Today was the first day of the transgender seminar here in Palmy, held at Te Manawa and hosted by the Human Rights Commission.
There were two sessions today, a morning session which featured a panel of trans folk from around the region, some from as far away as Hamilton and Rotorua (and one was a teacher at my old high school - Western Heights!!), and an afternoon session focusing on working with trans youth, creating safe spaces and accommodating their needs in existing organisations.
As I noted in my other post about the seminars here(http://liminald.blogspot.com/2009/03/assume-nothing-devinat-5-chaff-2009.html), I've actually been to the same workshops before, when they were held at The New Dowse in Upper Hutt last year. I came away from that experience with a huge respect for, and appreciation of, the trans folks who have been brave enough to front up publicly demanding fair treatment and equal rights. Some of those same people were at today's sessions, but there were a lot of new faces and again I was deeply moved by the sharing of personal histories and the positive, encouraging atmosphere of the occasion.
I met our local representatives for AGENDA and GenderBridge, which was great because they haven't had much involvement with MaLGRA and certainly not with UniQ, so we're going to get together to nut out some strategies for the university and the local queer community. I was also really pleased to see representatives of MaLGRA and YOSS, and even some lecturers from Massey attending. But I was perhaps most impressed to see some of my UniQ kids show up for the later session, I feel like I've been banging on about this for months and was disappointed when none of them showed up to the morning session. I know, I know.... students ;)
Tomorrow there is a session focusing on the Assume Nothing exhibition, also held at Te Manawa, which will feature talks from people actually in the artworks, followed by some performance art from local trans folk. I'll definitely be attending that, and my friend Amelia, she of the incredible talent for sculpture, will be joining me.
For now though, I'll have a nap and then try to make myself pretty(ish) to head out on the town, as my mate Melle is up from Wellington and staying with us for the weekend. I'll post more about tomorrow's shenanigans when once they're past.
Showing posts with label Assume Nothing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assume Nothing. Show all posts
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Assume Nothing -- Deviant 5, CHAFF, 2009
Last year I had the privilege of attending the Human Rights Commission’s transgender exhibition and seminars at The New Dowse gallery in Lower Hutt. The exhibition is built around Rebecca Swan’s groundbreaking Assume Nothing, a beautiful photographic book that focuses on Kiwi transgender, intersex, transvestite, fa’afafine and takataapui people. Her work is innovative and daring, but shows a real sensitivity to and respect for the issues faced by trans-folk in Aotearoa. I was deeply, deeply moved by her work, and the workshops and seminars were fantastic.
Some of the photographs are in traditional portrait style, but there’s a lot of variety. Swan sometimes splits a portrait down the middle to show a transvestite person in both male and female garb or makeup, other times she uses a series of individual shots to show a drag artist’s progression from one persona to another. There are tasteful nude photographs, which answer all those awkward questions a lot of us have about what an intersex person’s plumbing looks like, but still convey the sense of the individual as a whole person rather than just an ensemble of genital bits and pieces, a medical oddity or freak. Some of the works are in black and white, others in bold colour. The real beauty of the collection is that Swan’s photography shows trans-folk as strong human beings with unique life histories and perspectives, real people with individual stories and experiences.
The seminars are an opportunity for the public to interact with some of the people who have put themselves forward in Swan’s work, to hear about their struggles and triumphs first-hand, to learn more about how our society has discriminated against transgender people in the past, how it continues to do so now, and how we’re changing that. I met some really inspiring people from all sorts of different backgrounds, and got answers to some of the questions I’d always had but had been too embarrassed to ask. Ultimately, I came away with a deep admiration and respect for some incredible people, people brave enough to be who they truly are in the face of scorn and rejection from their families, friends and society at large.
The great news is that both the exhibition and the workshops held by the HRC are coming to Palmerston North this year, Te Manawa is hosting the exhibition from the 28th of February until the 7th of June, and the workshops will be held on the 14th, 18th and 19th of March. You don’t have to identify as trans to benefit from these workshops, either. I really recommend you get yourselves along if you can – they’re informative and fun, and you’ll learn a whole lot, I guarantee it.
DannyR
(This piece was accompanied by a brief summary of some Do's and Don't's from another person's work, below)
Trans Etiquette 101
Micah Bazant, TimTum: A Trans Jew Zine
DON’T freak out if you don’t recognise someone’s gender or age, or get it wrong. Apologise (once is enough), and make sure you get it right next time.
DON’T interrogate them about their trans status.
DON’T assume you have the right to any medical or anatomical information about their body or genitals, it’s none of your friggin’ business unless they decide to share that with you.
DON’T EVER share the information that someone you know is trans or intersex, it can be humiliating or even dangerous for that person if you do so. A lot of trans people just want to get on with their lives without people knowing, and besides, ‘Outing’ someone for anything is a pretty shitty thing to do – they have the right to do it themselves if they choose to.
