Femme 2012 conference - call for workshops, papers & much more

I don't know much about this, but I saw it in MTPC's newsletter (http://www.icontact-archive.com/a3pl2DehLErMRaYi3ELGrbnrAzlpgpde?w=2)
and appreciated that it was explicitly and strongly inclusive of "fat folks".  For some reason this doesn't say it, but the con is August 17th through 19th in Baltimore MD.  As a femme myself, and a not so included one, I am quite tempted -- but I probably already have enough cons etc. this year (I know, and it's only February!).

Call for Workshops, Papers, Panels, Films, Performance, and Visual Art

Femme2012: Pulling the Pieces Together

A multi-threaded conference and forum for those who think about, talk about, and create Femme as a queer gender and identity. Following our Femme2006, 2008, and 2010 conferences in San Francisco, Chicago, and Oakland, where hundreds of femmes and allies gathered for workshops, panels, films, visual art galleries, and performances, we again invite femmes of all kinds and their allies to continue the conversation by participating in Femme 2012 as presenters and participants. Links to our online submission forms are here.

Submissions of all kinds are welcome, particularly submissions by femmes. We are committed to having our presenters reflect as many different voices from within our Femme community(ies) as possible. We aim to prioritize and centralize the experiences of historically marginalized groups, including but not limited to people of color, working-class people, fat folks, trans and gender-non-conforming people, elders, youth, previously incarcerated individuals, people without documentation, and people with dis/abilities. The submission deadline is April 15, 2012. For information about specific submissions requirements and to submit your proposal, please visitwww.femme2012.com.

Celebrating Victory, Pursuing Truth

http://blog.transepiscopal.com/2012/01/0-false-18-pt-18-pt-0-0-false-false.html

Speeches in the Senate Reading Room

By the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge
cross-posted atWalking with Integrity

On this bright January morning, as the hour of 11am neared, I emerged from Boston’s Park Street T stop, turned left and began walking up the hill toward the State House.  Today (or rather, at this late hour, yesterday) marked the ceremonial signing of the Transgender Equality bill here in Massachusetts.  This legislation, first filed in 2007, passed on November 15^th, and officially signed on November 23^rd, adds gender identity and expression to the state’s existing hate crimes law and the nondiscrimination statutes in the areas of housing, employment, education and credit. In a fitting twist, the week of its official passage was also Transgender Awareness Week, a time of educational and community events leading up to the eleventh annual observance of Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20th. 

The Senate Reading Room, where today’s signing took place, was packed with observers, a joyful crowd savoring the celebration.  Lawmakers were clearly also buoyed, as their inspiring comments demonstrated.  “You have no idea how beautiful you are as you stand here beaming,” said state Auditor Suzanne Bump.  “Remember that you are powerful,” offered Senator Brian Downing, followed by fellow Senator Sonia Chang Diaz: “it's days like this that remind us why we ran for office... Thank you for reminding us [legislators] of our own power, in addition to showing us your power.”  Representative Byron Rushing, who joined Representative Carl Sciortino in co-sponsoring the bill from its very first days, declared, “this hasn't just been a discussion of gender identity but of the identity of Massachusetts, and hopefully it will become a discussion of our national identity.” 

Representative Rushing, photo from masstpc.org

In his Episcopal Church context, as a longtime member of the Diocese of Massachusetts’ deputation to General Convention–Deputy Rushing inspires us to  pose that question of church identity.  Faith communities can ask, and indeed are asking, what do we stand for as people of our respective traditions?  In the Episcopal Church we might well ask—and have asked at the 2009 General Convention and various diocesan conventions before it– what does it mean to declare in our baptismal covenant that we strive for justice and respect the dignity of every human being? In 2009 the Convention passed resolutions putting The Episcopal Church on record in support of transgender equality in the civic sphere (D012 and C048), and pledging within our ecclesial life to make administrative forms accessible to gender identities beyond male and female and to protect transgender lay employees from discrimination (D090 and D032, respectively).   As our collective conversation continues, we might allow the varied lives of transgender as well as intersex people – communities and individuals whose lives are textured not simply by complex embodiments of gender but also by race, class, sexuality and ability-- to deepen our understanding of the human person.  How do we interpret and live out the mystery of being created in the image and likeness of God?

