From: NGLTF@aol.com Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 13:58:11 -0400 Subject: FTM Conference The following press release is being distributed by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) on behalf of the organization named in the release. For further information, please contact the original author, and not NGLTF. Thank you. ************************** FTM INTERNATIONAL 337 College Ave., #142, Oakland, CA 94618 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 13, 1995 Contact: James Green, Director, FTM International 510-287-2646 (voicemail) First All-FTM Gender Conference Held: More Than 360 People Create A Vision of Community San Francisco...In an historic, unprecedented event, more than 360 female-to-male (FTM) transgendered people, transsexual men, their families and friends, along with medical practitioners and psychologists, convened here August 18-20 for the first international all-FTM gender conference ever held in North America. The conference, which organizers called "overwhelmingly successful," drew participants from all over the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and Germany. The conference theme, "A Vision of Community," was chosen to help participants understand they are not alone in dealing with their gender issues, and that unity is necessary to make improvements in the lives of FTMs. Indeed, many attendees who had previously never seen other men like themselves -- men who had started life with female bodies -- or men who have always felt they had to keep their status hidden, were amazed to see so many others at the conference. The gathering featured workshops, caucuses, networking sessions and a dynamic opening keynote plenary that galvanized attendees, introduced them to each other, and set the tone of the weekend. Robert Oakes, mayoral representative, presented the conference organizers with a special Mayor's Office proclamation declaring August 18, 19 and 20, 1995, "FTM Conference Weekend in San Francisco." Keynoting the opening session was James Green, director of FTM International, the conference host organization. "This conference is an important historical milestone in the development of the transgender movement," said Green. "It signals the rising awareness that people who identify as FTM will not be confined to prescribed behavior roles outlined in theoretical papers published by prejudiced researchers and based upon extremely limited studies. Transsexual men and their issues are usually overlooked at gender conferences, where, as in the larger society, the commonly-held view of transgendered people is that they are predominantly male-to-female (MTF), or transsexual women." In addition to Green, featured speakers at the conference included Robert Bray of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; author and activist Leslie Feinberg; art photographer Loren Cameron; San Francisco Police Sgt. Stephan Thorne; conference coordinator Sky Renfro; educators Dr. Steve Dain, Jason Cromwell, Ph.D. (c), Susan Stryker, Ph.D., and Jude Patton, MFCT; surgeons Donald R. Laub, M.D. and Michael Brownstein, M.D.; San Francisco Human Rights Commission staff member Larry Brinkin; and transgender activist Kiki Whitlock. A good part of the conference focused on educating attendees themselves about the facts of FTMs, and how they can educate the world at large. According to members of the Harry Benjamin Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), a professional organization for medical and psychological caregivers who specialize in gender and sex transitions, most clinics where sex reassignment is performed in North America today acknowledge that 50% of the applicants for the procedure are female-bodied and male-gendered. FTM International, founded in 1986, is the world s largest and longest-running networking and information group for and about FTM transgendered people and transsexual men. The not-for-profit group is dedicated to inclusion and diversity in gender identity and expression, and to education on gender issues for both transgendered people and the non-transgendered general public. "Transsexual men and transgendered women who identify with a masculine self-concept to varying degrees have long been marginalized by society, either because they are assumed to be lesbians or because they fit into the masculine model so well they are virtually invisible in society," Green said. "In either case, FTMs are different from other men and women. We have a different view of the world, we have a different experience of gender and of social development than non-transitioning people, regardless of sexual orientation. We are also beginning to realize that each of us is not the only one in the world who feels this way, and to understand we have specialized needs that will not be met if we don't acknowledge who we are. Forming community is an essential part of this acknowledgment. " The FTM Conference was initiated by a $500 challenge grant from AEGIS (American Educational Gender Information Service, Decatur, GA), and supported by donations from IFGE (International Foundation for Gender Education, Waltham, MA), Ingersoll Gender Center (Seattle, WA), and ETVC (Educational TransVestite Channel, San Francisco), as well as numerous individual contributions from members of these organizations and others such as Transsexual Menace, New York City, FTM International, and from supportive friends. For more information about FTM International, contact James Green, (510)287-2646, JamisonG@aol.com. # # #