LETTER FROM THE publisher BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Patricia K. Wood, PRESIDENT Joseph Kerwin, VICE PRESIDENT Paul Patel, 2ND VICE PRESIDENT Jeffrey Dyber, TREASURER Gretchel Hathaway, Ph.D, SECRETARY Joseph Bailey Timothy Beebe John Daniels Vincent Lanzone Angela D. Ledford, Ph.D Tiffany Ramos Linda Richardson, Ph.D IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT:
Kenneth P. Mortensen, Jr. PRIDE CENTER STAFF:
Lyndon Cudlitz
TRAINING AND EDUCATION MANAGER
Deidre Dumpson
STREET OUTREACH WORKER
Alyssa Hackett PROGRAMS SUPERVISOR
Jeremy Hollon
PROGRAM ASSISTANT AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Luke Lavera
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Steven Minchin
COMMUNICATIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS SUPERVISOR
Oliver Peters
OPERATIONS COORDINATOR
James Shultis
YOUTH PROGRAM MANAGER
Lauren Simone PROGRAMS SUPERVISOR
Mark Vogel DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING MANAGER
Michael Weidrich EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO
INTERNS:
Paola Sposito, Yi Zhou, Lauren Ennis, Justine Pascual, Taylor Nazon OUR MISSION
The mission of the Pride Center of the Capital Region is to promote the wellbeing of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identified people and those affected by discrimination based on gender identity and expression. 6 |
pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION
Spring is here and we’re getting ready for some amazing events! From our Annual Meeting & Donor Reception on March 9th, to our Center Youth Celebration & Scholarship Reception on April 20th, to our NEW & IMPROVED Gay Soiree now called REVEL Pride Dance on May 15th, leading up to our annual Capital PRIDE Festival & March on June 11th. And that’s only the first half of the year! So prepare to come out and celebrate with the Pride Center for another fantastic year! Be well and be empowered!
Michael Weidrich Executive Director & CEO
LETTER FROM THE co-editor
My relationships to sexism, misogyny, and transmisogyny have been complex. My experiences are shaped by having been assigned female at birth, expressing my gender in fluid ways throughout my adolescence, coming out as trans and genderqueer at 18, and identifying as a Femme.
On a daily basis I have to reconcile a world that most often reads me as masculine woman, sometimes as a feminine woman, sometimes as a feminine boy, and occasionally as a masculine man. Yes, I am seen as all of those and more - depending on the day, the situation, and who is making that subconscious assessment. And with rare exceptions, I am never read exactly as I identify and AM. This means I’ve had the unique pleasure, and the horror, of seeing firsthand what these gender perceptions mean for how people are treated with respect or disregard, given access or questioned, listened to or talked over based on gender identity and expression alone. Not to mention how my whiteness, disAbilites, class background, and more may make this experience different than for others under the same gendered circumstances. I know, for example, what it’s like to be threatened with sexual violence as a means of correction for gender nonconformity, as well as being told that simply existing in my femininity means that I “was asking for it”. Unfortunately, I also know what it means to start to internalize the subconscious superiority that I am afforded when I am being perceived as a man and/or masculine: like somehow a room, a conversation, leadership roles are just unquestionably mine, and that somehow my voice, opinion, presence are more important than those of the women and/ or feminine people around me. As you read this issue of CommUNITY, you’ll see a number ways LGBTQ people experience these things, as well as the ways we push back. As you do, I encourage you to join me in asking ourselves some additional critical questions: -What do we really mean when we say someone does or doesn’t “look gay?” -How does a “double-male income” differ from a “double-female income” for our families? -What message are we sending when we see drag queens as only good for entertainment, but not as people who are “dating material?” -Why are queer femmes so often made invisible by our own lesbian, bi, and queer women’s communities? -What causes gay, bisexual, and queer men to experience such high rates of eating disorders? -Why, on the rare occasion that transgender people are granted positions of leadership, it’s mostly white trans men and almost never trans women of color? -What makes gender nonconformity in those assigned male at birth less accepted than in those assigned female at birth? -Why are trans women of color experiencing the highest rates of violence and murder of all LGBTQ groups? These are examples of how our own LGBTQ+ communities manifest sexism (one-way system of oppression that privileges men and subordinates people who are not men), misogyny (negative attitudes towards and devaluing of feminine traits and individuals), and transmisogyny (negative attitudes towards, devaluing of, and neglectful harm of transgender women and trans-feminine people). It’s these observations and my aforementioned complex variety of experiences that inspire me to think more about how I can push back against these damaging values and structures within my LGBTQ communities. Assessing our roles in deconstructing sexism and misogyny, as well as what feminism (and transfeminism) means to each of us, are essential components to better the lives of LGBTQ+ people. As we do this work on individual and institutional levels, we also need to be mindful that we haven’t left people out (for example, fighting for the rights of all women without mistakenly neglecting women of color or transgender women). Perhaps most importantly, I am striving to better exercise humility and the self-reflection that allows us to better serve those around us and to continue our individual growth and healing. Lyndon Cudlitz Training and Education Manager