The 2009 Vif Conference will take place at American University in the Ward Building on April 4th 2009.
Free parking is available in the Nebraska Ave parking lot, and the AU shuttle runs every 15 mins from the Tenleytown Metro stop to the main campus. Click here for a campus map.
Breakfast and lunch (vegetarian/vegan friendly) will be provided at no additional cost. Free on-site child care will be provided as well as ASL-English interpretation (please plan to pre-register if you wish to use these services).
Cost of the conference is $15 at the door and $10 in advance. If you or your organization would like to have a table at Vif 2009, we ask for a suggested donation of $15. Please contact us at visionsinfeminism@gmail.com or visit the Registration page to pre-register.
8:00 – 9:00 am
Breakfast/Morning Yoga
9:00 – 10:00 am
Breakfast/WACDTF Training
10:00 – 11:30 am
Workshop Session I
Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project
Queer-y-ing Masculinity: Toward a Theory of Post-feminist Corporeal Différance
Veganism in Feminism
11:30 – 1:00 pm
Workshop Session II
Included in Theory: Transsexual Women’s Experiences and Queer Feminism
Queering Spirituality: Religion, ‘Progressive Political Action’, and Queerness are not mutually exclusive
Building Mama Saartjie
Dork as Third Gender
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Lunch
2:00 – 3:30 pm
Workshop Session III
Queer Eye for the DIY
Creating a Culture of Emotional Support
Syrena’s Sex Workshop
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Keynote Presentation: Dr. Annie Sprinkle
Workshop Descriptions
A/Pi Domestic Violence Resource Project Diversity in Domestic Violence – Cultural Competency for the A/PI and Queer Community: Come join this popular education and interactive discussion on diversity in domestic violence. We will be looking at DV in the context of oppression, racism, and homophobia. The curriculum includes defining and exploring different forms of oppression that exist in society, defining and examining our own privilege, building an understanding of the dynamic nature of culture, identifying the impacts of stereotyping, and finally using the understanding from the above to explore culturally competent practices and how it differs from cultural awareness or cultural sensitivity.
Presenters: Amara Jade holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Law and Society and Women’s Studies. She worked in California for the Legal Aid Society with the Domestic Violence Clinic and was involved in community organizing surrounding access to education, affordable housing, anti-oppression work, and diversity training. She also worked in Santiago, Chile for SIDACCION, an HIV/AIDS prevention and education and LGBTQ rights organization. In DC, she is currently the Community Outreach Director for the A/PI DVRP and has worked for the DC Rape Crisis Center. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Different Avenues, a non-profit advocacy group that works with youth and young adults who are at risk of HIV/AIDS, may be houseless, and are LGBTQ. She focuses on putting theory into practice and building leadership within underserved communities, and those typically seen as “victims”, so that individuals feel empowered as “survivors” to make decisions and have agency in their lives.
Amrita Wassan has been the Advocates Program Co-Director at the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project since April 2007. In her role as Advocates Program Co-Director, Amrita recruits and trains bilingual advocates who work one on one with survivors. Additionally, she provides technical assistance to other agencies in the DC area training on topics including cultural competency and domestic violence in A/PI communities. Amrita received her Bachelors in International Relations and Economics from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta and has worked in the anti-violence against women movement in various capacities for ten years in the US, and in India.
Queer-y-ing Masculinity: Toward a Theory of Post-feminist Corporeal Différance As a result of Simone de Beauvoir’s monumental formulation, to be a gender is to participate in a continual cultural construction of the body, to be invested with the dynamic power of malleability within a field of cultural possibilities. According to Judith Butler, “Gender must be understood as a modality of taking on or realizing cultural possibilities,” of forming and articulating a bodily aesthetic in reference to a continuum of cultural codes (36). I would like to investigate what the implications might be, if in of this formulation the word “man” were substituted for “woman.” Specifically, I will work toward the (de)construction of masculinities (hegemonic, normative, queer etc.) , male bodies, and “maleness-in-general” through (post)feminist phenomenological works and queer theory to investigate the question of “How might a pro-feminist reconstitution or reconfiguration of male subjectivity proceed?” I think it should begin with prefiguring a variable masculine aesthetic that can operate either independently from or in conjunction with the phallic male body. This initial recognition of a variable masculine aesthetic as separate from the phallic male body allows for interrogating hegemonic/normative organs operating with outside and through the body. Only then can the body be reinscribed with what Lee Edelman calls, “A category-subverting alterity within the conceptual framework of the masculine.”
Presenter: Matt Cole is an aspiring polymath who strives to understand the diverse array assemblages that constitute our heterogeneous world. During his time at the University at Buffalo he has studied an expansive range of subjects largely focused around post-structuralist and post-modernist discourses via Derrida, Deleuze and Guattari, Fanon, and Judith Butler. Matt has participated in several conferences related to queer theory and was the recipient of an honors research grant to work on his thesis which attempts to develop a working paradigm between queer corporality, masculinity and feminism. He was also the Outstanding Scholar in the American Studies Department at UB for the class of 2009. Matt has participated as both an activist and an organizer in social justice movements including UB Students against Sweatshops, Buffalo Class Action, and People United For Sustainable Housing. He is an avid cyclist and works to support the Buffalo cycling community through organizing events, promoting commuter awareness, and participating in Buffalo Blue Bike. He has been involved in multiple musical projects and bands and released two demos and two 7” records. Matt plans on attending graduate school for modern philosophy and critical theory as well as going to law school.
