2008 Woodie Awards
Transforming Gender Symposium
Overcoming discrimination through awareness
Molly Maher
Issue date: 11/8/08 Section: News
The 3rd annual Transforming Gender Symposium kicked off Friday night with keynote speaker Monica Roberts and a local transgender activist panel.
Roberts has been involved in transgender activism since the mid-1990s. Having transitioned 15 years ago, she is aware of many issues regarding transgender rights, with her experiences lending to a specific emphasis on "transgendered people of color."
After outlining some of the long history of the transgender community and its search for rights, Roberts brought her speech to a theme of the symposium: "The future of transgender activism."
With the declaration of Obama as the next U.S. president, Roberts says that the transgender community has a chance to see change. Though she expects the economic issues will occupy the administration "for at least 2 years," she still sees his nomination as "critical for progressive politics."
Seeing many problems with inclusion in the health care system, respect in workplaces and forced conformity, Roberts says she knows that the transgender community is still being persecuted. She cited the July murder of 18-year-old transgendered Angie Zapata in Greeley as evidence.
"It's obvious we're mistreated, obvious that we're killed 'cause people don't like us for who we are. It's obvious we're discriminated against by employers 'cause they don't want to hide us from people for the better of his business," Roberts says.
After the conclusion of Robert's speech, a panel of four passionate and local "transactivists" took questions from CU employee Angela Palermo, a transgendered woman who works in the Acquisitions Department of Norlin Library. The panel consisted of activist and Colorado Anti-Violence employee Jordan Garcia, Colorado Anti-Violence employee and co-founder of Tranny Road Show Kelly Costello, writer and GID Reform advocate Kelley Winters, and local writer and performance artist Jay.
The panel discussed a multitude of issues from personal experiences with in the communities, current actions for activism, and hopes for future conditions.
Winters, who has published numerous essays, attempts to sum up the condition of transgender identities saying, "We have this beautiful spectrum of gender and there are people at the binary corners disvalidating those in the middle and those in the middle disvalidating those in the binary corners."
Garcia said he agreed.
"Identities are made to seem hard and fast, but rarely do they feel hard and fast when it comes down to it," Garcia said.
Members of the panel all agree that the community is really seeking one thing: "dignity," as Winters puts it. This dignity has been sought by addressing issues of gender markers and identification on the Colorado state level, the lack of health insurance support for the physical side of transgenderness.
Events continued through Saturday. Director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at CU, Stephanie Wilenchek says that the nature of events on Saturday are particularly interesting.
"Saturday is exciting because it combines performance with activism, art, performance art, and transactivism," Wilenchek said.
Visitors included in Saturday's symposium were athletes Krista Scott-Dixon and Michelle Dumaresq, rapper Katastrophe and slam poet Andrea Gibson.
This being the 3rd year that this event has taken place, it is clear that CU and Boulder need to continue building bridges with the GLBT community, particularly with transgendered people, according to Wilenchek.
"The GLBT Resource Center, along with all the sponsors, hope this will build community as well as provide education about and visibility for transgendered people."
More information can be found on the GLBT Resource Center Web site.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Molly Maher at MaherM@colorado.edu
Roberts has been involved in transgender activism since the mid-1990s. Having transitioned 15 years ago, she is aware of many issues regarding transgender rights, with her experiences lending to a specific emphasis on "transgendered people of color."
After outlining some of the long history of the transgender community and its search for rights, Roberts brought her speech to a theme of the symposium: "The future of transgender activism."
With the declaration of Obama as the next U.S. president, Roberts says that the transgender community has a chance to see change. Though she expects the economic issues will occupy the administration "for at least 2 years," she still sees his nomination as "critical for progressive politics."
Seeing many problems with inclusion in the health care system, respect in workplaces and forced conformity, Roberts says she knows that the transgender community is still being persecuted. She cited the July murder of 18-year-old transgendered Angie Zapata in Greeley as evidence.
"It's obvious we're mistreated, obvious that we're killed 'cause people don't like us for who we are. It's obvious we're discriminated against by employers 'cause they don't want to hide us from people for the better of his business," Roberts says.
After the conclusion of Robert's speech, a panel of four passionate and local "transactivists" took questions from CU employee Angela Palermo, a transgendered woman who works in the Acquisitions Department of Norlin Library. The panel consisted of activist and Colorado Anti-Violence employee Jordan Garcia, Colorado Anti-Violence employee and co-founder of Tranny Road Show Kelly Costello, writer and GID Reform advocate Kelley Winters, and local writer and performance artist Jay.
The panel discussed a multitude of issues from personal experiences with in the communities, current actions for activism, and hopes for future conditions.
Winters, who has published numerous essays, attempts to sum up the condition of transgender identities saying, "We have this beautiful spectrum of gender and there are people at the binary corners disvalidating those in the middle and those in the middle disvalidating those in the binary corners."
Garcia said he agreed.
"Identities are made to seem hard and fast, but rarely do they feel hard and fast when it comes down to it," Garcia said.
Members of the panel all agree that the community is really seeking one thing: "dignity," as Winters puts it. This dignity has been sought by addressing issues of gender markers and identification on the Colorado state level, the lack of health insurance support for the physical side of transgenderness.
Events continued through Saturday. Director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at CU, Stephanie Wilenchek says that the nature of events on Saturday are particularly interesting.
"Saturday is exciting because it combines performance with activism, art, performance art, and transactivism," Wilenchek said.
Visitors included in Saturday's symposium were athletes Krista Scott-Dixon and Michelle Dumaresq, rapper Katastrophe and slam poet Andrea Gibson.
This being the 3rd year that this event has taken place, it is clear that CU and Boulder need to continue building bridges with the GLBT community, particularly with transgendered people, according to Wilenchek.
"The GLBT Resource Center, along with all the sponsors, hope this will build community as well as provide education about and visibility for transgendered people."
More information can be found on the GLBT Resource Center Web site.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Molly Maher at MaherM@colorado.edu
Be the first to comment on this story