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Despite TUSD voting delay, LGBTQ+ parents, students, and community members aren't backing down from the fight
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Photo by Rebecca Sasnett/AZ Daily Star
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Last week, the TUSD board's vote to implement an updated version of the Family Life Curriculum (FLC) was delayed in order to make more time for the board to "consider" Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo's abstinence-centered modifications to the curriculum (Khmara, 2019b). The proposed updates to FLC would result in a more inclusive, medically-accurate, and age-appropriate approach to sex education, consent, self-esteem, and other important topics for TUSD students (Khmara, 2019a). In particular, implementation of the opt-in FLC would allocate resources to create classroom instruction acknowledging LGBTQ+ identities and experiences--
which are often marginalized or outright omitted from current curricula.
iLGBTS Faculty Advisory Council member and TUSD parent Professor Carol Brochin was instrumental in securing Arizona's repeal of No Promo Homo curriculum legislation this past spring, along with her child Santi, who identifies as transgender and non-binary. Continuing her fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Arizona school systems, Prof. Brochin has shown more fierceness in the current battle--leading a 200-person walkout earlier this summer at the final public hearing for Family Life Curriculum in late August, and vocalizing her support of FLC outside of the TUSD board meeting last Tuesday. In an August interview with the AZ Daily Star, Brochin stated: "The validity and existence of the gender identity of our children is not up for debate. To do so would be to engage in the discrimination of our own children."
We at the Institute for LGBT Studies wish to express our stance in solidarity with Prof. Brochin and all TUSD parents, students, educators, and community members who are fighting for implementation of LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum.
Please consider attending Equality Arizona's organization meeting which will involve co-creating next steps in the fight for inclusive curricula. Details can be found in the Mark Your Calendar section, or in Equality Arizona's Facebook event here. Learn more about the Family Life Curriculum here.
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Tucson Poet Laureate TC Tolbert creates Trans/Space: A Trans*, Non-binary, and Queer+ Poetry Project
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Photo by Mamta Popat
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We are very excited and grateful to share the latest work of fabulous Tucson Poet Laureate, TC Tolbert! Building from the Academy of American Poets Laureate fellowship s/he was awarded last spring, TC has created and shared several online resources centering Trans*, Non-binary, and Queer+ Poets and their works which include a resource list of
Trans* and Non-binary poetry (featuring over 100 poets, worldwide), a resource list of
Queer+ Poetry (online and print collections), and an in-progress
teacher's guide
for teaching TNBQ+ poetry! In addition to these invaluable contributions, TC will also lead a series of free TNBQ+ poetry workshops in the Tucson community. Find the full workshop schedule
here
. More about the first all-ages TNBQ+ workshop can also be found in our Mark Your Calendar section below!
TC Tolbert identifies as a trans and genderqueer feminist, collaborator, mover, and poet. And, s/he's a human in love with humans doing human things. S/he is author of Gephyromania (Ahsahta Press 2014), five chapbooks, and co-editor of Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics (Nightboat Books 2013). TC was recently awarded an Academy of American Poets' Laureate Fellowship for his work with trans, non-binary, and queer folks as Tucson's Poet Laureate. S/he is a Lecturer in the English Dept at University of Arizona and will be Writer in Residence at Pratt Institute, 2019-2020. Visit TC's website here.
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Join us for Trans*/Queer Memory Crafting, Storytelling, and Comic Zine-Making with Lino Arruda
Mon., Sept. 23rd & Wed., Sept. 25th
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
ENR2, Rm S215 | 1064 E Lowell St
Free
**Please note that this is a two-day workshop. Registrants must be able to attend both days.
iLGBTS invites you to join us for the premier workshop of our Arts, Culture, and Expression series! Led by transmasculine Brazilian researcher and graphic novel artist Lino Arruda, this workshop invites queer community members to help create a safer space and collectively access, edit, and fictionalize personal memories about our queer/trans* lives. In the first session (1 hour), after reading excerpts from queer/trans* Latin American autobiographical zines (such as
Sapatoons, Quimer(d)a, Anomalina, Dramas Pobres, Ofensivo Trans, etc.), the participants are invited to share personal stories through thoughtfully designed "queering- memory" and "storytelling" group exercises. In the second half of the workshop we intend to edit and gather the collected materials, which will later be illustrated into a collaborative comic zine, so that other community members can identify with an ever-growing alternative archive made by/for queer/trans* folks. Hopefully our stories will resonate internally within LGBTQ communities and fortify our bonds.
**Due to the nature of this workshop, it is only open to individuals who identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Please only register if you self-identify as a part of this community.
Learn more about Lino's work and register for the workshop
here.
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iLGBT Studies is proud to co-sponsor...
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Gender Werk! Creating Gender Inclusive Classrooms & Learning Spaces
Sept. 20th - 21st | 9AM-3PM
CITY Center for Collaborative Learning |
37 E Pennington
150.00 registration fee | Scholarships available
Kore Press Institute is pleased to offer this dynamic, decolonize-your-practice training to help educators, community workers, and parents sharpen their intersectional gender literacy skills for creating inclusive, safe learning spaces for all to thrive!
The two-day immersion led by poet-educators Em and Teré, along with educational leader Eve Rifkin, will investigate the thicket of our socially constructed gender identities and the snare of implicit bias, especially as it occurs at the intersection of multiple other oppressions. Participants will identify areas for personal and professional growth and think how they can move into a more fully gender inclusive, equitable practice. Additionally, you will learn about student and parent rights and privacy laws along with a whole host of resources, including a reading list and current research. In collaboration with the Institute for LGBT Studies, twenty full and partial scholarships are also available upon request.
Learn more about this workshop and registration
here. To inquire about a scholarship, please contact
[email protected]
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Queer Conexiones: This Week!
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Join Equality Arizona to organize next steps toward inclusive sex education in TUSD!
Sunday, Sept. 22nd
3PM - 5PM
Common Workspace |
149 N Stone Ave, 3rd & 4th Floors
RSVP Requested
In the wake of TUSD's decision to delay the vote for Family Life Curriculum, our community suffered a set-back and we need to come together to make sure that don't let our guard down again. Join us for a strategy session where we will hash out short and long term goals, along with a mission statement, and a roadmap to create change. We will hold an intentionally intersectional space where all LGBTQ leaders and allies are welcomed to see how we can make Tucson the best place for an LGBTQ person to grow up and thrive.
RSVP for this gathering here. Read more about the event here.
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