In This Issue
What is Community?
Open Discussion
Film: We Who Are Sexy
Trans Family on NPR
Guide to Serving LGBT Elders
Flying While Trans

Next Social Support 
 Meetings
April 28, 2012
May 26, 2012
June 23, 2012
July 28, 2012
August 25, 2012
September 22, 2012
October 27, 2012
November 24, 2012
December 22, 2012

 

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Trans* Spurs of Action and Interest 

March 2012
 
What is community?

(social support/information)
 

Saturday, March 24, 2012
7:30 - 9:30pm

Many people talk about the "trans community," but what does that phrase really mean?  Are we a community by default - based on a shared identity, a set of lived experiences, or association to other people?  Or do we consciously, deliberately create the community we wish to be part of?

 


March's social support meeting will begin with an experiential exercise that explores where and how Wisconsin trans* people and SOFFAs connect.  We will discuss whether or not the concept/existence of "community" is important to us and how we each define its meaning in our lives.  Discussion might lead to dialogue about where else in our lives we find (or seek) community or connection. 

 

 


Location: 
The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
252 E. Highland Ave
Milwaukee, WI

 

Click here for a map. 

 

 

Open discussion and support

  

March 24, 2012 (Saturday)
6:00 - 7:10pm


Do you crave connection with fellow Trans+ and SOFFA individuals? This gently facilitated time is especially devoted to exploring the issues you bring in - sharing your experiences and stories, asking questions, seeking referrals, gathering resources. We'll assure this hour+ will stay focused on your needs, and the discussion you generate.


Location: 

The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center

252 E. Highland Ave

Milwaukee, WI 

Click here for a map.   

 

 

Film: We Who Are Sexy

 

 

Milwaukee LGBT Film Festival Presents:
We Who Are Sexy
Thursday, April 5, 7 PM
UWM Union Theater, 2200 E Kenwood Blvd, Milwaukee
Tickets $5 Each.


Meet film historian Jenni Olson in person!


We Who Are Sexy: The Whirlwind History of Transgender Images in Cinema is a whirlwind ride through the history of transgender images in film.


"A smart combination of on-stage conversation and film clips, this program showcases an amazing array of rarely seen tidbits ranging from the bad old days of guys in dresses and pathological trannies up through the empowered self-representations of the early '90s and into the hot transgender best of the 21st century. Featuring clips from such rarely seen films as Summer Vacation: 1999, We Who Are Sexy and the Outfest Legacy Project restored gem, Queens at Heart to more recent favorites like By Hook or By Crook- this informative and entertaining exploration is not to be missed! Co-sponsored by the UWM LGBT Studies Certificate Program."  [Description from the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival's website.]


For more information about the festival click here.

Upcoming Trans Conferences

 

 

Conferences are not always accessible to people in the trans*/SOFFA community due to cost, distance, time away from work, disability, or many other reasons.  However, some conferences are working hard to become more affordable and enjoyable by a wide range of people.  The Philadelphia Trans Health Conference is an annual FREE conference that is likely the largest trans* conference in the world, drawing well over a thousand participants in 2011. 


This year's conference runs from May 31 to June 2, 2012.  Learn more about this amazing conference that promotes transgender health and wellness in mind, body, spirit, and community at http://www.trans-health.org/


[A bit closer to home - if you live in Wisconsin or Illinois - is the Be All Conference, held in Chicago, Illinois the same weekend as the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference (May 31 - June 2, 2012).  Check out their website at http://www.be-all.org/

 

 

Trans Family on NPR

 

NPR (National Public Radio) has aired many stories and news features about transgender people over the past few years. On March 9, 2012, "Morning Edition" aired an uplifting story of a family that sticks together through gender transition.  You can listen to or read the story at http://www.npr.org/2012/03/09/148178236/a-mom-becomes-a-man-and-a-family-sticks-together 

 

Guide to Serving LGBT Older Adults

 

 SAGE - the country's leading organization for LGBT elders and the providers who serve them - released their newly published guide for creating a welcoming service environment for LGBT older adults. 


Inclusive Services for LGBT Older Adults: A Practical Guide to Creating Welcoming Agencies

SAGE's contributions to improving the lives of LGBT older adults is unsurpassed.  FORGE remains proud to be in partnership with SAGE and the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging

 

 

 

Flying While Trans

 

 

Traveling by air since 9/11 can be frustrating, potentially irritating and possibly physically invasive - for anyone.  Trans travelers may have additional layers of concern around their safety and privacy due to the more extensive screening methods used at airports. 


The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been responsive to consumer needs - including, specifically, to transgender travelers.  Read their newly released information sheet for trans travelers


This website offers easy-to-understand definitions of screening procedures, informs travelers of their rights, and provides contact information about where trans travelers can ask questions or voice complaints. 


 

 

Trans Books -- Lambda Literary Award Finalists

 

Finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards were announced on March 20, 2012.  This year's line-up of nominated trans* books, is, once again, impressive.  Transgender-themed or written books include:

  • Letters For My Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect, edited by Megan M. Rohrer and Zander Keig, Wilgefortis Press
  • Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law, by Dean Spade, South End Press
  • I am J, by Cris Beam, Little, Brown Books for Children
  • Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels, by Justin Vivian Bond, The Feminist Press at CUNY
     

For a complete list, visit http://www.lambdaliterary.org/foundation-updates/03/20/24th-annual-lambda-literary-award-finalists-announced/ 

 

About FORGE
 
FORGE is a progressive organization whose mission is to support, educate and advocate for the rights and lives of transgender individuals and SOFFAs (Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies). FORGE is dedicated to helping move fragmented communities beyond identity politics and forge a movement that embraces and empowers our diverse complexities.
 
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