At the signing this morning, I was reminded of a startling moment in the November 15 debate that I watched on my laptop. Representative Sciortino was speaking movingly in support of the legislation when he began to describe the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul the year before.  He made a point of detailing the apology that my bishop, the Right Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, had offered on behalf of Christians who had condemned trans people and in the process had “misrepresented God to” us.  The apology had been stunning enough in its own right, but to hear it reported, in some sense repeated, on the floor of the House of Representatives, was positively astounding.  As I sat there dumbfounded—actually, calling out to my partner to come see this!--  receiving these words afresh in an unimagined context, I was reminded of a strangely parallel moment at General Convention three years earlier.  The Convention had managed to pass D012, the Trans Civil Rights Resolution, on the same day that the Massachusetts Judiciary Committee was holding a hearing on its own Trans Equality legislation—an earlier version of what has now finally passed.  As a team of trans people and allies worked toward the resolution’s passage in Anaheim, a fellow Episcopalian in Massachusetts learned about it (on his laptop, while waiting to testify in the stultifying heat) and shared it in the course of his testimony three thousand miles away.  The Episcopal Church supports this bill, he was proud to be able to say.  It all came full circle.

Also on my mind today were the words (viewable here as blurry video), offered by Bishop Shaw at this year’s TDOR.   Speaking at the end of the program, he welcomed us to the Cathedral and then offered a word of gratitude that felt almost like a meditation: “because of your honesty, because of your integrity, because of the way you so pursue the truth of your identity, you tell me about the nature of God, because that is how I think God is.  And so I thank all of you not only for the way that you enlighten my understanding of God but how much you preach to the rest of the world about courage, and about bravery, and about truth and about perseverance of identity.  We owe all of you a huge debt of gratitude.  Thank you.” 

I got the sense people were both honored and stunned by his words, working to digest and contemplate them— I know I was.   His comments about perseverance in pursuit of the truth of identity—language I had not heard him use before— reminded me of words from the Gospel of John that I first really took in at a middle school summer Bible camp: “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32). 

From this chair, at the end of this day, looking out at the striking vista of falling snow, it strikes me how the process of knowing the truth and being freed by it is both lifelong and communal—by turns grueling and wondrous, and inextricably relational, even as it is distinctive to each person. 

Governor Deval Patrick signs the bill, photo from masstpc.org

An important truth about the MA trans equality law is that it is far from perfect: it does not include protections in public accommodations—access to public gender segregated spaces.  Everyone was resolved to come back and get that done.  And as I think about how far we have come, how much more free we are than we were just a few short months ago, I know that what we need more than anything else is the will, the support, the conviction to keep pursuing the truth.

CP

MLK / Trans Service at All Souls UU church (Greenfield MA) THIS SUNDAY

All Souls, the Unitarian Universalist church of Greenfield, MA (http://www.uugreenfield.org/) is having their annual MLK Day service this Sunday, January 15th, and it is transgender themed -- focused on celebrating the passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in November.


I'm giving the sermon, and lay leader Trystan Dean is Worship Host.  

Here's Trystan's Facebook event -- "Celebrating the New Trans Civil Rights Law on MLK Day in Greenfield!"  -- http://www.facebook.com/events/342704142425061/

And here is All Souls' publicity blurb:

"The Martin Luther King Day service at All Souls UU Church of Greenfield on Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 10:00 am will be led by Mycroft Masada Holmes, who will deliver the sermon,   “In The Image Of God – Transgender Equality in Massachusetts”  Mycroft will be speaking about the state of transgender equality in Massachusetts, particularly the Transgender Equal Rights Bill passed in November, 2011 and the faith community’s vital role in its campaign.

Our worship host will be Trystan Dean.  Music will be performed and led by Tina Waldron.

Mycroft Masada Holmes is an interfaith transgender leader based in hir native Boston, Massachusetts. Mycroft is Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE), a Steering Committee member and Faith Liaison at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), the Emeritus Founding Chair of Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG) and a board member of Congregation Am Tikva.  Mycroft is also a thin ally in the fat / size acceptance and social justice movement, and a writer and artist."

