Moving Trans History Forward is a series of interdisciplinary, international, and intergenerational conferences held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, at the University of Victoria, hosted by the Chair in Transgender Studies. [1] The conferences discuss trans history and activism, and are both academic and open to the public. [2] The conferences also explore new trans research and the issues that impact trans, non-binary, Two-spirit, and other gender nonconforming (GNC) people. [3] [4]
The biennial conference was founded and hosted by the University of Victoria's Chair in Transgender Studies and the founder and subject matter expert of the Transgender Archives, Aaron Devor. [1] [5] Beginning in 2014, the conference has gathered community activists, researchers, educators, archivists, artists, service providers, and allies of all ages. [6] [7]
The first conference, held at the University of Victoria from March 21 to 23, 2014, was entitled "Moving Trans* History Forward". [8] Around 100 trans activists and researchers, as well as allies, gathered to preserve and present the stories and records of trans pioneers from the early 1960s onwards. [9] [10] [11] Events included keynote speakers Jennifer Pritzker, Vivian Namaste, Susan Stryker, and Dallas Denny; oral presentations, symposiums, displayed materials, and a featured screening of the film Trans. [12]
The second conference, entitled "Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities – Sharing Connections", took place at the University of Victoria from March 17 to 20, 2016. [13] Events included keynote speakers Jamison Green and Martine Rothblatt, oral presentations, posters, art exhibits, a screening of Mo Bradley's feature-length film Two 4 One , and Founders Panel discussions with Rupert Raj, Jason Cromwell, Jamie Lee Hamilton, and Yvonne Cook-Riley. [5] [13]
The third conference, entitled "Moving Trans History Forward: From Generation to Generation", took place at the University of Victoria from March 22 to 25, 2018. [1] [6] Keynote speakers included Andrea Jenkins, the first openly transgender Black woman elected to public office in the United States, and Kent Monkman, a Canadian Cree Two-spirit artist. [1] [2] Among oral presentations, art displays, and workshops, there were both youth and elder panels, where speakers discussed topics relating to their respective age groups. [14]
The fourth iteration of the Moving Trans History Forward conference was held online, from March 11 to 14, 2021. [15] The conference was initially scheduled to take place in Victoria, BC, from April 2 to 5, 2020, at the Victoria Conference Centre but was moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15] The first keynote speaker was Blas Radi, cofounder of the world's second Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Buenos Aires. [15] The second keynote speaker was Miss Major in conversation with Kelendria Nation and Syrus Marcus Ware. [16] [17] The program included oral presentations, panel discussions, and youth and elder panels. [17]
The fifth Moving Trans History Forward conference took place between March 30 and April 2, 2023 and was presented in a hybrid format, occurring both online and in person at the University of Victoria. [18] [19] On March 31, 2023, the conference coincided with International Transgender Day of Visibility. [19] [18] Keynote speakers were author and activist Julia Serano; and Chase Joynt, Jen Richards, Morgan M Page, and Jules Gill-Peterson from the film Framing Agnes . [20] The conference included oral presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions, and workshops. [21] The program included a Two-Spirit Trans+ Panel, a youth panel, and an elders panel. [21]
The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, the institution was initially an affiliated college of McGill University until 1915. From 1921 to 1963, it functioned as an affiliate of the University of British Columbia. In 1963, the institution was reorganized into an independent university.
The University of Victoria Students' Society (UVSS) is a student union that represents undergraduate students at the University of Victoria. The students' society was founded in 1921 and incorporated in 1964. It provides services and operates business for students through the Student Union Building (SUB), and historically has advocated for special interests on campus.
Robyn Ochs is an American bisexual activist, professional speaker, and workshop leader. Her primary fields of interest are gender, sexuality, identity, and coalition building. She is the editor of the Bisexual Resource Guide, Bi Women Quarterly, and the anthology Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World. Ochs, along with Professor Herukhuti, co-edited the anthology Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men.
CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies was founded in 1991 by professor Martin Duberman as the first university-based research center in the United States dedicated to the study of historical, cultural, and political issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and communities. Housed at the Graduate Center, CUNY, CLAGS sponsors public programs and conferences, offers fellowships to individual scholars, and functions as a conduit of information. It also serves as a national center for the promotion of scholarship that fosters social change.
Fantasia Fair is a week-long conference for cross-dressers, transgender and gender questioning people held every October in Provincetown, Massachusetts, a small Portuguese fishing village and largely gay and lesbian tourist village on the very tip of Cape Cod. This annual event is the longest-running transgender conference in the United States and it provides a week for attendees to experiment with gender-role identities and presentations in a safe and affirming community. The goal of the conference is to create a safe space in which crossdressers, transgender and transsexual people, and nonbinary-gendered people are accepted without judgement, can interact with their peers, and can advocate for their rights. In November, 1980 the event was featured in an article by D. Keith Mano in Playboy magazine and has in ensuing years has continued to generate publicity.
