Hi! I went to this event as a volunteer, but they really didn't need me much so I basically got free admission to some workshops and a bunch of good food.
About 150 people attended, many trans or genderqueer but also some allies, SO's, healthcare workers, policymakers, and folks there to document the event. Everybody had a nametag, and most tags also specified what pronouns to use. Everybody was very chill and accepting. I've never been around so many people with my guard completely down. The discourse was spirited but also civil and completely professional.
I went to three workshops: Advocating your Employer or Municipality was about how to work toward getting employers and districts to provide trans-inclusive healthcare and other trans friendly work policies. It was a panel discussion. I found it pretty useful even though I have no employer, because it offered good language and useful arguments for talking to people who think what we're doing is cosmetic or frivolous. We also discussed specific strategies for working with insurance, and some of that is applicable even with Medicaid.
Know Your Rights was the second session, and I missed part of it because I'd already seen Sasha Buchert talk a bit on the topic, so I volunteered to go down the street to the hipster coffeehouse for more fancy donated coffee. They aren't on the sponsor list and I can't remember the name of the business. What I saw when I got back covered a range of issues touching on discrimination and the barriers to living in the world as a trans person, and the audience feedback and questions were as interesting as the info from the speaker.
The third session I chose was Health Care Self-Advocacy. They had a panel of medical professionals and people from the Trans Justice Working Group.
There was a good bit of overlap between the three sessions I went to, because I didn't have as much personal stake in learning how to be an ally, or how to navigate the system as a teenage transperson, etc. I'm sure I missed some good stuff.
The keynote speaker was Lori Buckwalter. I wasn't very familiar with her, but she apparently has been moving mountains for years, and has brought a lot of change to Oregon. Her speech was eloquent and moving, and funny. Made me feel a lot stronger.
Anyway. That's some pretty dry description. Basic Rights Oregon, The Q Center, Transactive, and Whole Foods were instrumental in making the event happen. It was really really fun, and I feel so much more hopeful and energetic about changing society than I did before I went. I met some friends, too. Good good people.