I'll add the order of service / worship next week.

MA Trans Equal Rights Bill public signing next Thursday January 19th!

The graphic version is misbehaving (as is a lot of other technology this week), so here is MTPC's website blog version (http://www.masstpc.org/thurs-jan-19th-gov-deval-patrick-to-hold-a-ceremonial-signing-of-the-transgender-equal-rights-bill/).

Also, the Facebook event is "Ceremonial Signing & Community CelebrationTransgender Equal Rights Bill" -- http://www.facebook.com/events/166557140116776/

Thurs. Jan 19th, Gov. Deval Patrick to hold a Ceremonial Signing of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill

January 6th, 2012

Thursday, January 19th – Signing with Gov. Deval Patrick in the Morning & Celebration in the Evening for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill

11:00 am – Join MTPC and the Transgender Equal Right Coalition for the Ceremonial Signing at the State House with Governor Deval Patrick.

Gov. Deval Patrick will hold a ceremonial signing and celebration of the passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill at 11am. Gov. Patrick will offer remarks about the bill as well as the work still left to be done to ensure that transgender residents of the Commonwealth are fully protected under our laws in the area of public accommodations.

This event is free and all members of our community, allies, family, and friends are encouraged to attend. Please arrive by 10:45 am at the State House which is located on Beacon St. in Boston near Park St. and Downtown Crossing T stations. Parking can be found at the garage under the Boston Commons. Exact location of the event in State House is still being determined, check MTPC website for latest information.

Also Thursday, January 19th

7:00 pm – Join MTPC for our Community Celebration & Thank You Event at Club Cafe.

Meet members of MTPC steering committee and the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition. There will be music, food, a short program, and ample time for socializing.

This event is free and all members of our community, allies, family, and friends are encouraged to attend. Doors open at 6:30 pm event ends at 9 pm. Club Cafe is located at 209 Columbus Ave, Boston.

Not ready to stop celebrating?

10:00 pm – Join MTPC at the First Event Conference for the Fabulous First Event Dance Party with DJ Greg at the Boston Marriott Peabody

There is a suggested $10 donation for the dance, but no one turned away for lack of funds. Boston Peabody Marriott is located at 8A Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA

We are excited to celebrate this milestone with our community and we hope to see you at any and all of these events on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Thank you for your support, energy, and dedication to transgender equality. Please RSVP to info@masstpc.org so we know how many people to expect.

Lowell Sun's anti-trans editorial -- faith community response

The Lowell (MA) Sun published an anti-trans editorial this week -- focusing on Chaz Bono and the Transgender Equal Rights Bill -- authored by Dan Phelps and titled "Christmas Carols -- With A Twist":
http://www.lowellsun.com/portal/ci_19577635?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com&fb_source=message&_loopback=1#ixzz1h1UIAkMG

Here is the faith community's response, emailed to the Sun today.  Special thanks to the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition media team for all their help!


It was disappointing to read Dan Phelps’ recent column mocking our transgender parents, siblings, children, neighbors, and friends. It was even more heartwrenching to read it during this time of year, which is typically marked with a spirit of goodwill toward all.

Transgender people bear the burden of misunderstanding and marginalization. That is why so many people of faith -- including the 2008 Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, the Right Reverend M. Thomas Shaw and more than 150 other faith leaders around the state -- supported passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, which extends basic civil rights protections in housing, credit, schools, and employment to some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents.

It is up to all of us -- particularly during this holiday season -- to recognize the dignity and worth of all people, including transgender people. We should do this within our individual faith traditions as well as within the broader community. We are a stronger, more compassionate society when everyone is valued for who they are, and treated with dignity and respect.

Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge
Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, Episcopal Chaplain at Boston University

Marla Marcum and Rev. Leigh Dry
Co-Chairs, Reconciling Ministries Sub-Committee of the Committee on Church and Society of the United Methodist Church in New England

Idit Klein
Executive Director, Keshet

Mycroft Masada Holmes
Chair, Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality

Trans & a patient at Fenway Health within the last 3 years?

