Oakland University hosting ‘Transgiving’ Potluck, Thanksgiving for transgender-identifying individuals
The potluck was scheduled for Tuesday, November 25.
It will “provide a trans-affirming and sober family-holiday-style autumn meal to OU students.”
A public university in Rochester, Michigan, hosted an identity-based Thanksgiving event named after transgender-identifying people. The event is called “Transgiving: A Community Potluck.”
Oakland University’s Tuesday, November 26 program will “provide a trans-affirming and sober family-holiday-style autumn meal to OU students.”
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The university’s Gender and Sexuality Center is organizing “Transgiving.” The Center promoted the event in an Instagram post last week.
“Trans and nonbinary students, our chosen family, and all who are willing/able to maintain a trans-affirming dinner table are invited to share this holiday meal and join in community before we leave for November break,” the post says.
The Gender and Sexuality Center has coordinated many LGBTQ-themed programming this fall. On Wednesday, November 20, the Center recognized “Transgender Day of Remembrance.”
The week before, the Center offered students a “Gender Exploration & Affirmation Fair.” The Fair features workshops such as “Exploring and Affirming Your Gender” and “Advocating For Yourself and Others.”
According to its webpage, the Center “supports the retention and graduation of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, queer, intersex, and asexual or otherwise non-heterosexual and non-cisgender) students through education and retention initiatives for all members of the OU community.”
Oakland University is not the only school celebrating “Transgiving” this fall. Northern Michigan University and Yale University also recognized the event earlier this month. Yale’s event celebrated “trans joy, resilience, and community,” according to an Instagram post announcing it.
Other colleges and universities have taught their students about “decolonizing” Thanksgiving.
Last week, a University of Buffalo event prompted students to ask questions such as “Is it right to celebrate Thanksgiving and America’s history of settler colonialism?” and “What can we do to honor this day of mourning for Native communities?”
Ultimately, the event determined that “[w]e can redefine the meaning of Thanksgiving to remember and respect indigenous peoples’ histories.”
Meanwhile, Washington University in St. Louis offered a similar event under the same title of “Decolonizing Thanksgiving.
“Join us for Decolonizing Thanksgiving, a thought-provoking event that re-examines the history and narrative of Thanksgiving from an indigenous perspective,” the event description says.
Campus Reform contacted Oakland University and the Gender and Sexuality Center for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
