WORKSHOPS
Here it is! Our working list of workshops, panels and skillshares, plus presenters. More to come – so keep checking back! The list is, of course, subject to change.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: J. ‘Jack’ Halberstam & Carmen Vazquez
PANELS:
THE MANY FACES OF BUTCH
A panel featuring the many nuanced parameters of butch identity and the transmasculine spectrum;
Cathy Opie (butch-on-butch photographer) J. Greyson Vega (transmasculine butch), Vallerie D. Wagner (butch-identified female), Joe LeBlanc (trans-masculine, he-pronoun using), B. Cole (‘masculine of center’ womyn, female pronoun preference), and Ivy Bottini (feminist butch). Moderated by: Lisa Powell
BROMANCE, KINSHIP, AND MANDATES: Unveiling Taboo Topics
This interactive roundtable discussion in the format of a talk show will reveal experiences of mis-identifications on the gender continuum, expose the hidden and oft-times unspoken expressions of butch on butch love, and uncover his/herstories of expectations and roles of butch conformity and non-conformity from within our diverse communities and society. Guests and audience members will partake in an informative and playful give-and-take, query one another, and share stories of the varied lives we lead and how we manage to survive and thrive. Topics to explore include: cross-racial relationships, family matters, polyamory, survival-hood, and trans masculinity, among others.
‘Show Host’: Alice Y. Hom. Guests: Chueh Jun-Fung , Ren-yo Hwang, Bo Luengsuraswat, Kimi Mojica, Sandy Lee
BUTCH AT THE MOVIES
Filmmakers and other industry professionals join this panel discussion, as we explore ‘butchophobia’ and the way we are depicted in the mainstream media made right here in our own backyard. What’s missing in the way butches & genderqueer folks are portrayed in mainstream movies & TV? How does this lack affect society’s perception of us?
with Cheryl Dunye, Kimberly Peirce, Michelle Ehlen, and Tracy Gilchrist . Moderated by JD DiSalvatore
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW About Butches and Femmes, But Were Afraid to Ask
Although most of us are drawn to our opposites, butches and femmes are often mystified about what makes the other tick. Bring your questions and we’ll shed some light on the differences between the femme brain and the butch or trans-masculine brain. A conversation and Q & A.
Presented by Terry Wolverton, Pat Alderete, Evren Savci, and Porter Gilberg
BABY YOU ARE MY RELIGION: Butch Femme Bar Culture 1940’s to 1980s.
Before Stonewall, gay women – mostly working class and women of color – created communities in bars that functioned as an alternate church space. (Gay women pre-Stonewall did not use the term “lesbian” because it represented a politic where they were often refused entry.) We’ll hear stories of those who who claimed /created the only accepting gay public places in those pre-Stonewall years. Cartier conducted over 100 interviews with pre-Stonewall women who reconsider the bar space /place / culture. Presentation includes the tales, testimonies & photos of gay bar women. Presented by Dr. Marie Cartier
KEEPING OUR FEMINISMS WHILE EXPLORING OUR MASCULINITIES
What’s so important about feminism for butch identity? Why do femmes want a feminist butch when it comes to getting married/for the long term? Hear some studly butches speak to how and why the big F is crucial to a butch’s learning curve.
Panelists: Jeanne Cordova, Raquel Gutierrez, Angie Evans
SKILL SHARE TRACK: MOVIES & MORE
LET IT HANG
Sex talk do’s and don’ts, how to strap it on, and let it hang. “I love talking frankly about sex and breathing down the stigmas and taboos that society has placed on women making us afraid to enjoy sex,” says Strapped founder Alxxx. Mistress Marry is a naughtly cock wearing Femme/Leather Dyke and professional dominant who makes the world a happier place, one orgasm at a time.
Presenters: Alxxx (Club Strapped LA) and Mistress Marry
SHALL WE DANCE? How to Lead (or follow) in Ballroom Dancing
Learn Salsa and those slow dance steps – get out on the dance floor with comfort & style. (Femmes please join us!)Presented by dance professional Courtney Shane
BUTCH BRIEFS
Prepare to be titillated by these funny and thought-provoking short films that explore our definitions of who we are, how we present, and where we live. Curated by Betsy Kalin, director of Chained! See the whole list here! Plus appearances by directors including Zsa Zsa Gershick and more.
TO WINDSOR OR KNOT
For those interested in establishing a dapper lifestyle. Vintage clothing is the core of the Dapper Dyke focus, plus what’s new in today’s market; what to wear, how to wear it and where to find it. Here you will learn how to tie a necktie, from a Windsor to a Four in a Hand, and how to care for you neckties. You will receive a special gift bag, and your very own guidebook. Let’s Get Dressed Up!
Presented by Vivian Escalante
SACRIFICIAL POET: WRITING FOR EXPOSURE
This workshop is about you! Writing to release inner stressors through spoken word and poetry. Learn different writing techniques and ways to get your thoughts into poems to share or publish. You may also bring poems that you would like critiqued.
