is available to answer questions as well as help people submit workshops who do not have regular access to or the ability to use computers. For questions specific to *spirituality programming* *or to volunteer with spirituality programming* please contact

Chris Paige at chris (at) transfaithonline (dot) org (chris@transfaithonline.org).

Governor signs MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill

Governor Deval Patrick Signs Transgender Equal Rights Bill Today, Public Signing To Be Held in Near Future

November 23rd, 2011

Today, Governor Deval Patrick is expected to sign the Transgender Equal Rights Bill privately, as he has just a 10-day window in which to sign bills into law. The bill was passed by the legislature last week. A public signing ceremony will be scheduled for a future date. The law will take effect on July 1, 2012.

“Governor Patrick has been a vocal supporter of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill since the bill was first filed in 2007” said Gunner Scott, executive director of the Mass. Transgender Political Coalition. “We applaud the Governor because he has been a staunch advocate in recognizing the transgender community and leader in getting this bill passed.”

Gov. Patrick was a vocal proponent of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, advocating, he has submitted written testimony in support of the bill at all three public hearings. Last February, he signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in state employment, which reaches 43,500 executive branch employees and 13,500 state contractors.

In 2008, Gov. Patrick appointed the first transgender person, Diego Sanchez, to a Democratic National Committee standing committee. Diego Sanchez is a former co-chair of MTPC and has since gone on to work as the first out transgender legislative staffer for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

MTPC thanks the members of the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition for all of their efforts in passing “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” Some of the 104 members of the coalition include MassEquality, MassNOW; ACLU of Massachusetts; Jane Doe, Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; National Association of Social Workers, MA; Mass AFL-CIO; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Mass Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus; Jobs with Justice; the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality; and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.

The House voted 95-58, and the House vote tally is here:http://aclum.org/sites/all/files/legislative/2011/trans/mass_trans_house_vote.pdf. The Senate passed the bill on a voice vote (see MTPC Senate co-sponsor list).

MTPC encourages all community members to thank the Representatives and Senators that voted for the bill and most especially, the lead sponsors, Representative Carl Sciortino & Byron Rushing, and Senators Ben Downing, and Sonia Chang-Diaz; the legislature’s leadership House Speaker Robert Deleo and Senate President Therese Murray; and especially, Governor Deval Patrick.

MTPC will alert community members to the date and location of the public signing ceremony so community members may attend and MTPC plans to hold an additional community event on or about the same day to share in this historic moment.

THE MASSACHUSETTS TRANSGENDER EQUAL RIGHTS BILL PASSED TODAY!

Contact: Gunner Scott

617-778-0519

gscott@masstpc.org

For Immediate Release

Transgender Equal Rights Now a Reality in Massachusetts

BOSTON, MA [11/16/11] – The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is proud to announce the passing of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in the House and the Senate extending civil rights and hate crimes protections to the state’s transgender residents.

Last night, just before 9:00 PM, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Transgender Equal Rights bill without any amendments. This morning by 10:30 AM, the bill passed in the Massachusetts Senate. The bill must still be approved once more in Senate the Governor can sign it. As we wait for Governor Deval Patrick to officially sign this bill into law, we can celebrate the impact this will have on our transgender youth, adults, and families across the Commonwealth.

MTPC thanks our legislative lead sponsors Representative Carl Sciortino, Representative Byron Rushing, Senator Ben Downing, and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz; all of the House and Senate co-sponsors, and the leadership of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray for providing vital protections for approximately 33,000 transgender residents here in Massachusetts.

This bill will give transgender people equal protections when seeking employment, housing, credit, and education. The bill also expands the state's hate crimes protections to now include transgender people; a community that experiences alarmingly disproportionate levels of harassment and violence.

The final version of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill passed by the legislature unfortunately does not include protections within public accommodations. MTPC and our coalition partners fought hard to try to get public accommodations restored in the Senate version of the bill, and were unsuccessful in doing so. Although this bill does not include public accommodations, this is a historic and important victory in the fight for achieving transgender equality in Massachusetts.

“This is not the end of our fight, and MTPC is committed to getting public accommodations protections for our transgender youth, adults, and families. MTPC plans on introducing a bill for the 2013 legislative session for those public accommodations protections,” said Gunner Scott, Executive Director of MTPC. “For now, let’s be proud of the difference this bill will make in the daily lives of thousands of people across the state who need jobs, a safe place to live and access to education.”

