(My awesome wife made this, & she even wrote the music. Shea Love is a former student.)
Me, Blogging, Not Really
I seem to be taking a break from blogging – an unintentional one. And I expect that the minute I announce this, and apologize, I will be overrun with the need to blog.
Or not.
Stay tuned.
New Headshot
My wife took it, of course.
45.
I’m turning 45 today, as is my wife, and I have a lot to say about the ordeal, but mostly I’m amazed at how much you still don’t know even four decades in. As I said elsewhere: you know enough to know what kind of jerk you are, but not enough to stop being it.
If you’d like to help us celebrate, do feel free to donate $45 to one of our favorite causes:
- Kate Bornstein’s cancer recovery fund
- National Center for Trans Equality
- Fair Wisconsin’s Education Fund
- or the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
So have at it. And do listen to some Stevie Wonder, because it’s his birthday too.
Subscribe to This Blog
My last database of email subscriptions is corrupt, so I’m starting again. If you want to subcribe, you should be able to input your email up here on the right side.
The good thing is that this subscription widget is attached to WordPress’ works, not an independent widget, so it should be more reliable.
Us @ FORGE Milwaukee
We’re doing a presentation and heading a discussion at FORGE Milwaukee tomorrow, Saturday April 26th, at 7PM.
FORGE’s longer description is here and goes like this:
Join guest speaker and author Helen Boyd for a lively reading and discussion of her book “She’s Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband.” Published in 2007, this book is a foundation for partners of trans people, with timeless information and thought provoking concepts from a partner-centric focus. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to engage in dialogue with Helen and other attendees, as well as hear more from the author about the book (and possibly about what has changed for her — and the trans/SOFFA community — since 2007).
[Get your free copy of the book (paper or Kindle) by attending the March 22nd social support group or contacting michael (tgwarrior [at] forge-forward [dot] org) to make arrangements.]
Helen Boyd is the author of My Husband Betty (Thunder’s Mouth, 2004) which was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and is often referred to as the “field guide to crossdressers”. Her second book, She’s Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband (Seal Press, 2007), has been called “a postmodern reflection on transness” by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Her blog (en)gender can be found online at www.myhusbandbetty.com.
She hails from Brooklyn, NY, and currently lives in Appleton, WI, where she teaches Gender Studies at Lawrence University.
Open discussion is from 6:00 – 6:45pm
Open discussion is the time to connect connection with fellow Trans+ and SOFFA individuals. This gently facilitated time is especially devoted to exploring the issues you bring in – sharing your experiences and stories, asking questions, seeking referrals, gathering resources. We’ll assure this time will stay focused on your needs, and the discussion you generate.
Casa Valentina Opening
It was so much fun. I’ll be writing more about the play itself in the upcoming days, but for now, look at the pretty pictures.
There are more at Playbill’s site.
Casa Valentina
So we were just in New York, and one of the awesome things we did was meet the cast and crew of Harvey Fierstein’s new play Casa Valentina.
We didn’t get to see the whole thing – just a few key scenes – but I am so looking forward to seeing the whole of it.
And it opens to audiences tonight. I have no doubt the reception will be great.
But here’s the thing: we were invited to come see a rehearsal to advise. One of the actors contacted me a few weeks back – when I was already scheduled to be in NYC – and asked that we come because a bunch of the cast were reading or had read my books.
& Mare Winningham – who plays the wife of one of the crossdressers – said really nice things about them. She was so welcoming and cool to us.
Anyway, it was an awesome experience all around, & I only wish I could have stayed in town a day longer to catch the first night of previews tonight, but alas, the class I’m teaching started today, too.
I’m hoping to get a group together to go see it when we’re next in town, because from what I can tell, this is a gorgeous play – honest (maybe in ways some people won’t like) but compassionate, by which I mean: the wife is a real person.
Me, 4/26, FORGE in Milwaukee
I’m going to be speaking at FORGE in Milwaukee in late April and if you sign up to come you can get a free copy of my book in whatever format you choose. Here’s the info:
We would call it March Madness but it’s carefully thought out: Come to FORGE’s March 22nd meeting and you can receive Helen Boyd’s book She’s Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband. Read it, share it, talk about it with your friends, and then join us at the April 26, 2014 meeting to discuss it with the author herself!
Anyone planning to attend April’s meeting with Helen Boyd is encouraged to pick up their book on March 22, 2014. We encourage people who have never attended a FORGE meeting before to join us for this exciting community-based book discussion. [If you cannot pick up your copy on March 22, contact michael (tgwarrior [at] forge-forward [dot] org) to make arrangements.]
Share this opportunity with your friends, partner(s), colleagues, and family as one way of expanding knowledge about relationship dynamics and partner issues.
Note: Both bound, paper copies and electronic versions will be available.
I’m so excited about doing this and looking forward to meeting you all.
“Making Trans Parents Visible” – co-authored by me
So this is cool: the article I co-authored with a colleague (Beth Haines) and a former student (Alex Ajayi) has been published in Feminism & Psychology, and is now available online.
Here’s the abstract:
This article explores the self-reported parenting challenges of 50 transgender parents based on an online survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans parents in the United States. Many trans parents transitioned after forming a family, whereas others had children after or even during transition. They coordinated their transition with parenting responsibilities, and carefully managed their visibility in parenting settings to protect their children. This analysis focuses on the challenges that trans parents faced at the intersection of their parenting and trans identities. Although trans parents share many of the concerns of cisgender parents, they also face unique challenges that must often be navigated without extensive support. Revealing these challenges increases trans parents’ visibility in society, and could help therapists and school administrators become more sensitive to the intersectional identities of trans people and the stressors unique to trans parenting.
Some of the other articles from the same special issue on trans include:
- What makes a man? Thomas Beatie, embodiment, and ‘mundane transphobia’
- Trans men and friendships: A Foucauldian discourse analysis
- Who watches the watchmen? A critical perspective on the theorization of trans people and clinicians
Neat.
You must be logged in to post a comment.