The workshop schedule for MBLGTACC2012 has been released!
If you haven’t signed up to go, there’s still time- the actual conference happens on February 10-12.
Here are the workshops I plan on attending, with more details about them after the jump. I usually pick multiple ones I’m interested in, in case something goes wrong with my primary choice, or friends are going to another one, or whatnot.
- 2 - Embracing the Deaf community: Making your event or club accessible to all!
- 10 - Beyond Bracelets: Fundraising Effectively for Your Surgery or Cause
- 20 - When the Oppressed become the Oppressor: Racism and WHite Privilege in the LGTQ Community, Integrating Theory and Practice to Build an Inclusive Community
- 11 - The Critical Limits and Possibilities of Queer Femininity
- 34 - That’s So.. Girl Wearing a Skirt as a Top!
- Identity Caucus “Bi/Pan/Fluid Sexuality”
- 41 - Mixed-Orientation Relationships
- 67 - Queering Reproductive Justice: Reproductive health and rights are LGBTQIA rights
- 69 - Media Circus of the Grotesque: Rhetoric of Privilege and Violence
- 79 - Queer as Cake: Asexuality, Identity, and Culture
- 85 - The Critical Limits and Possibilities of Queer Femininity
- 90 - We were classified this qay: Queerly Transforming the Library
- 94 - Debunking Myths about BDSM
- 95 - Branding & 4 Steps to Brand a Department on a Budget
Full workshops descriptions of the ones I find the most interesting, after the jump.
Session 1
2 - Embracing the Deaf community: Making your event or club accessible to all!
Diversity is paramount to any queer organization, but oftentimes certain groups, like the Deaf community, can be cast to the side. Embracing the Deaf community isn’t as tricky as it may sound- it can be a simple as insuring that the movie night includes closed captions or a presentation has an ASL-English interpreter. This workshop will help you start finding all available resources to open your event up to everyone! Oh, and there’s candy!
10 - Beyond Bracelets: Fundraising Effectively for Your Surgery or Cause
Charlie Poulson, founder of Save Charlie Poulson and a trans man, explains the process and tools used to set his fundraising efforts apart from other endeavors. Methods and strategies using social media networking and professional interpersonal skills can be applied to your own cause or organization for a new style of effective fundraising. This workshop is heavily based on trans* issues and how they can be used to successfully utilize fundraising initiatives.
Session 2
20 - When the Oppressed become the Oppressor: Racism and White Privilege in the LGBTQ Community, Integrating Theory and Practice to Build an Inclusive Community
The LGBT community is no stranger to various forms of oppression, however we must also understand the ways in which we oppress others, specifically in terms of racism. Using the “Taking Back Boystown” Campaign as a microcosm of larger issues of racism and white privilege in the LGBT community, this workshop will present an overview or white privilege and racism and help participants formulate an action plan for inclusiveness in their own communities.
11 - The Critical Limits and Possibilities of Queer Femininity
This session will as the question: can femiminity be liberated from heterosexist systems of power? It will look at the binary lesbian and queer images in the media of the asexual butch and the hypersexual femme. It will contest traditional notions of this binary and examine femme-inism in the queer community.
Session 3 & Identity Caucuses 1
34 - That’s So.. Girl Wearing a Skirt as a Top!
When you hear, “That’s so gay!,” what’s your first response? Are you angry? Do you want to respond? In this workshop, the presenters will explore bystander intervention and its current impact in the LGBTQA community. We will complicate current bystander intervention methods while providing the audience with an alternative perspective for approaching these conversations. The audience will gain an awareness of language as a social construction and its residual effect on the LGBTQA community.
Identity Caucus “Bi/Pan/Fluid Sexuality”
I find it interesting that they are also offering identity caucuses for ‘Military,’ ‘QPOC,’ and ‘Gay and Greek’ at the same time, since I could imagine there are people who embody some or even all of these identities. Asking them to choose which identity caucus to go to, on top of picking one over a workshop… difficult decision.
41 - Mixed-Orientation Relationships
Approximately 2 million people are either currently in or have once been in a mixed-orientation relationship. Attendees will participate in a “choose your own adventure” application activity designed to explore the ways homosexual orientation intersects with heterosexual partnership. I will then present with highlights from interviews with gay men and their straight wives in long-term marriages.