MTPC expresses our deepest gratitude to our community members, who have spent countless hours educating their legislators and the general public about the issues transgender people face. "It is because of the courage of our community members to come forward and tell their personal stories about themselves, their family members, and their friends that we have accomplished this milestone," said Nancy Nangeroni, Steering Committee Chair of MTPC.

MTPC thanks the members of the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition including MassEquality, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), ACLU of Massachusetts, MassNOW, Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, Jobs with Justice, and Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality for their tireless work on behalf of transgender equal rights.

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Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is a 501(c) 3 that works to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. MTPC educates the public, advocates with state, local, and federal government, engages in political activism, and encourages empowerment of community members through collective action.

My "I AM : Trans People Speak" video is online

"My name is Mycroft Masada Holmes --

and I'm an interfaith leader,

I'm a writer and an artist,

I'm a life partner,

and I am also a transgender person."

And -- if you've somehow missed my wonderful life partner squeeing about it -- my "I AM : Trans People Speak" video is online. YAY! You can watch it on the "I AM" site (4 minutes 8 seconds) -- http://transpeoplespeak.org/ -- or You Tube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMNvzYPMp_Q.

I'm also in the trailer for the "I AM" project (1 minute 31 seconds): http://www.masstpc.org/?p=1167.

Here's the official announcement:

http://www.transpeoplespeak.org/?q=node/75

New national survey - majority of Americans support transgender equal rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 3, 2011

Contact: Shannon Craig Straw

sstraw@publicreligion.org

p. 202.238.9424 c. 202.674.5921

New Survey: Strong Majorities Favor Rights and Legal Protections for Transgender People

Americans have Solid Understanding of Transgender Identity

Washington, D.C. – Overwhelming majorities of Americans, across the political and religious spectrum, believe that transgender people should have the same general rights and legal protections as other people, a new survey finds.

The August and September Religion and Politics Tracking Surveys were conducted by Public Religion Research Institute and released amid the increased attention towards transgender issues following Chaz Bono’s appearance on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The combined surveys constitute one of the first independent studies of attitudes on transgender issues and Americans’ knowledge of transgender identity.

"Three out of four Americans say Congress should pass employment nondiscrimination laws that protect transgender people," said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. "This strong support is also broad, persisting across party lines and the religious spectrum."

Approximately three-quarters (74%) of Americans also favor Congress’ recent expansion of hate crimes legislation to protect transgender people. Additionally, the survey found that roughly two-thirds of Americans both report being well informed about transgender people and issues, and generally understand what the term "transgender" means.

"To explore whether Americans know what the term ‘transgender’ means, we allowed them to define ‘transgender’ in their own words," said Daniel Cox, PRRI Research Director. "More than two-thirds of Americans were able to give an essentially accurate definition of the term ‘transgender’ without any assistance."

Among the Findings:

Overwhelming majorities of Americans agree that transgender people should have the same general rights and legal protections as others.

• Approximately 9-in-10 (89%) Americans—including strong majorities of all religious and partisan groups—agree that transgender people deserve the same rights and protections as other Americans.
  

Approximately three-quarters of Americans both say Congress should pass employment nondiscrimination laws to protect transgender people, and favor Congress’s recent expansion of hate crimes legislation to protect transgender people.

• Three-quarters (75%) of Americans agree that Congress should pass laws to protect transgender people from job discrimination. This support persists across the political and religious spectrum.
• Approximately three-quarters (74%) of Americans also favor Congress’ recent expansion of federal hate crime laws to include crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, compared to only 22% who oppose.

Approximately two-thirds of Americans both report being well informed about transgender people and issues, and generally understand what the term "transgender" means.

• Two-thirds of Americans agree that they feel well informed about transgender persons and issues, while 3-in-10 disagree.
• In order to determine whether Americans understood the term "transgender," PRRI conducted a follow-up survey in September 2011 that asked respondents to report what the term "transgender" meant to them in their own words. Among the 91% of Americans who report that they have heard of the term transgender, 76% give an essentially accurate definition. Thus, overall, more than two-thirds (69%) of Americans are able to identify what the term "transgender" means without any assistance.

