Gender Odyssey: August 14-17, WA State Convention Center

Such is RantWoman's level of hipness (NOT!) that she only just today heard of the annual Gender Odyssey conference taking place August 14-17 at the WA State Convention Center (WSCC on the schedule) and numerous nearby venues.
http://www.genderodyssey.org/

RantWoman learned of this event via her local public radio station. RantWoman thinks she is supposed to be hip enough to already be on some mailing list where transgender issues would be mixed in with other life issues. RantWoman is fully prepared to embrace being nowhere near that hip and just to celebrate living in a place where the public radio station carries the announcement!

RantWoman notes all sorts of topic tracks: Families, Partners, Spirituality, Elders, Health and well-being.

RantWoman would especially enjoy the session on language and pronouns.

Maybe RantWoman will use this as an excuse to have one of her occasional hour-s long phone conversations with Amazing Artist Friend.

Maybe RantWoman will look at already too clogged schedule and stay home and do laundry. (Sigh.)

RantWoman dedicates this post particularly to:

--A young deaf woman whom Furrener Husband befriended. Young Deaf woman moved to Seattle from MT to find a more hospitable environment. The other thing that sticks in RantWoman's mind was particular interest in eating lots of salad.

--A Seattle trans teen whose visit to MT counsins and MT restrooms caused great consternation which RantWoman heard about one time from someone she went to school with

--Value Village Formal Wear Former Neighbor. As another neighbor ever so tactually put it, "she used to be a guy." The commenting neighbor also observed that Value Village Formal Wear Neighbor is much happier living as her true self. Did RantWoman mention that her true self is also hard of hearing / very low vision and that RantWoman collects LOTS of reports about misadventures involving need for interpreters.

--Mr. Suddenly Booming Voice, someone RantWoman knows from even before he started making his pronoun gender preference known at work. RantWoman had not seen Mr. Suddenly Booming Voice in quite awhile and definitely noticed the new voice at a recent meeting.

--RantWoman's suitemate at Annual Session. RantWoman peculiarly is not clear either to post a name or to make up a nom-de-blog but is pleased to report meaningful conversation about breasts and containing them and summer and sweat and also about social construction of gender, as well as about misgendering. Suitemate's father says he would be too happy to go with suitemate to Gender Odyssey but RantWoman did not think to collect an email address. Sigh.

--various other trans and genderqueer people RantWoman knows with less familiarity.

--Everyone who has ever misgendered RantWoman.

--Everyone trying to be a good ally

--Everyone to whom it has never even occured to try to be a good ally!
Just GO if you can!