By Joanie Juster–
I find election seasons to be extremely stressful—and here we are in San Francisco facing our fourth election this year. Yikes. But as someone who believes fully in the democratic process, I can’t really complain. It’s just time once again to do our homework, and vote as if our democracy is on the line. Because, you know, it is.
Meanwhile, plenty else is going on this month. Check it out:
Diversity, Inclusion, Sunshine, & LGBTQ+ History Month
Pride activities in San Francisco tend to be clustered in certain neighborhoods: the Castro, Market Street, Polk Street, SoMa. But District 10? This southeastern corner of the city includes residential, light industrial, modest commercial corridors. It is racially diverse, home to some stunning parks and coastline, but is not on anyone’s map as a center for LGBTQ+ activity.
Or so you might think.
During the pandemic, when the official Pride parade was cancelled, neighbors in District 10 decided they would create something all their own. With their slogan promoting “Diversity, Inclusion, Sunshine,” they went from having a float in previous Pride parades to creating their own D10 Pride Ride, a joyful and inclusive celebration of the diversity in their own community. They are now hosting three events a year: the Bayview Ball in February, a float in the Pride Parade in June, and the D10 Pride Ride in the fall, during LGBTQ+ History Month.
This year’s D10 Pride Ride will take place Saturday, October 22, from 12 to 2 pm, on the Third Street corridor. Whether you strut your stuff on a float, in a car, on a bike, or on your own two feet, come celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with this vibrant crowd.
More info: https://tinyurl.com/D10Pride
Be Part of History: Take the U.S. Trans Survey
Transgender people throughout the country can help shape public policy that directly affects their lives by taking part in the U.S. Trans Survey that launched on October 19.
The U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) is the largest survey devoted to the lives and experiences of transgender people across the United States. The USTS was last conducted in 2015, with 27,715 responses. It is hoped that the 2022 survey will reach many more people and provide an updated and expanded view of the experiences of transgender people across a wide range of areas, such as education, employment, family life, health, housing, and interactions with police and prisons.
Conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, in partnership with the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, TransLatin@ Coalition, and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), the USTS is an important resource for use in public education and advocacy about transgender people, the patterns of discrimination many transgender people face, and the need for policy and social change to improve their lives.
The USTS is expected to be conducted every five-to-ten years, enabling the measurement of changes in the experiences of transgender people over time. Using questions modeled on other federal surveys allows for comparisons between the USTS sample and the U.S. population as a whole. This is important for demonstrating the disparities faced by transgender people in the U.S. across a number of areas, such as in unemployment, poverty, and health.
The USTS is for all transgender people ages 16 years and older, including binary and nonbinary trans identities, living in the United States, a U.S. territory, or on a U.S. military base. The survey is open to trans people at any stage of their lives, journey, or transition. The survey is available online in English and Spanish.
Your participation can help researchers, policymakers, and advocates work toward positive change. Stand up and be counted, and spread the word: https://www.ustranssurvey.org/
Planning a Family? This Show’s for You
LGBTQ+ families are under attack by extreme right-wing forces around the country, from local school boards to state legislatures. Meanwhile, on October 29, The Modern Family Show is coming to San Francisco’s Pier 27 for a day-long event to assist anyone looking to build a modern family, providing information on surrogacy, adoption, fostering, infertility, egg donation, trans parenting, co-parenting, fertility preservation, and dedicated LGBTQ+ family-building support.
Created in the U.K. in 2021, The Modern Family Show aims to provide a safe space for the entire community—queer and straight—to seek advice, support, and to understand the options available for their family-building journey. All the members of The Modern Family Show team are same-sex parents, and have expressed their desire to give back to the local community. To that end, 50% of ticket proceeds will be donated to San Francisco’s Our Family Coalition, which for 20 years has been providing community-building and support for LGBTQ+ families with children, prospective parents, youth, allies, community partners, and volunteers.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month: It’s for Everyone
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time devoted to educating people about breast cancer, and encouraging them to get tested and treated. While the pink ribbon has become a ubiquitous symbol for breast cancer for the past 30 or so years, with most educational campaigns and marketing targeting cisgender women, it’s important to know that anyone can get breast cancer. That’s right: men can get breast cancer. So can trans and non-binary people.
So, this is your public service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: get educated, get screened, get help if you need it. Become aware of your own risk factors, and learn to pay attention to the warning signs. Talk to your doctor, seek appropriate support. Full disclosure: my day job is with the Bay Area Cancer Connections, which provides a wide array of support for people with breast or ovarian cancer, including links to a broad spectrum of information and available services: https://tinyurl.com/BACCInfo
‘Tis the Season
Not the holiday season (although that’s right around the corner), but gala and awards season in the nonprofit community. This month alone has featured multiple galas raising money for organizations that work hard every day to make our community and our world a better place for everyone. They are all doing great work, and are deserving of our support.
I can’t and won’t list them all, but did want to give a couple of shout-outs. First, kudos to Transgender Law Center for making their annual event, SPARK, (October 13) widely available and accessible, first by making it a free livestream, but also by making all audio available through captions, ASL interpretation, Spanish language interpretation, and audio descriptions available by phone. Well done.
Second shout-out goes to the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club’s annual event, Gayla, on October 22. Always a lively event, two things caught my eye. First, they are presenting a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award to Cleve Jones; go hear his acceptance speech. Second: The keynote speaker will be teenage activist Zander Moricz, who went viral when he challenged Gov. Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill in his graduation speech at a Florida high school. Silent Auction proceeds at Gayla will benefit Zander’s Social Equity and Education (SEE) Initiative that mobilizes voters and empowers student activists to defend marginalized groups—especially the queer community—across the United States.
Before October Ends…
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
In Case You Missed It
Published on October 20, 2022
Recent Comments