Mark your calendars for MAY 15, because a very BIG event is just a couple of weeks away!

That’s right—the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG is a one-day, online, charitable-giving event in which you can increase the amount of your gift to Gender Diversity (the non-profit organization that produces the conference) merely by going online to submit your donation! The purpose of GiveBIG is to inspire people to give generously to their favorite regional nonprofit organizations and to help raise money for more than 1,400 nonprofit organizations.

The Seattle Foundation’s corporate sponsors will MATCH a share of every contribution made to Gender Diversity through the online Giving Center during the 24-hour period of May 15th!

We’re thrilled to again be one of the beneficiaries of this annual event! We want to use this great opportunity to raise the needed funds to hire a FULL-TIME CONFERENCE DIRECTOR!

I started the Gender Odyssey conference as a way to help myself and others find support for our gender exploration.  I was not alone in that search and Gender Odyssey has come a LONG way since 2001. We’ve expanded to include dedicated programming for the Trans* community including families (Gender Odyssey Family) and professionals (Gender Odyssey Professional).

In addition to the conferences, requests for trainings and support groups have exploded.  Gender Diversity was formed to help meet this need.  My first support group for parents of trans youth has turned into FIVE groups in just a few short years.  Calls for school trainings, agency support, and referral services come in daily.  I have taken on more and more work with this increased need and pulled in incredible volunteers to help in various capacities. 

Often, those of us who do this kind of work have been described as “tireless” advocates.  That is not quite accurate.  At times I get tired.  But, when someone gains a foothold in life because of Gender Odyssey; when a parent moves through their fear and confusion to then celebrate their trans child; or when a wide-eyed teacher excitedly talks about their new understanding of gender; I am reinvigorated to do more.  I love this work!!   

I want to share that feeling! The time has come to add additional leadership. As the conferences continue to grow in size and scope, the need for a dedicated conference director has become critical. This is a huge opportunity for us to grow and meet the increasing numbers of requests in all capacities of this amazing work.

Think about the effect that the Gender Odyssey experience has had on your life, the life of someone you love, and the community as a whole. Each Gender Odyssey conference provides so many opportunities for information and affirmation, connection and compassion, conversation and celebration.

Mark your calendars for May 15th and DONATE! We have a 24 hour window beginning at 12:01am and ending at 11:59pm.

To make the most of this 24-hour opportunity, please help us in three ways:                

1. Make a donation on May 15th
2. Ask your friends and family to do the same
3. If you use Facebook, RSVP for GiveBIG – Click here

THANK YOU and I hope you will help me manifest this important next step!!

Aidan Key, Conference Founder and Director

Screenings will be in Seattle on May 11 and Portland on May 12. Please use the following links to purchase tickets:

• Purchase tickets to Seattle screening
• Purchase tickets to Portland screening

Kortney Ryan Ziegler, award-winning filmmaker, visual artist, writer, and scholar, brings us the colorful and complex stories of six diverse trans men.

Ziegler lets the subjects’ words and personalities dictate the images and film effects, and the black images on the white background play on the fact that issues concerning gender, race, and sexuality are not and cannot be discussed in black and white terms. Clear voices speak on love, family, passing, and sex.

Awards:

• Audience Choice Best Documentary Winner 2009, Reelout Film Festival
• Isaac Julien Experimental Award Winner 2008, Queer Black Cinema

Like Still Black on Facebook

It’s exciting to see different generations and multiple cultural influences represented by the community members who show their artwork at the conference. Having the art displayed in the area surrounding the workshop rooms provides a free flowing space for reflection and enjoyment of images sourced directly from our own, collective experience.

View photos of artwork shown in previous Gender Odyssey Art Exhibits.

Artists are invited to submit entries for the 2013 Art Exhibit now. Please share your creative expression with the community this year. Full details about how to participate are available here. Submission deadline is June 15, 2013.