I am, and so I got this email last Wednesday:

"Fenway Health is currently conducting a research study to learn about the best ways to ask patients about transgenderism and transgender identity on the Fenway Health registration form (sometimes called a patient intake form).  If you are transgender, 18 years or older, and have been a patient at Fenway Health in any department at any location (1340 Boylston Street, South End Associates, or Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center) in the past three years, we invite you to take a brief survey. 

The survey will ask for your reactions to current and potential alternative transgenderism/transgender identity questions on the registration form.  It will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.  Your answers will be anonymous and will not be included or linked to your medical record.  Your doctor and care providers will not be given a copy of your answers.

You make take the survey online or on paper.  To take it online, follow this link to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/transregform.  For a paper copy, call 617-927-6348 and we will mail it to you for you to fill out and return by postage-paid mail to us.

The information that you provide will be important and the results of the study will guide possible changes at Fenway Health.  Please consider participating and/or sending this information along to a friend who might be interested.  For questions or more information, please call Aimee Van Wagenen at 617-927-6348."

Marilyn Wann's wannderful work

(‎Photos from the VoluptuArt site -- copyright © 2011 Ani Yaffa, LLC; all rights reserved.)

Need awesome fat-positive holiday gifts for yourself and others?

Marilyn Wann* writes: "I'm excited to announce that the 2012 FAT!SO? Dayplanner is now available exclusively from Voluptuart, Nomi Dekel's fat-positive shop! It's a year full of body-love holidays, quotes, art, survival info, and more...like Ragen Chastain dancing and doing a belly bump with me (in flipbook format). Each one comes with a fat animal paperclip and surprise gifts. ($14 plus shipping.) Please check it out and tell your friends..."

Price: $14.00

Have a fabulous year! Double pages for each month and week. Lots of blank pages (lined and grid) and sturdy cover. Original art on a fat animal theme each month by Barry Deutsch, Jill Pinkwater, Les Toil, and more. Plus: a built-in flipbook of national dance champion Ragen Chastain, body-positive tips and resources, quotes from fat pride and Health At Every Size® leaders, games, and DIY projects. Your Dayplanner comes with a fat animal paperclip and surprise gifts. (Printed on 100% post-consumer paper by worker-owned collective.)

Artist: Marilyn Wann and contributors Dimensions: 4.25" x 6"

And don't forget to scroll down for more of Marilyn's merch, like Fat!So? t-shirts and Yay! Scales.

http://www.voluptuart.com/2012-fatso-dayplanner-p-1334.html

(*More about Marilyn: "I'm a fat rights activist. I want to end weight-based prejudice and discrimination, for the good of people of all sizes and for the good of society. I aim to celebrate all kinds of diversity, including weight diversity. Since the medical establishment is a major promoter of prejudice and discrimination against fat people, I find the Health At Every Size approach necessary for health, happiness, and human rights.

In the mid-90s, I created a print 'zine called FAT!SO? and then wrote the FAT!SO? book. I'm proud to have been part of successful lobbying that resulted in San Francisco adding height and weight to its anti-discrimination laws in 2000. I have performed with fat activist groups like the Bod Squad cheerleaders, Big Moves dance, and the Padded Lilies synchro swimmers.

I have given hundreds of weight diversity talks in all kinds of settings, in the US and internationally. I also comment on weight-related topics in the media."

http://www.fatso.com

http://twitter.com/#!/MarilynWann

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/marilynwann)

Also, have you seen that Marilyn has been doing a blog for the SF Weekly's website (SF as in San Francisco)? She's done 9 pieces so far.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/marilyn_wann/

Cartoonist Barry Deutsch & his toons re: fat, LGBT people, & much more

I wanted to point out the great work of cartoonist Barry Deutsch, especially his awesome political cartoons -- which include fat- and LGBT-positive (http://www.leftycartoons.com/category/lgbt-cartoons/) ones.