To read the topline questionnaire and survey methodology, click here:http://publicreligion.org/research/american-attitudes-towards-transgender-people

Both the August and the September Religion and Politics Tracking Surveys were designed and conducted by Public Religion Research Institute. Results of the August survey were based on random digit dial telephone survey of 1,006 adults conducted between August 11, 2011 and August 14, 2011. Results of the September survey were based on random digit dial telephone survey of 1,013 adults (301 were reached by cell phone) conducted between September 14, 2011 and September 18, 2011. The margin of error for both surveys is +/- 3.0 percentage points.

Public Religion Research Institute is a non-profit, nonpartisan research and education organization dedicated to work at the intersection of religion, values and public life.

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Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance - press release

For Immediate Release

PLEASE CIRCULATE

Contact: Nancy Nangeroni, 978-969-2346, nancy@gendertalk.com

www.masstpc.org/dor

BOSTON TO HONOR TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Community Speak-Out, Vigil on Sunday, Nov 20 in Boston

Each November 20, the worldwide transgender community turns its attention to its family, friends and loved ones lost to violence and prejudice. A tradition inspired by the Allston, MA vigil for slain transsexual Rita Hester in 1998, this day has become the worldwide rallying point for a community long under siege.

In Boston, folks will gather in St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral downtown for a program of speakers, community speak out, and a candlelight vigil on the Common. This free program begins at 4 pm and concludes with a reception featuring hot drinks and food. For more details, please visit www.masstpc.org/dor.

Boston’s Transgender and LGB community extends a warm welcome to all who would like to attend this important event to memorialize our dead and underscore the serious suffering in our communities. No persons should be subjected to violence simply because of their gender identity or expression. No persons should be denied the basic rights that enable their safety and security. No one should consider taking their own life to escape harassment and bullying. Please join with us on this day to remember those who are gone, whatever the cause of their departure.

This event will benefit the Transgender Emergency Fund, which provides assistance to low-income transgender people across Massachusetts. Sponsors include the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, TransCEND Boston and AIDS Action Committee, Boston Health Care for the Homeless, The Crossing, Human Rights Campaign, Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth and more.

Event Background:

Twelve years ago at this time, Boston’s LGBT community recoiled in horror at the discovery of the latest victim of transphobic violence. Rita Hester, a popular figure in the local rock ‘n roll scene, who also happened to be a transsexual, had been found brutally stabbed to death in her Brighton apartment. Like so many killings of gay and transgender persons, the victim was subjected to enough brutality to kill her many times over.

A local community of queer activists, rockers, family, friends and allies – over 250 of them – came together and held a speak-out and candlelight vigil in Rita’s honor, forming a human stream of light winding its way through Rita’s old Allston stomping grounds.

One year later, a memorial vigil was held in San Francisco; the following year Boston and a few other cities joined in, and this year hundreds of observances will be held in dozens of countries.

Boston’s transgender community remembers local victims Chanelle Pickett, Debra Forte, Monique Thomas, Georgette Hart, Denise Pugliesi, Monique Rogers, Lisa Daniels, CJ Garber, and Rita Hester. There have been many more, mostly uncounted and unnoticed by all but their friends and family.

Organized by the all-volunteer Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance Organizing Committee.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BostonTransDOR/

THIS THURSDAY - PFLAG transgender event w/ Joanne Herman - Wayland MA

Fall 2011 Greater Boston PFLAG Announces Joanne Herman Author Transgender Explained Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7pm Temple Shir Tikva Wayland Dear Friends, Greater Boston PFLAG invites you to join us on Thursday, October 27 7 to 9 pm at Temple Shir Tikva 141 Boston Post Road, Wayland, MA 01778 Free and open to all! Light refreshments available. We are thrilled to introduce our Featured Speaker: Joanne Herman, Author, Transgender Explained Since her transition to live as a female in 2002, Joanne Herman has been active as a spokeswoman for transgender awareness and understanding. Joanne is the first transgender person ever elected the Boards of Directors of Fenway Health, Point Foundation, and GLAD, the first transgender member of historic Old South Church in Boston, and one of the first openly transgender alumnae of Dartmouth College as a graduate of Dartmouth's last all-male class. Joanne Herman has received praise for her non-complicated explanations of transgender for almost a decade. Now she has written down her explanations for all to read in Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not. Organized by topic into short, easy-to-read chapters, Transgender Explained is perfect for parents, relatives, colleagues, friends, allies, and even journalists who want to quickly get up to speed on what it means to be transgender. You will also have the opportunity to hear from parents with transgender children who will share their personal experiences and talk about Greater Boston PFLAG's support group for parents with transgender children. Finally, you will have the opportunity to take action and support the transgender rights bill. We look forward to seeing you! Please feel free to contact me with any questions. All the best, Pam Garramone, Executive Director Greater Boston PFLAG pam@gbpflag.org 781 891 5966

THIS SUNDAY - Fat Clothing Swap in Somerville MA

As seen on "The List : Boston's Queer Agenda" --

http://www.queeragenda.org/:

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Sunday, October 23

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Fat Clothing Swap!