If you stick with it, the long-term prognosis is good, and includes liberation, a deeper understanding of gender (not just trans folks’ gender but everyone’s – cause we all have gender!) and being in community with some fierce, brilliant and beautiful souls.

As a psychologist who has been working with trans clients and their families for about a decade, I’ve been meaning to attend Gender Odyssey for years. In 2012, two events propelled me to finally go. I had the pleasure of meeting Gender Odyssey Executive Director Aidan Key and learning more about what GO is all about; and, my partner of 18 years, who is in her own gender exploration, wanted to attend with me. I knew that this dual perspective of both mental health practitioner and partner would be heady and difficult to navigate at times… and I was right. But it was so worth it!

The first day I attended was the pre-conference GO Professional, which is a new addition to the Gender Odyssey line-up.  Getting to hear from some of the leaders in the field – Laura Edwards-Leeper, PhD, Johanna Olson, MD, and attorney Asaf Orr, to name a few – was incredible.  It was also great to network with other gender specialists from a variety of disciplines so as to refer to one another and share resources. But what moved me the most was the panel of youth speakers facilitated by Megan Kennedy. These youth spoke of their own experiences with gender, sexuality, peer and family acceptance or rejection, intersecting identities, and what they need from adult allies with articulateness, honesty, and a sophisticated understanding of privilege and oppression that just blew me away. So, GO Professional was a great day all around, but I was able to pretty much keep my “treatment provider” hat on all day long.  Then the real fun began.

On Friday my partner and I began attending the regular Gender Odyssey conference together – first time for both of us. With different interests we split up and went our separate ways, meeting for quick breaks and lunch. My first workshop was the Jewish Caucus. Hearing stories from families who are being asked to choose between their religious practice and their child was terribly poignant, but seeing them gain strength from others’ stories of integration and reconciliation was empowering.

GO has a separate track of workshops for partners of trans and genderqueer individuals, and I attended several of these workshops over the course of the conference. Skillfully facilitated, the first workshop asked us to grapple with shifting identities and grief as our partners’ gender expression changed. What does it mean to identify as lesbian when one’s partner’s presentation, body, voice, sexuality, even smell are changing and becoming more male? What does it mean for one’s personal and feminist politics to now be “read” as a heterosexual couple and to acquire the privilege associated with that status, privilege that was previously denied to the same couple when they were living in the world as two women? These were just some of the sticky, complex, and fascinating questions we began to grapple with in this workshop.  

The day ended with the beautiful spoken word, song, and performance of Gene Tagaban, who shared with us the sacred Raven Dance of his Tlingit heritage. Beneath the story and performance was a strong message of validation, acceptance, and love toward self and others. It was a perfect ending to the day, and as I looked around at the many families with young gender variant children whose world will, hopefully, be different due to the work of organizations like Gender Odyssey, I cried healing tears for myself, my partner, and my clients and friends who have been harmed by homophobia and transphobia.  

My partner and I returned home that evening (we live in Seattle so “home” happily meant our house and dogs instead of a hotel room) and found that we could barely speak to each other except for necessary communication (“Want some dinner?”  “Sure”). We both felt exhausted, our heads and hearts were full, and we needed to rest in order to return the next day for more learning and stretching.

While Day 1 primarily engaged my professional brain and Day 2 felt more personal, Day 3 found me alternating between the two in rather rapid and head-spinning fashion. I got to see the renowned pioneer Dr. Marci Bowers present on gender reassignment surgery, participated in a discussion of the evolving role of mental health professionals in trans healthcare, and attended another partner track workshop, this one on sexuality. While there was serious discussion in the latter meeting, there was also deep laughter, as we discussed the challenges of maintaining intimacy with changing bodies and changing desires for both trans folks and their partners. This was the day that challenged me intellectually the most, with exploration of concepts such as “gender binary privilege” and “asexuality,” both of which I was familiar with but which gained greater texture and depth through Gender Odyssey workshops. The concept of liberation from the gender binary in particular – and binaries in general! – is one that continues to engage my thinking. Joining friends who had also attended the conference for lunch that day, my head was spinning and again, we found that we weren’t able to discuss our experiences (at least, not very articulately) but had to let them sink in and percolate for a while.

