泡芙短视频 Community Invited to Honor the Lives of Transgender People
S.A.F.E. hosts a week of events to remember victims of transgender-related violence and suicide
BRISTOL, R.I. 鈥 Student organization Sexuality Advocacy for Everyone (S.A.F.E.) is hosting a week of celebration aimed at honoring the transgender lives that have been lost to violence and suicide and educating the campus community on issues in this vulnerable, marginalized population. To acquaint the campus community with the diversity of gender identities, S.A.F.E. has expanded this year鈥檚 program to include a weeklong series of events culminating with a special event on Transgender Day of Remembrance on Thursday, Nov. 20.
For those unfamiliar with the term 鈥渢ransgender,鈥 S.A.F.E.鈥檚 events will explore trans identities and how to engage respectfully with people identifying as transgender, according to American Studies Professor Laura D鈥橝more, a coordinator of this year鈥檚 programming.
鈥淭ransgender Day of Remembrance commemorates the lives of trans people that have been lost to murder or suicide, and brings attention and awareness to the struggles they face living in a rigidly binary world that polices the bodies of people who do not ascribe to the norms of masculinity and femininity that are associated with the sex they were assigned at birth,鈥 D鈥橝more says.
Bringing attention to the transgender lives lost to violence and suicide is a weighty, difficult topic to approach for some, but still a crucial subject that must be explored, says Aley Dzwill, a senior psychology major and president of S.A.F.E.
鈥淭his day is important to the Roger Williams community because it tells our trans-students on campus that they鈥檙e important and that they鈥檙e a part of the community,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t makes others aware of what being transgender means, what violence has been perpetrated against trans people, and how people can be more mindful and respectful of people鈥檚 identities.鈥
While Transgender Day of Remembrance is commemorated differently around the world, 泡芙短视频 is taking a celebratory approach this year with events that are open to trans allies as well. A was shown Monday evening, followed by a discussion with the film鈥檚 director. On Wednesday, a transgender networking dinner will be open to everyone in the Upper Commons.
The main event, taking place on Thursday鈥檚 Transgender Day of Remembrance, welcomes Kate Bornstein, a transgender author, intellectual, activist and performance artist. Her performance, 鈥淢en, Women, and the Rest of Us,鈥 at 7 p.m. in the GHH Atrium, will offer a mix of comedy, anecdotes, monologues and readings from her acclaimed LGBTQ books.
Dzwill hopes that this year鈥檚 programming will offer students and faculty a better understanding of all the different identities to which people ascribe. To that end, S.A.F.E. will raise awareness about gender fluidity via a table in the Commons on Thursday to distribute 鈥減ronoun cards鈥 on which students can write their preferred identifying pronoun(s) such as 鈥渉e鈥 or 鈥渟he.鈥
鈥淗opefully, the cards will inspire people to be more mindful of thinking about their own personal identities and the identities of other people,鈥 Dzwill said. 鈥淚 want the people who may already do that, or who identify with these unfamiliar pronouns, to feel safe and represented.鈥
In addition to honoring transgender victims of violence and suicide, S.A.F.E.鈥檚 events will celebrate the richness of gender diversity, with a focus on gender fluidity, gender queer, and transgender identities.
鈥淭hese events will be educational but this is also social justice work,鈥 D鈥橝more says. 鈥淭his is doing the work that needs to be done so that all human beings have a right to live freely, with dignity and without fear or threat, and to have their basic human needs met.鈥