1pm-3pm

Between Davis and Ball Squares

Somerville, MA (free street parking! bus- and T-accessible!)

Admission: $5-$20 donation at door (cash) -- donate what you want/can.

All proceeds will benefit NOLOSE's scholarship fund (http://www.nolose.org/).

Want to freshen up your wardrobe on the cheap? Clothing swaps are an excellent way to purge your closets of unwanted, unloved clothes and return home with awesome new-to-you scores! If you have in-good-condition swappable clothing and wear sizes from 18/20-30/32, join the swap fun!

For more information: opnheartd@hotmail.com

TOMORROW - interfaith Transgender Education Panel at Tufts University

Our very own Rev. Cameron Partridge will be a panelist at Tufts University tomorrow evening, and I'll be joining him -- here's the Facebook event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=303824859632064):

ISA* Transgender Education Panel

(*Tufts University's Interfaith Social Action)

TOMORROW -- Thursday, October 20th

7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Tufts University (near Davis Sq. in Medford MA)

Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene (next to Braker Hall)

Did you know...

-In a 2003 survey, 55% of transgender youth reported having been physically attacked

-In a 2006 report, 33.2% of transgender youth reported having attempted suicide

-currently, it is legal in 34 states to hire someone because of their gender identity

Inspired to learn more and take action?

Interfaith Social Action is holding a panel, co-sponsored by the LGBT center, to decrease transgender discrimination through education and awareness. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about what it means to be transgender within a cultural and faith context.

Speakers include:

Mycroft Masada Holmes, a Jewish transgender activist who works with the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and Keshet.

Rev. Cameron Partridge, a transgender Episcopal priest, currently serving as the Episcopal Chaplain at BU

Michelle Figueiredo, a speaker from SpeakOUT, an organization that sends speakers out to college communities to educate students on various topics pertaining to diversity, who will be speaking about her experiences as a transgender woman and her spiritual journey

Joan Saniuk and Sharilyn Steketee -- Joan is a Reverend associated with the Metropolitan Community Church of Boston and Sharilyn is Joan’s partner, as well as her partner in ministry.

There will be time for Q&A after the speakers. Refreshments will be provided!

Contact tuftsinterfaith@gmail.com with any questions!

Ordered business cards and stickers from VistaPrint!

I ordered business cards and stickers from VistaPrint yesterday! The cards are the same ones I’ve had from them twice before, just with updated text. (My primary symbol is a blue dragon, and they actually had this photo in stock. It’s an outdoor bas-relief wall in China -- see the plants at the bottom? I ran into a Chinese visitor in Harvard Square who was very surprised to see somewhere he’d been at home on my card.) The stickers are a first for me, 1.5”; they’re mostly to put on my larger artwork and the gift wrapping thereof. I didn’t reorder my matching address labels, because I plan to move in with my partner Julia early next year. I highly recommend VistaPrint – and if you say I sent you, we both get rewarded, so.

ICTE's latest message to our supporters

ICTE's latest message to our supporters, published today:

Transgender Equal Rights Bill faith campaign

Happy Jewish New Year, Sukkot, Fall and all other seasons’ greetings!

The Massachusetts legislature has returned from vacation, and the next part of the campaign for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill has begun -- and we want to let you know how you can be part of it.

Here’s how we’re asking the faith community to take action:

1) Phone bank for the bill at MassEquality. Tuesdays from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Calling voters and transferring them to their legislators' voicemail boxes in support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. Contact Justin Lemley at 617.878.2344 orjustinlemley@massequality.org to sign up. Groups are more than welcome, and we would be happy to publicize your community’s participation.

2) Call, email, and write your legislators. They hear from the opposition every day – they need to hear from us more.