I first noticed him because of his fat-positive cartoon last February -- "Top Ten Reasons Discrimination Against Fat People Is Perfectly Okay":

http://www.leftycartoons.com/top-ten-reasons-discrimination-against-fat-people-is-perfectly-okay/

I was reminded to blog about him by his toon last month -- "When I Get Thin...":

http://www.leftycartoons.com/when-i-get-thin/

Here are his sites:

http://www.hereville.com

http://www.amptoons.com

http://www.leftycartoons.com

LGBTQ Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Potluck - Cambridge MA - THIS FRIDAY

THIS FRIDAY, December 9th, my shul Congregation Am Tikva is co-hosting a Celebrate LGBTQ Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Potluck with our friends Congregation Eitz Chayim of Cambridge, at their home in Central Square. I've had a good experience of Eitz Chayim -- I've done a transgender workshop there through Keshet, they've hosted Keshet's "Trew Tales" event (transgender Jewish, or 'Trewish', open mic), and they've supported the Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance, especially by providing food for its reception.

http://www.jewishboston.com/events/10561-glbtq-kabbalat-shabbat-and-potluck

FRI
DEC

09

7:00PM - 10:00PM

Celebrate LGBTQ Kabbalat Shabbat and Potluck

Congregation Eitz Chayim

Cost: FREE - Registration not required.

December 09, 2011—07:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street,
Cambridge, MA 02139

Congregation Eitz Chayim celebrates the LGBTQ community December 9, 2011. Join us for a joyful lay-lead participatory Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7pm, which will include readings from GLBTQ liturgy and writers. After the oneg at 8pm we will have a fabulous potluck tisch.* Bring food (veggie/dairy), a bottle of wine, a story, a song, a dvar, or a poem to share, or helping hands to arrange the tables. As we head into winter, help us create a really warm spot in Cambridge!

Our special guests for the evening include members of GLBT shul Congregation Am Tikva in Brookline http://www.amtikva.org/. Our tisch will be led by guest facilitator Yaakov Reefhttp://yreef.com/ from TBS.

We will do a short text study during the service, pondering what it was like for Dina to go out into the land, into an unfamiliar and hostile territory. There will be ample time at the tisch to dig deeper into Dina’s story or any part of Parashat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4 - 36:43), and to hear the stories you bring to the table.

RSVPs are greatly appreciated, in order for us to plan the food, but are not required. If you can bring food, savory rather than dessert would be best. Contact Penina Weinberg at president@eitz.org to RSVP or for more information.

Eitz Chayim is an egalitarian, inclusive, non-denominational synagogue whose members are of all ages and family configurations, and who come from a wide range of religious, ethnic, class, family, and cultural backgrounds. We welcome YOU to celebrate Shabbat with us.

A parking consideration is in effect on Friday nights. Park within a couple blocks of Eitz Chayim and put a note on your dashboard that you are attending services.

"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks." --Tennessee Williams, Camino Real

*A tisch is literally a table – but in the Hasidic world it’s much more than that! Come prepared to eat, sing, bang on the table, tell stories, teach, and learn a little, maybe drink!

Listed in: Shabbat | Social Activities | Family Friendly | GLBT | Interfaith Couples & Families | T-Accessible |Free Parking | Food

My partner Julia McCrossin now has a blog too!

...and in related news -- my flabulous partner (Julia McCrossin, Fat Studies scholar) has finally given in to her fans and begun her own blog! Yay!

She's named it "Ponderous Boundaries", and herself Chubmudgeon -- "Scholar in (self-imposed) exile. Queer Sphere. Battle-ax and Bulldozer in equal measure. Panda-loving dragons are my weakness." The profile photo is her handsome self during a visit to Ireland some years ago (drinking a Coke).

I am so glad that she is finally blogging. And doing so in her awesome and unique style. Every time I start to wonder if she can become any more amazing and wonderful a person or partner...she does!

http://ponderousboundaries.blogspot.com/

Popular & American Culture Associations conference (2012) - Fat Studies area - update!

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 also want to present, but I probably won't have time to create a proposal).

Please note that the submission deadline has been extended a week -- from Thursday December 15th to Thursday December 22nd!

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 THURSDAY DECEMBER 22nd (recently extended from Thursday December 15th) 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.

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.

*******

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.