Julia Michelle Serano is an American writer, musician, spoken-word performer, transgender and bisexual activist, and biologist. She is known for her transfeminist books, such as Whipping Girl (2007), Excluded (2013), and Outspoken (2016). She is also a public speaker who has given many talks at universities and conferences. Her writing is frequently featured in queer, feminist, and popular culture magazines.
The transgender rights movement is a movement to promote the legal status of transgender people and to eliminate discrimination and violence against transgender people regarding housing, employment, public accommodations, education, and health care. A major goal of transgender activism is to allow changes to identification documents to conform with a person's current gender identity without the need for gender-affirming surgery or any medical requirements, which is known as gender self-identification. It is part of the broader LGBT rights movements.
Aaron H. Devor is a Canadian sociologist and sexologist known for researching transsexuality and transgender communities. Devor has taught at the University of Victoria since 1989 and is the former dean of graduate studies. Devor is the current Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, and the founder and subject matter expert of The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries. He is also the founder and host of the Moving Trans History Forward conferences. Maclean's, a Canadian weekly news magazine, described Devor as "an internationally respected expert on gender, sex and sexuality."
Ryan Sallans is an American LGBT author, speaker, advocate and out trans man. Sallans began his transition in 2005. He travels the United States speaking to professionals, college audiences, and youth about gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation along with his story of being transgender and the changing nature of health care.
Interactive Futures (IF) was a biennial conference and exhibition, hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that explored current tendencies, research and dialogue related to the intersection of technology and art. Interactive Futures included a variety of events such as lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and panels in an effort to provide opportunities for discourse by local, national and international researchers and practitioners.
Kay Ulanday Barrett is a published poet, performer, educator, food writer, cultural strategist, and transgender, gender non-conforming, and disability advocate based in New York and New Jersey, whose work has been showcased nationally and internationally. Their second book, More Than Organs received a 2021 Stonewall Honor Book Award by the American Library Association and is a 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature Finalist. They are a 2020 James Baldwin Fellowship recipient, three-time Pushcart Prize Nominee, and two-time Best of the Net Nominee. Barrett's writing and performance centers on the experience of queer, transgender, people of color, mixed race people, Asian, and Filipino/a/x community. The focus of their artistic work navigates multiple systems of oppression in the context of the U.S.
The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is the "largest transgender archive in the world".
Aidan Key is a speaker, author, and educator whose gender-related career spans over 25 years. His work has placed him in front of myriad audiences, including kindergartners, graduate students, teachers, superintendents, judges, physicians, psychiatrists, and clergy. Key is an expert on transgender and nonbinary children and adults and has been featured on national and international television, radio, and the internet, and in print media. As the founder and lead trainer of Gender Diversity, Key provides guidance and training to schools and school districts, as well as workplace trainings for organizations desiring to incorporate gender inclusivity.
Trans Day of Action (TDOA) began in 2005 and is an annual rally and march held in late June in New York City. It is organized by the Audre Lorde Project's Trans Justice group. It aims "to call attention to the continued violence, discrimination and institutionalization of our people [Trans and Gender Non-Conforming people], while simultaneously lifting up and celebrating our legacy of resilience, organizing, and community building." While addressing issues that disproportionately impact trans and gender non-conforming people, TDOA is also meant to honor and contribute to the broader "struggle for justice, liberation, and recognition for all oppressed people worldwide."
Andrea Jenkins is an American politician, writer, performance artist, poet, and transgender activist. She is known for being the first Black openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States, since January 2018 on the Minneapolis City Council and as the council's president from January 2022 to January 2024.
Amiyah Scott is an American actress, model, author, and dancer. She is known for her presence on social media apps such as Instagram, as a fixture in the LGBT ball community, and for her role as Cotton in the Fox television series Star (2016–2019). She also appeared in the eighth season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Lesbians Who Tech + Allies is a community founded by Leanne Pittsford in 2012 to create a place for queer women and their allies in the field of technology.
Chase Joynt is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, video artist, actor, and professor. He attracted acclaim as co-director with Aisling Chin-Yee of the documentary film No Ordinary Man (2020), and as director of the film Framing Agnes (2022). He won two awards at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival for his work on the latter.
The Chair in Transgender Studies is the world's first research chair focusing on the study of transgender individuals, issues, and history. It is housed at the University of Victoria, located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Unlike any other university department chair at the University of Victoria, the Chair in Transgender Studies is self-funded through philanthropy and private donations. The chair is unique in that it does not grant degrees, but instead works with both community and academic communities to further the advancement of transgender studies. Aaron Devor, the inaugural and current chair, works with researchers, community members, academics, and advocates to advance the study of trans scholarship. The chair focuses on four pillars: original research, continued scholarship, maintenance and growth of the Transgender Archives, and organization of Canada's largest international transgender conference, Moving Trans History Forward.
Transphobia in the United States has changed over time. Understanding and acceptance of transgender people have both decreased and increased during the last few decades depending on the details of the issues which have been facing the public. Various governmental bodies in the United States have enacted anti-transgender legislation. Social issues in the United States also reveal a level of transphobia. Because of transphobia, transgender people in the U.S. face increased levels of violence and intimidation. Cisgender people can also be affected by transphobia.