This is an archive of workshops presented at the first Asterisk Trans* Conference. Click here to read the workshop schedule, or download a PDF of the workshop times and locations in a handy visual table.
Designing Transgender Writing Spaces
Molly Segale, UC Santa Cruz
This workshop will discuss the challenges and opportunities in designing writing spaces for transgender students. Composition and creative writing classes often rely on student experiences as course material, yet trans and queer students must navigate institutionalized transphobia and heterosexism when engaged in class assignments. Learn research on these writing spaces and join a larger discussion of transgender needs in the classroom. Topics will include safe space, political activism, and intersectional identities. Presenter will draw on experiences as composition lecturer and Transgender Program Coordinator at UC Santa Cruz.
Gates and Gatekeepers
Dr. Kristen Vierregger, Metamorphosis Medical Center Transgender Clinic, www.metatranshormone.com
Traci Medeiros-Bagan, COM|PASSionate REVOLT Healing, www.compassionaterevolthealing.com
Kaeti Gugiu, Kaeti Gugiu Therapy,
This program seeks to de-mystify the process of therapy, requesting letters and accessing medical care for transition via the experiences of providers working in an affirming care model. Participants will learn about their rights and gain skills in advocating for themselves when seeking any medical care. Each provider will give an introduction explaining their role and current practices and then participants will be able to ask questions to support their individual journeys.
Closed Space: This workshop space is for people who self-identity as trans or gender questioning.
Gender Anxieties: On Risk, Rejection and the Impulse to Regulate
Have You Got Your T?: Working on Improving the Lives of TWOC
Lexi Adsit, International Trans Women of Color Network Gathering
Luna Merbruja, International Trans Women of Color Network Gathering
international-twoc-gathering.tumblr.com
This workshop will be a space for community to learn about the International Transgender Women of Color Network Gathering that took place at the Allied Media Conference in June 2014. We aspire to use this space as a tool for community engagement and planning to improve the lives of Transgender Women of Color. We will be providing and brainstorming concrete actions and strategies to be in solidarity with TWOC.
Health Providers Panel: Accessing Trans-Friendly Health Care
Gender Anxieties: On Risk, Rejection and the Impulse to Regulate
Tey Meadow, Harvard University, http://www.teymeadowphd.com
How much of the way we interact with transgender people runs on an economy of anxiety? In this talk, sociologist Tey Meadow will discuss her forthcoming book, an in-depth study of the first generation of parents actively and publicly affirming transgender identities in their children. She will discuss the kinds of anxieties gender transitions incite for parents, for clinicians and the state, and what makes some families more vulnerable than others to violence, harassment and state intrusion. She will offer some thoughts about the ways gender anxieties, even among trans allies, have lead to new forms of risk-management and regulation.
How much of the way we interact with transgender people runs on an economy of anxiety? In this talk, sociologist Tey Meadow will discuss her forthcoming book, an in-depth study of the first generation of parents actively and publicly affirming transgender identities in their children. She will discuss the kinds of anxieties gender transitions incite for parents, for clinicians and the state, and what makes some families more vulnerable than others to violence, harassment and state intrusion. She will offer some thoughts about the ways gender anxieties, even among trans allies, have lead to new forms of risk-management and regulation.
Have You Got Your T?: Working on Improving the Lives of TWOC
Lexi Adsit, International Trans Women of Color Network Gathering
Luna Merbruja, International Trans Women of Color Network Gathering
international-twoc-gathering.tumblr.com
This workshop will be a space for community to learn about the International Transgender Women of Color Network Gathering that took place at the Allied Media Conference in June 2014. We aspire to use this space as a tool for community engagement and planning to improve the lives of Transgender Women of Color. We will be providing and brainstorming concrete actions and strategies to be in solidarity with TWOC.
Health Providers Panel: Accessing Trans-Friendly Health Care
Dr. Jon Persichino, Riverside County Regional Medical Center private practitioner
Bianca Salvetti, Nurse Practitioner, Children’s Hospital L.A. – Center for Transyouth Health & Development http://www.chla.org/
Félix Vargas, Patient Advocate, St. John’s Well Child & Family Center – Transgender Health Program http://www.wellchild.org
Moderated by Toi Thibodeaux, UC Riverside LGBT Resource Center
How can you access trans-friendly medical care and programs specifically knowledgeable regarding hormone replacement therapy? How does access to health insurance impact your options? What documentation, if any, is required to show “medical necessity” when receiving medical care related to transitioning? Join a panel of health providers and learn about some of your health options.
