Connectivity: vol 7, iss 1, Welcome

Connectivity illuminates the dynamic, multifaceted, challenging, and interrelated process by which personal, interpersonal, and community growth and development occurs. It is dedicated to helping move the fragmented trans+/SOFFA communities beyond identity politics and forge a movement that embraces and empowers our diverse complexities.

Connectivity is a publication of F.O.R.G.E. (For Ourselves: Reworking Gender Expression). FORGE is the parent organization of constituency groups including TAN (Transgender Aging Network),STRIKE (Strong TransRadicals Into Kink Everywhere) and TransWords.

Connectivity is published six times a year and is available:

Free on the web at
www.forge-forward.org

Sample printed copy—$6

Printed 1 year / 6 issue subscription—$30

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Business card (2” x 3.5”):

Single issue—$15

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To receive email notifications of newsletter web publication and calls for submission, email editor@forge-forward.org.

Editors: michael munson

Loree Cook-Daniels

Connectivity

PO Box 1272

Milwaukee, WI 53201

Phone: 414-278-6031

Fax: 414-278-6034

editor@forge-forward.org

www.forge-forward.org

WELCOME!

We are extremely proud and excited to bring you this very first edition of Connectivity.

It’s marked Volume 7 because it has grown out of the distinguished 6-year history of the previous FORGE newsletter. Each of those newsletters focused in-depth on one topic, featuring essays by a variety of community members and a round-up of relevant resources.

Connectivity will continue to feature themed issues, essays shining light on each theme from various viewpoints, and useful signposts for those who want to learn or do more. But Connectivity also aims much higher: we want to create a community out of the richly diverse group of people linked by their involvement with trans and SOFFA (significant other, friends, family and allies) issues. We intend to do that by exploring our different experiences and strengths, and turning those differences into ties of compassion, understanding, and commitment. That means that we will work hard to reflect the diverse experiences, voices, interests, needs and concerns in our community, but we will do so through the lens of connections.

What kind of connections? Well, reading this issue will give you an idea of the many levels at which we want to forge connections. We’ve chosen a topic, Stealth vs. Out, that provokes intense, often conflictual, reactions. We explore it through essays that illuminate a range of experiences and thoughts, including:

· A couple in which one is more “out” than the other;

· A male-oriented transgendered librarian who others perceive as a straight woman;

· A police officer who transitioned FTM while on the job without explicit discussion;

· A femme who struggles to be out as anything other than “lover of a trans person”;

· A widow exploring how disclosure issues survived her partner’s death; and

· A trans person discussing being outed by accident and how he and his SOFFAs handle the question, “disclosed by whom?”

We also report on a survey we conducted that ended up giving us (as we hope it will do for you) a far greater appreciation of the many considerations people grapple with as they decide to what extent they will make their trans+/SOFFA status public. We review a book that is devoted to what happens as a result of (non)disclosure decisions. Because one of our survey respondents said “I don't know any FTMs, with or without bottom surgery who would be able to be stealth with the lights off, Billy [Tipton] aside,“ we also interview a man who does not tell some of his sexual partners that he’s trans to explore how that works for him.

And that’s just some of what this Connectivity covers. We also make other connections. One of the services Connectivity will provide is analysis of publications and projects that purport to be pro-trans, to both identify tools we can use in our own education and advocacy efforts and to hold accountable those who are “T in name only.” Our ratings will cover not only how well they address transgender issues, but also how well they reflect SOFFA and genderqueer experiences and concerns.

In order to connect with you, our readers, and begin building our community, Connectivity needs your input. Each issue will include a survey related to the next edition’s topic, and we urge each of you to take a moment to fill that out and send it back. We also urge you to consult the “Coming Next Issue” box and seriously consider submitting something that reflects your experiences and thoughts. “Ask Gearhead” is designed for your questions, as Letters to the Editor is designed for your opinions.

Join us. Read. Think. Write. Connect. Create community.

Connectivity

Mike Hernandez


	Connectivity volume 07, issue 01