The day ended with keynote Janet Mock, staff editor of People.com and trans woman, who told her story of her own gender journey beginning in adolescence. Another great way to end the day, Ms. Mock provided a model of barriers overcome, empowerment and authenticity found.

In sum, Gender Odyssey is a powerful experience, so be forewarned – side effects may include lightheadedness, laughter, tearfulness, and fatigue. But if you stick with it, the long-term prognosis is good, and includes liberation, a deeper understanding of gender (not just trans folks’ gender but everyone’s – cause we all have gender!) and being in community with some fierce, brilliant and beautiful souls.

Stacey Prince is a psychologist and activist, happily married to (and pictured here with) her partner Teri Mayo, and the doting owner of two beloved canines. She and Teri co-founded Beyond the Bridge, a community education and grant-making organization dedicated to eliminating LGBTQ youth suicide.

I’ve come of age, so to speak, through my trips to Seattle for GO.

Hi, my name is Zander, I live in groovy Northern California with my beautiful wife, Margaret, and I am a clinical social worker with the Veterans Health Administration, where I work with military veterans confronting homelessness, substance abuse and mental illness. I have been involved with the Trans* community since 2005 and was previously involved with the LGB community starting in 1987. In 2011, I published the Lambda Literary Award Finalist Letters for my Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect (Wilgefortis, 2011.)

I attended my first Gender Odyssey Conference in 2006. It was my first time at a trans* specific conference. I had attended many LGB conferences over the years, some with as many as 2000 attendees, but I was not prepared for the impact of being around 400-500 FtMs at Gender Odyssey (GO). It was like coming home for the first time!

My first two years at GO, I went solo, but the third year (2008) Margaret accompanied me. Fortunately, it was the first year GO offered a partner specific track of workshops and events designated for couples. We had a blast! We met other couples and Margaret got to hangout with other partners. My favorite partner workshop title, hands down, has to be “Fierce Dyke Seen Doing Husband’s Laundry,” which was facilitated by Jessica Pettitt.

I’ve come of age, so to speak, through my trips to Seattle for GO. My first year at the conference, which coincided with the anniversary of my first full year on T, I facilitated a well attended workshop on identifying as a Virago (A woman of masculine strength or spirit). It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, because, I was not then identifying as a man, or an FtM, or a trans man. I felt part of something bigger, that was emerging both within me and in the FTM community: the public ascendance of multiple non-binary identities.

My second year at GO (2007), I decided not to present a workshop, but to instead attend all the workshops focused on the experience of identifying as male: Boys to Men, Seven Year Itch, and a few others. I was interested in hearing about the experiences of the FtMs who identified and lived as men. What surprised me the most, were the responses from some of the audience members: they loudly and unkindly objected to the way the trans men described their experiences.

Following these workshops, I found myself surrounded by trans men feeling dismissed and marginalized by people they thought were members of their own community. That experience inspired me to create a space for these men to feel supported and welcome: to create a sense of brotherhood. I approached Aidan Key, the GO producer, and inquired into the possibility of having an impromptu workshop in an unused room. Aidan said yes, and The Men’s Room was formed. It was a huge success and sparked an energy in me I had not known was present: I was beginning to develop a strong male identity.

2007 was the last year GO was officially an FTM conference. This was also the year I decided to begin researching bottom surgeries, which was prompted by an experience I had in a workshop where trans men on T 5 or more years discussed their lives post-transition: the challenges and celebrations. A few of the guys talked about the regret they felt for not getting bottom surgery. I did not want to feel that same regret, so I embarked on the long and difficult journey of genital reconstruction. I regret nothing!

2007 was also the year I began co-presenting workshops with Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA) executive director Kim Pearson at the GO Family Conference. Workshops like Minimizing the Top 10 Fears, I also co-presented with Kim at GO 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. It was truly amazing to see trans boys as young as 4 years old, but my favorite was interacting with the FtM teens, who were seeking mentorship and asking nonstop questions fueled by their curiosity about their future as men.