How To Succeed In Campus Change
Orion, Cal State Northridge, Gamma Rho Lambda Sorority & CSUN Senator
College and University students can make a difference on their campuses! Learn how to work that inside track on creating a more trans-inclusive environment. This session will give participants an inside perspective on how to create change within student organizations and in the campus administrative realm through student-led efforts.
How can you access trans-friendly medical care and programs specifically knowledgeable regarding hormone replacement therapy? How does access to health insurance impact your options? What documentation, if any, is required to show “medical necessity” when receiving medical care related to transitioning? Join a panel of health providers and learn about some of your health options.
How To Succeed In Campus Change
Orion, Cal State Northridge, Gamma Rho Lambda Sorority & CSUN Senator
College and University students can make a difference on their campuses! Learn how to work that inside track on creating a more trans-inclusive environment. This session will give participants an inside perspective on how to create change within student organizations and in the campus administrative realm through student-led efforts.
May I Kiss You?: Sexual Communication and Consent
Dulce Garcia, Empowering With Conviction
Sex? Intimacy? Doing it? Hooking Up? Whatever you call it, the truth is that many of us are LOVERS but sex is only fun when everyone involved agrees on what they’re going to do. But how do you know if you can’t talk about it? Come learn how to communicate with your partner(s) about what you like, how you like it, and where you like it! In this fun and interactive workshop we will discuss and practice how to identify, ask for, and negotiate the kind of sex you want. Learn skills and resources for having a positive sex life that includes consent, safe sex, and healthy communication that affirms your gender during intimacy.
Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic
Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic
Félix Vargas, Transgender Health Program Patient Advocate
Queen Victoria Ortega, Trans* Empower Program Case Manager
Transgender Health Program, St. John's Well Child and Family Center, www.wellchild.org/transgender-health/
Come meet with the St. John's Well Child and Family Center's Transgender Health Program team to complete your name and/or gender marker change paperwork. The team will provide you with the necessary forms, walk you through the court filing process and provide you with helpful tips and updates. We will also be sharing information about the St. John's Well Child and Family Center Transgender Health Program and Trans* Empower Program.
Come meet with the St. John's Well Child and Family Center's Transgender Health Program team to complete your name and/or gender marker change paperwork. The team will provide you with the necessary forms, walk you through the court filing process and provide you with helpful tips and updates. We will also be sharing information about the St. John's Well Child and Family Center Transgender Health Program and Trans* Empower Program.
Closed Space: The clinic is only open to Trans and GNC folks seeking assistance with completing their paperwork, or learning more about the process. This space is not open to allies.
Navigating the Kink Community While Being Transgender
Ash Preston, UC Riverside
This workshop provides an introductory understanding of the intersectionality of being transgender and kinky. While gaining a basic understanding of the kink community, participants will learn about the conversation skills and safety tips needed for either entering or continuing in the kink community with confidence.
Closed Space: This workshop space is for people who self-identity as trans or gender questioning.
#Ourmovement: Today's Grassroots Fundraising and Organizing
This workshop provides an introductory understanding of the intersectionality of being transgender and kinky. While gaining a basic understanding of the kink community, participants will learn about the conversation skills and safety tips needed for either entering or continuing in the kink community with confidence.
Closed Space: This workshop space is for people who self-identity as trans or gender questioning.
#Ourmovement: Today's Grassroots Fundraising and Organizing
Bamby Salcedo, The TransLatin@ Coalition, bambysalcedo.com
Grassroots strategies are important in #ourmovement. Attendees to this workshop will be able to hear and see challenges and opportunities on how to build projects and movements with limited resources in todays landscape. This workshop will also provide a framework for people to be able to fundraise for the work that needs to be done in #ourmovement.
Providing Safe and Inclusive Schools for Trans*Gender Students
Grassroots strategies are important in #ourmovement. Attendees to this workshop will be able to hear and see challenges and opportunities on how to build projects and movements with limited resources in todays landscape. This workshop will also provide a framework for people to be able to fundraise for the work that needs to be done in #ourmovement.
