Out To Lunch

Out to Lunch is a interdisciplinary lecture series that focuses on queer studies.

All lectures are scheduled for Wednesdays at noon at the Rainbow Center, Student Union 403, unless otherwise posted.

Students have the option to take this as a class, as INTD 3995, "Queer Studies in an Interdisciplinary Approach," but you do not have to be in the class in order to attend any or all of the lectures.

 

September 2:  Introductions to the Class  (this date is open to only students who have enrolled into the class)

September 9:  Richard Stillson/Mucha Mucha Placer: Mental Health Issues for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People

Synopsis: This will be an overview of the major mental health issues faced by LGBT people, etiology, and historical apporaches to treatment.

Biography:  Rick is a gay, transgender activist. He is a licensed psychologist and Director of Psychology for Cedarcrest Hospital. He teaches psychology at Capital Community College and the University of Hartford. He is on the Board of Directors of MCC Hartford. He is former co-chair of the CT Coalition for LGBT Civil Rights and CT PRIDE.

Mucha Mucha Placer is Rick’s drag queen persona. She was the second Empress of the Imperial Court of CT. She has also been the Mother of the House of Pleasure and was blessed with many beautiful children who helped her put on five Snowballs to raise money for AIDS service organizations.

He/she has been given numerous awards including Man of the Year twice at the Metro Awards, the CT PRIDE award, the David Singer Diversity award by the University of Hartford, and the award for Distinguished Psychological Contribution for the Public Interest by the CT Psychological Association.

September 16: Robin McHaelen; LGBT youth commit suicide at much higher rates than their straight peers. Or do they?

Synopsis: It has become almost a given in the literature regarding LGBT youth – their rates of suicide planning, attempts and completions are much higher than their peers.  But are they really?  This interactive presentation will focus on the risks and realities of LGBT youth experiences, explore the various subsets of youth who are at higher or lower risks of suicide and identify protective factors and strategies participants can use to help prevent or reduce self-harm. 

Biography: Robin P. McHaelen, MSW is the founder and current Executive Director of True Colors, Inc.  Sexual Minority Youth and Family Services, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization that works to create a world where youth, adults and families of all sexual orientations and gender identities are valued and affirmed.  Robin is the author of several articles on LGBT youth concerns and is the recipient of numerous awards including most recently, the 2008 National Education Association’s Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights and the 2008 Social Worker of the Year (National Association of Social Workers, CT Chapter).

September 23:  Micah Z. Kellner;  A Conversation with Micah Z. Kellner, an out bisexual New York State Assemblyman

Synopsis:  Join us today for a conversation with Micah Z. Kellner, an out bisexual New York State Assemblyman from the 65th district, which includes Manhattan's Upper West Side and Roosevelt Island.

Kellner is a graduate from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film, television and radio.  He is an advocate for people with disabilities and for the LGBT community.  He is one of five LGBT members of the New York State legislature.

September 30: Diana L.; Transgender Activist History: From World War II to Presents

Synopsis: The lecture will cover the people and events that shaped the transgender community from the end of World War II until the present. We will talk about notable persons such as Christine Jorgensen, Virginia Prince and Sylvia Rivera. We will look at events that have shaped the trans-community such as the Dewey's Lunch Counter Protest (1965), the Compton Lunch Counter Protest (1966), the Stonewall Uprising (1969) and the HRC protest (2005). In addition, we will discuss the current state of gender inclusive legislation.

Biography:  Diana is currently on the steering committee of the Connecticut Anti-Discrimination Coalition, a group working to pass a gender inclusive Anti-Discrimination law in Connecticut. In addition, she is also on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Trans-Advocacy Coalition (CTAC), an organization involved with the promotion of transgender issues in housing, employment, medical, law, and providing one on one advocacy work with the trans-community. Diana is the past Executive Director of the Connecticut Outreach Society (COS) a support group for the transgender community.

She is currently enrolled in the University Of Connecticut School Of Social Work for her Master’s Degree in Social Work, with a concentration in Community Organizing. She has finished her first year’s internship at the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF), working on transgender legislation. In addition, she is the Co-chair of the student Pride Organization at the School Of Social Work.

 
October 7: Allison S. Cartwright, J.D.;The Laws of Separation

Synopsis: The lecture will probe the issue of separation in educational settings based on gender orientation and the resulting legal implications.  We will discuss schools and/or programs in secondary and higher education that encourage and permit separation along the lines of gender identification.  Specifically, we will talk about the Harvey Milk High School in NYC (designed primarily for LGBTQ high school students) and college educational programs that separate students along the lines of sexual orientation.   What are the pros and cons of such programming?  How are these programs legally permissible?  Where does Brown v. Board of Education fit into the legal landscape of separate schools and/or programs for LGBTQ students?

Biography:  Allison S. Cartwright, J.D., is a Case Manager with the University of Connecticut, Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE).  As a Case Manager, Ms. Cartwright investigates complaints of discrimination and discriminatory harassment and makes Findings and Recommendations on behalf of ODE to UConn President Dr. Michael Hogan.  Prior to joining ODE, Ms. Cartwright was a trial attorney for over 16 years in Boston, MA where she amassed an impressive winning record of over 90% in the cases she tried to a jury verdict.  Ms. Cartwright holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology from the University of Michigan; a Master of Arts degree in American Studies (English/History/Journalism) from Michigan State University (where she taught an upper level undergraduate English course); and a Juris Doctorate degree from Boston College Law School.