DON’T ask what their given, or ‘real’ name was. This is extremely rude.
DON’T assume you know the details of their transition, they may not be transitioning at all, or might choose to have some operations and not others. Again, none of your business.
DON’T ask if they’re sure about it, or remind them that it’s permanent or anything like that. Most trans people have already done a lot of soul-searching to get to where they are.
DON’T make this all about you, it might feel weird, maybe you’ve never had a trans friend or whatever, but however uncomfortable you’re feeling rest assured living as a trans person is a million times harder.
DO use the names and personal pronouns they prefer.
DO ask if you're not sure how someone prefers to be addressed.
DO take them at face value, let them be who they are now. Leave the past and the future alone.
DO listen if your trans friend has something they want to share about their experiences with you – it’s an enormous privilege, and needs to be respected.
DO educate yourself about trans life, watch films (TransAmerica and Boys Don’t Cry are both fantastic), read books, watch TV shows (Ugly Betty is pretty good), look it up on the net (try http://www.agender.org.nz/ ) – there are plenty of great resources out there, it’ll help you put yourself in your trans friend’s shoes.
And most importantly,
DO treat each trans person as an individual – we’re all unique and not one of us is the same as anyone else.
Some of the photographs are in traditional portrait style, but there’s a lot of variety. Swan sometimes splits a portrait down the middle to show a transvestite person in both male and female garb or makeup, other times she uses a series of individual shots to show a drag artist’s progression from one persona to another. There are tasteful nude photographs, which answer all those awkward questions a lot of us have about what an intersex person’s plumbing looks like, but still convey the sense of the individual as a whole person rather than just an ensemble of genital bits and pieces, a medical oddity or freak. Some of the works are in black and white, others in bold colour. The real beauty of the collection is that Swan’s photography shows trans-folk as strong human beings with unique life histories and perspectives, real people with individual stories and experiences.
The seminars are an opportunity for the public to interact with some of the people who have put themselves forward in Swan’s work, to hear about their struggles and triumphs first-hand, to learn more about how our society has discriminated against transgender people in the past, how it continues to do so now, and how we’re changing that. I met some really inspiring people from all sorts of different backgrounds, and got answers to some of the questions I’d always had but had been too embarrassed to ask. Ultimately, I came away with a deep admiration and respect for some incredible people, people brave enough to be who they truly are in the face of scorn and rejection from their families, friends and society at large.
The great news is that both the exhibition and the workshops held by the HRC are coming to Palmerston North this year, Te Manawa is hosting the exhibition from the 28th of February until the 7th of June, and the workshops will be held on the 14th, 18th and 19th of March. You don’t have to identify as trans to benefit from these workshops, either. I really recommend you get yourselves along if you can – they’re informative and fun, and you’ll learn a whole lot, I guarantee it.
DannyR
(This piece was accompanied by a brief summary of some Do's and Don't's from another person's work, below)
Trans Etiquette 101
Micah Bazant, TimTum: A Trans Jew Zine
DON’T freak out if you don’t recognise someone’s gender or age, or get it wrong. Apologise (once is enough), and make sure you get it right next time.
DON’T interrogate them about their trans status.
DON’T assume you have the right to any medical or anatomical information about their body or genitals, it’s none of your friggin’ business unless they decide to share that with you.
DON’T EVER share the information that someone you know is trans or intersex, it can be humiliating or even dangerous for that person if you do so. A lot of trans people just want to get on with their lives without people knowing, and besides, ‘Outing’ someone for anything is a pretty shitty thing to do – they have the right to do it themselves if they choose to.
DON’T ask what their given, or ‘real’ name was. This is extremely rude.
DON’T assume you know the details of their transition, they may not be transitioning at all, or might choose to have some operations and not others. Again, none of your business.
DON’T ask if they’re sure about it, or remind them that it’s permanent or anything like that. Most trans people have already done a lot of soul-searching to get to where they are.
DON’T make this all about you, it might feel weird, maybe you’ve never had a trans friend or whatever, but however uncomfortable you’re feeling rest assured living as a trans person is a million times harder.
DO use the names and personal pronouns they prefer.
DO ask if you're not sure how someone prefers to be addressed.
DO take them at face value, let them be who they are now. Leave the past and the future alone.
DO listen if your trans friend has something they want to share about their experiences with you – it’s an enormous privilege, and needs to be respected.
DO educate yourself about trans life, watch films (TransAmerica and Boys Don’t Cry are both fantastic), read books, watch TV shows (Ugly Betty is pretty good), look it up on the net (try http://www.agender.org.nz/ ) – there are plenty of great resources out there, it’ll help you put yourself in your trans friend’s shoes.
And most importantly,
DO treat each trans person as an individual – we’re all unique and not one of us is the same as anyone else.
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