Great news! I’m going on a tour of sorts to a few Transgender Conferences this summer. So far 2 out of 3 workshop proposals have been accepted, and I’m waiting to hear on the last one (fingers crossed).

Workshop

The workshop is titled Non-Binary Transition: Exploring the Options.

Blurb

So you’re genderqueer/non-binary, but you’re tired of talking – you want to DO something about it. Yet transition is still a murky topic. Which bathroom do I use? What can people call me? Do I have to lie to get hormones? Am I eligible for surgery? What about a legal name or gender change? When you’re outside, in the middle, or on the edge of the binary, these questions are often left unanswered. While nobody but you can say what’s best for you, there ARE a lot of options to pick and choose a transition path that is right for you. This presentation is geared towards those who identify as genderqueer, non-binary, or are simply considering a non-traditional route, are starting to think about transition and want to gather all the information that’s harder to get. It’s not meant as a GQ/NB 101, rather as a 201 – addressing the “what happens now?”

It is not intended to provide an overview of all transition options out there; rather, it’s to explore options people have when taking a non-standard route to transitioning, and to focus on the means of obtaining these. This includes clarifying a lot of misconceptions, outlining alternatives and loopholes, and most importantly encouraging people to seek out more resources and information, and to understand that what they want might just be possible.

Planning

My main worry is is that it ends up being a total disaster! Aside from that, I am struggling with narrowing the scope so as to be useful, but not repetivitve of basic concepts. Of course I want to be super knowledgable about a lot of information, some of which I am very familiar with, some of which is very new to me. As a starting point I already sent out the Genderqueer / Non-Binary Transition Survey, which helped gather the needs and questions of the community, and stories around how people have transitioned, plan to transition, or would like to transition. I still haven’t finished reading through all the responses, though I do plan to. Next month will be spent gathering more information, lots of research, and arduous planning, so that everything fits in an hour and a half.

Feedback?

As you can see, I plan to cover a lot of ground regarding non-binary transition, so I welcome any comments you might have on this. If there is a question you personally have or feel should be answered, or feedback on what you think might be important to address (or irrelevant enough to skip), please please please give me your thoughts.

 

Summer Tour

And here’s the lineup so far.

Philadelphia Trans Health

First I’ll be heading to the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, held in Philadelphia PA on May 31st – June 2nd. This conference is totally free and is one of the biggest, if not the largest, transgender conference, with over 200 workshops this year. I’ve written before about how it was a life-changer for me, so if you can make it, at least for one day, I cannot recommend it enough. My workshop is scheduled for Saturday June 2nd, and I’m already so nervous.

Gender Spectrum

Next up is Gender Spectrum Conference, which I might or might not present at, but I will definitely be there volunteering (like last year). This one is in Berkeley, CA, on the weekend of July 13-15. It’s geared specifically towards transgender and gender non-conforming youth and their families, so the audience tends to be a little different – lots of little kids, and lots of concerned and caring parents. Moreover, this year’s theme is “Think Outside the Boxes” which is a good indicator that the conversation surrounding genderqueer and non-binary identities is spreading.

Gender Odyssey

Last is Gender Odyssey on the West Coast in Seattle, WA, August 2-5. The price for this one is on a sliding scale, but at a minimum it’s $165, although they do have scholarships and subsidized rates. I haven’t received all the details yet, but I need to make travel arrangements soon. Gender Odyssey is also a considerably large conference, and the workshops that are already listed sound intriguing, so I look forward to checking it out!

 

I always have a blast at conferences, learn tons, and leave feeling inspired and motivated. Hope to meet some of you there!