Waltham, MA (TCNE FE10 PR) December 21, 2009 – On January 16th, at First Event 2010 at the Boston Marriott Peabody, through efforts of Anderson Clark, First Event 2010 will feature an expanded transmasculine track of workshops. Anderson has been active in the transgender community for about two years. He is a member of Compass, the Boston-area FTM support group. Last year, he attended both the IFGE conference in Tucson and the New England Transgender Pride March & Rally in Northampton and Boston Pride this summer. He has been a member of Tiffany Club of New England for the past year.
We sat down with him to learn more about the this year’s program.
FE 2010: Tell us about the TransMasculine Track and FTM programming.
Andy: We have a great lineup of speakers and workshops. Matt Kailey, the “National Transgender and Transsexual Issue Examiner” for Examiner.com, author of “Just Add Hormones: An Insider’s Guide to the Transsexual Experience” and managing editor of “Out Front Colorado” will talk about defining our masculinity and also about how to talk to the press. Jennifer Levi, the director of the Transgender Rights Project at GLAD, will discuss transgender legal issues. Gunner Scott and Ruben Hopwood will present a workshop on transgender suicide prevention and intervention, which, I am told, is the first time this topic will be presented at First Event.. Dr. Peter Raphael from the American Institute for Plastic Surgery in Plano, TX will talk about the FTM surgeries offered at his clinic, and he is also sponsoring a transmasculine luncheon in association with his workshop. Hawk Stone will discuss FTM sexuality, and Mycroft Holmes will present a workshop on transgender faith, spirituality and religion. Of course, there are additional workshops that will be of interest to transmasculine attendees, as there are every year at First Event, but with the TransMasculine Track, we are increasing the choices in programming for FTM folks at the conference
For significant others of FTMs, there is the Partners in Progress program. This is not a new program for First Event, but this year, on the Saturday of the conference, there will be partners of FTM-identified people working with the facilitators of the program to provide experience from that point of view.
FE 2010 Is there an overall theme to the program?
Andy: There isn’t a theme per se other than to provide workshops with content of significance to FTM attendees. Some of these workshops will be open only to transmasculine-identified people in order to provide a comfortable space for them to ask questions and enter discussions. Other workshops will be open to anyone attending the conference but will be presented by FTM speakers, thereby offering a transmasculine perspective. Traditionally, workshops with a transmasculine focus have comprised only a small percentage of the total offering at First Event. This is one reason why attendance by members of the FTM community is usually relatively low at First Event and we hope to change that trend this year.
FE 2010: Why will FTM folks want to come to FE 2010?
Andy: The FTM track will provide a broad range of programs specifically for the transmasculine audience. There will be significant opportunities for transmasculine people to learn about many valuable resources and a chance to network with others all in a welcoming and supportive environment. In a single venue, people on the FTM spectrum will have access to dynamic speakers covering many of issues of interest to the community.
On a personal note, my very first steps into the transgender community were at First Event, which was an overwhelming experience, but also a positive one. I learned an incredible amount about myself, about other trans men, about resources available to me, and about my new community. I hope that others on the FTM spectrum can benefit from these workshops the way I benefited during my “first event” in the trans community
FE 2010: Why did you decide to put together an FTM program?
Andy: Several members of the Tiffany Club board have asked me in the past for my thoughts on how to increase attendance of transmasculine people at First Event. I offered ideas and suggestions that came from my own attendance in the past at First Event and the IFGE conference, and also from information provided by Mike West who used to be a Tiffany Club and First Event board member. However, there wasn’t a formal push to formulate the FTM track until October. Several members of the board, Becki, Paula and Grace, attended an event that I helped to organize called “TransMasculine Journeys” which featured readings by Matt Kailey, Max Valerio and Cameron Partridge. The ladies were struck by the similarities between their own personal experiences and those of the men at the event, and during the reception afterward, we started talking about ways to bring FTMs and MTFs together at First Event.
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For more information on the FTM program and FE 2010 go to TCNE’s First Event Web Site
In addition to the FTM track, First Event 2010 will offer e daytime workshops of interest to the entire transgender, spouse, partner and allies community. Evening entertainment will include a fashion show, performances by Karen Grenier, a popular New England folk singer and milDRED Gestrant, an international performance artist, Dr. Jillian Weiss, noted authority on transgender workplace issues is the key note speaker.
First Event 2010 will be held at the Boston Peabody Marriot in Peabody, MA from January 13-17. Registration forms and information for Tiffany Club’s First Event 2010 Transgender Conference are located at the club’s web site at http://www.tcne.org or by calling the club’s First Event program office at 802-356-4582 or via email at firstevent@tcne.org.