My third year at GO (2008), I presented at least three workshops. My favorite being No Apology Necessary: Celebrating Masculinity, which Aidan co-presented with me. It was a huge hit. We hit an exposed nerve, that has only grown more painful as the years progress: the FtM community has become a hostile place for some transsexual men. I found myself part of a growing group of transsexual men at GO 2008 who refused to be pushed out of and silenced in FtM space, a space popularized by Lou Sullivan in 1986 in San Francisco. Lou was a pioneering trans man who coined the phrase Female to Male Transsexual, in response to the custom of medical doctors and psychologists labeling us ‘female transsexuals’. To honor Lou’s legacy I co-founded the Lou Sullivan Society in 2007 and included his writings in Letters for my Brothers.

GO 2009 and 2011 (there was no GO 2010) were like family reunions for me. I met up with many guys I met at GO 2006-2008. We shared stories about our lives. Over the course of 6 years I have met men from many US States, several Canadian Provinces, a few European countries, and a couple of guys from the Australian, African and South American Continents. GO is truly an international conference where one can make friends with FtMs of all gender identities, sexual orientations, relationship compositions, interest areas, political affiliations, religious denominations, racial and ethnic identities, etc.

At GO 2009, in addition to my No Apology Necessary workshop, I began offering my Ups & Downs of Phalloplasty workshop. It has become a very popular workshop for those considering genital reconstruction. One main difference between my workshop and other trans* conference FtM bottom surgery workshops is that it do not include photographs or a show and tell portion. I am more interested in discussing the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical dimensions of undergoing such a somatic paradigm shift: female-bodied to male-bodied, which is how I frame my medical, social and legal sex reassignment process. It is all too common that people ask, those of us who have undergone genital reconstruction, about the aesthetics and functionality of our penises, which often is based on unrealistic notions and images, without considering the other realms of our lives enhanced and disrupted by the multi-staged surgery process. The workshop gives those present a more comprehensive understanding of the surgery process. The workshop struck a chord and I am happy to report it inspired the recently published anthology Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by Transsexual Men (Transgress Press, 2012.)
 
GO 2011 and GO 2012 were more great years of presenting and attending workshops, hanging out with old and new friends and relaxing at the Silver Cloud Hotel.

At GO 2012, I attended the first GO Professional Day for therapists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, social workers and others. I had the pleasure of welcoming the attendees and presenting them with an overview of the terms they would be hearing throughout the day, like gender non-conforming, transgender, transition, etc. It was a fun day of being a professional trans man among other trans and non-trans professionals.

I must admit, I discussed skipping GO 2013 with others at GO 2012. At GO 2012, I started to feel like I was an old man among youngsters: I was a 46 year old settled and content married guy, surrounded by restless single (hooking up) twenty-somethings, but now that I have realized that I will be unable to attend GO 2013 – I’ll be in Scotland with my wife and mother-in-law. I am especially bummed to be missing the amazing workshops, hearing my mentor Jamison Green‘s keynote and seeing all of my GO friends.

See you all at Gender Odyssey 2014!!!

“Inclusivity of Diversity – keep it up GO!”

Introduce yourself! Who are you, what do you do, what is your involvement with the trans community?

I’m a gender outlaw feminist and an income-challenged, retired elder. As a transwoman, my gender identity has evolved to a high comfort level with the term ‘gender outlaw’.

Had you ever been to a transgender conference before?

Before attending Gender Odyssey by myself in 2012, I had been to the Transcending Boundaries Conference in Springfield, MA and to several National Lesbian and Gay Taskforce’s Creating Change Conferences for their trans-friendly workshops. As someone who currently lives in the Southwest and hopes to move to the Pacific NW in the near-future, I was hoping to find a high-quality, western states conference vs. the other two excellent, but more eastern venues. G.O. is indeed that find!

