Trans project underway
NEW ORLEANS, La. — Former South Carolinian Basil Soper has taken on the mantle of bringing transgender stories to the forefront that are more representative of the individuals that make up the community.
Soper has done this as a response to North Carolina s HB2 and other bills being proposed in other states.
“In lieu of this legislation and as a Carolinian, I feel it’s necessary to create Transilient as a way to humanize transgender people and break some of the dreadful stereotypes created around transgender identity. This is not only to further transgender rights, but as a means of slowly chipping away at the suicide rates that the community faces,” he said.
The project is both photography and interview-based. Soper is in the process of raising funds and is traveling across the country so that interviews can be conducted and documented with transgender individuals.
“I feel as though the trans community continuously gets boxed into a place in which our stories are told in a way that is not entirely representative of us. This primarily [is] due to the fact that the mainstream media doesn’t have trans people covering us. We are represented as people who are in a lot of pain, who were once lost, but now are on a road to finding themselves, as people born in the wrong body, and our lived realities are lost in a tale based around genitalia, discrimination, and heartbreak. I want to change that,” Soper shared. “I not only want to humanize transgender folks for the sake of giving us a better representation, but I want to connect trans folks by telling their story in a way that connects them to the rest of the human experience. I don’t want to focus on the transition. I want to focus on the person who happens to be trans.”
The founder of Asheville, N.C.’s Just Us For All, Soper has been a journalist who has had work featured in transgender anthologies and has published often with the Advocate and the Huffington Post.
Fundraising goal is to react $2,000. Funds can be given online at bit.ly/1Ur39X8.
info: ncqueer.com.
Parent survey underway
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Caswell Martin, a University of North Carolina at Charlotte counselor and doctoral student, is conducting a research project designed to increase knowledge about the parenting experience of LGBT parents.
The study is open to those who either parent or co-parent children under 18-years-old.
The survey takes between 5-10 minutes and is confidential and is available online at goo.gl/cVjNcs through May 31.
info: amarti@uncc.edu.
Elder query sought
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The LGBT Elder Advocates is seeking to become affiliated with SAGE USA and needs assistance from the community.
The organization wants to understand more about the experience of LGBT residents in Western North Carolina who are 60-years-old and above.
To access the needs of elders, the organization is conducting a survey which takes 10-15 minutes to complete and will be online through May 15 at bit.ly/24hy8ec.
Participants who complete the survey will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 VISA gift card.
info: lgbtelderadvocatesofwnc.org.
Research on elders mounted
BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Emily Dakin and Dr. Kelly Williams, who are with Appalachian State University, Department of Social Work, are conducting a research study on elder LGBT individuals who are 60-years-old and older that centers around aging and healthcare services.
LGBT adults are less likely to utilize services than their straight peers research shows. The two researchers are hoping to ascertain how High Country LGBT adults stack up.
Contact Dakin at dakinek@appstate.edu or 828-262-8205 and Williams at williamska3@appstate.edu or 828-262-7942 to set up a confidential interview.
Canadians seek survey participants
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada — Project #Queery is searching for participants for its survey on online activities and health of queer youth and young adults.
The project is open to those who are 14-29 and identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, genderqueer, pansexual, asexual, genderfluid and/or any other member of the LGBT community.
Participants will be entered into a chance to win one of two $250 Amazon or iTunes gift cards, one of five iPad Minis or one of 100 Amazon or iTunes $25 gift cards.
info: bit.ly/24hBjCP.