Transgender Awareness

1. Transgender Awareness November 2008 Training presented by: Dylan Colt & Ramsey Campbell

2. Agenda • Objectives • Group Agreements • Activity • Definitions • What is Transgender? • Identities • Transitioning • Daily Difficulties • Twister • Allyship • Panel/Q&A

3. Objectives • Vocabulary • Awareness & Understanding • Effective tools

4. Group Agreements • Step up, listen up • One mic, one diva/o • Don’t yuck my yum • Sensitivity to diversity • Maintain Confidentiality

5. Activity • When did you first become aware of gender? • When are you aware of gender now?

6. Let’s talk about sex… Sex (male, female, intersex): • Chromosomes • Hormones • Internal and external sexual and reproductive organs

7. Transgender is not… For example, a person with XX chromosomes and a penis. Intersex (formerly hermaphrodite) • 1 in every 2,000 children • Nature doesn’t always produce individuals with strictly “male” or “female” bodies.

8. Can you tell my sex?

9. Transgender is not… Sexual Orientation: One’s natural preference in sexual partners. • Identities: gay, lesbian, bisexual, pan or omni sexual, queer, asexual, or heterosexual.

10. The Big G - Gender • Gender Identity • Gender Expression

11. Every individual has a biological sex, a gender identity, a gender expression, and sexual orientation. All can be considered fluid.

12. Can you tell my gender?

13. What is Transgender? Genderqueer Drag Queen FTM Transgender Cross Dresser Gender Fucker Drag King MTF Androgynous

14. Broadly speaking, transgender people are individuals whose gender expression and/or gender identity differs from conventional expectations based on their physical sex.

15. CROSS-DRESSERS (formerly transvestites) Bob was born with male sex characteristics, identifies/feels like a male, but periodically expresses himself with “female” dress. Stereotypes • Cross-dressers are gay, lesbian, or bi. • Cross-dressers are more effeminate or more masculine. • Cross-dressers stand out from the general population while dressed in clothes from their assigned sex.

16. DRAG • Drag kings: performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their performance. • Drag queens: performance artists who dress in feminine drag and personify female gender stereotypes as part of their performance.

17. TRANSGENDER Aiden was born with female sex characteristics, identifies/feels like a male, and expresses himself as a male. • MTF (Male to Female) • FTM (Female to Male)

18. OTHER IDENTITIES Gender bender Gender fuck(er/ed) Bi-gendered Androgynous Genderqueer

19. Identities can and do change, based on context, culture, geography, and an individual’s place in their life journey.

20. Transitioning • Name change • Pronouns Example of gender neutral pronoun use: • Ze laughed. • I hugged hir. • Hir head hurts. • I am hirs. • Ze feeds hirself.

21. Transitioning Appearance Some transgender people will do one or more of these on occasion or all of the time. • Tucking and taping • Stuffing • Binding • Packing

22. Transitioning Hormones • Testosterone (T) – Increases sex drive, reduces breast tissue, increases body hair, redistributes body fat, deepens voice, stops menstrual flow, increases muscle development • Estrogen (E) – Increase in fat distribution, softens skin, decrease in muscle mass, decrease in sex drive, breast growth, slowing or stopping of hair loss Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) Some transgender people elect to have surgery. Surgery is very expensive and often traumatic to the body. • Top surgery • Bottom surgery

23. Daily Difficulties • Passing • Being read • Choosing not to pass or being unable to pass • Fear • Safety • Employment • Harassment • Bathrooms

24. Transphobia Washington’s Law Against DiscriminationForbids gender expression or identity discrimination in: ►Employment in state, municipal and private workplaces with 8 or more employees. ►Public accommodations, meaning places open to the public such as businesses that sell goods or services, recreational facilities, providers of medical services and public schools. ►Housing and financial transactions such as real estate rental and sales, and applications for credit or insurance. King County Code against discrimination: added disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression in county employment and contracting – joining such other prohibited grounds as sex, race, religion and age (Ordinance 2008-0358). Hate Crimes • Gender identity/expression is not covered by national hate crime legislation and therefore marginally represented. • Ten states and Washington, DC have passed hate crime laws that extend to gender identity and expression. Those states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Missouri, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Vermont. • Gender-based violence is typically very brutal. Trans people generally don’t get stabbed once; they get stabbed 20 times, shot, burned and thrown into a dumpster.

25. Lawrence King 15-year-old Lawrence King was murdered at school on February 12, 2008. Friends say the reason was his sexual orientation and gender expression. Make sure Lawrence is not forgotten.

27. Oppression Twister! Compliments of GenderPAC We need 4 volunteers who are comfortable showing their identity in 4 different categories Please remember the confidentiality agreement

28. How to be an ally • Don’t assume you can tell if someone is transgender. • Don’t make assumptions about a trans person’s sexual orientation. • Be careful about confidentiality, disclosure, and “outing.” • Do not tolerate anti-trans remarks or humor in public spaces. • If you don’t know what pronouns to use, ask! Never assume. • Be patient with a person who is questioning their gender identity.

29. How to be an ally • Don’t ask a trans person what their “real name” is. • Don’t ask about a trans person’s genitals or surgical status. • Don't police public restrooms. • Know your own limits. • Listen to trans voices. • Do admit to mistakes. • Do educate yourself.

30. Creating Safer Spaces • Ask friends, classmates, coworkers how they identify • Incorporate gender and sex into a non-discrimination policy – POST! • Educate others about trans issues • Re-think your bathrooms • Speak up against transphobia!

31. Transphobia: SPEAK UP! • Be prepared • Identify the Behavior • Appeal to Principles • Set Limits • Teach • How to approach a conversation/gossip about transgender people

32. Panel/Q&A Elijah Izzy Ramsey

33. Resources • Seattle Counseling Service • http://www.seattlecounseling.org/ • Ingersoll Gender Center – Support Groups • http://www.ingersollcenter.org/ • Gender Odyssey Conference • http://www.transconference.org/ • Lambert House • http://www.lamberthouse.org/ • Gender Spectrum • http://www.genderspectrum.org/ • National Center for Transgender Equality • http://www.nctequality.org/

34. Homework • What is one thing you have done in the past that you would like to change? • What is one thing you are currently doing in the present that you would like to continue doing? • What is one thing you can commit to doing in the future?