Back To the Main SiteVolunteers Training at the AIDS Action Council
A particularly transphobic debate took place on ACTQueer, the local queer email list. In the aftermath of that the AIDS Action Council of Canberra requested that A Gender Agenda and New CTN provide some basic trans101 style training for their volunteer base. We agreed, as a favour to them, and worked hard and pulled together our first basic training program, and presented an hour long workshop to a group of about 15 people.
The evening was excellent practice, and gave us plenty of new ideas on how to improve our training strategies, and ways of explaining things. In particular, it helped build our ongoing relationship with NewCTN. AbbeyJane helped us write the package, and present it, and one of the other CTN Regulars was in the audience and provided us with invaluable feedback at the end of the evening.
We also had the unique and pleasurable experience of being trans people sitting by while a non-trans person goes into bat for our rights. One of our non-trans members spoke eloquently about what being a trans ally meant to her, and where she sees the LGBT Communities shortcomings in being inclusive of transgendered people.
So thankyou to all the attendees of the training session, and Abbey, Peter, and Gab for being excellent presenters!
The Butch Auction Fundraiser
From Transgender Day of Action 2009
June 26 saw our first ever Transgender Day of Action fundraiser. I have to admit it, I was nervous in the lead up, terrified even! However, on the night, things went incredibly well!
The venue was HUSH Lounge, and the price was right. People started rocking up well before we opened the doors. I’ve never seen Canberran’s looking so queer and fabulous. There were queers that had come all the way from Sydney and Melbourne because it seemed like such a novel event.
There were several main events. We had stage performances from the Canberra Kings, and a belly dancer who left all the ladies drooling for more. We also Auctioned off volunteers, including a Bondage Rope master, a Photographer, a Chef, and of course all the Drag Kings. One of the local dykes fetched the hefty price of $500 in return for one dirty dance!
We departed from the usual trans event policy of Unisex toilets, and split the bathrooms at HUSH along another binary. Head and tails! Our polite Toilet Valet would toss a coin, and tell you whether you were allowed to use the Heads or the Tails bathroom. Most people took this with good nature, in the spirit it was intended, but unfortunately one person took offence, and verbally harassed our valet. I find it utterly remarkable that anyone would come to a trans event, thinking that they can cause a fuss about being asked to use the men’s toilet! At least surrounded by trans folk, and our allies, she would have been thoroughly embarrassed for being the one scolded by the MC’s.
By the end of the night, I was exhausted. I’d MC’d with Mr Rocco Hardness, and staved off disaster when the Auctioneer called to say he couldn’t make it, 15 minutes before the Auction was due to begin. One of the local dykes, who usually Drag Kings but hadn’t been on stage that night, kindly volunteered to run the Auction for us.
We made about $2000 in donations, and it was truly a community effort. We couldn’t have done it without the support of the Canberra Kings, HUSH Lounges staff, and all the volunteers from A Gender Agenda who faithfully ran the Toilet stall, took donations at the door, and generally made sure the night ran nice and smoothly.
Health Advertisment Relies on Transphobia
Text reads: If you drink like a man, you might end up looking like one
I find this poster extremely offensive. Not only is it sexist, and relying on the pressure on women to be conventionally attractive in order to control the behaviour of women, but its transphobic.
A trans woman in Warrington where this poster is most widely distributed has made an official complaint, and a request for it to be removed. NHS Warrington, the organisation behind the image, has claimed that they consulted with the “national lead for the transgender community”, and that they saw no problem with the image. I am slightly dubious about that claim, and would like to know what ‘national lead’ they spoke to. Perhaps the UK is much more organised than Australia, but it seems unlikely that there is one organisation or person who is the ‘national leader’ for trans people.
As was pointed out at the Sociological Images blog:
The ad is relying on the viewer being disgusted at the idea of a masculine face covered in make-up. That is part of what is supposed to create a negative reaction. But make-up and masculinity are not intrinsically or naturally at odds. We only believe this to be so.
Relying on people to be disgusted by a masculine face wearing make up? Thats transphobia, and that should not be acceptable.
Recent Comments