Transgender Education Collaboration

After a busy March, I can promise that we should have fresh new content soon! Including some guest blogs!

Hope to see many of you at the potluck celebration of the transgender community, this Saturday March 23 from 7-9pm at the West Michigan Pride Offices:

211 Logan St. SW, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503

Open to all, including allies!

While we may have been quiet as of late, just wanted to let everyone know that we are in the midst of  a lot of planning and will hopefully soon be back full strength. Stay tuned for more information!

A prelimenary meeting to gauge interest and begin planning for a local support group. This will be a time of fun and community building as well as a time for support.

About the potential group: (borrowed from the Grand Rapids T Time Group)

This is a transsexual focused group. To put it succinctly, that means we welcome anybody who started out life being referred to as one pronoun and now is(or will be) referred to as another 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: he to she, she to him, she/he to zie(or any other gender neutral pronoun). There are other groups in town that would welcome individuals who do not meet this criteria. This is necessary in order to maintain focus in the group, discussions, and support structure.

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Or in other words, this group is focused on being a support group for those whose gender identity does not fit the gender they were designated at birth, if you wonder if its the right group for you, contact us!

Saturday February 9th. 7pm. At the West Michigan Pride Center- 211 Logan  St SW Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Hey  everyone!

March is coming up, which means International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31st. We have a few speaking engagements lined up, but we are curious as to what kind of events the community would like us to be involved in! Give us some feedback!

Em

Hey all,

Just wanted to drop in to say that we are officially working on getting some sort of support group going by next month, will provide details as soon as they are available.

We are also planning another clothes swap on February 17th! Save the date!

Hope you are well! More coming soon

M

Hey all!

It seems that this month has flown by. I now have regular internet, so will be trying to blog regularly again.  2013 is coming. Which has me thinking, where is the collaboration headed in 2013? I am interested in reader feedback as to what you think we should be doing

-M

-M Kelley

Well folks, I am on vacation this week! I am so excited for some time to recharge and get refocused ahead of the new year. 

The last month has been busy for the Collaboration. We were involved in speaking at 3 seperate events, plus involved in putting on the Transgender Day of Rememberance: A Gathering of Hope. All the events were great and a great opportunity to get back into the community after a few months off. 

We've had issues with our leadership having proper internet access, but I should be back to having access this month, which will mean regular posting from me again!

Much like me with my vacation, we have been using this down time for the collaboration to recharge. 2012 has been a great first full year for the Collaboration, and we are getting ready and prepared for an awesome 2013! 

Hope you all are doing great today!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Transgender Day of Remembrance: One Year Later

On Sunday November 20, 2011, The Transgender Education Collaboration, in partnership with Plymouth United Church of Christ, held its first annual Transgender Day of Remembrance service. Over 100 individuals from throughout West Michigan participated in the service, remembering and celebrating the lives of those from the Gender variant community who were killed in 2011.

According to ThinkProgress.com, over 116 transgender people were murdered around the world in the first nine months of 2011, with seven of the murders occurring in the United States, with most taking place in Latin American countries. TMM, a project of Transgender Europe, estimates that at least 681 transgender people have been murdered in 50 countries since 2008. "People are being killed due to their gender identity or presentation. It is that simple, that horrific. If we don’t pause to remember and to grieve, we will not rise to act in order to stop such horror,” said Reverend Doug VanDoren, of Plymouth United Church of Christ.

"We are gathering together in community on this 14th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance to memorialize transgender individuals who have lost their lives this last year. It is very important, because we must make sure that these silenced voices are heard. The transgender community still faces discrimination and hate and by coming together, we will continue to build our resolve as a community to face the challenges ahead. In solidarity, we can really push for change.” said event organizer M Kelley. “Through the sharing of stories, music, reading of names and other presentations, this year’s service will create a space where we are free to mourn those lost while building up our local transgender community” said Kelley.

Dr. Julie Nemecek, a nationally known activist and educator, who provided the keynote address at the 2011 West Michigan Transgender Day of Remember service said, “When I think of all the transgendered people around the globe who have been killed, I think of the second phrase from Lincoln’s address from near the end of his remarks he said, “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” My hope and prayer is that part of the TDOR observance is that we too will “highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” This evening, let’s use these tragic deaths to rekindle our resolve for justice, equality, and safety that these dead shall not have died in vain. I urge you to join me in that resolve”.

The 2012 West Michigan Transgendered Day of Remembrance will be held on Sunday November 18, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at Plymouth United Church of Christ, 4010 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI. The service will have secular and spiritual overtones as recognition that some in the transgender community have been shunned by religious traditions and would not feel comfortable in a church setting.

Please join us:

Time: 6:00 p.m. 

Date: Sunday November 18, 2012

Location: Plymouth United Church of Christ 

Address: 4010 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 

For more information, please contact:

transgendercollab@gmail.com or

The Reverend Doug VanDoren

plymouthp@wmis.net or 616-455-4260

Online: www.trans-edu.com

My apologies to Eli for the fact that this blog sat in our email for awhile due to my being busy with moving. Hope you all enjoy it even if it is late in getting posted! -M

Having just moved to Lansing two weeks ago, I am eager to find like-minded people and create a community of friends. Meetup.com was my go-to place to find people with similar interests. Although there was no LGBTQI - related groups, I did find a group that centered around playing board games and book discussions. I thought this would be right up my alley, so I and a friend of mine, who is also new to the area, went to the first game night we could attend. Both my friend and I identify as trans*. We walked up to the table of middle aged individuals and I asked what they were playing. "Gender bender!" they shouted back at us.

In case you are not familiar, "Gender Bender" is a board game released in 1988 whose purpose is, apparently, to "see how social situations can quickly turn around when you're just not yourself anymore". The men in the group are asked to 'suppose they were a woman' and respond in kind to situations with multiple choice options, and vice versa for women. The situations are all quite stereotypical and/or misogynistic in tone, and points were awarded when more players agreed with your chosen outcome. For example, one question for women was, "Suppose you were a man. While at a stop light, another man drives up next to you and revs his engine. Do you A) Ignore him; B) Give him the bird; C) Engage in a speed race". Not surprisingly the players chose either B or C; my friend and I chose A.

It made me a little sick to my stomach to sit there and watch the rest of the players gain excitement and share a common bond around reinforcing gendered expectations and stereotypes. After about ten minutes of sitting awkwardly with the group, my friend and I got up to get a beverage and while at the coffee bar, disclosed to each other how uncomfortable we both felt. We decided to leave the event altogether instead of buying coffee.

So, I'm still left looking for like-minded community in Lansing. But I am still proud of myself for going outside my comfort zone to meet a bunch of strangers and try it out! As my grandma always used to say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

When was the last time you went outside your comfort zone, and how did it turn out?