Providing Safe and Inclusive Schools for Trans*Gender Students
Giorgio Jovani di Salvatore, MAED, ABSNP, LEP, CMIS
American Board of School Neuropsychology
National Association of School Psychologists
Alvord Unified School District (Riverside, CA)
As legislation changes to improve the civil liberties and protections of trans*gender students in schools, so must those directly involved in the education of students. This program will review the basic development of gender identify, psychosocial issues affecting trans*gender students, applicable legal protections, the responsibilities of those working in educational settings, resources available to youth in our community, and understanding how to build a safe space in schools.
As legislation changes to improve the civil liberties and protections of trans*gender students in schools, so must those directly involved in the education of students. This program will review the basic development of gender identify, psychosocial issues affecting trans*gender students, applicable legal protections, the responsibilities of those working in educational settings, resources available to youth in our community, and understanding how to build a safe space in schools.
Safe Schools for Trans Students
Eli Erlick & Danie D., Trans Student Educational Resources, transstudent.org
Safe Schools for Trans Students is an interactive workshop for those enrolled in and working with schools, colleges, and universities who want to make education a better place for trans students. In this workshop, we’ll be collaborating with you to address problems that arise in education and how we can fix these situations. We will be addressing the following questions among others: What is educational justice? What rights do trans students have? What legislation is there supporting trans students? Attendees of this workshop will come away with a greater knowledge of how schools can become healthy learning environments for trans students.
Taming the Hulk: Temperance for the Trans*Masculine Journey
Skye Bigari, COM|PASSionate REVOLT
Traci Medeiros-Bagan, COM|PASSionate REVOLT Healing
www.compassionaterevolt.com
How does the transmasculine individual sort out the stories we hear about what it means to be a man, the stories we tell ourselves about what it means to be a man and the men that we actually see ourselves to be? Society’s narratives about men and masculinity affect our self esteem, body image, the way we take care of ourselves, what we expect out of our relationships, how we let our families treat us, what careers we go into, the trust we put in medicine to alter our internal and external bodies and ultimately our core identity. Through interactive dialogue and exploratory activities, together we will gain insight about how expectations surrounding masculinity before, during and “after” transition affect the development of an authentic and fully realized self.
T*Camp - A Retreat for Trans* & Gender Questioning College Students
www.compassionaterevolt.com
How does the transmasculine individual sort out the stories we hear about what it means to be a man, the stories we tell ourselves about what it means to be a man and the men that we actually see ourselves to be? Society’s narratives about men and masculinity affect our self esteem, body image, the way we take care of ourselves, what we expect out of our relationships, how we let our families treat us, what careers we go into, the trust we put in medicine to alter our internal and external bodies and ultimately our core identity. Through interactive dialogue and exploratory activities, together we will gain insight about how expectations surrounding masculinity before, during and “after” transition affect the development of an authentic and fully realized self.
T*Camp - A Retreat for Trans* & Gender Questioning College Students
BCash, UC Irvine
Adrienne Adams, Occidental College
Sebastián Ochoa-Kaup, San Francisco State University
Deejay Brown, UC Irvine
In January 2012, the first college Trans* retreat in the nation brought together 64 T-Campers from 17 colleges and universities for three days of community-building, dialogue, and personal growth. By 2015, T*Camp drew over 100 applications to attend. This session will introduce the goals and development of T*Camp, provide an overview of the retreat activities, and explore its impact on student participants and facilitators alike.
Telling Truth: Exploring Personal Narrative in Poetry, a writing workshop
Ollie Schminkey, ollieschminkey.weebly.comDeejay Brown, UC Irvine
In January 2012, the first college Trans* retreat in the nation brought together 64 T-Campers from 17 colleges and universities for three days of community-building, dialogue, and personal growth. By 2015, T*Camp drew over 100 applications to attend. This session will introduce the goals and development of T*Camp, provide an overview of the retreat activities, and explore its impact on student participants and facilitators alike.
Telling Truth: Exploring Personal Narrative in Poetry, a writing workshop
Poetry can be an important part of how we process important (and often very difficult) events in our lives, and sharing those poems with an audience can be cathartic for the author, as well as powerful and eye-opening for the audience. In this writing workshop led by Ollie Schminkey, poets of all experience levels are welcome to explore their own truths through writing. Focused on personal narrative, this hands-on workshop will guide writers through the process of writing and sharing vulnerable work, in a variety of styles. Bring a writing utensil, paper, and a good attitude!
