Connectivity: vol 7, iss 1, From the Editor

Welcome to Connectivity - the new and improved newsletter, produced by FORGE (For Ourselves: Reworking Gender Expression)! We are thrilled to be publishing a nationally available newsletter that offers a unique alternative to other FTM/trans publications.

Connectivity is a newsletter based on the principles of honoring all aspects of the FTM+/SOFFA (Significant Other, Friends, Family and Allies) community. Through providing a forum that respects equality and deconstructs structures of hierarchy, Connectivity blends topics, identities and experiences to highlight the rich diversity within the trans+/SOFFA community. This unique publication embodies a holistic approach towards healing wounds from within or from outside of our community; stimulating new ways of examining issues by widening the lens to view a fuller picture; inspiring national action and momentum on controversial issues; and offering unique perspectives, advancing the movement by incorporating and giving voice to identities and experiences that are often unheard.

Connectivity holds that our community advances when individuals are empowered and encouraged to express their unique journeys. As we move to a place of personal empowerment and validation, we gear up for a paradigmatic shift in how our community functions and supports itself.

Connectivity celebrates and utilizes diversity to create a place of freedom, where complexities, challenges, and new constructs are welcomed.

Connectivity is the dynamic, complex, challenging and ongoing process of forging new connections, nurturing old ones, and creating an environment that embraces and empowers.

Upcoming Connectivity themes are:

Depression and Mental Health Issues (March 2002)
SM/Leather (May 2002)
The Economics of Gender (July 2002)
"Only" Space and Diversity (September 2002)
Hormones (November 2002)
Rituals (January 2003)

Each issue will contain many of the following segments:

Themed Articles § Reviews of Resources

Interviews § News bits and analyses

Book Reviews § Allied Organization Watch

Conference Updates § Polls and Surveys

Letters to the Editor § Special Topic Inserts

Personal Stories § Research Synopses

Book Discussion Questions § Events Calendar

Ask Gearhead

We hope you will join us on this exciting challenging journey.

	Connectivity volume 7, issue 01
	From the Editor