Gender and Sexuality Center blog

(Graphic of the alphabet in a rainbow of colors)

Living With Pride: Allies Across the Alphabet

Want to learn more about how to support identity groups that you might not be a part of? Want to be an ally to other groups but you aren’t sure how to actually do so? Come to this installment of Living With Pride!

Thursday, April 26
7:00-8:00pm
At the GSC (SAC 2.112)

Join us and learn how LGBTQIA folks can best be allies to all the letters in the queer alphabet, not just the groups that we belong to.

(Flyer featuring a Texas Observer cover showing a person in a cowboy hat posing as a gynecologist)

POLITICS BECOMES PERSONAL: The Fight for Women’s Health in Texas

The Texas Observer and CWGS are pleased to invite you to a panel on how Texas lawmakers have made themselves part of reproductive health care decisions.

Thursday, April 26
6:00pm
BUR 106

Speakers will include:

• Carolyn Jones, Freelance writer who authored The Right Not to Know
• Sarah Wheat, Interim Co-CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region
• Christen Smith, UT Assistant Professor of Anthropology
• Kristine Hopkins, UT Research Assistant Professor of Sociology

Moderated by: Susan Sage Heinzelman, Director of CWGS
Introductions by: Susan Smith Richardson, Managing Editor of The Texas Observer

To RSVP, please contact Piper Stege Nelson at  nelson at texasobserver.org or by phone at 512.477.0746.

(Photograph of the 2011-2012 Peers for Pride cohort)

Peers for Pride Final Performance

Please join this year’s PfP cohort for the second evening of monologues that are the culmination of this year’s work on LGBTQ identities, politics, and performance.

Part Two: Friday April 27
7:00-8:30pm
RLM 4.102

This series is free and open to everyone!

(Photograph of the Resistencia Bookstore sign)

La Historia del Pasado, La Historia del Presente

Join Resistencia Bookstore for an installment of their Film Series to Raise Awareness of a Peoples’ Struggle, Land and Culture:

Mujeres Rebeldes presents a documentary film screening of
WE WILL ALWAYS BE HERE! by Sol Rojo Productions.

Wednesday, April 25
7:00pm
Resistencia Bookstore
Casa de Red Salmon Arts
1801 S. 1st Street, Austin

This historic documentary captures the destruction of the Los Elementos mural and the Juarez-Lincoln building, and the resistance to stop its destruction.

(Cover of the Southern Comfort DVD)

Project ABC screening: Southern Comfort

Come see Kate Davis’ award-winning documentary Southern Comfort with Project ABC (all bodies count), a group of folks who organize around justice in the health care system. This documentary follows events in the life of Robert Eads, a transman diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Wednesday, April 25
7:30pm
Treasure City Thrift
2142 E. 7th St., Austin

Popcorn will be provided! Discussion to follow screening. Find more information on the Facebook page.

The “B” in LGBTQA is not often talked about, and when it is, the discussion can be filled with myths and misinformation. In this workshop we will discuss the realities of bisexuality!

Bisexuality flag

 Monday, March 19
12:00pm – 1:30pm
SAC 1.120 (map)

We are excited to introduce the second issue of Luminaria. Formerly known as Cynosure, Luminaria serves to illuminate women’s experiences during their time at The University of Texas at Austin.

This Spring 2012 issue was open to submissions from all people at UT-Austin who had creative or academic work that spoke to how gender plays a part in their everyday lives.  It includes poetry, personal reflection, artwork, and media reviews, and we hope that the variety of perspectives inspires you to think about what gender looks like to student life at UT.

Luminaria is produced by the staff and students within the Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC), which is part of a campuswide network of resources for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in exploring and thinking about issues related to gender and sexuality. Alongside services and education offered by the University Health Center, campus libraries and archives, the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, the Center for Counseling and Mental Health, and other offices, the GSC offers several advocacy, education, and outreach programs. The Feminist Action Project, mentor programs for LGBTQ and women students, walk-in advising, annual conferences related to gender and sexuality, and a lending library offer a variety of intellectual, social, and cultural resources.

The link below will take you to the six-page PDF publication, suitable for printing or downloading to your personal computer. We’re glad you’re interested in Luminaria!

 Luminaria: Illuminating Women’s Experiences at the University of Texas at Austin (Spring 2012)

Want to see your name in print?

Our next issue will feature the people, movements, and ideas that inspire women on campus.  Submit 100 to 500 words or a piece of artwork about your inspiration!  We welcome all genres, including but not limited to: personal/creative writing, art pieces (with a text description), critiques/reactions to current events, and school or campus projects.
Please submit your piece(s) by Friday, March 30 at the Gender and Sexuality Center, 2.122 SAC, or by email to  gsc@austin.utexas.edu.
If you have any questions, please email that address or call us at 512-232-1831.

Wednesday, February 29
12:00pm – 1:30pm
SAC 2.120

This training goes over transgender identities and how students, faculty, and staff can better serve trans students. We look forward to seeing you there.

Dr. Shah teaches history, ethnic studies and lgbt studies at the University of California San Diego. He is the author of Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco’s Chinatown (California: 2001) and Stranger Intimacy: Contesting Race, Sexuality and the Law in the North American West (California: 2011).

This presentation explores intimacies between global migrants and examines the intersections between capitalism, U.S. and Canada’s treatment of immigrants, sexual citizenship and race in the early 20th century.

Wednesday, February 8
3:30-5:00pm
GAR 1.102

This event is co-sponsored with the Center for Asian American Studies.

(photograph of a variety of clothes)

Come and try on different gender expressions! Have you ever wondered what you would like with facial hair, make-up, or a wig? This workshop is a great time for everyone to get together and explore gender in a safe setting. We look forward to seeing you there!

Friday, February 3
5:30 – 7:30pm
GSC (SAC 2.112)

If you have any questions, please contact Shane Whalley at  swhalley at austin.utexas.edu.

Procedure for Establishing Preferred First Name Usage by Transgender-Identified Students

The word transgender is an umbrella term often used by people who transgress gender norms. At the University of Texas at Austin there is a population of students who identify as transgender. In order to facilitate their success at the university, transgender identified students can establish, through the Gender and Sexuality Center: Serving Women and LGBTQA Communities, the use of their preferred name rather than their legal or given name.

To establish the use of apreferred name, transgender identified students should schedule an appointment with the director of the Gender and Sexuality Center, which is housed in the Student Activity Center. If through conversation with the student, it is determine that use of a preferred name would facilitate the student’s success at UT the GSC director will work with staff in the Registrar’s Office to add the student’s preferred name to the student’s official record. It is important to note that the preferred name will only appear on: class rosters, grade sheets, the online student directory, TED, Clips, Blackboard, and official UT identification cards. The official university transcript and diploma cannot be changed without a legal name change.

To initiate this change students will be asked to provide their legal name, UT EID, and preferred name. Also, the student should be aware that they will incur a replacement fee for their new identification card.

Multiple changes to an established preferred name is strongly discouraged. Should a student request to use a preferred name, it is the expectation of the university that it be requested only after serious consideration on the part of the student.

Questions about this procedure should be directed to the Ixchel Rosal  (Director, Gender and Sexuality Center) at 512 232 1831 or  gsc at austin.utexas.edu.