Session 4
67 - Queering Reproductive Justice: Reproductive health and rights are LGBTQIA rights
Participants will learn the connections between reproductive justice and the LGBTQIA community, along with strategies to work together moving forward. Reproductive justice holds strong ties to LGBTQIA liberation through a focus on the ability to make healthy decisions about our bodies and sexuality in all areas of our lives. This presentation will highlight health disparities in the LGBTQIA community and link to reproductive justice work. We will use past and present examples of coalition building between respective movements to model examples for collaboration.
58 - When the Oppressed become the Oppressor: Racism and WHite Privilege in the LGTQ Community, Integrating Theory and Practice to Build an Inclusive Community
The LGBT community is no stranger to various forms of oppression, however we must also understand the ways in which we oppress others, specifically in terms of racism. Using the “Taking Back Boystown” Campaign as a microcosm of larger issues of racism and white privilege in the LGBT community, this workshop will present an overview or white privilege and racism and help participants formulate an action plan for inclusiveness in their own communities.
Session 5 & Identity Caucus 2
69 - Media Circus of the Grotesque: Rhetoric of Privilege and Violence
On question echoes through Judy Shepard’s memoir, ‘The Meaning of Matthew’: Why? Why did they beat him and leave him, but also why did Ellen host a vigil in D.C., why did Clinton call the hospital? This session will take a queer look at the insider LGBT and outsider media objectification of Matthew Shepard and Tyler Clementi and examine how coverage of hate crimes, suicide, and war erase people of color, women, and transfolk.
79 - Queer as Cake: Asexuality, Identity, and Culture
Confused about the asexuality spectrum? Not feeling ‘queer enough’? As a relative newcomer to the every-growing queer acronym, asexuality can be confusing even to people who identify as such. We’ll break down and build up ace/demi identity and language as they relate to queerness and gender. Everyone is welcome to share their ace experiences. Finally we’ll talk about [mis]representations of asexuality in the media. There will be laughter for all and cake for the lucky!
81 - Mixed-Orientation Relationships
Approximately 2 million people are either currently in or have once been in a mixed-orientation relationship. Attendees will participate in a “choose your own adventure” application activity designed to explore the ways homosexual orientation intersects with heterosexual partnership. I will then present with highlights from interviews with gay men and their straight wives in long-term marriages.
I probably won’t be going to the Identity Caucuses #2 (‘Jewish Queer Caucus,’ ‘Ability,’ ‘Allies,’ Transgender & Gender Fluid’).
Session 6
85 - The Critical Limits and Possibilities of Queer Femininity
This session will as the question: can femiminity be liberated from heterosexist systems of power? It will look at the binary lesbian and queer images in the media of the asexual butch and the hypersexual femme. It will contest traditional notions of this binary and examine femme-inism in the queer community.
90 - We were classified this qay: Queerly Transforming the Library
No shushing here! We will discuss how some library practices have historically served to isolate and stigmatize queer patrons, along with the evolution of transformative action within the library community. We will also explore revolutionary library work to sustain queer histories, provide digital access to informational resources, and meaningfully serve queer youth. Participants will leave with concrete ideas to effect change in their information communities.
Session 7
94 - Debunking Myths about BDSM
The leather, rubber, and BDSM communities are shrouded in myths and false truths perpetuated by pop culture. Movies like “Pulp Fiction” and “Hostel” make us look dangerous and mentally ill. It’s just not true. This session will examine these myths, discuss their validity, and also provide a basic introduction to BDSM and alternative lifestyles. New, novice, and experienced people are welcome.
95 - Branding & 4 Steps to Brand a Department on a Budget
This interactive workshop will review branding, why it is a hot topic, its importance and the four steps to implementing an effective brand strategy in a LGBT office. We also will discuss social media and how its use reflects upon a brand.
I am interested in these workshops, but I am a bit disappointed Ames isn’t offering a “Kink” identity, nor a “Poly” identity workshop this year. But there’s still time to change, so maybe!
