FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2011
Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Transgender Programs Coordinator (801) 539.8800 Ext. 17
November is Transgender Awareness Month
Utah Pride Center hosts activities that will educate and entertain
SALT LAKE CITY: The Utah Pride Center is hosting its 3rd Annual month-long series of activities for Transgender Awareness Month organized by TransAction, a youth-led group whose mission is to promote visibility, unity, and safety through advocacy and education. The month’s activities aim to celebrate and raise awareness of the issues that face the Transgender community in Utah. All events sponsored by the Utah Pride Center are free and inclusive to all.
The month’s biggest event will be the 3rd Annual Gender Conference: Beyond the Binary. This all day event will take place on Saturday, November 12th in the Gore School of Business at Westminster College from 8:30am to 6:30pm. The conference will feature lectures, workshops, and panels offered by local community members and professionals. Come meet other gender variant folks and their parents, partners, families, friends, and the professionals who serve them.
The keynote speaker at the conference will be Yoseñio V. Lewis of San Francisco. Mr. Lewis is a Latino of African descent female to male transsexual who has been an activist for almost 40 years. A health educator, speaker, writer, performer, trainer, facilitator, he is also a member of the National Advisory Board of the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health and the board of the All Gender Health On-line Study. Lewis is a co-founder of Big Boys' Ink Productions, a theatrical writing and performing company and has been featured in several documentaries. He believes that there can be no art without activism and no activism without art.
In addition to the conference, TransAction will host the following events on each Tuesday of November before Thanksgiving:
Finally, TransAction and Transgender Education Advocates (TEA) of Utah are co-hosting this year’s International Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil on Sunday, November 20th at 6:00 PM at the First Methodist Church on 200 East & 200 South.
Transgender is a term used to describe a broad spectrum of people who experience or express their gender differently from what most people expect. Transgender Awareness Month events are a place for everyone to meet each other and celebrate our diversity. An important aspect of these events is to increase understanding of transgender people who are often misrepresented. For more information about these events, please visit www.utahpridecenter.org.
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