Trans* AA/PI… Bringing Trans*ness Back Home
Avery Nguyen, QTPOC Facilitator, UC Santa Cruz
Tam Welch, Cantú Queer Center & Women’s Center, UC Santa Cruz
This workshop provides a space for folx who simultaneously identify as trans* and as Asian-American/Pacific Islander. As trans* AA/PI, what does it mean to navigate various cultural spaces? How do we decide family, chosen or otherwise, and what does home mean to us? Here we will share personal experiences and tips, strategies, and resources on how to cross language and cultural barriers. Join our discussion.
Closed Space: The program is only open to people who self-identity as both Trans* and Asian American / Pacific Islander.
This workshop provides a space for folx who simultaneously identify as trans* and as Asian-American/Pacific Islander. As trans* AA/PI, what does it mean to navigate various cultural spaces? How do we decide family, chosen or otherwise, and what does home mean to us? Here we will share personal experiences and tips, strategies, and resources on how to cross language and cultural barriers. Join our discussion.
Closed Space: The program is only open to people who self-identity as both Trans* and Asian American / Pacific Islander.
Trans Media 201 – Beyond the Basics
Eli Erlick & Danie D., Trans Student Educational Resources,
Trans Media 201 is geared towards those involved in media and writing ranging from professional journalists to personal blogging. In this workshop, we’ll be working with you to address and deconstruct cissexist language that is often used in telling trans narratives and providing trans-friendly alternatives. With videos, examples, and group discussions, attendees of this workshop will come away with a greater knowledge of how media interacts with the trans community.
Trans & Queer Resiliency and Poetry
Megan M. Benton, UCLA
Telling your story through poetry gives you the access to heal yourself and others around you. This workshop will give you a space to connect with other writers and start writing poetry that is shaped by your lived experience. Come write the pain away, come write about your celebration and come tell stories that are often unheard.
Closed Space: This workshop space is for people who self-identity as trans or queer.
TRANSForming Eating Disorder Recovery: Education, Empowerment, Advocacy
Dagan VanDemark, T-FFED: Trans Folx Fighting Eating Disorders, www.transfolxfightingeds.org
Dan Maldonado & Rajah Jones, CSUN
This interactive workshop deconstructs the overrepresentation of eating disorders in our trans and gender-diverse communities, focusing on risk factors (personal and intersectional structural factors, trauma, internalized transphobia, the ways in which gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia inform each other, etc.), accessing care, and engendering representation in media and research. Participants will undermine eating disorder myths, discuss healthy coping skills, increase their capacity to advocate for gender-literate care and learn about community-focused healing initiatives.
Two Spirits, One Heart: Coming out as a mother to my transgender son
Often when we hear about LGBT coming out stories, we focus on the person coming out. But the parent of an LGBT person experiences a similar, but in many ways, different coming out story. Marsha Aizumi will share her story as the mother of a transgender man and their resilient mother-son relationship. She will be joined by her son, Aiden.
Why I Am Done With "Trans* 101": How To Push Past the Standard Model of Training
Minerva M, Santa Cruz, CA
The widely accepted model of "basic trans training" for schools, workplaces, and pop feminism internet essays does a disservice to the vast majority of trans people. Too often, those facilitating these workshops sacrifice complexity and social context in the name of "meeting people where they are at." This workshop will examine what the standard model is lacking, and explore how we could make our teaching models more effective and more inclusive. It will suggest ways in which we could ask more of our audience, while also enabling them to make safer spaces wherever they go. We will conclude by collaboratively developing a conceptual framework that will allow us to better teach the multiplicity of experiences lived by trans individuals in our society.
The widely accepted model of "basic trans training" for schools, workplaces, and pop feminism internet essays does a disservice to the vast majority of trans people. Too often, those facilitating these workshops sacrifice complexity and social context in the name of "meeting people where they are at." This workshop will examine what the standard model is lacking, and explore how we could make our teaching models more effective and more inclusive. It will suggest ways in which we could ask more of our audience, while also enabling them to make safer spaces wherever they go. We will conclude by collaboratively developing a conceptual framework that will allow us to better teach the multiplicity of experiences lived by trans individuals in our society.