3) Participate in the 3^rd annual Transgender Awareness Week. Saturday November 12^th through Sunday November 20^th (international Trangender Day of Remembrance, http://www.masstpc.org/events/tdor/) --http://www.masstpc.org/events/taw/. Participate in an existing event (many more will be added between now and then) and/or create your own. One great resource for this is the “I AM: Trans People Speak” public education campaign --http://transpeoplespeak.org/. We can help you figure out the best way to participate in the Week, loan you a DVD of some of the faith-based “I AM” stories, and publicize your community’s participation. You can also choose to sponsor the Week, and be recognized for that.

4) Sign our Declaration of Interfaith Support for the bill. Read the current signed version as a PDF -- http://tinyurl.com/3dnkbkv -- then add your signature by emailing us at InterfaithCoalition@gmail.org.

5) Spread the word about the bill to everyone you can! We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the response. One of the most common responses we receive – including from people of faith – is a variation of “I thought transgender people were already protected by the law! We need to correct this right away!”

With your partnership, we can amend the law so that it does protect transgender people. We look forward to working with you this fall. And we encourage you to connect with us through our online homes:

ICTE blog:

http://www.interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com

ICTE FB group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7923372429

Faith campaign FB event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188135257891766

Yours in great excitement and hope,

Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE)

TOMORROW - LGBTQ Community Meeting on Trans Equal Rights Bill

LGBTQ Community Meeting on Trans Equal Rights Bill

October 11th, 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011
LGBTQ Community Meeting

7:00PM at The Non-Profit Center Community Room, 89 South St. Boston, MA 02111

All LGBTQ people and allies are invited. The fight for equality in
Massachusetts is not over. You can’t spell community without the T. We will be discussing the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, specifically where it is at right now and what we can do as a community to help pass this legislation. Bring you ideas and suggestions to the table. For more information about the legislation visit www.masstpc.org

Sponsored by Mass Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), Transgender Equal Rights Coalition, MassEquality, MGLPC, The Boston Bisexual Women’s Network, The Cambridge GLBT Commission

Meeting space donated by Boston Pride Committee

Happy belated National Coming Out Day!

Happy belated National Coming Out Day!

The Religious Institute has just created new worship resources in support of National Coming Out Day (October 11). They include a responsive reading, prayers, a prayer litany and more, available at www.religiousinstitute.org/lgbtqworship. They've done this as part of a call to the nation's clergy to speak out this month in support of LGBT teens and young adults in recognition of National Coming Out Day. All initial resources were written by their Scholar in Residence, Marie Alford-Harkey.

TUESDAY - National Coming Out Day at the MA Statehouse

Tuesday is National Coming Out Day, and the Massachusetts Statehouse is having programming -- and it's transgender-focused.

The pretty version of the invitation is here:

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/14243040/1110643762/name/National%20Coming%20Out%20Day%20Invite.pdf

And here's the plain text version:

Celebrate National Coming Out Day!

Tuesday October 11th

Video-Exhibition 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Speaking Event 11:30 am Nurses Hall

Please join Representative Carl Sciortino, Senator Stan Rosenberg,

Representative Denise Andrews, Representative Liz Malia and

Representative Sarah Peake to observe "National Coming Out Day" at the

State House at 11:30 am on October 11th!

Legislators, staff, and community members are welcome to "come out"

and share what it means to be out as LGBT or as straight allies.

National Coming Out Day is an internationally observed celebration

held annually on October 11th to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and

transgender people and to promote tolerance and respect. Special

emphasis this year will be place on being allies of the transgender

community.

A video-story exhibition by the “I AM: Transgender People Speak

Project” will be shown throughout the day in Nurses Hall, sharing the

everyday experiences of ten transgender Massachusetts residents and

two parents of a transgender person.

For more information, please contact: Raffi Freedman-Gurspan in Rep.

Sciortino's Office 617-772-2013 Raffi.Freedman-Gurspan@mahouse.gov.

MTPC's 10th anniversary - press release

http://www.masstpc.org/?p=1527 :

MTPC celebrates 10 years of serving the transgender community

September 27th, 2011

On Thursday, October 6th, 2011, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition will celebrate its ten years of service to the transgender community with eXtatic: Growing on 10 Years, at Club Oberon in Cambridge, MA from 7 to 11 pm. Club Oberon is located at 2 Arrow Street in Harvard Square. There will be light refreshments, a short program of speaking and performance, and dancing til 11pm.