   
October 14: Jim Larson; The Hirsute Gentleman

Synopsis:  This presentation will take a look at the formation of the Bear community within the larger Gay Community, and its evolution... the good and the bad.

Biography:  Jim Larson is a professional male living and working in Albany, New York, who happens to be an out Bear.  He is one of the founding members of BEAR ALBANY, a bear party promotion team that, for the last five years, has been engaging the Bear community in fun charity events six times per year.  Jim has most recently been the head of the GLBT Democratic Political Club and was a board member of a local grassroots AIDS/HIV charity for seven years.  In Albany, he serves as a community leader for both the Bear community as well as the larger GLBT and non-GLBT Albany citizenry.  Jim lives with his partner of five years, Alan, a cub.

October 21: CANCELLED! Kimberly Garland; Internalized Oppressions in the LGBTQ Community: Using Theatre of the Oppressed Techniques Towards Liberation

Synopsis:  “…these techniques have two main goals: to enhance our ability to know or recognize a given situation, and to help us to rehearse actions which can lead to breaking of the oppression shown in that situation. To know and to transform—that is our goal.”                  

(Augusto Boal, from Games for Actors and Non-Actors).

This lecture will take the form of a hands-on, interactive workshop, with a concentration on internalized oppressions in the LGBTQ community. We will utilize Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed techniques particularly Rainbow of Desire and Image Theater. There will be room for group reflection on the process as well.

It is suggested that participants wear clothing appropriate for movement, and do their best to eat lunch prior to or following the workshop. Also, please note that the workshop is open to people of all physical abilities.

CANCELLED! Evening Workshop (Part II) 4:30-6 pm:  This will be a continuation of the earlier workshop with the aim of building on the work done in the noontime workshop (though it can be taken on its own). We will use Augusto Boal’s Rainbow of Desire techniques, specifically Cop-In-The-Head to further explore internalized oppressions in the LGBTQ community. This will be an interactive workshop, with room for group reflection. It is suggested that participants wear clothing appropriate for movement, and do their best to eat prior to or following the workshop. Also, please note that the workshop is open to people of all physical abilities.  (EXTRA CREDIT Available)
 

October 28: Venida Rodman Jenkins; Understanding Intimate Partner Violence in Gay and Lesbian Relationships

Synopsis: This session will highlight the various types of abuse within same-sex relationships, myths and facts, barriers to reporting, and available services.

Biography: Venida Rodman Jenkins relocated to Eastern Connecticut to join the Women’s Center staff as the Violence Against Women Prevention Program (VAWPP) Coordinator in May 2009.  Venida served as the Project Director of the OVW funded Consortium Violence Prevention Project (CVPP) at Seton Hall University.  In her role there she was responsible for the overall program, which included collaborations with a variety of University departments; providing training and educational workshops for students, administrators, faculty, and community service agencies.  She is also an Adjunct Professor at the New York Theological Seminary teaching courses on pastoral care and counseling and domestic violence.  An ordained minister, Venida’s additional experience includes work as a Youth Minister, Student Support Counselor and as the Rape Crisis Advocate/Diversity Outreach Coordinator at the Bergen County Rape Crisis Center.  Venida also worked in publishing for seven years as an Associate Editor for Travel Weekly. She has also provided service to her community through her volunteer affiliations as a Trustee with the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) and as a Writing Coach with College Summit. Venida holds a B.A. from Syracuse University and a M.Div. from New York Theological Seminary.

Synopsis: The real problem was the lack of both knowledge of the challenges facing transgendered people as  they try to access health care as well as the lack of sensitivity on the part of some of these providers.  With regard to the former ­­ lack of  knowledge ­­ one of the big problems facing our community is that among those who think about transgender access to health care ­­ and there are far too few who think about this issue at all ­­ most  imagine that the main challenge we face is accessing hormones and sex reassignment surgery (SRS).  While that is a challenge, the biggest challenge for transgendered  people really is accessing healthcare for all of those medical issues unrelated to gender transition.

And that leads me to the central theme of my talk today. The 'gateway' diagnosis required to access tohormone replacementtherapy (HRT) and SRS since 1974 has been gender identity disorder (GID), introduced into the fourth edition of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM­IV),  published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). While GID is usually thought of as the diagnosis by which adult transsexual and transgendered people gain access to HRT and SRS, the  true significance of GID is much larger.

Biography:  Pauline Park is chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), the first statewide transgender advocacy organization in New York (www.nyagra.com), which she co-founded in June 1998. She also serves as vice-president of the board of directors of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF).

Park led the campaign for the transgender rights law enacted by the New York City Council (Int. No. 24, enacted as Local Law 3 of 2002). She served on the working group that helped to draft guidelines – adopted by the Commission on Human Rights in December 2004 – for implementation of the new statute.

Park negotiated inclusion of gender identity and expression in the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), a safe schools bill currently pending in the New York state legislature, and the first fully transgender­inclusive legislation introduced in that body. She also serves on the steering committee of the coalition that secured enactment of the Dignity in All Schools Act by the New York City Council in September 2004. Park has written widely on LGBT issues and has conducted transgender sensitivity training sessions for a wide range of social service providers and community-based organizations. She has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.