Veganism and Feminism What role does Veganism play in Feminism? Or that of Feminism in Veganism? We will explore the cross-currents of these two movements with some background history, and healthy dose of open discussion, and some final points on Vegan nutrition and health from a female perspective. There are many ways women have played an integral role in the Animal Rights movement, from the Suffragettes to Carol J. Adams and other Ecofeminist authors. The patriarchal worldview has objectified, exploited, and degraded women, minorities, queers, and the animal kingdom with systematic precision. The violence against one group is mimicked across all borders and is still pervasive in contemporary society. To be an advocate for female welfare needs to include the billions of sows, cows, and hens that are exploited as breeders, milk and egg producers, and inevitably slaughtered annually.
Post-Women’s Liberation movement, a new “–ism” has become a focal point for activists: Speciesism. We shall discuss ways in which the powerless have been oppressed, how to take it back and become empowered, healthy, and beautiful people working towards equality and nonviolence, regardless of gender, gender identity, class, or race by using the lens of the Animal Rights Movement.
Presenter: Jackie Keller was born and raised in California, Michigan, and Colorado, but has lived in Washington, DC since 2002, attending The George Washington University. A longtime Vegetarian, she made the transition to Veganism in 2003 and started working with the (now defunct) GW Animal Advocacy Student Group, advocating for more vegan options on campus and coordinating education campaigns to fellow students. She currently works for The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) based in DC, an organization that focuses on Vegan nutrition, preventive medicine, and alternatives to vivisection. She enjoys going to DIY shows, free museums, practicing yoga, and volunteering for various organizations like Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, The Washington Humane Society, and Compassion over Killing.
Included in Theory: Transsexual Women’s Experiences and Queer Feminism
What would a truly trans-inclusive feminism look like? Though used as rhetorical tools and pieced apart under the gazes of both “queer theory” and “radical feminism”, trans women’s actual lives (and voices) have been almost entirely invisible to feminist discussions. Whether appropriating our identities to deconstruct gender or claiming trans women are insidious double agents of the patriarchy, cis feminisms have neglected and failed to account for the experiences of trans women.
This workshop will seek to critically dismantle cissexism and the marginalization of trans women, both within and without feminism. By centering those who are most directly affected by intersecting oppressions of sexism, cissexism, racism, classism and other systems of oppression, feminists can learn more about how gendered violence is experienced – and resisted. Seeking to understand and challenge how cis privilege has shaped feminist priorities, this discussion will also focus on practical means for incorporating trans liberation into feminist theory and organizing. NOTE: This workshop will be shown as a video because Sadie will unfortunately not be available to be present at the conference.
Sadie Baker is a community organizer from southern West Virginia now living in DC. She works with the DC Trans Coalition, an all-volunteer grassroots organization seeking to improve the lives of trans people who live in the District. In her activism with the DCTC and other groups, she focuses on police brutality and mass incarceration targeting the trans community and especially low income trans women of color. She is an undergrad student of trans studies and critical theory at Goddard College. She is also interested in reproductive justice, talking to kittens and creating a healthier, less violent world where everyone’s basic needs are met.
Queering Spirituality: Religion, ‘Progressive Political Action’, and Queerness are not mutually exclusive
Presenter: Laura Craig Mason has been a part of the MD/DC pagan community for over 15 years, and spent 4 of those years facilitating public rituals in Montgomery County making sure those spaces were safe space and inclusive. Published in poetry magazines, Witch’s Voices, and Bitch magazine Laura is a bit obsessed with the intersections of the political, personal, art, and spiritual. She is now part of a feminist collective, keeps busy with clinic defense, knitting, and hosting her podcast Fully Engaged Feminism.
Building Mama Saartjie Join members of The Saartjie Project as they discuss the history of Saartjie Baartman and the development of the performance collective in her honor. There are so many stories of powerful women that go unwritten that we hope to inspire and activate the creation of others pieces that celebrate and inform. Participants in the workshop will develop and share pieces that we will workshop together and everyone will be encouraged to use the art forms of their choice. Come willing to learn and play!
Presenters: The Saartjie Project (TSP) is a collective of artists and activists using original performance arts to explore the fascination with the black female form; to create internal and external dialogue; and to promote healing across communities. TSP was founded in the summer of 2008 and each of its sold out performances is also a call to action – infusing song, dance, visual art and spoken word into a dramatic set of stories for education and exploration of the life and times of Saartjie Baartman.
Dork as Third Gender Even before the invention of high school, dorks have been leading a quiet and seldom-celebrated gender revolution. Every boy who opts to spend his weekends reading Tolkien instead of ogling muscle cars, every girl who chooses to teach herself FORTRAN instead of shaving her legs, and everyone else who’d sooner iron their socks than spend their time and effort fitting into the gender norms defined by their peers – each of these brave individuals is throwing all their dorky weight at the division between maleness and femaleness and carving a new gender niche – dorkiness. In “Dork as Third Gender” we will examine the ways in which dorkiness can reduce an individual’s gendered appearance or behavior and establish an alternate identity that can be more important – to both the dork and the outside world.