The event will feature performances by Second City trained performer and Miss Trans New England 2009 Lorelei Erisis; artistic director of the Femme Show, Maggie Cee; Johnny Blazes, named “one of Boston’s rising stars” by Stuff Magazine; and hosted by one of Boston’s Legendary Performers’ Ms. Lakia Mondale. Dancing to follow with DJ Tre’Andre.

Advance tickets are $15 to $50 and are on sale by calling 617-778-0519, at www.masstpc.org. Tickets will be available at the door the night of the event.

Attorneys Cole Thaler and Jennifer Levi founded MTPC in September of 2001. Its first meeting consisted of a small group of Boston area transgender community members committed to adding gender identity and expression to the Boston’s non-discrimination ordinances. MTPC launched its campaign to add statewide non-discrimination protections for transgender people in 2007. In 2008, founding member Gunner Scott was named executive director of the organization.

MTPC has grown steadily over the last decade, thanks in part to the partnership between chair Nancy Nangeroni and executive director Gunner Scott as well as MTPC’s effective and dedicated steering committee. The steering committee is made up of twelve committed activists, both transgender and allies, elected annually from among the MTPC membership.

“I consider myself lucky to be able to support the work of such a dedicated group of activists, who are all committed to promoting the welfare of transgender persons and community by their own hard work,” says Nancy Nangeroni.

MTPC will present the first annual Community Advocate Award and Community Innovator Award, to recognize the work of individuals or organizations that are striving to improve the lives of transgender youth, adults and families in Massachusetts.

This year MTPC is proud to present the 2011 Community Advocate Award to Lisa Mottet. Lisa currently serves as the director of the Transgender Civil Rights project at the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce at Washington D.C. She has worked tirelessly for the last decade to end trans-based discrimination on the state and federal level, has published several groundbreaking books on the subject, and was named one of the ‘Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association. Lisa Mottet first assisted MTPC in 2002 with the non-discrimination ordinance in Boston and has continued to lend her assistance on numerous occasions including with the Transgender Rights Bill.

The 2011 Community Innovator Award will be given to Jesse Pack, who lives and works in Central Massachusetts. Jesse has worked in HIV/AIDS services for more than seven years and has been involved in community activism for more than ten years. In addition to his work with AIDS Project Worcester, he is also the Co-Chair for Worcester Pride.

In 2008, Jesse created the Transgender Emergency Fund (TEF), the first organization of its kind, to provide financial support for transgender people in need. The Transgender Emergency Fund was created by and for the Massachusetts transgender community and derives the majority of its support from GLBT community members. Since its inception, TEF has distributed more than $26,000 of financial assistance to low-income trans people throughout the state of Massachusetts. To learn more about the Transgender Emergency Fund and to donate, please visit http://www.tgemergencyfund.org.

“MTPC has worked hard and grown tremendously over the past 10 years. From helping to pass the Boston City Ordinance in 2002 to filing state-wide legislation in 2007 to launching an innovative public education campaign, MTPC has been at the forefront of the trans rights movement — not just locally, but nationally,” says Theadora Fisher, steering committee member. “This event is a celebration of MTPC’s stellar achievements and a call to action for the next 10 years because we know the work isn’t done yet.”

Eastern Bank, the largest independent and mutually owned bank in New England, is the lead sponsor of eXtatic. Eastern Bank offers banking, investments and insurance all under one roof, and prides itself on working harder to understand its customers’ needs so it can deliver these services in a committed and personal way. Other sponsors include Marcia Garber, A.M. Clark, Dignity Boston, Joan M. Fund, Esq., Kathleen Henry, Ellen Rottersman, Tom Lang, Michelle Tannen, Googleplex Technologies, Deborah and Ron Peeples, Rep. Carl Sciortino, State Street Corporation, The Network La Red, Mad Femme Pride, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the History Project, the Boston LGBT Film Festival, Queer Asian Pacific-Islander Alliance, MassEquality, and TransCEND of AIDS Action Committee.

A special exhibit of MTPC history and memorabilia, sponsored by the History Project, will be on display throughout the night.

For more information about MTPC, to buy tickets or become a sponsor of this event, visit www.masstpc.org, email info@masstpc.org, or call 617-778-0519.