Taught by slam poetry coach & artist, Damnyo
BOI HAIR
A short film and a discussion with the filmmaker, Alma Lopez, and her butch marida, Alicia Gaspar de Alba.
Panelists: Alicia Gaspar de Alba, & Alma Lopez
WORKSHOPS & PRESENTATIONS :
POLITICS, IDENTITY & DRESS: What does it mean to ‘be masculine?’
This interactive workshop will look at some of the issues around adopting and being an alternatively masculine person in a binary gender, bio-essential world. The instructor will lead discussion and a performance workshop (not too much – don’t be afraid!) on the subject of masculinity. Clothing, history, politics, and some of the many identity/queer affect issues related to being a stud/butch/trans male person will be addressed.
Presented by ‘Invincible’ design curator Tania Hammidi
BUTCH VISIBILITY & Validation in Fine Art
An overview of butch representation in fine art, and the need for accurate biographical representation of diverse butch experiences as a means of validation and community strengthening. This presentation by photographer Mel Johnson includes works that show female-bodied masculinity, butch tradition and heroes, and the quest for inclusive representation. Every butch has a different story!
Presented by Photographer Mel Johnson
WHEN BUTCH IS INVISIBLE
Butches in the prison industrial complex and gendered violence and martyrdom on the streets. Clips from the Sakia Gunn documentary walk us through this ’invisible’ aspect of butch life.
Presented by Kiana Green
DAGGERS: A Discussion for Women-Identified, Female Pronoun Using Butches (Closed space)
Often experienced as a disappearing identity in ever-changing queer communities where words, labels, and pronouns signify different things to different people, this workshop is for those of us who live, celebrate, and maintain Butch as a woman’s identity. In providing a space for Butch camaraderie amongst woman-identified, female pronoun using Butches, we will discuss what our masculinity has meant, and continues to mean for us, in our daily lives: in the GLBTQ context, in the straight world, at work, at home, with our families, with our friends, and in our bedrooms. Whether you’re a Dagger, a Bulldyke, a Stud, an Aggressive, or a Butch by any other name, come and build community with the rest of your pack.
Discussion led by Sasha T. Goldberg
LOCAL TO GLOBAL BUTCH ORGANIZING
Join or organize a Butch Group in your town. Discuss the new national butch movement. Meet up with veteran butch organizers. Connect with others and get the Conference email list to help get you started. Social-media experts welcome here! Panelists: B. Cole of Brown Boi, Ivy Bottini of LGAB, Joe LeBlanc, Jay Walls, Krys Freeman of Butch Voices.
A MEXICANA STORY OF BUTCH-BOI CULTURE AND IDENTITY
About butch-boi women in the countryside of Mexico and in the indigenous communities of the mountains. Based on a true story of a butch woman called Mayuca originally from the state of Oaxaca who kidnapped her girlfriend at her wedding, gun in hand, because this was the only way the Oxacan community would leave them alone. A reflection about being a Mexican butch-boi immigrant and the importance of providing asylum as refugees to butch-boi females who are the target of violence and crimes in their country of origin. Presented by Adriana Batista
CONVERSATIONS IN BUTCH SOCIO-POLITICAL THEORY
A discussion to clarify the role of theorists and cultural historians to the Butch movement. This workshop will use the model of previous cultural movements to consider the need to have people on the inside figuring out our proper place in modern culture, and pioneering new ideas.
Workshop presenter: Carolyn Wysinger . Panelists: Sasha T. Goldberg and Lisa Powell.
TRANSPHOBIA AND BUTCHPHOBIA: CONNECTIONS, CONFLICTS, COALITIONS
A look at how butchphobia and transphobia overlap and intersect, how they differ in meaningful ways, and how they are embedded within broader structures of oppression. The goal of the workshop will be to identify and work through ways that transphobia, butchphobia, gender normativity and other forms of oppression impact political organizing in LGBTQ communities. The format of the workshop will be brief comments by facilitators followed by an interactive discussion with all.
Presented by Professor Talia Mae Bettcher and Riel Dupuis-Rossi
UNDER THE SMOOTH
Explores the complexities of internalized homophobia as it relates to Black butches. Often times during a Black butch’s childhood, adolescence, and/or coming out years, struggles through her own rites of passage may be challenged and impeded by homophobia emanating from family and Black community dynamics. Participants will interactively examine to what extent homophobia may shape our public masks and various relationships. We will also discuss how a Black butch’s everyday thoughts and movements in our families, the Black community, and the world may be affected by the internalized homophobia that ultimately manifests in each of us.
Presented by Lori Brown
STRONG WOMEN: Building a Healthy mind, body & spirit
Healthcare and selfcare issues that affect butch/stud/trans-masculine women regarding overall health, body image and healthy living. Panelists will address myths & fears and Butch Identity in relationship to our bodies and body image, balancing the masculine and feminine and healing practices, and discuss issues around access to healthcare and positive and creative tactics to advocate for ourselves.
Presented by panelists Chris Baldwin, Richelle Donigan, Queen Hollins