Was this your first time at GO?

This was my first time at G.O. and I came because another transwoman acquaintance had attended in 2011 and came away with glowing recommendations.

Is there a particular workshop that stands out in your mind?

Of all the inspiring workshops I attended at the 2012 Gender Odyssey (so many good choices in each time slot; hard to choose just one), the “Race and Gender Balancing Act” was especially memorable. I wish I could have also sat in on “Gender and Class” and “Size and Gender” (alas I had others competing for my attention) because it is so important to be inclusive of ALL of our differences. Inclusivity of Diversity – keep it up G.O.!

What was your favorite event?

Ah, how to choose just one? Gene Tagaban’s keynote, the All-Conference Picnic, and Alexander James Adams performance all greatly enhanced my conference experience.

Did you make some good connections?

Well, I was so busy going from workshop to workshop that until the wind-down party, I didn’t really start connecting with others except by volunteering for a while at the registration table. In 2013, I want to make sure those connections happen throughout the conference. As one of the artists exhibiting my photography in the art show, I did have some good conversations about my work.

What is one thing that you took away from the conference?

At my age, just when I start to assume that I have seen and experienced all the many ways that we express ourselves individually and in meaningful relationships, I am awestruck by the ever-expanding color wheel of who we are and what is possible.

What is something you think the Gender Odyssey conference accomplishes for you personally? For others? For community? For society?

What G.O. does for me is it gives me the strength, courage, renewal-energy, and plenty of reasons to continue being a survivor in a difficult life, and it points to paths for helping others to ‘keep on keeping on’. As for our community, I think of a paraphrase on an old Sister Sledge song, “We are family…” – ‘all my gender outlaw kindred spirits and me’. If we as a society are ever going to see a better world, G.O. surely charts a course!

Are you coming back to Gender Odyssey? If so, what draws you back?

I will be back! I’m helping ‘boundless-energy-and-passion-for-the-cause’ Aidan organize an important elders’ track for 2013. I may also submit a separate workshop proposal, and a new piece of artwork, and my activist batteries will need re-charging by August with more G.O. good vibes.

“Out of the Mouth of Babes” – Misty

We have a fantastic opportunity coming up tomorrow and we could really use your help.

On Wednesday, May 2, the Seattle Foundation is hosting GiveBIG, a one-day online giving event where the foundation’s corporate sponsors will match a share of donations, large or small. As you may know, Gender Diversity is the training arm of the organization that produces the Gender Odyssey conference. Gender Diversity is going to be one of the beneficiaries of GiveBIG this year, and this is a great opportunity to help us make a national impact!

After every Gender Odyssey conference, Gender Diversity steps in and provides year round services, including:

1. Meeting numerous requests for K-12 schools and university trainings to create inclusive, accepting environments for trans students.
2. Connecting people with knowledgeable doctors, therapists, groups, attorneys and other resources.
3. Offering a continuing education seminar called Gender Odyssey Professional Day (on Aug 2nd of this year) to provide students and professionals an opportunity to learn about gender nonconforming youth and their families from the national experts.

And of course, Gender Diversity’s programs include the national Gender Odyssey and Gender Odyssey Family annual international conferences.

We need immediate financial support to carry forward this important work.

Gender Diversity has only one paid staff member – me – and I want to change that!  There are more and more requests for services, groups, trainings, referrals and support, and our ability to meet those increasing needs is stretched to its limits. Funding is needed to increase Gender Diversity’s capacity to meet these critical requests. Almost EVERY call or email is directly related to a single child, teen, or adult that needs help and support now!

Simple Steps to GiveBIG

Would you please help us with a donation on May 2nd, and ask all of your friends and family to do the same?

1. On Wednesday, May 2nd go here to donate online: Seattle Foundation – Gender Diversity.

2. RSVP for GiveBIG on Facebook – Click here.

3. Rally your friends & family to support Gender Diversity on May 2nd. Spread the word using emails, Facebook and Twitter.

