'TRANSforming Gender' conference coming to CU Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Inclusion and Social Change will host a conference titled “TRANSforming Gender” in March 2024, the theme for which is “Breaking Chains, Forging Community.”

“The TRANSforming Gender Conference (TGC) raises awareness about issues and identities in the trans community,” the conference information page states.

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The page also provides a comprehensive list of various topics the conference will discuss, including: “queering biology,” “Gender-expansive sex education,” “Inclusive spirituality,” “Trans* aging,” “Intersex experiences,” “Decolonial and trans* of color critiques,” “Trans* parenting,” “Resisting trans erasure,” “Trans* art workshops,” and “Fighting anti-trans legislation.”

The event is scheduled for March 18 and 19 in the Koelbel Business School on campus. The conference also took place in 2022 and 2019, according to the web page. 

The center has released a schedule for the conference, which splits the two days into eight sections, each featuring several presentations. 

The first presentation, titled “Supporting Your Littles in the Classroom: Cultivating Inclusive Trans*-Affirming Classrooms,” will seek to instruct attendees on how to expand “gender and gender-based dynamics” for children at school. 

“Awareness around Transgender identities and language is vital for creating healthy spaces—the truth is no space can ever be a safe space,” the description says. “But what might it look like when we begin to cultivate tools to foster brave spaces for our littles in the classroom?”

Another presentation seeks to help transgender-identifying individuals navigate relationships in which they haven’t been fully “accepted”  by family and friends. “[W]hat happens when your loved ones don’t disown you, but don’t fully accept you either?,” the description asks.

[RELATED: Big Ten Conference hosts inaugural ‘LGBTQ+ Symposium’]    

Another presentation is intended for people who “want to explode” when hearing things such as “Biologically, there are only two genders.” Facilitators will discuss “intersex conditions” and explain why gender is “more complicated than just male and female.”

“Attendees will be left with the skills to educate others while also advocating for all gender variance and diversity,” the description states.

Campus Reform contacted the Center for Inclusion and Social Change for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.