Posts from — November 2009

Final Call for Workshop Proposals for 2010 Transgender Lives Conference

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Workshop Proposal Deadline is December 5, 2009

The Intersection of Health and Law Conference

Saturday April 17, 2010

First, many thanks to all of you who have submitted some excellent workshop proposals. For others who have not yet sent in your proposal, you still have a few days. Deadline is Dec 5, 2009.In addition to some of our key Workshop presenters, the Transgender Lives Conference organizing committee is soliciting workshop proposals for our 2010 conference. As this conference has dramatically grown over the years, we recognize that many of you have very important topics and experience which fold into our theme of The Intersection of Health and Law. Workshop space is limited and all proposals will be reviewed for applicability and relevance to the Conference theme and audience. If you feel you have a workshop that would benefit the conference please complete the workshop proposal submission form located doc here and pdf here The form is also on our Conference website at TransgenderLives.org.Please be sure to have your proposal in our hands no later than December 5, 2009. The committee will then review all proposals and select those that will best serve the interests and needs of the Conference attendees.if you have any questions please contact us at conference@transadvocacy.org

And don’t miss our Conference Keynote speaker this year:

Donna Rose ~ Author, Speaker and Advocate

Donna Rose is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and advocate for transgender and transsexual issues. Donna’s leadership role in LGBT advocacy is extensive:

She was the first and only transgender member of the board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign where she also served as the National Co-chair for Diversity and as a committee member on the Public Policy Committee. She resigned in Oct. 2007 over the organizations decision to reverse past commitments and support a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination act that did not protect transgender people.

She was one of two transgender members of the HRC Business Council. In that role she helped to develop and implement best practices in corporate policy on LGBT issues. She was highlighted as a “Gay Corporate Leader” by the Advocate magazine in 2005.

Donna was the first and only member of the board of directors for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Donna serves on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, she is a member of the Out and Equal Transgender Advisory Committee, and was co-chair of the 2008 Out and Equal Workplace Summit in Austin, TX.

UCONN Health Center
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, Connecticut 06030
Saturday, April 17, 2010

8:00AM-5:00PM

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November 29, 2009 No Comments

The Honeymoon is Over: Queer Organizing Beyond Marriage Equality

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November 29, 2009
5:00 pm	to	8:00 pm

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are for a Queer discussion around Queer organizing in Connecticut!

Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Metropolitan Community Church
Street: 155 Wyllys St
City/Town: Hartford, CT
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Marriage equality represents a seat at the table for LGBT folks-but whose table are we sitting at? And what about the rest of us who are still grasping for crumbs?

On the job, at school and on the street, queerfolk of all stripes are still some of the most oppressed in society. Queers Without Borders seeks to build a movement to flip the table over altogether. Come contribute to the discussion, and meet the faces behind the statement below:

“This document is Queer As Fuck”

We are a collective of people with diverse backgrounds, ages, identities and a variety of progressive political outlooks. We are committed to creating a welcoming space for social action with a solid foundation of respect and compassion.

We want a free world based on equality, learning and healthy relationships. We believe in each person’s right to free expression of gender, sexuality and beyond, based on the desires of the consenting individual, not by other peoples’ definitions and prejudices.

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November 27, 2009 No Comments

Esmeralda: A Transgender Detainee Speaks Out

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You may recall the story of Esmeralda, a trans woman seeking asylum in the US from Mexico who was brutally treated by Immigration authorities while in detention. An immigration official forced Esmeralda (formerly Mayra), a transgender woman, to perform oral sex on him while she was in the custody of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. The official later resigned and was sentenced to four months in jail. After reporting the abuse, Ms. Soto suffered various forms of retaliation and often feared for her life. Ms. Soto, who came to the U.S. seeking asylum, had also been raped by a male inmate while detained at a jail in her native Mexico. She currently resides in Southern California.Below is her story, a video. See also Just Detention for her story, under their profiles of courage.

From Vimeo

Courage comes in many different forms. For Esmeralda, a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico, who faced horrific circumstances in immigration detention, it came in the form of seeking justice. Kept in a segregated cell with other transgender detainees, Esmeralda never realized that her experience in detention would match the trauma of discrimination she had faced back home. But her story is also one of hope in its desire to create change.