THIS SUNDAY - Squawk & Gobble : A Rad Fatty Fun(d)raiser - Oakland, CA

(http://www.buzzfeed.com/akdobbins/japanese-bird-cooking-spaghetti)

THIS SUNDAY is Squawk & Gobble : A Rad Fatty Fun(d)raiser in Oakland, CA! Hosted by the flabulous Marilyn Wann (http://fatso.com/), who will be doing a webcast or otherwise sharing video, for posterity and those of us who alas can't attend unless they invent a rad fatty teleporter.

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132435873513671

And here's that text:

Squawk & Gobble - a rad fatty fun(d)raiser

Sunday, September 25 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Humanist Hall: http://tinyurl.com/4xjfpou

390 - 27th St. (between Telegraph & Broadway)

Oakland, CA

*LIVE MUSIC*

karaoke

BAND: Nothin' But Fun

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nothin-But-Fun/153279344727244?ref=ts

Special Guest: Joe Libin on drums

Spaghetti Dinner!

(gluten-free options)

Belly bumps!

Dorky dancing & music video videotaping!

Rewriting song lyrics for body-poz content!

Live *WEBCAST* for fatties of all sizes everywhere to enjoy!

~ ~ ~

Your host, Marilyn Wann, will officially announce plans for...

- the 2012 Rad Fatty Dayplanner!

And...

- the Weight Diversity Action Lounge

(W.D.A.L. -or- waddle!)

~ ~ ~

$10 suggested donation.

Accessible facility: Entrance from 28th St.

Please don't wear scents.

"Queering Fat Embodiment" (tentative title) - anthology - call for papers

Call for Papers

Tentative title: Queering Fat Embodiment

Type: Edited book

Submission deadline: January 15th, 2012

Contacts and editors:

Samantha Murray Samantha.murray@mq.edu.au (Main contact)

Cat Pausé c.pause@massey.ac.nz

Jackie Wykes wykesj@unimelb.edu.au

Scope:

Against the backdrop of the ever-growing medicalisation and pathologisation of fatness, the field of Fat Studies has emerged in recent years to offer an interdisciplinary critical interrogation of the dominant medical models of health, to give voice to the lived experience of fat bodies, and to offer critical insights into, and investigations of, the ethico-political implications of the cultural meanings that have come to be attached to fat bodies. This focus on the regulation, discipline and representation of fat bodies make it critically invaluable to the advancement of scholarship on embodiment.

This edited collection seeks to publish recent scholarship that embraces ‘queering’ as a mode of critical engagement in examining fat embodiment. Queer is a heterogeneous and multidisciplinary practice aimed at ‘bringing forth’ and thus denaturalising the taken for granted, the invisible, the normalized. This collection seeks to challenge and destabilise existing ideas of fat and fat embodiment both outside of and within the emerging field of Fat Studies. This volume will bring together scholarship from various disciplines in order to examine the ways in which fat embodiment is lived, experienced, regulated and (re)produced across a range of cultural sites and contexts. In queering established ideas about fat bodies, and presenting challenging inquiries/inqueeries into these notions, this collection will represent an innovative and critically invaluable contribution to the advancement of scholarship on fatness, and indeed on embodiment more generally.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• fat activism and embodiment

• fat mental and physical health

• queer(y)ing ‘hard data’ on fatness/obesity science

• queer(y)ing health policies related to fat

• cross-cultural or global constructions of fat bodies

• cultural, historical, or philosophical meanings of fat and fat bodies

• fat embodiment in literature, film, music, nonfiction, and the visual arts

• fat as queering sex, beauty, gender, and other embodied performances

• fat sexuality

• fat materialities

• fat and space

• fat and biopolitics

• fat and citizenship

• fat and neoliberalism

• fatness and consumption

Please note that we are already in the process of completing a proposal to submit to publishers, which we will complete based on the submissions we receive. We have had some preliminary interest from publishers, but as yet, we have not secured a contract.

Full paper submissions are due January 15, 2012. Articles should range between 15 and 20 double-spaced pages. Please send submissions, along with an abstract of your paper and a brief biographical sketch, directly to Samantha.murray@mq.edu.au.

Popular & American Culture Associations conference (2012) - Fat Studies area - call for papers

My partner Julia McCrossin co-chairs the Fat Studies area of the Popular & American Culture Associations with Lesleigh Owen. Here's their CFP (call for papers) for next year's national conference (April 2012, Boston -- Julia should be living here with me by then, and I plan to attend the con for the first time; I'm also hoping to present).

