The University’s first Trans Week of Celebration begins today and will include workshops, films and gatherings focusing on those who self-identify as transgender and genderqueer, and educating those in the non-trans community, the LGBTQA said.
“We wanted to make sure we were talking about not only trans/genderqueer issues, but also the intersection of race, class, sexuality, ability and citizenship,” said Jet Eccleston, a University senior and member of the planning committee for the event.
Until this week, Transgender Day of Remembrance, held in November as a memorial for transgender people killed in hate crimes, was the only event focusing solely on transgender issues.
“The reason we have to have a Trans Day of Remembrance really points to the extreme of transphobia in our society,” Eccleston said.
The week of celebration begins today at noon with a “Gender Identity/Gender Expression” workshop, focusing on how University faculty and staff can be allies to transgender people. The event will be held in 360 Oregon Hall.
Multiple daily events will take place throughout the week, including a performance from Thursday’s headliner, Jaycub Perez aka Scarletto, a trans-island-hip-hop emcee playing folk rock, hip-hop and jazz, according to the LGBTQA.
“Scarletto is a firm believer in Freedom of Expression and Freedom of speech so, feast your eyes and hold your tongues for this queer revolutionary,” according to the LGBTQA events program.
Scarletto will perform from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Living Learning Center Performance Hall.
Eccleston said she is especially looking forward to Tuesday’s “Bathroom Action” event, which includes the film “Toilet Training,” by Tara Mateik and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. This event explores the violence gender-variant people face in sex-specific bathrooms.
“When you specify when a certain gender can or can’t enter a certain place, people take it upon themselves to police that and decide it for themselves,” said Quinn Robinson, a University sophomore and member of the planning committee.
“Trans and genderqueer people have been pushed, groped, yelled at and forcibly removed from gender-specific bathrooms,” Eccleston said. “Going to the bathroom is a basic need and students need to use the bathrooms without fear.”
The 20-minute film will be played repeatedly for two hours beginning at noon on Tuesday, outside the EMU 1st floor bathrooms, next to the ASUO office.
Robinson is most excited about the “Crossing the Line: A Primer on Gender Identity” workshop held by Risa Stephanie Bear, also on Tuesday, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the EMU Gumwood Room.
“I hope people will take the opportunity to go and start to learn about trans/genderqueer issues and more broadly, gender in general,” Robinson said.
Other workshops open to all students, faculty, staff and community members will focus on sexuality in the transgender community and building political power for transgender people within Eugene and Oregon, including learning how to fight ballot measures that attack transgender people.
While most of the events are open to the public, Thursday’s 1:30 p.m. workshop, “Real ID: ‘No Documents == No Access,’” will be closed to transgender, gender queer and gender variant people, the LGBTQA said.
The Real ID Act focuses on establishing a national ID card system, taking effect in 2008, that will make it more difficult for transgender people, immigrants, youth and homeless people to acquire documents, the LGBTQA said.
Eccleston said the week-long event will express “who transgender people are,” through different mediums and forums, because oppression and discrimination exist on many levels within the community, even in language.
“I think language is a place where oppression starts and can most easily be seen whether people are aware of the words they use or not,” Robinson said.
The Trans Week of Celebration will end on Friday with a family day at Alton Baker Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information on the week’s events contact the LGBTQA at (541) 346-3360.
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