After receiving feedback from colleagues in various academic programs focused on queer, gender and women’s studies, we’ve decided to put together some resources to assist students and instructors alike in integrating The Conversations Project into coursework and classroom discussions. Our Community Group offers an incredible opportunity for students to access and interact with a number of trans and feminist activists, authors and opinion leaders who can offer a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be difficult to access via textbooks and lectures alone. Moreover, our quarterly journal is a unique way for students who participate in the group to get their work published. The below sections are designed to help contextualize the intersections of trans, intersex, genderqueer, radical feminist and sex essentialist discourse. For each, a description and content example is provided. [mashshare]

Mainstream Media Narratives

Description: media diffusion of the “RadFem vs. Trans” narrative. Example: What is a Woman? The Dispute Between Radical Feminism and Transgenderism (2014) by Michelle Goldberg for the The New Yorker:

[A] few dozen people gathered in a conference room at the Central Library… The conference had been convened by a group that wanted to defend two positions that have made radical feminism anathema to much of the left… [T]hey were going to try to explain why, at a time when transgender rights are ascendant, radical feminists insist on regarding transgender women as men, who should not be allowed to use women’s facilities, such as public rest rooms, or to participate in events organized exclusively for women.

Slides

Description: Images that can be printed or used as part of a presentation.