Presenter: Guy Dammit has spent the last fourteen years living among the dorks, from computer programmers and brain surgeons to theatre majors and film geeks. He has eaten what they eat, dressed how they dress, calculated what they calculate. In this time he has come to identify very strongly with them, and they have accepted him as one of their own.
Creating a Culture of Emotional Support In our patriarchal, heteronormative society, expressing emotions is considered weak. Emotions are to be kept to oneself (repressed), or, at most, kept within a private family or friend sphere. As radical feminists and queers, we challenge these norms and bring emotional expression and emotional support into the public sphere. Specifically, this workshop focuses on valuing emotions and creating a culture of emotional support in organizing work.
The impetus for building this workshop came out of a series of conversations about mental health, emotional support & organizing. As womyn, feminists and queers who work with people of various identities, we face obstacles in building radical, emotionally supportive organizing models and practices. We need to radically restructure our relationships with each other and create a space where we can investigate together how we can fight the disconnection in our lives & the lack of authenticity in our relationships. In the workshop we come together to explore & identify the tools that we already have & some we’ve never thought of before. This gives us a space to recognize & name the problems we’re having, specifically as radical feminists and queers, and have a little collective therapy. We believe this empowers us, increases the longevity of our organizing & improves our lives.
This workshop asks for a lot of interaction from participants. Participants will answer questions and share organizing problems from their personal experiences, then discuss them with other participants. Participants will be given tools to create more supportive spaces in their organizing efforts.
Presenter: Robin Markle is a teacher, artist and activist/organizer based in West Philadelphia. She works with the new Students for a Democratic Society, as well as West Philly Digs, an urban gardening group. For fun she likes reading zines about anarcha-feminism, writing in her journal, making collages and cooking. You can contact her at robinmarkle@gmail.com.
Queer Eye for the DIY For the Birds Collective, a New York City-based feminist collective and zine distro, present the notion that feminist practice should be in constant practice. In this workshop, we will examine how and why feminist activities in radical, already “queered” communities which provided a framework in the past for women to create alternative spaces, have seemingly disintegrated. We will begin with a much-needed dialogue around the state of feminism today, and explore and challenge reasons for gravitating towards such punk or DIY subcultures. We will explore such questions as: Do similar currents of patriarchal oppression run through subcultural spaces as well as the mainstream spaces from which we had hoped to escape? If so, how can feminists marginalized within these supposedly “safe” spaces utilize feminist practice to address the oppression they feel? What does a truly queer feminist practice look like within the punk and DIY scenes, as opposed to more mainstream social spaces? Moving forward, we will facilitate discussions to critically analyze DIY ethics within grassroots organizing and aim to broaden the scope for a more inclusive feminism.
By sharing experiences, we will identify ways to use DIY ethics as a common bridge to bind the gap between us and other grassroots organizing communities, while maintaining our oft-punk roots and our agenda as a feminist collective.What kinds of resources and strategies are available to us that are typically overlooked by punk communities? How can we work with other groups while accepting our differences, and recognizing what we are? What are ways to coin in on our assets while finding a space for them in the “outside” world? By digging into feminist history, we will examine tactics used by feminists in the past to interrupt oppression and bridge these said gaps, and analyze the way patriarchal structure impacts both the mainstream and already queered cultures. For the Birds believe in taking on a variety of ways to further queer our communities and to further equip ourselves with tools to broaden the way in which we organize.
Presenters: Kathleen Mcintyre is a member of the “For the Birds” feminist collective living in New York City. She has created a compilation zine on grief and loss, and is interested in building radical support around physical and mental health issues. Get in touch! theworstzine@gmail.com
Kate Wadkins is an artist and writer living in New York City. She is a member of the For the Birds feminist collective and distro, and is interested in establishing safe spaces for feminist artists and activists. Please get in touch! katewadkins@gmail.com
Cynthia Schemmer is a writer and baker living in New York. She is a member of the For the Birds feminist collective and distro, and is interested in creating a space in which women writer’s can promote their work.
Syrena’s Sex Workshop The Sex-capades workshop will interactively explore sex; dirty, lovely, raunchy, crazy, wild, weird sex and what we like to do with it. From vanilla to BDSM, taboo to missionary we will discuss varying forms of sex and discover new ideas in developing ones individual sexual journey. Live demonstration with rope restraints. Adult 18+ please.
Presenter: Syrena Davis is a sex positive polyamorous pansexual bi-gendered individual who enjoys nothing more than talking about and/or having sex. She, officially, lost her virginity at 18, and has not turned back to find it since. By day, Syrena is the Peer Education Coordinator with the DC Rape Crisis Center, a gallery and theatre manger at DC Arts Center, and the founder/organizer of Token Collective Productions. By night, she likes to read, ‘friend date’, wrestle in jello, and ‘do it’/'make out’ with friends.