PCA/ACA Fat Studies 2012 Call for Papers

Fat Studies is becoming an interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary field of study that confronts and critiques cultural constraints against notions of “fatness” and “the fat body”; explores fat bodies as they live in, are shaped by, and remake the world; and creates paradigms for the development of fat acceptance or celebration within mass culture. Fat Studies uses body size as the starting part for a wide-ranging theorization and explication of how societies and cultures, past and present, have conceptualized all bodies and the political/cultural meanings ascribed to every body. Fat Studies reminds us that all bodies are inscribed with the fears and hopes of the particular culture they reside in, and these emotions often are mislabeled as objective “facts” of health and biology. More importantly, perhaps, Fat Studies insists on the recognition that fat identity can be as fundamental and world-shaping as other identity constructs analyzed within the academy and represented in media.

Proposals in the area of Fat Studies are being accepted for the 2012 PCA /ACA (Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association) National Conference in Boston, MA (April 11-14, 2011, meeting after, not before, Easter Sunday), at the Marriott Boston Copley Place. We welcome papers and performances from academics, researchers, intellectuals, activists, artists, and others, in any field of study, and at any stage in their career. We also welcome panels and roundtables on a variety of topics under the heading “Fat Studies.”

Topics may include but are not limited to:

- representations of fat people in literature, film, music, nonfiction, and the visual arts

- cross-cultural or global constructions of fatness and fat bodies

- cultural, historical, inter/intrapersonal, or philosophical meanings of fat and fat bodies

- the geography and lived experience of fatness and fat bodies

- portrayals of fat individuals and groups in news, media, magazines

- fatness as a social or political identity

- fat acceptance, activism, and/or pride movements and tactics

- approaches to fat and body image in philosophy, psychology, religion, sociology

- fat children in literature, media, and/or pedagogy

- fat as it intersects with race, ethnicity, class, religion, ability, gender, and/or sexuality

- history and/or critique of diet books and scams

- functions of fatphobia or fat oppression in economic and political systems

By December 15, 2011, please send an abstract of 100 - 250 words or a completed

paper to Fat Studies Area Co-Chairs Julia McCrossin (jmccross@gwmail.gwu.edu)

and Lesleigh Owen (goddess_les@yahoo.com).

Please include your complete contact information and a CV and/or 50 word bio, along with anticipated A/V needs. All submissions are welcome, but please use the information above to ensure your paper fits within the academic and political scopes of Fat Studies. Please also be mindful that Fat Studies is a political project and not merely an umbrella term for all discussions of larger bodies. Also, we encourage submitters to rethink using words like “obesity” and “overweight” in their presentations unless they are used ironically, within quotes, or accompanied by a political analysis.

Presenters must become members of the Popular Culture Association. Find more information on the conference and organization at

http://pcaaca.org/conference/national.php.

The 5th annual Transgender Religious Leaders Summit is November 3rd through 5th, in Berkeley California!

The 5th annual Transgender Religious Leaders Summit is November 3rd through 5th, in Berkeley California!

UPCOMING EVENT

Fifth Annual Transgender Religious Leaders Summit 2011

Hosted by CLGS, The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry

Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

November 3rd to November 5th, 2011

The 2011 Transgender Religious Leaders Summit is an ecumenical meeting of faith leaders who identify as transgender, gender-queer and inter-sexed, and their allies. It is an opportunity to connect with leaders of all faith communities and, through sharing, to celebrate our common heritage while learning to appreciate and respect our differences. This year’s Summit is a retreat-style meeting of transgender faith leaders from across the United States and Canada.

For Information and to Register with EventBrite, log onto the www.CLGS.org Site:

http://trans-religious-summit.eventbrite.com/

Complete Information at CLGS:

http://www.clgs.org/events/transgender-religious-leaders-summit-2011

The 2010 Summit was an very fulfilling and enlightening time. This year should be even better yet! If you missed last year, don't miss this year's event!

Hope to see you there!

Randall Klein Bernie Schlager
Light in the Closet Ministry CLGS

FOR INFORMATION CALL: 925-586-4651

Email: rklein@lightinthecloset.org

Light in the Closet Ministry, PO BOX 1208, Oakley CA 94561

www.lightinthecloset.org