Donations of any size are welcome!

Remember, a share of every contribution made through The Seattle Foundation’s online Giving Center during on May 2nd will be matched by the Seattle Foundation’s corporate sponsors. Your donation will be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d for maximum impact!! There is also a chance our group could be chosen at random to receive an additional $1000 in a drawing. Help us make the most of GiveBIG!

My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support on May 2nd. Let’s keep changing the world!

Transfigurations

Transfigurations explores transsexuals and their notions of masculinity and femininity as they change gender identities. Discovering that gender is both real and illusory, natural and constructed, Marcus’ photographs shed light on the transformation from one sex/gender to another. (Read the Artist’s Statement.)

“Transfigurations is a bold, gutsy visual feast—not just for the eyes, but for the heart and soul. In her courageous endeavor to explore gender, Jana Marcus takes us along a hypnotic ride that invites us to question everything we think we might know about man, woman and the typically uncharted waters in between. Stunning!”

—Greg Archer, San Francisco Examiner

Transfigurations was included in the prestigious Best Photos of The Year in both 2004 and 2005 by Photo District News of New York, as well as The International Photography Awards, The Phelan Art Awards, The Excellence in Photography Award from San Jose State University’s School of Art & Design, and The Center for Photographic Arts Awards.

View a slideshow of a partial selection of photos and text from Transfigurations.

Jana Marcus has been creating award-winning documentary photography for over 20 years. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and extensively published in newspapers and magazines. Jana received the UC Berkeley Center for Photography’s Intl. Photojournalism Award and was recently named one of 50 Exceptional International Photographers by Exposure of New York.

Gender Odyssey is excited and honored to help Jana launch this photo-documentary work that profiles many past Gender Odyssey attendees. We’re very proud of the people who’ve participated in this project, their willingness to share their lives in such a strong, yet vulnerable way, and Jana’s lengthy, persistent journey to get this published! Thanks to all Gender Odyssey attendees who’ve contributed their stories, finances, and encouragement to see this project through to fruition.

Join us in Seattle this August 5th-7th to hear more about this moving project and the many ways in which it has already become a tool of social change. Register now for Gender Odyssey.

• For more information about Jana, please visit www.janamarcus.com.
• Pre-order your copy of Transfigurations here.
• Like Transfigurations on Facebook.

Tebogo Nkoana

Tebogo Nkoana and Skipper Mogapi of South Africa and Botswana, respectively, are seeking our help and support. They wish to attend the Gender Odyssey conference, share stories of their powerful activism across Africa, and connect with their North American brothers.

Living openly as trans men, Tebogo and Skipper are two of only a small handful of people willing to do so across the continent of Africa.  Tebogo works for Gender Dynamix as an outreach officer in South Africa. Skipper has founded a trans organization called Rainbow Identity in Botswana. They are strong activists who work especially in rural areas and black townships and strive to maintain the indigenous knowledge of African transgender and intersex identity.

Skipper Mogapi

Their biggest obstacle in coming to Seattle for Gender Odyssey is the expense of travel. One round trip ticket to the US can cost over $2000 – and they need two of them! We just need a few dozen people to pitch in $50 or $100 … really, whatever you can afford, and we can get them here!

Our goal is to raise $4800 USD by June 30th. Donations are being collected via ChipIn. All money donated will go directly towards travel expenses for Tebogo and Skipper.

This is an amazing opportunity to create global dialogue about trans lives, civil rights, and global communities. Together we can do this! Will you help extend some North American hospitality? Please donate now.

If you have strong facilitation skills and are drawn to one or two of the selected topics, we encourage you to fill out a Facilitator Application Form. Not all of the sessions listed will be part of the final Gender Odyssey program so if you want to see a certain topic discussed, consider stepping up to make it happen!!

These sessions are designed to be facilitated discussions with optimal involvement by the greatest number of participants. You’re not expected to develop a presentation—only facilitate a dynamic conversation!

Interested? Please see the Facilitate page for more information.